Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Blood Of My Enemies was released -- I think -- about the same time as Sporca Puttana, in May this year by Florida-based indie polish maker Don Deeva as a stand-alone polish. Described as a red jelly with "unicorn pee" red-to-green colorshifting pigment, I have to say that it's the most charismatic red I've experienced in a long time. The base color is a translucent, almost transparent, shade of crimson or cerise. With assistance from the red colorshifting pigment, it warms as you layer it on, evolving into a brilliant, glowing, medium-toned Munsell red that looks like stained glass lit by the sun or highly polished enamel. It retains a degree of transparency, allowing plenty of light to penetrate and fire up the colorshifting pigment, which takes on an ember-like glow within the base. The pigment doesn't seem to show any definitive shifting in this polish, but it does add some excellent interior illumination to the color along with a mist of tiny, twinkling red sparks in direct light.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Blood Of My Enemies is fluid and super smooth with a medium viscosity and a light, incredibly buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail, a gorgeous, eminently-paintable formula that is immensely gratifying to work with. It's amenable to thinner or thicker coats, but I suggest using medium coats at least as pigmentation is quite sheer. I used three medium coats for this manicure, and although you can see hints of nail line at certain angles the color is magnificent. Make sure to wrap your tips with each coat to avoid any extra sheerness there! Cleanup is easy. Blood Of My Enemies dries naturally in good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat amps up the natural glossiness of the polish and accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Blood Of My Enemies over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

Don Deeva Blood Of My Enemies

I've seen manicure photos posted in the Deeva La Familia, Don Deeva's Facebook fan group, where Blood Of My Enemies was layered over an opaque base, a red or a nude, I presume due to the transparency of the formula. I considered doing this also, but I'm really glad that I went the non-undies route as the quality of the color is incredible: bold, brilliant, rich, dimensional, luminous. It has a certain retro, romantic, 50s kind of vibe, but make no mistake -- this is a power red and drop dead sexy. Utterly captivating! If you are a lover or collector of reds, don't pass this one up!

love,
Liz