Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Like Inglenook and Polar Bear Snow Angels, Red Velvet Cake at Midnight was released last month by Maryland-based indie polish maker Chaos & Crocodiles as part of the Snowbound collection. Officially described as "a blackened red/wine colored holo," this is one of those sumptuous deep red-violet shades, a dark, mulberried mix of red and purple tones that most closely resembles amaranth deep purple or flirt. It bears abundant finely-milled holographic pigment, which dimensionalizes the look with hues of dark red and glowing, translucent violet and creates a rich, ruby-colored semi-metallic underlay and flash. In the sun, there's a fierce linear prismatic display predominated by arcs of indigo and bright red. 

Application was dreamy. The consistency of Red Velvet Cake at Midnight is fluid, full-bodied and creamy with a medium viscosity and a velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail that has a skosh of pull to it. Pigmentation is outstanding, a true one-coater. I used two for this manicure but it reaches even opaque coverage and full bottle color in one medium coat. Cleanup is straightforward with a touch of pigment travel, not unexpected for such a saturated color, and a tiny bit of trace staining. Red Velvet Cake at Midnight dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic effects in any way. 

Photos show two coats of Red Velvet Cake at Midnight over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

So beautiful! One of the things that impresses me most about this polish is that even though it's a gently blackened shade, the color is still clean and intense. There's vividness and radiance to its depth that's got a real sort of sultry energy to it, a dramatic aspect that's quite seductive. Love!

xo,
Liz