Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Born to be Rad was released at the beginning of June this year by French boutique polish maker Il Était Un Vernis as part of the Welcome to Paradise collection. Co-creators Bé and Stéphanie describe this as a purple and so it is in certain circumstances, but this little holographic chameleon will alter it appearance radically depending upon the kind of light in which you view it. To me, generally, it's a deep but vibrant nicely-saturated indigo with a violet lean, especially in the sun. Despite the intense coloration, the jelly-ish formula possesses a degree of translucence that allows light to penetrate and fire up the color, perhaps accounting in part for its protean attributes. Ultrafine holographic pigment gives it a delicate silvery grain and Il Était Un Vernis' signature velvety quality in ambient light. In the sun, there's a fine spray of infinitesimal prismatic sparks. 

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Born to be Rad is fluid, light and smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail that is easy to manipulate with Il Était Un Vernis' sleekly compact flattened-style brush. Pigmentation is very good, with some translucence and unevenness on the first coat building to wearably opaque coverage with the second. If painting in very thin coats, you may want to add a third for most even opacity and richest color. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with a tiny bit of pigment travel but no residual staining to speak of. Born to be Rad dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic properties of the polish in any way that I could tell.

Photos show three coats of Born to be Rad over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Il Était Un Vernis Born to be Rad

Changeable, right? I think that it's most charismatic in direct sun where it's at its brightest and most purple, but it's also quite beautiful under incandescent light, a rich and velvety violet.

love,
Liz