Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket was released by Canadian indie polish maker Girly Bits as one-half of creator Pam's St. Patrick's Day duo in February this year. I had this polish on my Girly Bits wishlist ever since it launched and finally managed to squeak in a purchase just before it was discontinued not too long ago. So glad I did, it's everything I love about a creme holo in an uncommon but eminently wearable color.
Pam described Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket as a "medium brown linear holo, with green to gold shifting shimmer." To me, it's a light- to medium-toned beaver brown, a milky coffee sort of shade heavily silvered by ultrafine holo pigment to create a rich but surprisingly neutral sandy taupe-like color. It has the lovely dimensional quality of shading to a semi-translucent slate grey around the edges of the nail, with additional dimensionality provided by the fine multitonal Pointillist speckling that is characteristic of many creme holos. The holographic effects generate subtle gradational hues of shimmering gold and pink that wash over the nail with the light and shade to deep taupe at the sidewalls. From what I've seen online there's a gorgeous sparkling scattered prismatic display in direct sun. The color-shifting flake shimmers are of the secret squirrel variety, covert but occasionally visible as tiny glowing sparks of pale green or gold.
Application was such a pleasure! The consistency of Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket is fluid, smooth and somewhat fluffy, with a creamy flow over the nail and very good self-leveling properties. The formula is noticeably user-friendly, amenable to thin or thicker coats without running or pooling and easily manipulated by Girly Bits flattened flexible brush, which always seems relatively large and bushy to me at first but performs beautifully with Pam's polishes. Pigmentation is excellent, with wearable coverage in one coat. With many holographic polishes, at least two coats are recommended for richest effects, and that's what I used. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with no pigment travel and only a tiny bit of recalcitrance on the part of the flake shimmers. Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence of the golden flake shimmers and does not appear to inhibit the holographic properties of the polish in any way.
Photos show two coats of Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. It's overcast and misting rain once again here in central NC so I don't have any sun shots to share with you, but this creme holo doesn't need direct sun to reveal its considerable attractions.
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
 |
| Girly Bits Is That a Shillelagh in Your Pocket? |
Such a cool, unorthodox look for a nail polish! I am enamoured. It's rustic and earthy on the one hand, and edgy and modern on the other. Very much a neutral with a casual sense to it, wearable with anything. I'm wearing blue today and it looks fantastic, displaying aspects of olive and bronze. It reminds me of a garden path.
The holographic effects are like those big sugar crystals they sprinkle on the top crust of the blueberry pies at Whole Foods. Tasty-licious!
Fuzzy loves it too. Do you?
xoxo,
Liz
