Illyrian's Naughtily Named Mind Blower

Illyrian is an indie that produces some very interesting polishes.

As a rule indies are très expensive so buying them means a bit of perspecuity with regard to seeing swatches and checking out formulas as well as if the finishes hold up to the photography.

I won't lie, I am jealous of those bloggers who kill it with amazing photography. I will add that I also wish I had a headlamp to get the same kind of bright lighting that makes some of these polishes absolutely sparkle. Many are rather like movie stars: under the lights they are superbly magnificent, in the shadows they are a little more pedestrian than you'd imagine.

Here's one that did a bit of that kind of thing: Illyrian F*ck. (yes that's the name, but no asterisk)

I'm not a namby pamby when it comes to swearing, but I do try to avoid it when possible (and often it's not possible, but if I habituate myself to it, I might forget myself when I really shouldn't pop out a blue smoke of swear words...you get my point).

This one is pretty amazing under the lights:

Let's be honest: Mind. Blown.

It's packed with a stunning blue and aqua glitter in a deep grape jelly base. It's a head turner, to be sure.

This is taken with a lamp. 

In shade or interior lighting, the effect is far more subtle, and if your top coat dulls - I recemmend a thin extender that can amp up shine w/o shrinking - it can lose a lot of that innate lustre.

I don't know if this is a limited edition or what, but at this writing the shop is closed for a short break - not uncommon in the indie world - and I look forward to checking out more of these enchanting polishes.

Thanks so much for reading my little nail polish journal!