Dreamland Sassenach

Sassenach was released in September 2016 by Missouri-based indie polish maker Dreamland Artisan Nail Lacquer as part of the Outlander collection, a quartet of polishes themed around the British-American television drama Outlander. The word sassenach (pronounced SASS-en-ack, or thereabouts) is used by the Scots to refer to the English, in particular the main character Claire, who is the inspiration for this polish.

Described simply as a "dark brown linear holographic polish," Sassenach is a warm, resonant medium-dark brown with a subtle reddish-orange tinge and aspects of chocolate and golden brown, similar in appearance to the color russet. Abundant finely-milled holographic pigment reads as gold within the base and and gives the polish a shimmery dimensionality on the nail with a silky, delicately-grained visual texture. In the sun, there's a sparkling linear prismatic display predominated by azure, spring green and orange that frames a lick of glistening golden brown and shades to coffee at the edges of the nail.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Sassenach is fluid and smooth with a medium viscosity and a plush, creamy, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, providing evenly opaque coverage and full bottle color in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward with a tiny bit of pigment travel but little to no residual staining. Sassenach dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not interfere with the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show two coats of Sassenach over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

Dreamland Sassenach

I wore this during my Christmas trip and received several unsolicited compliments on it. Brown is generally considered a neutral but this russet holo is actually quite distinctive, even showy! Not too foody, not too earthy and not in the least austere, it has a certain measured opulence to it that reminds me of fine, heavy silk. The holo pigment acts like a luminous shimmer, lighting up in a coppery-gold mist along the axis of light. Glossy and elegant on the nail, with a generous spirit. People will notice!

love,
Liz