Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Himalayan Blue Poppy was released in April 2014 by Missouri-based indie polish maker Smitten Polish, now Dreamland Lacquer, as part of the Showers and Flowers collection for spring 2014. Described simply as a creamy bright blue linear holo, the color is a variation of sky blue that is close to Crayola's rendition, also known as medium sky blue. It's a cyanic shade with more of a green lean than the azure hue I usually think of as sky blue, but not quite as green as turquoise or aqua, a beautiful pool blue with a clean glacial aspect. It bears abundant finely-milled holographic pigment that does double duty as a dimensionalizing shimmer in low light and shade while generating a gorgeous fully-delineated prismatic flare in direct light.

Application was in keeping with Dreamland's standards, which is to say: wonderful! The consistency of Himalayan Blue Poppy is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail. It likes to go on in thin to medium coats and is easy to manipulate with Dreamland's flattened flexible brush. Pigmentation is sheerish on the first coat but builds to a wearable opacity in two and evenly opaque, full rich bottle color in three, which is what I used for this manicure. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Himalayan Blue Poppy dries naturally in very good time to an exceptionally glossy finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic effects of the polish in any way.

Photos show three coats of Himalayan Blue Poppy over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. 

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

Dreamland Lacquer Himalayan Blue Poppy

It's testament to the popularity of Himalayan Blue Poppy that creator Noelie is still producing it two years after its initial release, now under the Dreamland label. In an April 2015 interview with Kirby of The Mercurial Magpie, Noelie mentioned it as one of her favorite creations. It's a wonderful fresh inviting shade that is effortlessly vibrant -- the color is clean and full-bodied without a trace of muddiness. It reminds me quite a lot of Too Fancy Lacquer's Lake Como, which also came out that spring.

Great minds, eh?

ttyl,
Liz