Zoya Kieko and Polished by KPT Lumières

Lumières was released by California-based indie polish maker Polished by KPT as part of the Paris and Me collection earlier this fall. Perhaps best known for her thermal polishes, Katherine, the owner and creative force behind Polished by KPT, has made it her mission to "challenge the paradigm of conventional nail polishes to introduce novel and exciting products for all lacquer enthusiasts." She's certainly succeeded with Lumières! As stated in its big cartel listing, this is "not your average holographic glitter polish." Lumières has a sheer base containing superabundant thin, silvery holographic flake glitters created from a specially formulated film so that they lay very flat on the nail and produce an extraordinarily vivid prismatic effect. They are accompanied by incredibly fine iridescent violet microshimmers that add an ethereal lavender glow. 

This polish can be layered over itself to opacity in about three coats or worn as a topper over other polishes. Alone, it is simply stunning, a pale gleaming lavender bursting with tiny rainbow sparks from the special holo glitters. There are some fabulous photos of it in various reviews around the polish blogosphere, such as Lacquerstyle.com, Love for Lacquer, work / play / polish, and Wacky Laki.

For various reasons I decided to layer Lumières over a base polish. My polish-stained nails are not the best sort of canvas for polishes as sheer as this one and even built to opacity, I worried that the staining would effect its appearance. To showcase Lumières' potential as a topper I chose Zoya Kieko as a base.

Kieko is a wonderful medium-dark warm purple creme with overtones of magenta. It's a bright color with a gentle quality that adds a particularly graceful elegance to its buoyant, vivacious nature. I love this polish. It applies like a dream with a fluid, creamy, self-leveling flow over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, with completely even opaque coverage in two coats. Kieko dries naturally in fairly good time to a glossy finish. 

Since I was going to layer over it, I simply applied one coat of Kieko over treatment and basecoat and left it at that, and that's what the photos show. The opacity is a little uneven, but it's satisfactory for layering purposes. No topcoat.

Zoya Kieko at one coat, no topcoat

Zoya Kieko at one coat, no topcoat

Zoya Kieko at one coat, no topcoat

Zoya Kieko at one coat, no topcoat

Next I applied one coat of Lumières. This polish has a slightly thick consistency that is nevertheless fluid, light and smooth. Despite the density of the glitters, this well-behaved lacquer applies like a non-glitter polish, with no dragging, stacking or protrusions at all. The glitters disperse easily over the nail. Cleanup is easy too, no limpets here. Lumières dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth finish with absolutely no texture from the glitters. Amazing!

Photos show one coat of Lumières over the Kieko manicure above with a topcoat of Seche Vite. 

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Polished by KPT Lumières over Zoya Kieko

Pretty, no? The interplay with light is fantastic, which is impossible to capture in a still photo but I think you get the idea. Just amazing sparkle with a gleaming veil of semi-metallic lavender flashing underneath it. It's kinda magical! These special glitters are really cool, you actually cannot feel them on the nail at all -- the finish is perfectly smooth even before topcoat -- and to top it off they remove with only a little bit more elbow grease than non-glitter polish. No soaking or tinfoil tips! I like the extra body and contrast that a dark base brings to a polish like Lumières, but now that I've tried it as a topper I'd really like to try it alone, stained nails notwithstanding. 

Toppers are rare in my collection. Usually if I'm going to layer something, I'll use a like color as a base for a semi-sheer or translucent polish with glitter or shimmer, something that I'd not likely be able to achieve opacity with on its own. With its ability to stand on its own plus being able to layer over a base to produce a unique look, Lumières straddles both worlds in spectacular fashion, I think! I need to try this one on Eleanor when my sister's family comes for Thanksgiving (if she'll let me -- she's getting to be very tweenish these days). Cool polish!

love,
Liz

ps. Here's a non-polish related bonus pic of the elusive Fuzzy, aka my mother, whose comments about polish and other stuff are occasionally included in my posts. :)

Fuzzy

Now you have a face to go with the quip!