KBShimmer In Yacht Water

Like Leggo My Mango, In Yacht Water was released by indie polish maker KBShimmer as one of the tropics-inspired faded neons from the Summer 2015 collection last month. Creator Christy describes this as a Caribbean blue with aqua leanings, and I agree. You could also call it a bright sky blue or a Sleeping Beauty turquoise blue. Although it's a whitened color like the other polishes in this series, it doesn't seem quite as desaturated and pastel-y as the others and doesn't have same the neon-esque impact that they do. Which is fine! I've yet to see something called a neon blue that was a real for true neon -- blue being kind of like the unicorn of neon colors. 

In Yacht Water is also what it is known among aficionados as a pool blue. Having spent three weeks of every summer growing up at my maternal grandmother's place in the tiny Lake County, FL community of Tangerine, most of it in her pool, I love the concept of a pool blue and this is a sweet one.

Application was a slightly uneven affair. The consistency of In Yacht Water is fluid and creamy with a bit of pull to it and not as self-leveling as I had hoped it would be. I was lulled, lulled I tell you, by so many reviews that gave this polish a pass when issuing their application difficulty reports. But what could I reasonably expect from a whitened shade? That's not to say that In Yacht Water is difficult to apply. It isn't. But it's streaky and a little chalky, with a tendency toward uneven application if overstroked (my forte), leading to lumps and bumps in the finished look. Pigmentation is very good. I can see how someone with the right touch could get wearable opacity in two coats, but I needed three plus topcoat to achieve mostly even opaque coverage. Cleanup was a snap. In Yacht Water dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, satiny finish.

Photos show three coats of In Yacht Water over Pretty Serious Rock On treatment and Deborah Lippmann All About That Base Correct and Conceal basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

KBShimmer In Yacht Water

My clearest early memories of our summer vacations in Florida are of swimming lessons, which I attended with my sister at our swimming teacher's pool not far from my grandmother's place. I must have been around four or maybe five at the time, my sister a year and a half younger than me. We had matching suits made of spongy pink bathing suit material with a petaled flower cut out over the tummy that was edged in white. The lessons, particularly learning to dive from the diving board, were stressful and the drive to our teacher's pool would frequently be accompanied by a certain amount of tearfulness. My grandparents were divorced and my grandfather remarried, and we were often delivered to his place over near Orlando for sleep overs. As it happened, one such sleep over occurred the night before a swimming lesson. My grandfather, who wasn't known for his parenting skills, had the foresight to purchase what I'm sure he considered an effective distraction for the car ride to the lesson, the better to drive in peace. Once he got us and our gear loaded into the cavernous back seat of his big-ass Cadillac, he tossed a 1lb bag of m-and-ms (also known as "brave pills" in our family) over his shoulder, which we lit on like pirhanas on a chunk of flesh. Unfortunately, the ride to the lesson was much longer from his house than it usually was, long enough for two little girls to become thoroughtly nauseated by the boatload of candy at 7am. One of us, I honestly don't remember if it was me or Kate, vomited and the other, witnessing the act, immediately followed suit. It was the only time my grandfather was ever tasked to take us to swimming lessons.

Returning to In Yacht Water, even Fuzzy, who is regularly critical of blue polish as "creepy," took a shine to it. It's bright but gentle, like the Caribbean waters of its inspiration, with the kind of clear, fresh, poolside vibe that you want on your fingertips in the heat of summer. Some feel it's also a great pedi polish, and I'll take their word for it as I don't do my toes. Which leads me to wonder about the aesthetics of finger and toe nail painting for summer when toes are most likely to appear in public on a regular basis. Does a neon on one set of digits preclude a neon on the other? Are dueling neons a thing? Inquiring minds!

love,
Liz