Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Like Chain Reaction and Moondance, Phoenix Rising was released by Deborah Lippmann as part of the Rock This Town Limited Edition Trio for holiday 2012. And like the other polishes in this collection, Phoenix Rising is a foily metallic shimmer, this time in copper. It has a murky brown tinted transparent base loaded with flaky metallic shimmers in copper, red, gold and pinkish purple. The pinkish purple or magenta shimmers in Phoenix Rising are common to the composition of the other two polishes as well, and tie the collection together nicely. They are harder to see in this polish with all of the other brilliantly colored shimmers, but they're there.

Application was great. My hands were having a much less shaky day today so I was able to get Phoenix Rising on my nails instead of all over the place, although you might well think otherwise when you see all the shimmers that escaped cleanup. The consistency of this polish is in line with the others in this collection: fluid and light, easily manipulated, with excellent self-leveling flow over the nail. Pigmentation is provided by the shimmer flakes, so multiple coats are necessary to build opacity. I used three. The only difficulty came with cleaning up, as this one like the other two has flaky shimmers that like to hang out around your nail rather than be swept off by a cleaning brush. Phoenix Rising dries in average time to a smooth shiny finish. 

Photos show three coats of Phoenix Rising over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite, which really popped the colors of the shimmers.

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising

This is my second favorite of the set after Chain Reaction, and I think any copper lover would enjoy it. It's very photogenic, has a brilliant scintillating sparkle in the sun, and unlike Moondance there's no doubt about what color you're wearing. (Although I have to say that Moondance really grew on me over a day of wearing it.) Fuzzy adored this one, calling it "Brilliant!" and "A 10!" The individual foily shimmer flecks are nicely visible, giving it the mosaic look that I love so much.

However this polish is not without its dupes. From what I've seen, there are at least two. Jessica's Pumpkin Delight is one, and the other is OPI's Sprung. I've had both of those on my wish list for a while so I guess I can cross them off now that I've got Phoenix Rising. I love that's such a bold copper and I love the finish, so this one's a double plus good polish for me!

love,
Liz