Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Family Traditions was released during the first week of November this year by Australian indie polish maker Grace-full Nail Polish as part of the Christmas Memories collection. Creator Theresa relates the inspiration for this polish: "In joining my husband’s family at Christmas, I remember being very surprised that they had prawn (shrimp) cocktails as part of their Christmas lunch. We never had anything for lunch other than the traditional Christmas food. This was my first introduction into another’s traditions." I love this little story! We've been known to go off-script here for holiday feasts, and the addition of prawns to an Australian Christmas lunch sounds delicious to me. 

Officially described as a "coral holo with gold flecks throughout," the color of Family Traditions is a medium-toned coral pink with lush rosy overtones, nicely balanced between orange and pink. Abundant tiny golden microflakes gleam in vivid brink pink through the base as light hits them and give the finish a delicately stippled visual texture. They also create a subtle, glistening, rosy semi-metallic underlay that adds another facet to the visual texture, especially in the sun, where a scattered prismatic display blankets the polish with bright sparks of violet, yellow, orange, magenta, azure and spring green. 

Application was awesome. The consistency of Family Traditions is fluid, light and very smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and an effortless, self-leveling float onto the nail, so obliging! If you have steady hands, you'll have no trouble getting a very clean manicure with this polish. Pigmentation is excellent. One medium coat will net evenly opaque coverage and full bottle color, although I think that the addition of a second creates a denser, more saturated look. Cleanup is easy. Family Traditions dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that loves a good topcoat for shine. Topcoat also seems to heighten the polish's beautiful rosy overtones. 

Photos show two coats of Family Traditions over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

Grace-full Nail Polish Family Traditions

The perfect orangey pink for prawns! I love the glistening quality that the microflakes and holo pigment give the finish. 

One year for Thanksgiving my brother decided to do blackened redfish for our holiday meal. My mother's house at the time was tiny, and we were packed in there like sardines. My bro heated that cast iron pan until he could see white ash forming and then threw on the redfish coated with its highly spiced rub. Immediately, dense clouds of incredibly acrid white smoke billowed from the kitchen and filled the entire house, setting off smoke alarms and propelling people from every door. Not my bro, though, who remained gamely by the stove, coughing and tearing, to tend his redfish. A memorable scene! And, despite the theatrics (or maybe because of them), the fish was delicious!

love,
Liz