ILNP Cable Car

Like Sticks and Stones, Cable Car was released last month by Nevada-based indie polish maker ILNP as part of the Fall 2017 Ultra Holos collection. The Ultra Holos are "super intense holographic nail polishes; specifically formulated for maximum, in-your-face holographic sparkle," and this one is described as a "cedar brown." 

Honestly, between the all-encompassing holographic effects and the silvering characteristic of the holographic pigment itself, the true nature of the base color is not all that easy to pin down. To my eye, it's a gentle, medium-toned, taupey brown along the lines of beaver or coyote, highly silvered by holographic pigment, which also gives it a semi-metallic underlay and flash that slip back and forth between silver and copper depending upon the kind of light in which it's viewed. The holographic display is linear and ubiquitous, dressing the polish in an expansive, shimmering prismatic flush predominated by misty blue in ambient light and a brilliant, gradated flame of bright rainbow colors in the sun.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Cable Car is fluid, creamy and dense with a medium viscosity and a smooth, even, self-leveling glide over the nail. Excellent! Pigmentation is very good -- it's practically opaque in one coat but you'll definitely want two for richest color and holographic effects. Cleanup is easy. Cable Car dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not affect the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show two coats of Cable Car over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

ILNP Cable Car

ILNP Cable Car

ILNP Cable Car

ILNP Cable Car

ILNP Cable Car

ILNP Cable Car

ILNP Cable Car

ILNP Cable Car

ILNP Cable Car

ILNP Cable Car

Base color and holo are inextricably bound in this polish. Together they create a unique look, a subtle, silvery grey-brown shimmering with a compendium of soft, prismatically-generated hues that has a transcendent, weathered sensibility. It's the kind of color a Tolkien elf would wear. At the same time, there's the semi-metallic aspect, the gleaming underlay that seems to rise through the diffuse rainbows to add a sleek, reflective quality to the finish. It's a gorgeous complex neutral at arm's length on a cloudy day, but it's also almost immeasurably holographic and the closer you get to it the more the magic is revealed.

love,
Liz