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Multichromes, holos, shimmers and sparklers!

I will add photos later, at some point.

ILNP holos last really long, like way longer than all the other polishes I have (finished with Seche Vive, which I’ve noticed IS more glossy than Seche Vite). 

Usually other polishes last 2-4 days before chipping, but there’s something about the ILNP holos (I have a whole bunch, from Mega X/S/L to the new Color-Kissed collection) that seems to make them last well over a week without chipping). I do a lot of stuff with my hands and don’t baby my nails, so that is pretty impressive. 

ILNP Nostalgia didn’t last quite as long on my fingernails but lasted FOREVER on my toenails with no top coat (like, three months? really).  

ILNP The Magician also seems to last as long as the holos, and gives the nail a really smooth finish. This is definitely better over plain colours and especially dark colours. Even with three coats it is hard to see on stuff with bright and light metallic flakes or particles, like ILNP Empire or Zoya’s Ziv,  so I wouldn’t waste it on that. Over a plain silver holo it has more effect (you’ll get a really expensive version of the Color-Kissed holos, basically...). It looks stunning over black, or purplish-blue, which gives it a lovely contrast. It is actually quite subtle and over black, for example, gives the feel of Nostalgia and other red/green/gold shifting multichromes.

The sparkle is very very fine and gives a sort of fireworky scattered feel, with sparkles activating from all over the nail when you tilt it. Kind of hard to describe and capture on camera; it’s like tiny pinpricks of red light flashing at you, if that makes sense...

ILNP Empire -- It’s so bright and mirror-like, super noticeable even from a distance, like Cirque’s Halcyon (see later!). Empire’s flakes are silver in a golden base with holo particles. I could have done without the holo even. A very brassy gold.

ILNP Versailles -- The fine sparkle/glitter in this is really quite strong and beautiful. Though Empire is VERY brassy gold and way more flashy from further away, like all large metallic flakies, the finish on Versailles is really pretty when seen closer. It also has a more even feel to it and is less brassy. Looks good even with just a single coat, ILNP really crams a lot of pigment/sparkle into these bottles. 

ILNP Rosewater -- this shade is so gorgeous, the reddish-pink shimmer is pretty unique. The swatches I’ve seen are just not as eyecatching as the colour is in person; the colour flash is visible in all lighting. It does have a hint of gold shift in it at some extreme angles.

ILNP Sunday Brunch -- still not sure how I feel about this shade. I’ve had to isolate it from Versailles because Versailles is such an eyecatching gold shimmer even with one coat. I think I’d like it more if I didn’t already have Versailles and Empire and Rosewater, and I also prefer a stronger effect. If you’re after a mild coppery-gold shimmer that doesn’t look very strong, it might be for you. Versailles is much flashier and Empire is by comparison blinding. I found that putting Versailles and Rosewater together (doesn’t seem to matter which order as long as the no. of coats is equal) gives a pretty good approximation of SB.

The reason Sunday Brunch doesn’t seem to swatch well is because it just doesn’t seem that strong compared to Rosewater and the rest of the collection’s colours. I keep looking at it and trying to decide if I actually like it.

All in all, I really like the finish and consistency of ILNP’s polish range.

Non-ILNP:

Cirque Halcyon -- WOW, just wow. This is crammed full of sterling silver flakes apparently, in a rose tinted base. It is on the pink coppery side of rose golds. It has a beautiful, even finish and coats really well. And it really catches the eye. The diff between Empire and this: way more metallic because this bottle has far more flakes in it and there’s no distracting holo. Empire is probably the flashier colour in bright artificial/yellow light though when the holo is activated.

It seems to last almost but not quite as long as the ILNP holos.

Zoya Ziv -- It’s gold. Not on the same level of METAL-ness as Empire and Halcyon, but it’s a pretty shade of gold. I would say a slightly warmer gold than Empire. It’s for someone who prefers a less bling/mirror-like finish to their metallics. The Magician (and other shimmers) over this is almost unnoticeable, for some reason.

Revlon 745 Pink Glaze -- I have seen swatches of this online and I don’t understand why it’s so blah in a lot photos. It’s a vibrant and obvious magenta shimmer. It’s less fine than the shimmers in ILNP’s Color-Kissed line, and a looks a bit more like a pigment made from a film? hard to describe... the ILNP shimmers look like very pure colours. However, it’s still a beautiful shade that is most definitely pink and not as flat white as it appears in a lot of photos. It also shifts to gold if you angle your nail.

You can see it more accurately over a black base here: https://youtu.be/4p4OWEIG6PY?t=3m16s. This photo on instagram shows it well over a light shade: https://www.instagram.com/p/BRWDQkfhWmT/?tagged=revlonpinkglaze

Stuff that chips more easily

ILNP Flower Girl -- lasts 3-4 days before chipping. A pretty, dusty pink with gold flecks. Loads of the golden shimmers/holos/The Magician/Revlon 745 look great over this.

Stuff that chips really easily:

Color Club -- Oil Slick Collection -- Burnt out, Cash Only

Dance Legend -- Protuberance

Burnt Out is incredible (from swatches I’ve seen of Dance Legend Boo, it looks like a match for that (particularly in this pic where the shift is really pronounced -- that’s what it’s like all the time in daylight. Looking at the bottle is mesmerizing because the shift is so strong. I heard China Glaze Cabin Fever was a dupe but it totally isn’t anywhere near as strong, it’s more of a bronze>rose shift. In Burnt Out you can see the turquoise shift fairly often, too, and I haven’t noticed that in Cabin Fever at all.)

Cash Only has a very strong shift as well, it’s another favourite of mine. 

I picked up Dance Legend - Protuberance even though I’m not that big a fan of multichrome + holos together. I really wanted The Knight, which was unavailable -- Protuberance is the holo version.

Although Cash Only and Protuberance look similar in some swatches I’ve seen, they are quite different in shift, with Protuberance being far more bronze. Both are very unusual multichromes which go outside the usual blurple and pink/red/green/gold spectrums. They don’t seem to have any dupes and have very distinct shifts IRL. Best results in daylight, as always.