Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Like Liz, Margaret was released by Australian indie polish maker Grace-full Nail Polish as part of the Dreamy Beach Pastel collection from the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun series in February this year. Creator Theresa describes it as a blue-toned mint green/seafoam. This pastel shade is very close to what I think of as celeste blue, a pale milky tint of cyan. It has a breath or two of green to it that distinguishes it from baby blue or pale sky blue, and brings to mind photos I've seen of the breathtakingly lovely Rio Celeste in Costa Rica, and delicate encased celeste Venetian glass. Margaret is a slightly green-leaning celeste, but it captures the fetching delicate milkiness of the color beautifully.

Application was sweet! As someone who actually does tremble in apprehension at the thought of applying a pastel, I am absolutely loving Theresa's formulas in this Dreamy Beach Pastel collection. They are fluid and light, on the thinner side but not runny, and deliciously creamy. No chalkiness here! Margaret has a light silky glide over the nail and very good self-leveling properties for a pastel. Pigmentation is also very good, with minimal streakiness. The coverage is, again, very even for a pastel. Many will be perfectly happy with the look at two coats. I used three to diminish the faceted appearance of my ridges but there was no show-through with this polish as sometimes happens with thinner pale-colored polishes. Cleanup is a snap. Margaret dries naturally in good time to a smooth glossy finish. 

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

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Grace-full Nail Polish Margaret

Margaret being a namesake polish for Fuzzy, of course I had to show it to her. She didn't cotton to it, however, and mumbled something about Milky White the cow from Jack in the Beanstalk before sidling off toward the cool, dim livingroom and her stack of netflix disks. This reaction was actually an improvement over her response to the pastel melon of yesterday's Grace-full polish, Liz. Safe to say that Fuzzy's not big on milky shades.

Of the small number of minty polishes in my collection, Margaret reminds me more of Essie's recent cyanic pastel, Blossom Dandy, than the iconic Mint Candy Apple, although Margaret has a slightly fresher, more vibrant feel than either of those two. It also reminds me of a slightly more blue-leaning version of KBShimmer's A Touch of Glass -- they share a similar luminous quality. My stash is kind of lacking in the minty polish department, and in pastels generally. For some reason I'm just not as comfortable in pastels as I am in more saturated colors, although I have to say that I'm kind of digging the cool fresh poolside-chic aura that radiates from Margaret! 

(Ha ha! The thought of Fuzzy aka Margaret radiating poolside chic just crossed my mind. You probably have to know her to realize how hilarious the idea is. Not that she couldn't rock poolside chic if she wanted to!)

But if you're into pastels, this Dreamy Beach Pastel collection might be one to investigate, especially if the formula quality of the two I've tried carry over to all, and I've no reason to think otherwise. Ella Ann Cosmetics appears to be sold out of most of them, unfortunately, but perhaps there will be a restock as Theresa's still offering them in her big cartel shop. 

love,
Liz