Polished For Days Waitomo

Like Morocco, Waitomo was released at the end of June this year by California-based indie polish maker Polished For Days as part of the Around the World Part 3 collection. It is named for New Zealand's Waitomo District, a territorial authority located on the west coat of the North Island and home to the famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

Creator Jenna describes this polish as "a deep purple based grey with holographic flakes, green-blue-fuchsia-gold color shifting flakes, navy-violet-teal chrome flakes, and a bright-purple blue shimmer." The color is more of a medium blue-grey to my eye, similar in depth and appearance to the way Crayola's shadow blue looks on a computer screen, with subtle hints of violet to it. Copious tiny metallic and holographic flakies stipple the look, punctuating it with delicate gleams of color, most notably purple and turquoise, when the light hits the metallic bits just right. Abundant bright blue particulate shimmers give the polish a transparent blue sheen and are visible as a radiant mist of blue along the axis of light. They really come to the fore in direct light, where the holographic flakes blanket the polish with a net of fine prismatic sparkle.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Waitomo is fluid, light and remarkably smooth for a flakie-laden polish, with a medium viscosity and a fluent, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. All flakes are well-dispersed, going on easily and laying flat to the nail without stacking, stickups or protrusions over the free edge. Nice! Pigmentation is very good to excellent. Occasional patches of sheerness on the first coat build quickly to evenly opaque coverage in two. Cleanup is mostly easy -- watch out for sticky metallic flakies! Waitomo dries naturally to an unexpectedly smooth and shiny finish. Topcoat serves to accentuate the presence of the colorful flakies. 

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

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

I'm feeling quite partial to this lovely grey polish with its flecky visual texture, eclectic mix of gleaming metallic flakies and smoky blue sheen, and I expect it will continue to grow on me as I wear it. There's something particularly elegant about its composition that I find very satisfying, and the crelly-ish formula is outstanding and such a pleasure to work with -- unusually so for a flakie-laden polish in my experience. A wonderful example of indie creativity!

love,
Liz

Polished For Days Atlas

Atlas was released at the end of March this year by California-based indie polish maker Polished For Days as part of the To the Moon and Back collection, a series of six polishes inspired by the Moonchild Glow Kit highlighter palette by Anastasia Beverly Hills and named with words from various cultures for the moon and its attributes. Atlas is named for Saturn's tiny smooth-surfaced inner satellite, itself officially named after Atlas of Greek mythology, because it "holds the rings on its shoulders" like the Titan Atlas held the sky up above the Earth.

Described by creator Jenna as "a periwinkle holographic with holo flakes and copper shimmer," the color is indeed a soft, translucent lavender blue or periwinkle, a light tint of blue with a lavender overtone and hints of silvery grey, probably from the holographic pigment. It seems to shift between a more lavender appearance in low light and shade to more blue in brighter light. Silver holographic flakes give it a delicious, dappled visual texture, and superfine copper shimmers create a subtle coppery-pink glow along the axis of light. In the sun, the holographic flakes blanket the look with a net of pasteled prismatic sparkle, and the pinkish glow develops into a fine mist of glistening coppery-pink particles. 

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Atlas is fluid, light and smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and an even, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail, a gorgeous, eminently-paintable formula that is a joy to work with. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. I added a third to see if it would make a difference, but beyond adding a tiny bit more density to the base color it really didn't. Cleanup is easy. Atlas dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and effects of the copper shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Atlas over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. 

