ILNP Skyscraper

Skyscraper was released by Nevada-based boutique polish maker I Love Nail Polish (ILNP) as part of the Spring 2016 collection in March. Officially described as a light periwinkle, it belongs to ILNP's Ultra Holo line of polishes, specially formulated with a mix of holographic pigment, particles and microflakes for maximum holo effects. 

To my eye, the base color is a little less lavender than what I usually think of as periwinkle, and more of a slightly dusky light azure along the lines of my favorite beau blue from the Plochere Color System, a gentle desaturated hue with a touch of grey to it that gives it an exquisite cloudy aspect. The base color is totally ramped up by the superabundant holographic components, which generate a brilliant, uber sparkly prismatic display with a fully delineated flare even in low light and create a pale pinkish golden sheen along the axis of light. Especially prominent among the rainbow of colors is are gradations of sky blue and azure -- so pretty!

Application was wonderful, as I've learned to expect from ILNP's consistently high-quality, eminently paintable formulas. The consistency of Skyscraper is fluid, light and ultra smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. It is amenable to thin or thicker coats and is easily finessed with ILNP's flattened flexible brush. Pigmentation is very good, with a little sheerness on the first coat easily building to wearable opacity in two. I added a third for the photos. Cleanup is easy and straightforward, mostly a matter of chasing down rogue holographic microflakes. Skyscraper dries naturally in fairly good time to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat does not interfere in any way with the holographic properties of this polish. 

Photos show three coats of Skyscraper over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. They are not all as well-focused as they ought to be, for which I apologize.

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

ILNP Skyscraper

I absolutely love the dusky light blue base color of this polish with its delicately-shaded, cloudy quality. It reminds me of the sky/horizon paintings that Fuzzy created while living in Florida during my freshman year of college about a bazillion years ago, billowing cumulus clouds rendered impressionistically in many shades of grey, white, blue and violet floating over the flat, intensely green landscape. With it's dazzling prismatic rainbows, Skyscraper feels particularly relevant to the shifting effects of light and color in those fertile, dramatic Floridian skies.

love
Liz