Butter London says that Marrow was named "after the dark, purple, rusty center of a bone." I'll have to ask John, our resident meats of the world expert, if that's what it looks like. To my eye, it's a dark creamy warm purple with strong grey undertones. You can see some silvery shimmer in the bottle, but it must be very secret squirrel because it's all but impossible to detect on the nail.
I began applying Marrow to my newly nubbined nails with some trepidation. It's a dark polish and my nails are so very short now. But the wonderful formula of this polish proved my fears false. It has a lovely smooth and flowing consistency with the appropriate amount of viscosity to stay where you put it and not wander. I did swipe a couple of cuticles but Marrow cleaned up nicely. It dries very quickly, even after multiple coats, to a glossy finish.
I did get some bubbling but that is my fault for shaking the polish immediately before applying it. I know better, really I do, and have no explanation other than I was hoping to get the shimmer to emerge. Instead, I got bubbles. There you go.
This manicure is three coats of Marrow over my basecoat duo. I didn't need three coats. In fact, with a steady hand and short nails one coat might well suffice in terms of opacity. In my case, I needed two and applied the third with the hope of camouflaging the bubbling in the second coat. Not happening. Once a bubble is there, it's there. Perhaps they are a little less noticeable to the uninformed eye after the third coat, but I can still see them well enough, much to my chagrin.
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London Marrow -- dries a little darker than bottle color... note bubbling! |
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| at the window... |
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London Marrow |
To me, Marrow is a beautiful greyed eggplant. It has a sophistication that is warm and friendly. It reminds me of YOU, Miss B! I have nothing like it in my collection.
I decided to try another Butter London, No More Waity Katie, layered over Marrow. No More Waity Katie is an altogether unusual color combination of small lavender glitter in a grey jelly base. It doesn't look like much in the bottle, but somehow comes together on the nail especially when layered over Marrow. The effect is delicate and lacy, almost like a soft dusting of snow.
I layered two coats of No More Waity Katie over Marrow and topped it with a coat of Seche Vite. No More Waity Katie was much harder to work with than Marrow. The translucent grey jelly base was heavy with glitter and Butter London's soft flexible brush didn't feel up to the task of manipulating this polish. Dispersion of the polish was uneven across the nail. The look improved with the second coat, though.
Try as I might, I just couldn't get No More Waity Katie to cover Marrow to the edge without overlapping and swiping my skin or cuticle. Messy mani! On top of that, No More Waity Katie is a bear to clean up. You'll notice this in the photos as I've got glitter everywhere. In the end, though, I have to say that I liked the soft silvery look it added to the Marrow manicure. The two work really well together.
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie and Marrow, bottle shot |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie and Marrow, bottle shot |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| at the window... |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
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| Butter London No More Waity Katie over Butter London Marrow |
This polish really surprised me. Even as I was applying it I was convinced that I wasn't going to like it. And it turns out that I like it very much. I'm STILL surprised. There's just something about it, the translucent depth of the grey jelly, the soft speckling of the lavender glitters -- it reminds me of something magical that an elf would weave into a billowy cloak a la JRR Tolkien.
I don't know! All I can say with certainty is that it's truly one of a kind. I've never seen a polish remotely like it anywhere.
How do you like my nubbins? Short, eh? *lol*
love,
Aunt Liz
Dark but lovelly
ReplyDeleteThanks Schneet!
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