Polished For Days Atlas

Polished For Days Atlas

Polished For Days Atlas

Polished For Days Atlas

Polished For Days Atlas

Polished For Days Atlas

Polished For Days Atlas

Polished For Days Atlas

Polished For Days Atlas

Polished For Days Atlas

I fell in love with this polish as I was applying it -- you can tell that it was formulated with paintability in mind, it goes on like a dream! The delicate, shimmery periwinkle color and careful construction give it a sophisticated indie flavor, and it has a beautiful, translucent kind of glow on the nail. Excellent!

love,
Liz

Polished For Days Morocco

Morocco was released at the end of June this year by California-based indie polish maker Polished For Days as part of the Around the World Part 3 collection. It's described as a cornflower blue with pink shimmer and microflecks of red-gold and iridescent purple. The color is indeed a delicate, milky, medium-light cornflower, a variation of azure notable for containing relatively little green compared to blue. Abundant ultrafine pink shimmers combine seamlessly with the red-gold and iridescent purple microflecks to create a stealthy, transparent purpley pink glow, giving the base color a sweet periwinkle aspect, as well as a glistening golden pink sheen at certain angles. 

Application was lovely. The consistency of Morocco is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, especially for a milky, translucent color like this, producing fully opaque coverage in two medium coats. Cleanup is easy. Morocco dries naturally in very good time to a smooth finish that's not entirely shiny but not matte either. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and accentuates the presence and effects of the components.

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

Polished For Days Morocco

Polished For Days Morocco

Polished For Days Morocco

Polished For Days Morocco

Polished For Days Morocco

Polished For Days Morocco

Polished For Days Morocco

Polished For Days Morocco

Polished For Days Morocco

Polished For Days Morocco

Jenna's use of pink, red and purple components seems to capitalize on the blueness of the cornflower base, infusing it with delicate hints of red-violet and purple. Under incandescent light, the color appears almost lavender, with a sleek flash of shimmering pink along the axis of light. So pretty!

love,
Liz

Polished For Days Kefi

Kefi was released in 2016 (I think -- someone please correct me if I'm wrong) by California-based indie polish maker Polished For Days as part of the Positive Mind collection, a series of nine polishes named for aspects of a positive mind. Pretty cool concept! The word "kefi" is a Greek expression that refers to the feeling of experiencing something positive -- joy, spirit, passion, happiness, triumph, mojo, excitement, feeling good, having fun, loving life.

Officially described as "a soft grey linear holographic," the color here is a creamy, cool, medium-dark slatey grey, a tiny bit cooler than the photos show, similar to rhythm from the Resene Color List. Abundant finely-milled holographic pigment particles read as shimmering motes of pale gold within the base, giving it a subtle interior illumination with a bit of that "lit from within" dimensionality and creating a stealthy, pre-dawn prismatic flush in ambient light. Direct sun generates a slender, steely blue holographic flare edged with mixed prismatic sparkle that frames a lick of stippled pinkish gold. 

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Kefi is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a velvety smooth, self-leveling glide over the nail, an excellent, eminently-paintable formula that is extremely gratifying to work with. Pigmentation is very good to excellent. A tiny bit of translucence on the first coat keeps it from being a one-coater. Cleanup is easy. Kefi 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 Kefi over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Polished For Days Kefi

Polished For Days Kefi

Polished For Days Kefi

Polished For Days Kefi

Polished For Days Kefi

Polished For Days Kefi

Polished For Days Kefi

Polished For Days Kefi

Polished For Days Kefi

 This is an exceptionally handsome polish. I adore it! There's a certain formal, tailored sense to it that reminds me of a fine wool suit, but the look is decidedly feminine: sleek, graceful and devastatingly elegant with a slightly reserved mien that only barely disguises a shimmering, elated aspect. It reminds me of that tingly, anticipatory thrill that you feel when you're perfectly made-up and dressed to nines for some wonderful party or event or occasion.

Although I've been peripherally aware of Polished For Days for a while, this is my first experience with it. I came across a post in my Facebook feed recently, went to the website and was instantly smitten with the beautiful offerings. I spent a long time admiring them. Jenna, the owner and creative force behind the brand, seems to favor sophisticated colors and interesting, composite visual textures, and something singular and ineffable about her website and the creations listed there just really clicked -- there are many polishes that I'm curious about and want to try. Check it out!

love,
Liz