Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Sarey's Berry was originally released by Arkansas-based indie polish maker Pahlish as a Bespoke Batch polish in July 2014. Bespoke Batches are usually limited edition, one time only offerings with a tendency to sell out immediately and then disappear forever, but some have been received with such enthusiasm that creator Shannon brought them back for further go-rounds. Such a polish is Sarey's Berry, a brilliant near neon fuchsia-leaning purple bearing one of Shannon's magical flake shimmer combinations, this one with relatively large translucent white flakes and much smaller iridescent metallic violet flakes that shimmer in colors of blue, violet, red and magenta. Sarey's Berry has got to be one of Shannon's most popular Bespoke Batch polishes, and was included in two of Debbie Crumpet's top 2014 polish lists, the Readers Poll Favourite Indie Polish and her own My Favourite 14 Polishes of 2014. 

While not a fan of one time only sales, I longed for this vibrant orchid-berry beauty with its ethereal floating clouds of flakies and petite iridescent sparkly bits. So I was very grateful when Shannon re-released it as a pre-order earlier this year, and am happy to agree that the fervor for Sarey's Berry is indeed justified. It's a beautifully composed polish. The color is marvelous, radiant and wildly feminine with an exotic tropical flower vibe that blooms expansively on the nail, and the delicate white flakies punctuated here and there with tiny twinklings of analogous colors are a delightful accompaniment. It is simultaneously intense and diaphanous, a rare combination that adds considerably to its allure.

Application was interesting and somewhat fraught with peril due to a wonky brush, which was bushy and splayed. But the consistency of Sarey's Berry is nice -- fluid, creamy and dense with components, with an easy, self-leveling flow over the nail. I experienced a tiny bit of tumbling and protrusions on the part of the components although nothing especially problematic. Pigmentation is very good with evenly opaque coverage in two medium coats. Cleanup, happily, was easy and straightforward. Sarey's Berry dries naturally in good time to a mostly smooth, satiny matte finish with a bit of visual texture from the components at the surface. This is a polish that wants a good topcoat to look its best. 

Photos show two coats of Sarey's Berry over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. This was a difficult color for my camera to accurately render, wanting to lean more pink than purple in my images. I have seen many photos where it's purple to the point of leaning violet, but that was not my experience of the color. I expect that the formulation may vary as most hand-made polishes do, and although my photos do lean slightly to fuchsia especially when compared with others online, this is actually very close to what I see in person. 

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

Pahlish Sarey's Berry

I think Sarey's Berry is at its most beautiful in bright indirect light. It deepens in low light and shade and turns a bit murky under incandescent light, so I'd say this is definitely a lacquer for daytime. I imagine it would be a lively, effervescent companion to an outdoor wedding -- it has that sort of celebratory energy to it. But that same energy makes it a great pick-me-up polish for any day when you've got a hankering for something brilliant and beautiful on your nails.

love,
Liz