Crown of Queen Elizabeth was released by Connecticut-based indie polish maker Octopus Party Nail Lacquer (OPNL) twice in recent months. First as a limited edition for Black Friday in November, and then later for the Winter 2015 collection pre-order in December. Dave, owner and creative force behind OPNL, tells us this about Crown of Queen Elizabeth:
Crown of Queen Elizabeth is a pure silver holographic lacquer. A royal treat for your nails, this color exudes the timeless charm of platinum.What I think is that Dave is into matter transportation and has a cool set of telepods a la the 1986 scifi horror film The Fly. He puts a bottle of clear polish base, a little pile of Spectraflair, a scrap of platinum and some fine white freshwater pearls into the sending pod and instantaneously transports them to the receiving pod, ZAP! Out comes a bottle of Crown of Queen Elizabeth.
This polish may well be a pure silver holo. I am not a silver holo connoisseur -- and believe me, there are folks out there rocking a silver holo aesthetic as finely tuned as Yo-Yo Ma's cello, you know who you are! -- but I think many polish enthusiasts would agree that there's something about this particular lacquer that makes it special in comparison with other silver holos, a certain pearly radiance that transcends the self-assertive high reflectivity of silver.
In shade, Crown of Queen Elizabeth reads as a luminous, semi-metallic tint of grey-ish white, a platinum. Give it the slightest bit of ambient light and it displays holographic effects that are just as athletic and responsive and linear as you would expect, but with the gently muted prismatic palette common to light-colored holos. Central to the prismatic display is a stunning blaze of dazzling pearly white, looking for all the world like the luster on a fine white pearl. That nacreous quality imparts a particularly delicate, ethereal aspect to the beauty of this polish, a pristine grace and regal glamour that is nearly bridal in its sensibilities.
Application was dreamy. Crown of Queen Elizabeth has a fluid, buttery smooth consistency that is a joy to work with, gliding almost effortlessly over the nail and self-leveling like nobody's business. The formula is easy to work with, with a preference for thin coats and no patchiness or streaks whatsoever. Pigmentation is evenly sheer and buildable. Today's is actually my third manicure using Crown of Queen Elizabeth. For the two prior, fearful that my nail ridges would show through the polish, I used a double layer of ridge-filling basecoat topped with three coats of polish for an opacity that I was happy with. This last time, well-acquainted by now with the polish's own excellent self-leveling properties, I used only one layer of basecoat, but hints of sheerness to the look of the polish at three coats prompted me to add a fourth. This is no hardship with a lacquer this user-friendly and fast-drying, and the fact that it goes on so thinly circumvents any pretension to bulkiness.
But my nails are significantly polish-stained and I believe that three coats would probably suffice for nails of more natural coloring -- maybe even two for shorties. The holographic effects have a camouflaging impact in most circumstances that counteracts the sheerness. You could actually wear this lacquer quite naturally as a dedicated sheer in one or two coats if you wanted, and from what I understand it will function as a topper also. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Crown of Queen Elizabeth dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny, glowing finish. Topcoat alters neither the holographic properties nor indeed the overall appearance of the polish at all.
Photos show four coats of Crown of Queen Elizabeth over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.
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Ok, so maybe Dave mixed up this shimmering prismatic beauty the old fashioned way. Maybe it's a trick of my overstimulated visual cortex that sees it as platinum and not silver. And maybe all silver holos possess the lustrous mother-of-pearl demeanor that this polish displays so gracefully. After all, I haven't even seen it in direct sun -- it's been overcast each time I've worn it. What's really important is that it is exceptionally glamorous and beautiful, a prima ballerina of
But just so you know, the actual current Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom, Crown Jewel and symbol of the sovereignty of the monarch, was crafted for Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, aka wife of King George IV, aka The Queen Mother, in 1937 out of platinum.
hasta,
Liz
ps If you'd like to see a whole bunch of other silver holos on swatch sticks so you can judge for yourself how special Crown of Queen Elizabeth is, take a look at one of the silver holo comparison posts on More Nail Polish. Now there's a connoisseur!
HOLY COW,it's beautiful! I agree with you that this isn't your typical silver- the edges seem a touch warmer, shadowed in champagne taupe. Platinum! That tiny detail makes the whole polish so much more unique and intriguing. There's a softness to it that silver doesn't usually exude... you said it, like pearls! An extremely impressive specimen, for you to have worn it *three times* already! Quite the conpliment!
ReplyDeleteMarissa, I must confess: the first two manicures just weren't photo-worthy, so I actually had to do a third if I wanted to write about it, which I most definitely did. But it was no hardship with a polish like this.
DeleteDave responded to my multiple attempts to explain what I was seeing and why: "Crown isn't super loaded with SF so the light is able to penetrate through the layers, making it more of a refracted illusion. That's mostly how it gets that extra glow." Now we know!
Hahah, I shouldn't doubt you! I initially saw silver holo and thought it would be like the vast sea of silver holos out there. Hah! Not! That white pearl-iness sets it apart. Very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI was LOL at your understandable over the top but appropriate feelings about this polish! Telepods - wow, that show both creeped me out and saddened me at the same time! The developing progression of Jeff Goldblum into 'fly' chronicled the impact of the transformation on him and others and marked the tragedy of it. Thankfully, the initiating pod that received the individual ingredients for this polish performed magic and brought forth this gorgeous, unique polish. The Polish Gods smile!
Apparently director David Cronenberg intended The Fly as a general analogy for disease, terminal conditions like cancer and most specifically, aging and death. So your response was empathetic and entirely appropriate! I thought it was an awesome film, and loved the pairing of Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis (I adore Geena Davis!). Goldblum was perfect for that role. His transformation was incredibly well done and as you say, both creepy and tragic.
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