Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Howling Ghosts was released by indie polish maker Pahlish as a limited edition bespoke polish at the end of May this year. Described by Shannon as a "dusky violet holographic with a mix of gold, pink, and violet shimmers," this is a medium muted violet scattered holo with a grapey vibe, something along the lines of pomp and power purple, with a plush, substantial look. It's filled with variably-sized and -shaped flake shimmers in reflective metallic shades of gold, pale pink and blue-violet. The gold shimmers are the largest and most immediately noticeable, with the shyer but more abundant pink shimmers forming a scintillating pink flash at certain angles in the right light. The blue-violet flakes are shyer still, but you can see them gleaming brightly from within the polish on close examination. The shimmer contingent in this polish is most visible in indirect light, where the tiny flakes add a delicious dusting of gleaming speckles to the look. In direct sun the violet brightens and purples up and the holographic pigment reveals itself as a blanket of scattered rainbow sparks. The holo adds a bit of lovely dimensionality to the base color in indirect light as well.

Application was a little finicky, but not overly so. The consistency of Howling Ghosts is fluid and smooth with a tendency to thicken with exposure to air. In terms of viscosity my comfort zone is fairly narrow, and I added polish thinner to my bottle to get a consistency that was easiest for me to work with. I tend to do this with all thicker polishes, preferring the simplicity of thinning to struggling with a viscosity that is greater than what my skills can easily handle. You'll never find me polishing without a bottle of thinner nearby, I consider it essential. Howling Ghosts also tends to set up rather quickly -- medium coats with a generous bead of polish on the brush will help to avoid any resulting unevenness. Pigmentation is buildable. The first coat showed a degree of translucence and pulled some mighty patches when overstroked (my bad), but subsequent coats applied much more smoothly. I was ready to stop with the coverage attained in two coats but, dissatisfied with my lines on a few nails, I added a third and I'm glad I did. It really made a difference both in the richness of color and visibility of the shimmers. Cleanup was easy and straightforward. Howling Ghosts dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth, slightly flat finish. Topcoat adds a becoming shine and enhances the presence of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Howling Ghosts over Pretty Serious Rock On treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a generous topcoat of Seche Vite.

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Pahlish Howling Ghosts

Now, I almost never take issue with the names polish makers give their creations, but I really don't get anything relative to Howling Ghosts from this polish. It's actually quite serene for a purple, with a pleasant dusky softness that makes for a relaxed, flattering presence on the nail. The shimmer and holo effects are subtle. An eminently wearable purple!

Unfortunately Howling Ghosts is no longer available from Pahlish's big cartel site, but you may be able to find it in blog and destash sales or on Storenvy.com. 

love,
Liz