Thursday, January 5, 2017

Darling Diva Vivien

Vivien was created by Minnesota-based indie polish maker Darling Diva Polish exclusively for inclusion in the December 2016 edition of The Holo Hookup collaborative polish box, released for pre-order in November. Darling Diva was the special guest polish maker for this box, entitled Hollywood Bombshells, which also featured creations from regular contributors Cupcake Polish, Different Dimension and Glisten & Glow.

Inspired by British actress Vivien Leigh, Vivien is a dark red linear holographic polish with gold sparks in a jelly formula. The color is a deep, complex variation of ruby, less purple and cleaner than I usually think of for burgundy but similarly full-bodied. It is warmed to something along the lines of firebrick by abundant minute gold microflake shimmers, which appear as floating red-gold sparks and give it a handsome glowing semi-metallic underlay. Finely-milled holographic pigment generates a flare of translucent violet in ambient light, and in the sun there's a bright linear display, spangled and slightly diffused by the golden microflakes and predominated by arcs of violet, azure and red, surrounding a sparkly slender lick of semi-metallic dark red.

Application was great! The consistency of Vivien is fluid, smooth and slightly sticky with a medium-to-thicker consistency and a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail that sets up fairly quickly. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Vivien dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat serves to emphasize the presence and effects of the microflake shimmers and does not alter the holographic effects in any way. 

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


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien


Darling Diva Vivien

Another marvelous bombshell polish from this box! The color is rich and dimensional on the nail, and the twinkle from those floating red-gold sparks adds an especially glamorous touch. Vivien is one of those polishes that stealthily becomes more and more luxurious and beautiful the closer you get to it, a phenomenon that I identify with precise, careful craftsmanship. This polish has it in spades!

love,
Liz

3 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! I think this polish will inspire me to paint my nails. They are such a hot mess with thinning and deep ridges that promote the splits up into the nail bed. I have tried so many remedies, a waste of a lot of money. I have to keep my nails filed to the quick to keep up with them. So, yeah, been off of polish for several months. I might have to make a foray to my nail desk and put some polish on, even if it is just for a day. (Don't know why it's a big deal - that's all I kept them on before, but then, I had nicer bare nails to see when the polish popped or peeled off.) In the meanwhile, I enjoy seeing others nice nails beautifully polished!

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    Replies
    1. I hate that you are having thinning and ridges and splits, Lara, you deserve beautiful nails! Perhaps a mani with one of your favorites for your shorties? A little pick-me-up mani.

      We are having a biggish winter storm here at the moment. Ice and sleet haved turned the ground white and the precip is expected to turn to snow later this morning with accumulation up to nine inches they're saying. A little skeptical about that, but I'm loving the sounds of the wintry wind howling around the house and the sound of ice pellets hitting the window panes. Did you catch any of this storm down your way?

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    2. It did get very cold here, high 20s for two nights, but where we are, no sleet or such. The few times it has rained lately has not been enough to make it a problem in this area.

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