ILNP Black Orchid

Black Orchid is the final polish I have to show you from my preorder of four polishes from the Fall 2014 collection of indie polish maker I Love Nail Polish (ILNP). The other three were Fall Semester, Abundance and Iconic. 

Barbra, the owner and creative force behind ILNP, tells us that Black Orchid has been in the works for two years -- that alone was enough for me to put it in my preorder cart. The name is enticing also, exotic and mysterious, and a nice piece of thematic continuity with Pantone's color of the year, Radiant Orchid. Then, of course, there's the sumptuous color, a deep rich plummy Byzantium purple with pinkish magenta microshimmers and a liberal dose of fine holographic pigment. On the nail, the color is a dark and resplendent purple with claret tones that come out in certain lights. The magenta microshimmers gleam along the axis of light and the holo particles throw fine sparks of color into the mix. In direct sun, the microshimmers throw a semi-metallic magenta flash amidst a magnificent loose linear prismatic display.

Application was really nice. The consistency of Black Orchid is fluid, smooth and dense, with a lovely satiny flow over the nail. It's slightly thicker on the balance of fluidity and viscosity than the other polishes I ordered from this collection, but still eminently paintable and not the least bit sticky or goopy. Pigmentation is very good with slight sheerness on the first coat building to completely even opacity after two coats. My first coat was very thin and I had nail ridges showing beneath the polish, but after a second medium coat the self-leveling properties kicked in and my nail bed imperfections were completely camouflaged. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with very little running of pigment and no trace of staining. Black Orchid dries naturally in good time to a smooth glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Black Orchid over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. My photos were taken in and out of the shaft of direct sun coming through the skylight in my lightbox bathroom and there are a lot of them.

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

ILNP Black Orchid

Black Orchid lives up to the exotic aura of its name, doesn't it? I admire this polish with its shimmering magenta heart wrapped in sparkling deep purple. I love how dimensional this color is, the way it deepens the farther you get from the center of the nail. In dim indoor lighting, the magenta flash is quite overt, the claret tones of the purple become more obvious and you can even see traces of the linear holo display depending upon what sort of light is hitting the nail. It's a seductive siren polish that holds it's secrets close... but not too close to share.

love,
Liz