Pretty Serious Free Sample

Like Destash, Free Sample was released in July this year by Australian indie polish maker Pretty Serious Cosmetics as part of the Serious Business collection, a series of polishes named for terms commonly used by polish enthusiasts. I suspect that there may be a singularly Kaz-related rationale behind this name, as "free sample" is not particular to or even commonly used for nail polish. Trust Pretty Serious for inside humor, whether we get it or not!

Free Sample is a delicate pastel pink with a cool lean, very like Crayola's piggy pink or a slightly more desaturated variation of my beloved mimi pink. It is swimming with tiny translucent iridescent microflake shimmers that impart a faint faerie-like blue and pink twinkle to the finish in ambient light, strengthening to bright pinpoint sparkles in the sun. Even though they are fairly stealthy most of the time, their presence adds a subtle diaphanous quality and intricacy to the look.

Application was tetchy. The consistency of Free Sample is fluid and full-bodied with a medium-to-thicker viscosity that I thinned as much as I dared. Thin coats are the way to go with this one, using a light hand and as few strokes as possible and allowing some extra dry time between coats. Thinned, it self-leveled fairly well but left streaks over my ridges that finally disappeared with the third coat. Cleanup is pretty straightforward. Free Sample dries naturally in average time to a smooth, shiny finish. It is quite vulnerable to marring while setting up so don't do anything rash like TYPE unless it's closer to dry or you've got your quick-dry topcoat on it -- ask me how I know! Topcoat helps a lot to smooth out any lingering unevenness.

Photos show three coats of Free Sample over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Pretty Serious Free Sample

John says he gets a 50s vibe from this polish -- you? I wish I'd been able to capture the shimmers a little better, but hey, it makes my fingers look relatively tan, huzzah! I have only a scant handful of pastel pinks like this in my collection, it's a particularly dainty, girly shade that I'm not sure suits me very well -- I am no delicate flower. ;)

xo,
Liz