Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Sunset Among the Palms was released by indie polish maker Elevation Polish as part of the Hawaiian Punch collection in November 2014. Lulu describes this one as a "magenta/pink with a dash of holographic pigment and charcoal shift to blue flake shimmer." To me it's more of a medium-dark fuchsia/purple, landing in the radiant orchid spectrum. The sprinkling of medium-sized holographic particles serves as more of a sparkling shimmer than a true holo, bathing the base color in a silvery veil with a faint blue flare along the axis of light. The iridescence of the shimmer flakes mixes beautifully into the blend, giving it dimensionality as well as visual interest, especially when the flakes emit a complementary electric blue glow as they are wont to do. It's an intensely heady, rich, exotic mix of elements in a spectacular color that you can well imagine catching a glimpse of during a Hawaiian sunset.

Application was awesome. Lulu creates polishes that apply as beautifully as they look, and this one is a perfect example. The consistency is fluid, light and smooth, with an easy, self-leveling flow over the nail. This is not a polish that likes to be overworked, however, and can develop some graininess around the flake shimmers if you do. But it is so buttery smooth and easily manipulated that there is no need for extra strokes. Slow and steady wins this race. Pigmentation is great, with completely even opaque coverage provided in two coats. Cleanup was a snap. Sunset Among the Palms dries naturally in good time to a semi-matte finish. Topcoat adds depth to the look by popping the components, but it is also quite lovely in its natural matte state (you can see photos of it without topcoat at Amanda Loves Polish, here).

Photos show two coats of Sunset Among the Palms over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. We're under low clouds with intermittent rain and fog today, so I was unable to capture any sun shots, but under the halogens in the kitchen the silvery holo veil turns into a shower of rainbow colored sparks like sun on snow. Fantastic!

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Elevation Polish Sunset Among the Palms

Sunset Among the Palms was originally released as a small batch prototype called La Harpe, which Lulu worked up into the formula you see here. If you would like to see how La Harpe compares, Ohemkay Nails has a great post that features it, here. I'm so glad Lulu worked her magic on this and brought it out with the Hawaiian Punch collection. I've never been quick enough on the draw to catch one of her small batch prototypes. To be honest, I'd really rather purchase Elevation polishes that are available to all, although I do love seeing SBPs swatched by the polish enthusiasts who collect them.

This glorious polish is part of a hefty haul I made for myself after all of the Hawaiian Punch polishes began hitting the polish blogosphere. Plan on seeing more from that collection here in the near future -- I can't wait!

love,
Liz