Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Shilin Stone Forest was released by indie polish maker Elevation Polish as part of the Forest collection in July of this year. It is a medium cool grey creme/jelly hybrid leaning to the creme side of that spectrum, carrying charcoal shimmer flakes and a modicum of holographic particles. The grey is particularly clean and well-balanced, a perfect palette for the irregularly-shaped charcoal flakies, which I believe are iridescent as they occasionally flash purple or red and give the polish a delicious speckled look at close range. The holographic particles play a subtle role in this polish but are easily seen as tiny sparks in a rainbow of prismatic colors in bright indirect and direct light. This is an elegant, understated polish with a soft, soothing presence on the nail.

Application was great. Shilin Stone Forest has a consistency that is slightly thicker than I was expecting but still fluid and creamy. The flakies are small and medium-sized for the most part and do make their presence felt during application with occasional tumbling and protrusions over the free edge, but the use of thin coats will minimize this kind of thing and facilitate leveling as well. Shilin Stone Forest is the sort of polish that self-levels as it dries down and it camouflaged my nail bed ridges quite handily. Pigmentation is excellent; this polish is very nearly opaque in one coat. I used two for completely even opacity. It does ghost slightly at the edges if layers aren't perfectly aligned. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with only a touch of stubbornness on the part of the flakies. Shilin Stone Forest dries naturally in good time to smooth shiny finish that shows just a bit of texture from the flakies at the macro level.

Photos show two easy coats of Shilin Stone Forest over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Glisten and Glow HK Girl.

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest

All of Lulu's polishes are inspired by geography and natural phenomena, and this particular polish was inspired by a notable set of limestone formations near the city of Shilin in the Chinese province of Yunnan, which is located in the far southwest of the country. Believed to be over 270 million years old, the eroded vertical pinnacles of limestone appear to rise from the ground in the manner of stalagmites, many in fir tree shapes that give the illusion of a petrified forest -- thus the name Shilin Stone Forest. I always learn the most interesting stuff when I swatch an Elevation Polish!

entrance to the Shilin Stone Forest

Shilin Stone Forest near Kunming, Yunnan (source)

Very cool, no? So is this polish! Though certainly not as wondrous as the real thing, Shilin Stone Forest is a lovely, sleek grey that's eminently wearable year round and I would think appropriate for professional settings as well. From afar it's quite subtle -- it's only close up that you see the charcoal flakes and sparkling holographic particles that make this grey uniquely special.

love,
Liz