It’s happy-happy-joy-joy time here in the blog! Eh, what am I saying? You guys know any day I spend time in here qualifies as happy-happy-joy-joy time. But today I have a sort of new Quixotic Polish collection to share. I say “sort of” because this collection has been out for a little while. I think it released around the beginning to middle of July. As soon as I saw photos of this collection in the Facebook fan group, I knew I needed it. NEEDED IT. The entire collection! It took me a bit to order it. And then, of course, I was traveling for most of the Summer. All that summer adventure really put a kink into my swatching plans. But I’m here now. Yaaaaas!!!
I first discovered Quixotic Polish through Polish Pickup. But this brand has quickly become a particular favorite for me. I love the delicate shimmers and glitters used in every polish this brand creates. Really, I think every polish I have from them is magical, and the Illumi-Naughty polishes are no exception to this! Also, how darn cute is that name?
The Illumi-Naughty Collection has 6 polishes. Half of the collection is light, airy, and rather delicate to represent the truths we think we know. The other half of the collection is dark, bold, and brooding to remind us we should never stop questioning the world around us. And the entire collection is just freaking fabulous!!! Spoiler Alert: I LOVE THEM ALL!! (Yes, even enough to use all-caps. That is a lot of polish lovin’, y’all.)
THE LIGHT:
Discordianism is an intense scattered holo with three different Aurora pigments and violet/sapphire/teal flakes. This polish has a great formula. It is somewhat sheer going onto the nail, but it builds up well. I think it’s opaque enough for real life wear at 2 coats, but I used 3 for my swatch photo.
I have to admit I was a little unsure of this one going into this collection experience. But it is so, so, so darn PRETTY on the nail. It has a light and airy feeling to it. I love the combination of the flakes and holographic, and the flake colors pop beautifully against the silver base. That, alone, would be enough. But there is this gorgeously delicate shimmer running through everything. I love the tones of pink and red that show as light plays across the nail.
Truth Seekers is a lilac base with pink/orange/green-leaning shimmer, holographic, and pink/purple/gold ultra chrome chameleon flakes. This polish has a lovely formula. It seems sheer going onto the nail, but it builds up easily. I like the opacity in 2 coats, although I used 3 for my swatch photo. The camera sees all! *cue eerie music*
Oh my gosh, do you SEE the gorgeousness happening here? Ugh. Just kill me dead. I have been having more and more Pink Moments recently, but there is a part of me that can’t believe my heart feels all happy-squishy over a pinky purple polish. But this one is just so darn good. I love, love, LOVE the base color. The flakes are deeply gorgeous. They give off the prettiest jewel tones against the soft base. And that shimmer. Ugh. Kill me dead. But in a good way.
Enlighten is a baby blue with fuschia shimmer. This polish has such a great formula. As with the other lights in the collection, it is sheer going onto the nail, but it is easy to apply. It builds up well, and is opaque in 2-3 coats.
So, obviously, I am going to feel all kinds of mad love for this polish. It is soft and pretty and blue and right up my alley. I’m not much bothered by the fact that it’s a bit sheer. I feel like it needs to be sheer to show off the shimmer, which is delicate and beyond perfect. This is a true fairy tale polish!
THE DARK:
All Seeing Eye is a black holographic. This polish has a “wowza” formula, as in I whispered, “Wowza” to myself as I was applying it. Okay, so I might have actually said this out loud to the dog. But, really, he doesn’t care about polish. I have clearly failed in my dog-training duties. The formula for this polish has a delicious heft to it. It is nicely thick and very opaque. It was opaque for me in 2 easy coats and could have almost been done in 1.
So, really, this is a basic polish. Just a straight black holo … no bells, no whistles, no extra shimmers or glitters or whatevers. But you know what? This polish is Perfection. It is rich and thick, and it looks so darn good on the nail. It doesn’t need any extras at all. Like the perfect little black dress, this baby has everything going for it already! Not to mention I love a good black polish. I love it even better with a smattering of holographic tossed into the mix.
Secret Society is a burgundy magnetic that shifts to a shimmery red with a blue-purple (the website calls it cyan) line once you apply the magnet. This polish has a fabulous formula. It is thick and rich and gorgeously gorgeous. And it is opaque in 2 easy coats.
This beauty was my first experience trying a magnetic polish. I have seen photos showing hard, solid lines through this polish, which are stunning. But that wasn’t my experience. I felt like I had a hard time getting the polish to shift once I applied the magnet to its surface. Once I got the line to appear, it seemed to dissipate into the surrounding polish and turned kind of nebulous and cloudy over the surface of my nail. I wonder if this was a case of “user error” due to my inexperience with this type of polish.
But (!!) … Even though I didn’t get quite the effect I had hoped for, I found this polish beautiful. I really like the way the deeper burgundy shifts to a stunning red that seems to glow with some kind of hidden mystery. And that dab of brightly beautiful blue-purple is the perfect little extra!
Ancient Lizard is a blue multi chrome that has a teal to purple magnetic shift and blue color-shifting shimmer. This polish has a good formula that was opaque in 2 easy coats.
I freaking LOVE this one. LOVE IT!! Even with my inexperience with magnetic polishes, I felt the shift was easy for me to get when I applied the magnet to the polish surface. I thought this polish had a stronger and more noticeable shift across the magnetic line. As with the above polish, I felt my line dissipated instead of staying solid. But maybe that means I need more practice. Practice makes perfect! This polish has the most gorgeous and rich shade of blue. Ugh. So freaking pretty.
AND ONE EXTRA:
Summer Blues was the June Color of the Month. It is a light turquoise blue crelly with red/green shifting shimmer and holo micro flakes. It has a good formula. Like many light colors, it seems sheer going onto the nail. But it builds up easily and well. I liked the opacity at 3 coats.
Oh, how I love this polish. It is pretty and delicate and oh-so-summery. I love the way the shimmer shifts to red and pink as the light plays across the nail. I’ve already worn this in a full manicure, and I was mesmerized by it. I could not stop looking at my nails. I could not stop watching the light play over them. This polish made me feel so, so pretty and girly. It’s definitely going onto my list of favorites for the year!
THE WRAP-UP:
So I don’t think it comes as any huge surprise that I love this entire collection, especially since I Spoiler Alerted you in the beginning of this post — ha! The idea behind it is super creative and fun. I love the mix of dark and light, as well as the mix of finishes and elements within the polishes. And the name is perfection! I can’t wait to get these on my nails for some fun mani time.
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