Cupcake Polish: Iceland

*Disclosure: PR samples- I received these polishes free of charge in exchange for photography.*

Release: 27 January 2020

6 polishes

A collection inspired by Iceland’s natural splendors

Gullfoss

I really love the opalescent red/green glitters, although they can be upstaged by the overwhelming amount of shimmer also packed in. If you prefer thicker formulas you may not need to, but I added some thinner to achieve my preferred viscosity and let the glitters shine more. It also helped me do more even coats, which allowed me to wear this polish in two different ways: in 2 coats on my middle and pinky fingers, and in 3 coats on my index and ring fingers. In two coats the base purple color shows better, while three coats darkens the base color to almost-black, which emphasizes the red shimmer. I personally prefer the look in two coats.

2 coats (middle, pinky) or 3 coats (index, ring) + one coat of glossy top coat

The above macro shows three coats of Gullfoss.

The above macro shows two coats of Gullfoss.

Aurora Borealis

This is the other polish I added thinner to, although in this case I don’t think it’s as optional. The thinner also helps those multichrome flakies stand out more against the black jelly base.

3 coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat

Blue Lagoon

Such a pretty shade of blue! The shimmer has a gorgeous shift to purple. This has the thinnest formula of the collection but it builds up really well.

3 coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat

Heart of Iceland

I really like this pink/red/orange shade on my skin! The shimmer is very glowy and shifts easily.

2-3 coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat

Eldhraun

Unfortunately this color wasn’t photographing properly. The base color is indeed a warm green, but there’s so much bright, cool green shimmer added that the overall color should be a more saturated, brighter, cool-leaning green. The overall look is not as warm as it appears in these images and probably suits cooler skin tones well. The far pink/gold reaches of this shimmer shift contrast beautifully against the green base.

3 coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat

Lupine

Saved my far-and-away favorite for last! The aurora shimmer in this polish is so strong, and that blue glow at the far end of the color shift is so luminous. I would apologize for taking so many photos of it…but I think you’ll be glad I included them here.

The first time I applied this polish, I was having a bad day and needed three coats for opacity. But for these photos I was happy with two coats. So how many coats you’ll use will probably depend on your polishing style and what kind of polish day you’re having. Overall I think this polish had the smoothest formula of the collection.

2 coats + 1 coat of glossy top coat