A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

Like Symphony in Green and Gold, Symphony in Blue and Silver was released towards the end of last month by British boutique polish maker A-England as part of the Sargent's Vision collection, a series of four polishes inspired by the painting Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by Anglo-American painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925).

This one is described as a holographic polish in a "dreamy powder blue enhanced by flashes of green and silver light." The color is indeed an airy powder blue with a dusky, blue-grey aspect in keeping with the British Standard for the shade. Superabundant finely-milled holographic pigment gives it a silvery quality and a silky, delicately-grained, dimensional luster, brighter along the axis of light and shading to a more dusky hue at the sidewalls. Like yesterday's polish, it possesses Adina's signature prismatic bloom, visible in ambient light as a delicate shimmering sheen of pale greenish gold with hints of peachy pink at its heart, edged by translucent violet. In the sun this brightens and expands into an exquisite, gradational rainbow flare that travels up and down the nail as you move your fingers in the light.

Application was fabulous. The consistency of Symphony in Blue and Silver is fluid, smooth and creamy with a medium viscosity and a near-effortless, buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail, a top-notch formulation perfectly in keeping with the quality that I've come to expect from the brand. Pigmentation is very good. Two coats delivers completely even, opaque coverage. I used three as I usually do with polishes that have a semi-metallic aspect to their finish, to keep my nail ridges from giving it a faceted look in the photos. Cleanup is easy. Symphony in Blue and Silver dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not affect the holographic properties at all.

Photos show three coats of Symphony in Blue and Silver over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

A-England Symphony in Blue and Silver

As much as I loved Symphony in Green and Gold, Symphony in Blue and Silver gets the nudge from me for its beautiful, serene color. I adore the delicate holographically-generated details of this pale blue: its dusky, crepuscular tint of violet, the luminous, silky, semi-metallic quality of the finish, the shimmering, mobile prismatic bloom in ambient light, the atmospheric dimensional quality of its look on the nail. And although it is also a soft color, there's a certain radiance to it that really does make you think of the sky. Adina has done a beautiful job with both of these "Symphonies." They have that classic, ineffable A-England touch.

love,
Liz

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent, 1885-6 (source), the inspiration for the polishes in the Sargent's Vision collection. In this painting, Sargent reveals his cosmopolitan influences, giving in to English pre-Raphaelite impulses while holding on to the Impressionist en plein air technique he learned from his friend Monet in Paris. He painted entirely outside during the late summers of 1885 and 1886, catching the delicate twilight glow before the light faded into evening. The painting is housed in the National Gallery for British Art, now called Tate Britain, where it is one of the gallery’s most loved paintings.