Pretty Jelly Brocade
Brocade was released by indie polish maker Pretty Jelly as part of the Rich Fabric Trio in September this year. It's the third and last polish from this set that I've featured here; the other two are Velvet and Embroidery. Each of these rich, complex shimmer holos has been hard to describe, but Brocade has stolen all my words. Liz, the owner and creative force behind Pretty Jelly, has this to say about it: "Brocade is blackened plum scattered-linear holo with strong gold shimmer and green sparkles. It also has some subtle red sparks as well." I'll add that this polish has a translucent deep violet base bearing superabundant golden particulate shimmers with a modicum of shimmers in green and a scattering in red in addition to the holographic pigment, which in direct sun produces a lush prismatic flair. In bright indirect light, the polish takes on an opulent chocolate bronze appearance as the gold shimmers shine through the violet base, with fleeting tiny jewel-like sparks of bright emerald and ruby red. The general overall look of Brocade is of a burnished plummy bronze with prismatic nuances and variations of tone depending upon the light and circumstances in which it is viewed. It is a complex yet neutral presence that invites close scrutiny. What color is it, exactly?
Application, as with the other two polishes from this collection, was a delight. Liz has certainly taken the time to build a high quality application experience into her polishes. The consistency of Brocade is fluid, smooth and dense, with a silky, self-leveling flow over the nail. Pigmentation is very good with evenly opaque coverage achievable in two coats. I used three for this manicure to obtain the fullest benefit of the luxurious dimensionality offered by multiple layers of Brocade. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Brocade dries naturally in good time to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat enhances the shimmer colors and does not diminish the holographic properties in any way.
My somewhat excessive array of photos show three coats of Brocade over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. This polish is very photogenic and choosing which photos to include was difficult. Perhaps I've included more than is necessary but I wanted to show the changeable nature of this beauty and how easily it segues from one look to another.
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Brocade reminds me of nothing so much as hand torched gold foil Venetian glass beads in amethyst and blu inchiostro, where the gold foil shines through the transparent purple and violet glass to create unexpected, rarefied color combinations that I would never have thought could exist outside of that realm.
It also reminds a little bit of Orly's Rock the World from the Mineral FX collection in its combination of purple with gold shimmer. But Rock the World is a glass fleck shimmer, while Brocade is has more of a foily quality, and of course it's also chock-full of fine holo pigment and the resulting prismatic nuancing to the look of the polish.
Brocade blows me away. It has an exquisite, ever-unfolding beauty while at the same time possessing a neutral's versatility thanks to, as Melissa from Lacquer Reverie puts it, "its utterly delicious ambiguity." Her post featuring Brocade prompted me to purchase Pretty Jelly's Rich Fabrics collection and I'm certainly glad I did. I just can't get enough of complex holographic shimmer polishes like these.
love,
Liz
I'm not nearly as good with words as you are, but I can say this: I am SO glad you like your PJs so much, as my post prompted your purchase. :P These polishes are just plain crazy. I've never seen anything morph so completely in different lighting. I mean, yeah, holo lite indoors/holo whoa outdoors. But from FOIL to HOLO?? Insane. I think Brocade is my favorite one on you. Looks really nice with your skin tone.
ReplyDeleteI loved all three of these beautiful complex holos and I have you to thank for introducing me to the works of this wonderful polish creator. *blows kisses* Thank you, grumpy clown! There are others that I want to get... like, a lot of others. But these are so special with their foily gorgeously mutable colors and rich textures. You really feel like your wearing something totally unique! If I were forced to, I'd probably choose Brocade as a favorite, but they're all superb.
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