Butter London Knees Up and Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames

Knees Up was originally released by Butter London as a holiday exclusive in 2009 and has been re-released at least twice since then -- safe to say that it's part of the core line. It's a medium cool-toned ruby red shimmer polish along the lines of A-England's Perceval and OPI's An Affair in Red Square. It shares with them the molten, semi-metallic finish that literally glows on the nail. Gorgeous and festive, it's a lovely Christmas red.

Application was something of a nightmare as I was applying from a tiny mini bottle. The formula for Knees Up is very good, a little thinner than I like but very easy to control with a smooth even flow over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. The problem was that because of the smaller brush and thinner consistency, every nail but the pinkies required two brush dips, which led to quite a bit of brushstrokiness. But pigmentation was excellent -- had I been using the full size brush I might have gotten away with one coat. Cleanup was easy and straightforward. Knees Up dries naturally in average time to a glossy finish. 

Photos show two coats of Knees Up over treatment and basecoat with a slightly bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite, which helped diminish the appearance of the brushstrokes.

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Butter London Knees Up

Pianos Filled with Flames was originally released by indie polish maker Pahlish when Shannon first opened up her etsy shop. This is yet another of Shannon's creations that I was on the verge of purchasing for the better part of a year and never did. I finally picked up this bottle on Llarowe after a recent Pahlish restock. It's been reformulated since its debut, and is no longer as glitter-packed as it once was. It's a medium-dark red jelly with berry-ish tones bearing finely-milled particulate shimmers in red, red microglitters and a modicum of holographic microglitters in orange, gold, pink and purple. It has a lovely sparkle on the nail, with pops of color from the sparse holo microglitters.

Application was great. This polish has a fluid, smooth consistency with a nice even flow over the nail. Knees Up with its bright shimmery finish and cool ruby tones was the perfect base for Pianos Filled with Flames. Photos show two coats layered over the Knees Up manicure above, with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

Pahlish Pianos Filled with Flames over Butter London Knees Up

This combo has a lovely Christmas feel to it. The red shimmers in Pianos Filled with Flames gently warms and softens the pinkish flash that Knees Up has a tendency to emit, and adds some nice visual texture. I'm very pleased with how well these two work together. 

love,
Liz