Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Evening Sparkler was released last July by Indiana-based indie polish maker Blush Lacquers as the July 2016 Color of the Month. Inspired by fireworks, it is officially described as "a slightly deeper than royal blue base with an intensely strong red shimmer that is accented with tiny orange holographic glitters." 

The base color is indeed a dark but translucent variation of the color that most of us think of as royal blue. It turns out that traditionally, royal blue was actually much darker, similar to a navy, and although this polish has a very denimy look going on, the opaque color is very close to this traditional royal blue. Abundant red shimmers mix with that deep blue to create a bold indigo shade, and are visible along the axis of light as a subtle mist of red particles, a variation of that dimensional, lit-from-within quality beloved by shimmer enthusiasts. Infinitesimal holographic glitters issue a glamorous twinkle from the depths as light travels over them, and the whole look amps up exponentially in the sun -- the indigo color brightens, the shimmers show themselves more widely and take on a sparkle, and the holographic glitters explode into brilliant prismatic sparks. 

Application was a study. The consistency of Evening Sparkler is fluid, smooth and a little bit sticky, with a medium viscosity and a light but sort of reluctant flow over the nail that wants a determined hand to make sure it goes everywhere you need it to. Pigmentation is sheer and I recommend using medium to generous coats. The first one is streaky. The second begins to even things out but the most evenly opaque coverage and fullest realization of bottle color required three tip-wrapped coats for me. Cleanup is easy, for which I am very grateful as I made a quite a mess working with this puppy. Evening Sparkler dries naturally in fairly good time to a slightly flat finish with a sandy texture from the glitters. A generous layer of topcoat evens it out to glassy smoothness and accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers beautifully.

Photos show three coats of Evening Sparkler over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

Blush Lacquers Evening Sparkler

This polish was difficult to photograph! I apologize for my pics, which are full of extraneous reflections and I'm afraid do not acquit themselves very well.

Although I found Evening Sparkler a little tricky to apply, I think the look is most definitely worth it. It doesn't come together completely until you get topcoat on it and it's somewhat stealthy in ambient light but downright stunning in the sun, and the component mix is spot on. I love that deep indigo color and the way the shimmers and glitters, activated by light, emerge from within the cloudy depths.

love,
Liz