Catherine Howard (c. 1523-1542) was Queen of England from 1540-41 as Henry VIII's fifth wife. Of noble English birth and cousin to Henry's second wife Anne Boleyn, Catherine was Henry's youngest wife, only 15 or 16 when they were married following his annulment from Anne of Cleves. Catherine was stripped of her of title as queen within 16 months, in November 1541, and beheaded three months later, on the grounds of treason for committing adultery while married to Henry.
Creator Adina describes this polish as a "vivid teal scatter holo with glints of gold." The color is a vibrant, mermaidian medium blue-green that's slightly brighter and more buoyant than the teal blue depicted on Wikipedia. Abundant holographic pigment creates dimensionality and gives the finish a delicious, finely-grained visual texture that reminds me of sandwashed silk, from which copious gold microflake shimmers gleam brightly as light travels over them, a sensual, luxurious touch.
Application was fraught with tiny fibers from God knows where -- it was just one of those unfortunate, painstaking, fiber-filled application sessions where I felt like I spent at least as much time wielding tweezers as a polish wand or cleanup brush. Nevertheless, this polish has a beautiful formula, with a fluid, light and creamy consistency, a medium viscosity and a buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup was straightforward with some diffuse pigment travel and trace staining and a bit of stickiness on the part of the microflake shimmers. Catherine Howard dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.
Photos show two coats of Catherine Howard over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.
 |
| A-England Catherine Howard |
 |
| A-England Catherine Howard |
 |
| A-England Catherine Howard |
 |
| A-England Catherine Howard |
 |
| A-England Catherine Howard |
 |
| A-England Catherine Howard |
 |
| A-England Catherine Howard |
 |
| A-England Catherine Howard |
This bright, modern teal feels especially suited to Henry's youngest wife, who was really only a child when they married. Despite having been repeated molested by her music teacher at age 13, she was reportedly vivacious and full of fun with a joyous, carefree naivete that seems perfectly represented by the liveliness and buoyancy of the color.
I am loving Adina's use of golden microflakes in this and other Tudoresque polishes, they add an elevated sense of opulence and luxury on the nail that is really quite regal.
xo,
Liz
Happy new year!
ReplyDeletePoor Catherine - by the time she married Henry, he was old, ugly, and probably smelled constantly foul due to a festering leg wound. Putting a child into that situation… just cruel.
Love the new length (as you might have guessed!) - they're still a bit longer than mine! Beautiful polish, too, makes me think of holidays.
Back at you, my dear! :)
DeleteCatherine is such a tragic figure! She was one of ten or eleven children and spent her childhood in the household of an older aunt housed with various other female wards, without much supervision or care given to their activities and education. The molestation by her music teacher went on for two years before it was discovered!
I read that her handwriting was particularly beautiful and quite distinct in style. It breaks my heart to think of that young girl practicing her penmanship... only to fall cluelessly into the snake pit of the royal court and wind up a political pawn of the Howards. Given the introduction she had to adult sexuality, I can only too easily imagine how she was able to consummate things with the bloated, ulcerous Henry. Sickening.
I have to say, it's much easier to do life with my nails at this length, although I think it accentuates my short, stumpy nail beds, which are well camouflaged by polish when my nails are long. I think my photos are better with long nails too, but I'm glad you like them!