Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Cranberry Sangria was released by indie polish maker Rainbow Honey as a limited edition polish in November 2013. This is a deep berry red jelly with purple undertones bearing a gorgeous melange of irregularly-shaped flaky shimmers in pink, blue violet and yellow gold. I'm telling you, the shimmers in this polish are just delicious! They do have a tendency to sink if the bottle's been standing for a while, but a quick shake disperses them evenly throughout. The boysenberry base is translucent and allows light to penetrate and catch the jewel-like sparkle of the shimmers, adding depth and a romantic richness to the color. This polish has a dramatic, dressed-to-kill quality on the nail with a bit of edginess courtesy of the purple undertones. 

Application was delightful. The consistency of Cranberry Sangria is fluid, light and smooth with absolutely no hint of stickiness. It has an easily-manipulated, silky, self-leveling flow over the nail and is amenable to thin or thicker coats. I'm completely smitten with how beautifully this polish applies. No stacking or protrusions from the flake shimmers, no dragging or patching or pooling. Pigmentation is excellent for a jelly and the formula applies so evenly that you could very well wear it as a translucent deep rose at one coat. Two coats are all that's needed for completely opaque coverage and full bottle color, although I used three for this manicure. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with no residual staining and no limpet-like behavior on the part of the shimmers. Could this polish be any more user-friendly? I don't see how. Cranberry Sangria dries naturally in good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat pops the shimmer colors.

Photos show three coats of Cranberry Sangria over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Please excuse the peelies on my left pinky, the dry heat in the car and house is getting to my skin.

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria

I love this! It's not a typical berry-colored polish, it's got a little vampy mysterious sexy thing going on that jacks it up big time. Judging by the compliments it received while I was out and about today, it's quite the eye-catcher. There's something about it that invites closer scrutiny -- I suspect its the combination of the unusual color with it's resident sparkly shimmers peeking through. 

From what I remember, Cranberry Sangria was still available from Rainbow Honey the last time I checked, but the shop is currently closed as new products are readied for February. I found mine on StorEnvy.com and there were several vendors there with bottles available. A search for Rainbow Honey Cranberry Sangria will bring them up.

love,
Liz