Butter London Poole

Poole was released by Butter London as part of the Summer Holiday collection for 2013. It's officially described by Butter London as "an opaque robin's egg blue creme," but I see it as a pale milky subdued aquamarine. Compared to similarly colored polishes out there, Poole has a bit of grey in it that sets it apart and gives it a softer, more pastel feel. 

Application was a little disappointing compared to recent user-friendly polish experiences (Nire's Desire!). I knew I'd feel this way, and it wasn't like Poole was shockingly fussy or anything. It's just the difference between blissful polish application and having to worry about getting a polish looking right when it's acting like it's gonna not do that. *lol* Life is rough, eh?

Poole's consistency is fluid and creamy but I experienced quite a bit of patchiness, ghosting around the edges and problems with self-leveling. Pigmentation is actually very good, with only a little streakiness with the first coat. Thereafter, though, I needed a good bead of polish on the tip of my brush to get the polish to lay down smoothly, which resulted in heavier coats than I was hoping for. Because Poole doesn't self-level very well, heavier coats produced a markedly uneven appearance on some nails. Luckily for me, there is Seche Vite to save the day and level everything up beautifully. How I envy and admire polish bloggers who can swatch without topcoat and produce tidy super looking manicures over and over! For me, I must depend on le Vite to smooth out problematic polishes. Poole ended up looking just fine on me at three coats but I'm sure many of you could produce the same results in two. It certainly is pigmented enough for completely opaque coverage in two coats, and dries naturally in very good time to a glossy finish.

Photos show three coats of Poole over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. I must warn you, my finger tips and nail environs are lookin' rough. I was removing yesterday's glitter manicure with the foil method this morning and fell asleep with the foil on and my fingers soaking in acetone. How's life in the palace, Grace?

Butter London Poole

Butter London Poole

Butter London Poole

Butter London Poole

Butter London Poole

Butter London Poole

Butter London Poole

Butter London Poole

Butter London Poole

Butter London Poole

This reminds me so much of lapidary quality aquamarine gemstone! In a previous incarnation, one of my hobbies was bead stringing and I've been doing a little cleaning up and organizing of my station so I could make a few things for niece Eleanor's upcoming eleventh birthday (a tween! seems like only yesterday she was eight!). One of the pieces I've made for her is a necklace with round aquamarine beads and a glazed ceramic skull centerpiece (she LOVES skulls). 

I think I'm safe adding that pic here, she's been so busy lately with school, spring recitals in music and dance and her new-found love of target archery that I seriously doubt she'd have time to check the blog even if she were so inclined. *lol* But isn't Poole a nice match for the aquamarine in the necklace? I love this kind of soft milky blue but it's not the best color on me, like most pastels, and kind of gives me a case of lobster fingers. It's got a really nice feel on the nail though, very serene and fresh. 

I think I'll make a necklace and earring set for my sis as well, using her favorite vitrial medium swarovski crystals. I've always wondered about birthdays, how come they don't celebrate the one who gave birth too, you know? After all, it's a monumentally life altering event for both parties involved. Seems only fair Mom should get a gift too. Like I need a reason to gift anybody anything!

love,
Liz