A-England Anne Boleyn
Like Sir Loyal Heart and Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn was released last month by British boutique polish maker A-England as part of the Tudoresque collection. Anne Boleyn (1501-36) was Queen of England from 1533-36 as the second wife of Henry VIII, and mother of the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was romancing Jane Seymour in the spring of 1536 when Anne was charged with adultery, incest and treason and found guilty. She was beheaded on 19 May 1536.
Described as a red scattered holo, I first experienced Anne Boleyn swatched next to Cirque Rioja on a swatch palette. Side by side in the sun, they are actually quite different and at the time I saw Anne Boleyn as more of a crimson. Today, heavily overcast with semi-frozen precipitation tapping on my skylight, it looks less like a crimson to me and more like a ruby. It's not quite as purple-leaning as Rioja, though, and Adina's scattered holographic treatment gives it a rich crimson flush in ambient light that creates the velvety, lit-from-within, dimensional glow that her holos are known for.
Application was fraught with swipage through no fault of the polish, which has a gorgeous formula. The consistency is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a buttery, even, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent and will deliver wearably opaque coverage in a single coat, but I think two produces a richer, slightly deeper look. There is some pigment travel during cleanup, with a skosh of trace staining. Anne Boleyn dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish -- not quite as flat as the first two Tudoresques I've swatched. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and accentuates the plush, holographically-generated dimensionality of the polish beautifully.
Photos show two coats of Anne Boleyn over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.
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| A-England Anne Boleyn |
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| A-England Anne Boleyn |
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| A-England Anne Boleyn |
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| A-England Anne Boleyn |
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| A-England Anne Boleyn |
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| A-England Anne Boleyn |
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| A-England Anne Boleyn |
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| A-England Anne Boleyn |
This is a breathtakingly beautiful polish, rich and dimensional on the nail with a candlelit quality that I love. It's just what you'd expect from the brand, and if you are a fan of A-England you're gonna want this one no matter how many other deep red holos you have -- the color is unique amongst Adina's polishes.
love,
Liz
I've been wearing AB for a week. "Velvety" is the description I keep returning to - she's so luxurious. I love the raspberry tones too. Quite possibly my favourite AE red!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely my favorite red from A-England, and right up there with Il Etait Un Vernis' Pinot Noir and Llarowe's Might Red Baron as one of my favorite red holos ever. An exquisite, evocative polish, people really respond to it -- I bet you've received a boatload of compliments!
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