Butter London Chuffed

Butter London's Chuffed has had two iterations. It was first released as part of the Jelly collection for spring 2010 as a very sheer tangerine tinted jelly. The second version, which is what we'll be covering in this post, is part of the Lolly Brights collection for summer 2014. It's a very different polish from the first one. Why do this, re-release a polish with the same name as a previous offering that's not the same polish? That's a question that's been the topic of many conversations in the polish community lately surrounding a similar circumstance with Sally Hansen. Sally Hansen has just re-released a new version of their iconic and much beloved shade Pacific Blue, which is different from and from what I've read inferior to the original. I don't have an answer except to say that everybody makes mistakes, even a formidable presence like Sally Hansen. But luckily for polish enthusiasts and in a reverse situation from Pacific Blue, the latest version of Chuffed is actually more wearable than the original. 

This new Chuffed is described by Butter London as a bright orange shimmer, which is exactly what it is. It has a sheer vivid tangerine-leaning orange jelly base bearing superabundant infinitesimal flaky golden shimmers. In shade and indirect light the tiny flakes give it has a delicious speckled foily look, while in direct sun it's a sparkling semi-metallic tangerine. It's an irrepressibly effervescent polish in both look and feel.

Application was a delight. The consistency of Chuffed is quite gel-like, much less fluid than I'm used to from Butter London, but it's not sticky or goopy at all. It has an easily manipulated, even, self-leveling spread over the nail. Pigmentation is sheer and buildable coverage is furnished primarily by the profuse golden shimmers. The first coat is quite sheer indeed, but after two I found it to have a reasonable amount of translucent coverage on my nails, albeit with a touch of visible nail line. I think I would have been fine wearing it like that, but for the photos I wanted more. So I did a third coat, and was happy with that. I had barely any cleanup to do, which is unusual for me, but what I did released golden shimmers in profusion, although these mostly disappeared with a handwashing. Chuffed sets rather quickly, so it's easy to layer coats in rapid succession, but it takes longer than I expected to dry completely. I'd say it dries naturally in average time, longer than average if you have multiple coats to dry, to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat enhances both the sparkling shimmers and the color of this polish. 

Photos show three coats of Chuffed the Younger over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of HK Girl.

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Butter London Chuffed

Very koi, no? Poolside polish perfection. I can just see these in the water, little shimmery goldfish nails! The semi-metallic look provided by the shimmer is especially nice in dim lighting, where it lights up your fingertips with a sweet orange flash. All in all I'd have to say that this pretty puppy is a keeper. The color is very clean and unmuddied, and is both brightened and somehow softened by the golden flaky shimmers. It makes me smile, which is something all polish should do, ultimately. Right?

love,
Liz