Saturday, April 30, 2016

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal

Going Coastal was released last month by Connecticut-based indie polish maker Octopus Party Nail Lacquer (OPNL) as one of several new stand-alone shades for spring. Described by creator Dave as a turquoise creme with subtle shimmers, it's an excellent match to the web color azure aka azure mist, which despite the name is actually a white-based tint of cyan. At least on me it is, against my very pink skin. I'm thinking it may pull less cyan, more azure on warmer, richer skintones, to appear more as an Alice blue. Either way, it's a lovely minty blue pastel shade with a clean, tranquil vibe. Aptly named, it feels perfect for the beach. I suspect the shimmer may make a difference in the application, but it's not really visible on the nail.

Application was a journey to opacity. The consistency of Going Coastal is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a smooth, easy flow over the nail. Although it self-levels very well physically, visually it is streaky in the way of white-based polishes, especially over nail ridges. Pigmentation is good. If you have a very skilled and even hand, a la Nichole of Bedlam Beauty, it's possible to achieve wearable coverage in two coats, but I think most folks will need three. I still had dark areas after three coats that worried me enough to add a fourth on my swatching hand (the left), but I left my right hand at three so I could compare them after topcoat. And to my surprise, they looked almost exactly the same! Lo, the manicure-saving grace of Seche Vite! I would say keep your coats light and thin for the first two and ignore the streaks. Apply a generous third coat from a bead-loaded brush with a light hand and suspend appraisal until after topcoat. Cleanup is a breeze. Going Coastal dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish that takes particularly well to topcoat.

Photos show three to four coats of Going Coastal over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal


Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Going Coastal

Kinda dreamy, no? I am shocked at how much I'm loving this! This is the very sort of pastel shade that I decried not a week ago, and here I am taking every opportunity to gaze at my nails, easy to do since it's the sort of color that makes you very conscious of your manicure (in a really good way). So very worth the journey to opacity, I know I will wear this again come summer. 

love,
Liz

3 comments:

  1. It seems that this year I have seen an unusual amount of releases of polishes that flirt with that white-with-a-blue-tint quality. And I am loving it! I have quite a collection of various pastel blue polishes - enough that I thought I was 'done' with getting any more light blue polishes. And then, in February 2015, Marta (ChitChat Nails) did a floral skittlette - one of my favorite manis of all time - using China Glaze New Birth, and my heart did a flip flop and promptly melted into a gooey puddle of L-O-V-E! Since then, this palest of pale blue shade and its fellow companions have a welcome spot here. This particular one is gob-smacking gorgeous! How on earth it manages to be both elegant and just bright enough and happy and all is beyond me. You always have the very best descriptives - it is absolutely dreamy!

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    Replies
    1. Ooh, I forgot all about that pale blue from the Giver collection -- I remember pondering that polish and turning away thinking, but I can't wear pastels.... *slaps forehead* And there was another pale blue China Glaze that I similarly pondered, from the Road Trip collection -- Dashboard Dreamer! (Had to look that up!) Such a pretty polish, did you get that one?

      I don't know if my new pastel aesthetic is well-honed enough to struggle with difficult formulas, although I made it through this manicure. But it's an OPNL and while the opacity seemed dicey during application, the formula was actually quite easy to work with and the polish looked great in the end.

      How you can remember one manicure from over a year ago is a wonder in this world!

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    2. Yep, I have Dashboard Dreamer, LOL. (Like the faint pink flash it has.)
      The pastels are a bit of a struggle in the formula area, some more than others. I love the color of Essie Find Me An Oasis, a pale blue that has a faint gray tinge - but I have never had such a struggle with formula as that one. But I put up with it 'cause I love it. :)
      I have Pinterest boards of manis I see online that I save if I like them. I sometimes go through them and that particular mani... well, every time I see it, I fall in love again.

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