The polish is a full-on glitterbomb with a deep raspberry jelly base packed to the hilt with two sizes of holographic raspberry hex glitters. The color is fantastic, outrageously vibrant and sassier than a three-year-old with a nickel in her, and the sparkle factor is out of control -- it's like the telemagenta version of Dorothy's ruby slippers. In ambient light, the sparks are mostly bright red interspersed with violet and blue. In direct sun, whoa! Every prismatic color springs to life on your nails in a glorious glittering cavalcade! This is totally an ostentatious "look at me!" kind of polish, as is only right and proper considering its heritage.
Application required some mental preparation. One does not simply paint on a glitter jelly -- at least, I don't -- it must be donned. The consistency of Killer Queen is fluid and dense with glitters with a thicker consistency that frightened me a little bit so I added polish thinner. Once thinned, it was fairly easy to spread in medium coats over the nail. Glitter payoff is outstanding, with a little tumbling action and some attempted protrusions over the free edge, but in the end all the sparkly bits lay flat to and on the nail with no stacking or stickups, for which I was most appreciative. You can definitely feel the glitter as you apply, and the polish likes to set up fairly quickly so don't even think about overworking it.
Pigmentation is sheerish on the first coat but will build to wearably opaque coverage with a heavier second coat. Or you can keep your coats thin-to-medium and apply three for what I think is the most even opacity and richest color. Cleanup really wasn't too troublesome given the amount of glitter in there, but I left a few roaming free because I was just too excited to care! Killer Queen dries naturally in very good time to a slightly flat finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best. There's a bit of texture from the glitters as well, so I applied a coat of dedicated glitter-smoother and let that partially dry before the customary coup de grâce of Seche Vite.
Photos show three coats of Killer Queen over treatment and basecoat with a layer of Pretty Serious Plump Up the Volume and a topcoat of Seche Vite.
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
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| Illyrian Polish Killer Queen |
As the song says, guaranteed to blow your mind! John let out an ungodly squeal of faux indignation when he saw this in the sun. "Whaaaaat?! Do you have license for that?!" I told him it was called Killer Queen and he went off mumbling something about Anne Boleyn. What is wrong with that man?
I just love this polish, it's such a juicy color and so very sparkly! It feels great on my nails, like glitter under glass with that double layer of topcoat. Freddy being the polish enthusiast he was, I know that he'd adore it!
xo,
Liz
Wow, Wow, Wow!!! Sometimes that word is the only word to describe awe! This polish makes me want to dance around on my twinkle toes! Visions of cartoon cows in an unorganized, gleeful dance line come to mind. And how could a person not grin with this on their nails. It's sparkly goodness!
ReplyDeleteLaughing from your wittiness, especially the Killer Queen/Anne Boleyn aside!
Lara, I loved this manicure so much I couldn't bring myself to remove it after only a day, so I skipped a day's post just so I could wear it longer! I don't do glitters as much as I used to, but when I do and the manicure turns out like this one, it just doesn't seem right to take it off so soon. Actually, I'd have probably worn it for several days more if I didn't have blogging to do.
DeleteI came across Illyrian's glitter polishes on Glitterfingersss, a Hungarian polish blog with a version in English. It's done by a woman named Lexa, whose photos are TO DIE FOR! Anyway, here's a url for you: http://glitterfingersss-en.blogspot.com/2016/02/illyrian-polish-swatches-review.html -- that post of hers was a real attitude adjuster for me regarding glitters, totally cleared out my "wah, it's too much trouble" crankiness and generated a renewed admiration for this polish genre! I love it when that happens!
I wish I'd made that up about Anne Boleyn, but that's what actually came out of his mouth. John is the unparalleled king of the annoying, off-topic non-sequitur, and all the more aggravating because he does in fact expect that you'll not only a.) Get it, but b.) Appreciate it and respond in kind. There just aren't words to describe the experience, and it happens all the time.
Thanks for the linkup! I am now subscribed to her on Bloglovin'. I remember seeing some of those polishes on blogs. The one I most remember is You Know Nothing Jon Snow. I liked it a lot and meant to try to replicate a mani like that. I was going to use a gray crème and then use something like China Glaze Travel In Color or Essence Baby You're A Firework. If nothing else, I think it would make a pretty mani.
DeleteI used to dread taking off glitter. However, I bought the plastic shrimp-looking clips you put on your nails to hold the cotton ball and just wait a few minutes. Easy peasy. I have something on the telly so I don't get impatient, since I do one hand at a time. Hahah, I find it, hmm, entertaining (?) to try to use all 10 clips at one time. LOL!