Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

I'm a Survivor was released by indie polish maker Digital Nails last fall as one of the Alex's Lemonade Stand Charity duo. Alex's Lemonade Stand is a foundation whose mission is to raise money for and awareness of childhood cancer causes -- especially research into new treatments and cures -- and to encourage and empower others, especially children, to get involved and make a difference for children with cancer. Raphaelle donates profits from the sales of I'm a Survivor and its sister polish, When Life Gives You Lemons, to Alex's Lemonade Stand, which in turn allocates them to research purposes. It's stuff like this that let's you know how generous, circumspect and purposeful our indie polish makers are!  

I'm a Survivor is a jelly flake glitterbomb. It's got a translucent deep smoky violet jelly base that is jam-packed with irregularly shaped golden metallic flakies, and can be worn over a purple base polish or layered to opacity on its own. I chose to wear it by itself to make the most of the translucence and depth of this polish. The shardy golden flakes float in the violet jelly strata like clouds in a mackerel sky, and are nuanced by the violet into shades of bronze and purple as well as gold. 

Application required a leap of faith on my part. I wasn't sure I had the confidence to apply this dense jelly with the skill and aplomb it deserves. The consistency is fairly thick and gel-like but not sticky, and every brushload is absolutely packed with flakies. The first coat was thin and sheer with the flakies arranging themselves in streaks over the nail. All was well after a generous second coat, though. The color deepened substantially, the distribution of the flakies became regularly random and I achieved an opacity I was happy with. Cleaning up after this flakie-filled wonder is something you don't want to have to do a lot of because those flakies like to stick around. I had some that did just that, as you will see, plus a few protrusions over the free edge. All in all, though, application was much less fraught with difficulty than I expected. I'm a Survivor dries naturally in average time to a slightly textured shiny finish, which I smoothed and glossed up with topcoat.

Photos show two coats of I'm a Survivor over Seche Rebuild treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. I feared that the Vite might cause some shrinkage at the tips, as the jelly is sheerest there despite wrapping, but I've had it on for a couple of hours now without any tip pull or shrinking.

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

Digital Nails I'm a Survivor

I'm so proud of Raphaelle for her work helping make a difference for kids with cancer, and glad to be able to assist in a tiny way by purchasing this awesome polish. I love the shardy metallic mottling of the violet base by the flake glitters. It's actually quite a glamorous polish with a air of gilded vampiness to it that adds a touch of mystery to the mix. I have a feeling this one will be great during the fall and winter holidays as an interesting and charismatic alternative to the usual greens and reds that typically accompany that time of year. 

It also looks fabulous with a matte topcoat, which you can see a photo of in Potions in Motion's blog post featuring both Alex's Lemonade Stand polishes, here.

love,
Liz