I ordered these two from Pahlish's etsy shop a couple of weeks ago, right about the time of my Pahlish Ace of Fours post. It just goes to show you that a person can only take pressing their nose against glass for so long before self-restraint and self-indulgence shake hands and go off together to get a beer.
Still Alive has a dusky deep green-leaning teal jelly base filled with a complex mix of iridescent green glitters and microglitters and golden sparks. The overall effect is a complex forest green glitter mosaic, wonderful and compelling. It's one of those polishes where you can't NOT look at it.
Photos show Still Alive after two coats over basecoat with it's natural finish -- a smooth satiny sheen -- then with a glossy topcoat, then with a matte topcoat.
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| Pahlish Still Alive (left) and This New Sun (right) |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, macro shot in the bottle |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, natural finish |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, natural finish |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, natural finish |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, no topcoat |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, natural finish |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, natural finish |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, natural finish |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, natural finish |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, natural finish |
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| Palish Still Alive, natural finish -- macro shot on the nail |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, glossy topcoat |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, glossy topcoat |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, glossy topcoat |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, glossy topcoat -- EXTREME CLOSE UP WHOA! |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, glossy topcoat |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, glossy topcoat |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, matte topcoat |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, matte topcoat |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, matte topcoat |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, matte topcoat-- EXTEME CLOSE UP WHOA! |
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| Pahlish Still Alive, matte topcoat |
My favorite of the three ways I tried this is hands down the silky sleek natural finish, which I think lets the full character of the polish show in all it's glory. There's something soulful and heroic about this polish. The glossy topcoat kind of pimps out the green more than is necessary and the matte finish, while beautiful, is a bit too moody and brooding. All in all: love this! With all my heart!
But it's a hard won love. The formula was the stuff of nail polish nightmares. I'm thinking it must have been a batch issue, because none the reviews of this polish that I've read online mention any difficulties with application at all.
Of the two, I thought I would prefer This New Sun. I saw photos of it swatched online that gave me veritigo they were so beautiful. But the polish I received was not the same as the polish I'd seen in those photos, and I had terrible problems with the formula of this as well. Both polishes were uber thick and syrupy and I found myself fighting to manipulate polish that was quickly coagulating on the brush and on the nail. With copious amounts of polish thinner I was able to get them to a more fluid state. But even when fluid, application of This New Sun laid down unsightly clumps of pigment and/or shimmer on the nail. I had much more success with Still Alive, as you've seen, but The New Sun was a complete disaster for me.
This New Sun is a burnt orange shimmer polish with abundant bright orange microglitter accented with small orange and holographic hex glitters. The quality of the both the manicure and the photos I took is all over the place. That's my disappointment and frustration showing. I debated on whether to include The New Sun at all in this post, because who wants to see bad pics of a bad manicure? But experience encompasses success and failure both, so I will show you my photos of This New Sun.
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| Pahlish This New Sun, natural finish |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, natural finish |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, natural finish |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, natural finish |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, glossy topcoat |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, glossy topcoat |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, glossy topcoat |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, glossy topcoat |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, matte topcoat |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, matte topcoat |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, matte topcoat |
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| Pahlish This New Sun, matte topcoat |
Will Paint Nails For Food is the blog where I saw the photos of This New Sun that so captivated me. Check out her post and photos: Pahlish This New Sun. I WANT THAT POLISH!
I tried so hard to get This New Sun to resemble in some way those photos. I redid a manicure with it three times in one day and set it aside. When I got around to swatching Still Alive, I tried again with This New Sun. And you see the results. I know it's only nail polish, but this experience broke my heart.
So I'm a sad puppy for the moment. :-(
love,
Aunt Liz
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