Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Dracula's Kiss was released by Ohio-based indie polish maker Top Shelf Lacquer as part of the Halloween 2015 collection in September. I know, Halloween was ages ago, but I think you'll see that this beauty is quite fitting for winter as well. It's got a medium-dark Byzantium purple jelly base with infinitesimal golden holographic microglitters sprinkled throughout. These are really tiny, so they don't interfere with the coloration at all but emit a very sweet prismatic sparkle in almost any light. We have overcast, rainy skies here today so I didn't have the opportunity to see or photographic this polish in direct sun, but it is totally gorgeous under incandescent and halogen lighting, where the jelly base brightens to very nearly a royal purple and clouds of tiny prismatic sparks glisten as light travels over them.

Application was great! The consistency of Dracula's Kiss is fluid, light and smooth, with an easy, self-leveling glide over the nail. This polish sets up and surface dries rather quickly so overstroking is not appreciated, but it's still fluid enough to allow sufficient time to finesse the application with a moderately loaded brush. Coverage is buildable. Two coats is wearably opaque but three will ensure most even opacity given the translucence of the formula. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Dracula's Kiss dries naturally in good time to a shade that's slightly brighter than bottle color and a smooth matte finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its best.

Photos show three coats of Dracula's Kiss over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. My apologies for subpar cleanup and the rogue blue glitters leftover from a previous manicure.

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

Top Shelf Lacquer Dracula's Kiss

I'm really happy with this polish. It's a clean, true purple in a light-capturing jelly formula with an exquisite, dainty prismatic sparkle. While a darker shade, the beautifully-balanced translucence lets enough light in to brighten it, keep the color from appearing muddy or blackened and animate those wee microglitters to a scintillating sparkle. There's an air of sophistication and old Hollywood glamour in that delicately twinkling display, I think, that provides this pretty purple with everything it needs to hold its own amongst the celebratory polishes of the season.

love,
Liz