Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Petal to the Metal

Petal to the Metal was released toward the end of February 2015 by Connecticut-based indie polish maker Octopus Party Nail Lacquer (OPNL) as part of Le Duo de Fleurs Confites, or The Candied Flower Duo, one of two polish duos created in collaboration with Fair Maiden Polish that made up The Collection Naturals. 

Creator Dave describes this as "a pastel rose linear holographic with orange-green iridescent glitter." Depending on your eye, this could be seen as nude-pink or a muted lilac with creamy pink overtones, a delicate sand-washed pink lavender sort of color with a weightless sense to it, as if it were floating on the nail. Abundant finely-milled holographic pigment nuances the base color with tender, dimensionalizing hues of baby pink, palest violet and champagne, and generates an exquisite sparkling pastel rendition of a linear prismatic flare in direct sun with an underlying semi-metallic champagne-colored gleam. The tiny hex glitters light up in shades of pale minty green and peachy champagne as light travels over them, adding a soft, dreamy twinkle.

Application was blissful. The consistency of Petal to the Metal is fluid, incredibly creamy and dense with a medium viscosity and a buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail. This formula shares the same eminently paintable, uber smooth texture as OPNL's Kin Peaks, and is just a delight to work with. Pigmentation is very good, delivering wearable opacity for shorter nails in two coats, three for longer nails. Cleanup is easy and straightforward, with only a little bit of stickiness on the part of the tiny glitters. Petal to the Metal dries naturally in good time to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show three coats of Petal to the Metal over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

OPNL Petal to the Metal

I think my pinkage washes out the delicate blushing lavenderness of this polish a little bit, but Petal to the Metal does manage to squeak in as one of those mnbb (my nails but better) shades on me, for which I am truly grateful. It takes on a delicate taupey look in very low light, shade and under incandescent light, which is actually just as pretty as its lilac face. It has a beautiful sheen to it that makes your nails and nail evirons look very clean and well-groomed and I'm even more grateful for that! And as I mentioned above: awesome creamy formula. Win!

ttyl,
Liz