Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Hayley was released by Australian indie polish maker Grace-full Nail Polish as part of the Shimmer/Flakie series from the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun collection in December 2014. This is a medium-toned brilliant azure blue shimmer polish. It's brighter and more intense than a sky blue, something along the lines of Resene Paints picton blue, a vivid, playful catamaran blue. Loaded with superabundant tone-on-tone metallic flake shimmers in a slightly lighter shade of azure, this polish displays an absolutely lovely scintillating sparkle in direct light. In low light and shade, the shimmering flakes offer a radiant semi-metallic gleam along the axis of light. Wholly dedicated to delighting every eye that spies it, this polish is alive with color!

My bottle of Hayley, which I purchased from Grace-full's US stockist Ella Ann Cosmetics, has some dark flecks in the polish. They look rather like dark blue flakes and are sparse and fairly innocuous in person but noticeable upon close scrutiny, especially in the photos. I contacted Theresa, owner and creative force behind Grace-full Nail Polish, who responded immediately. Theresa says the flecks are an anomaly and encourages anyone who gets a bottle of Hayley with flecks in it to contact her via the contact form on her website.

Dark flecks aside, application was quite congenial. The consistency of Hayley is fluid, creamy and dense, with a smooth flow over the nail and very good self-leveling properties. Pigmentation is buildable. The creme/jelly hybrid base is actually fairly sheer, with the flake shimmers providing a good measure of the polish's opacity. Sheerness on the first coat builds quickly to wearable opacity in two. I added a third to ensure the non-appearance of my nail ridges and to obtain most even coverage of the brilliant color for the photos. I find that I most prefer Hayley at three coats, especially at the tip where the polish is at its most translucent. Cleanup is fairly straightforward. The flake shimmers like to disperse and hang out on the nail environs, as is the wont of flake shimmers generally. Hayley dries naturally in good time to a smooth, satiny finish that enjoys the enhancements of topcoat. 

Photos show three coats of Hayley over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

Grace-full Nail Polish Hayley

I don't think I quite captured the full intensity of this marvelous shade, it's even better in person. If euphoria was a color, it would look like Hayley! Needless to say, this is a fantastic polish for summer: brilliant, refreshing and full of high spirits. If you enjoy wearing blue on your toes, wouldn't this make a standout summer pedi?

love,
Liz