Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

The Deep End (H) was released earlier this month by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the Spring/Summer 2017 collection. The H, of course, stands for Holo. This polish is a holographic version of another polish in the collection, The Deep End, described as a turquoise-based multichrome with shifts to blue, green, purple and pink. The color is out of this world, as rich and lush a cerulean as you could ever hope to see, with brilliant turquoise highlights and mobile gradient shifts through all kinds of sea greens and blue-greens and teals to bold medium blue to violet to purple to a misty purplish pink at very oblique angles. In its holographic iteration, the beauty is exponentially compounded: dimensionalizing, holographically-generated nuances to the panoply of colors, a velvety, finely-grained visual texture and an effervescent fan of golden green sparks in ambient light elevate this multichrome to a whole new level of drama, complexity and sheer gorgeousness.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of The Deep End (H) is fluid, full-bodied and smooth with a medium viscosity and a silky, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, a gorgeous formula that is a pleasure to work with. Pigmentation is excellent. With the proper mojo, it could very well be one-coater, but that would be a disservice to the nature of the polish. The addition of a second coat is necessary to make the most of the holographic effects and adds lushness and density to the brilliant colors. Cleanup is fairly straightforward. There's a bit of pigment travel but very little, if any, trace staining. The Deep End (H) dries naturally in very good time to a smooth finish with a satiny sheen. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and actually serves to accentuate both the holographic effects and the multichromatic properties.

Photos show two coats of The Deep End (H) over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

My photos only approximate the splendor of this polish in person. It is sublime!

While I am not a huge fan of multichromes generally, the colorway of the shifts in this one is truly stunning and the addition of holographic pigment creates a sumptuous visual texture that, to me, is much more aesthetically pleasing than the simple semi-metallic look of a straight multichrome. It illuminates and dimensionalizes the colors and infuses them with that exquisite, pinpoint holographic sparkle that I love.

Gorgeous beyond words and much more overtly shifty that my photos might lead you to expect, this is without a doubt one of the most amazing polishes I've had on my nails so far this year, and I don't say that lightly. Unless you absolutely cannot stand blue polish, it's an otherwise unqualified must-have. You owe it to yourself as a polish enthusiast to experience it in person.

Leah Ann LaRowe, kudos, props, salutes and a standing ovation with showers of tossed red roses to you for this utterly spectacular piece of polish composition!

love,
Liz