Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Cran-bury the Hatchet was available during the month of November 2017 from Canadian indie polish maker Girly Bits as one-half of the brand's popular Color of the Month (COTM) Duo. Officially described as a "cranberry holo with vibrant red shimmer and flakes," the color is a medium, rosy red-violet that's similar to Pantone's magenta. Not only is this polish super holographic, but it's absolutely packed with those bright red shimmers as well, so there's a ton of color nuancing going on. The holo adds hues of misty lavender, raspberry rose and fandango to the look and gives the polish a dusky, shimmering sheen at certain angles to the light. The shimmers read as a glowy pinkish-red within the base and create a glistening semi-metallic underlay with a prominent lick of brilliant Persian rose along the axis of light. In direct light, there's a linear prismatic display that frames a swath of semi-metallic Persian rose and shades to medium magenta at the sidewalls.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Cran-bury the Hatchet is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and an easy, fluent, self-leveling slip over the nail that likes to go on in thin-to-medium coats from a moderately loaded brush. Pigmentation is very good and will deliver evenly opaque coverage and full holo and shimmer effects in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward. Cran-bury the Hatchet dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, somewhat satiny finish. Topcoat really pops the presence and effects of the shimmers and doesn't interfere with the holographic qualities of the look in any way.

Photos show two coats of Cran-bury the Hatchet over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

The vibrancy and brilliance of those shimmers is EVERYTHING! They add a kind of Barbie pink cast to the look of the polish on the nail. Given how prominent the shimmer effects are, it's amazing how smoothly and coherently they work with the holographic properties of the polish -- the dusky, finely-grained qualities of the holo contrast with the brilliant, semi-metallic aspects of the shimmers, but they coalesce beautifully here and give this polish a unique look.

love,
Liz