Friday, May 29, 2015

SV by Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish

Pink Starfish was released by indie polish maker SV by Sparkly Vernis as part of the Palm Trees at Night collection for spring 2015 in April this year. I've followed the Sparkly Vernis blog for several years and knew that she frankened her own polishes, so I was delighted to see her establish her own brand in December 2014. 

The Palm Trees at Night collection of linear holographic polishes was inspired by springtime vacations at the beach in the Pacific northwest and Pink Starfish gets its name from the Giant Pink Sea Star Piaster brevispinus, a species indigenous to the northeast Pacific. Described as a "cool-toned, medium pink holographic with purple shimmer," this is not a simple pink. It has all kinds of rich magenta, rose and orchid tones to it -- I'll tentatively call it a dimensional steel pink. Its holographic effects are nothing short of phenomenal and contribute to the complexity of the color with beautiful analogous tonal shading in almost any light. In direct sun a perfectly delineated blazing prismatic flair floats over a central semi-metallic flash of warm golden pink that shades to a deeper purple-toned magenta at the edges of the nail. 

Application was outstanding. The consistency of Pink Starfish is fluid and creamy with a beautifully-balanced viscosity for painting and a buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail, an eminently user-friendly polish that is easy to manipulate with Sparkly Vernis' flattened flexible brush. Pigmentation is fabulous with complete, even opacity achievable in only one coat. I did find, though, that the colors become richer with the addition of a second coat and that's what I recommend. Cleanup was surprisingly easy for a polish this well-pigmented, with no pigment travel at all. Pink Starfish dries naturally in good time to a silky smooth shiny finish. Topcoat adds depth-enhancing gloss and seems to actually intensify the hues of this amazing holo. 

Photos show two coats of Pink Starfish over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish
Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish


Sparkly Vernis Pink Starfish

The liveliness of the prismatic display and holo effects and the depth, sparkle and dimensionality they produce are simply breathtaking. I don't usually fall in love with linear holos but this one has my heart! Despite the holographic athleticism, it doesn't eclipse the gorgeous color. Instead it makes the most of it, parsing it into an abundance of shimmering analogous tones. It's just a beautifully-balanced holographic composition, with the color pigment, particulate shimmers and holo pigment in perfect ratio to each other to permit the contributions of each to be maximized.


The Giant Pink Sea Star Piaster brevispinus can reach a diameter of two feet while weighing up to two pounds! (source)

Pink Starfish manages to be an exceptional tribute to its namesake as well. Gosh, and this polish isn't even its creator's favorite from the collection! According to the Sparkly Vernis blog post about the Palm Trees at Night collection, here, that honor belongs to a creamy blue-green holo called E. huxleyi Bloom, which I am going to purchase the minute I finish this post so look for it to feature here in about a week or so!

love,
Liz

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