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

Release: 4 January 2020

8 polishes

Femme Fatale usually releases a Valentine’s trio. But when Sophie picked her inspiration, she couldn’t help but create a full collection.

This is another art-inspired collection (although for the first time it is a print, not a painting)– Suzuki Harunobu’s Lovers Walking in the Snow (Crow & Heron):

Sophie included some official description from the Met Museum:

“Of all ukiyo-e prints of lovers, this one creates the most romantic and melancholic mood. Harunobu emphasizes the intimacy of two lovers strolling in the snow, even suggesting perhaps a michiyuki, a path to a love suicide. The couple walk together in the quietly falling snow, in what is known as an ai ai gasa pose, literally, the sharing of an umbrella and love.”

And some maker notes:

“This artwork by Harunobu makes me think of soft snow falling and blanketing the landscape, muffled footsteps, a quiet stroll with your loved one – simply holding their hand and enjoying their company and the quiet, the swish of elegant and silken fabrics.  A full and content heart. The collection itself is titled “Lovers in the Snow” and the colourway is drawn directly from the artwork, as is usual with my art-inspired sets.”

What devastatingly lovely inspiration to draw on for a Valentine’s set… Sophie never ceases to amaze.

Aiai Gasa

Aiai Gasa features a sheer copper base with red/gold shifting shimmer and scattered holographic sparkle. I can’t tell if there’s any microglitter, but the overall effect and remaining texture feels very much like something with microglitter. My photos are leaning quite orange, but in person the base feels more copper, which is then overlaid with strong red shimmer. Overall it is very sparkly and dynamic.

3 coats + 2 coats of top coat

Crow

Crow features a black base with silver flakes and holographic microflakes. Very sleek, very chic shade.

3 coats + top coat

Heron

Heron features an ivory creme base with matte grey flakes. The ivory base has a bit of yellow, but on my skin there’s a bit of a green lean (as is common with yellow-toned polishes). Normally I really hate that green lean, and indeed it looks a little odd here, but it actually doesn’t give me intense lobster fingers, so I’m kind of okay. It’s a clean and elegant look. Definitely one to check out on a swatcher with a similar skintone to see exactly how this unusual base color leans on you.

3 coats + top coat

Michiyuki

Michiyuki features an undersaturated tan crelly base with red/green shifting iridescent flakes. This polish just did not want to photograph properly. It keeps looking very mustard in my photos. But in real life, it’s a very yellow-toned brown, and if it is mustard at all it would be a very desaturated kind of mustard.

3 coats + top coat

Pink Silk

Pink Silk features a sheer pink-tinted base with strong red/gold/green shifting shimmer. It definitely needs to be built up in three or four coats, and if you dislike the look of VNL you’ll probably want to use it as a topper. The overall look is designed to be delicate and sheer. The pink is still definitely visible on the nail–just from the bottle appearance I was worried the pink base would vanish when applied, so I’m very happy that overall it is still a pink shade. The far shift to green is very beautiful.

3 coats + top coat

Quiet Beauty

Quiet Beauty is packed full of microglitter and accented with a scattered holographic effect. The official description of the glitter color is antique silver, but I think it’s more of a champagne. Not quite silver, not quite gold, but a flattering metallic shade that should suit most everyone well. Very sparkly shade that still fits beautifully into this soft and romantic collection.

The official description also says this could be a topper, and I suppose it could be if you don’t mind significantly obscuring the base color.

I recommend pressing the brush a bit harder during application to smooth down the glitters as much as possible, using a gentle fingertip to tame any stray glitters after application, and finishing with at least two coats of a good top coat.

3 coats + 2 coats of top coat

Snowscape

Snowscape features an ivory yellow creme base with assorted matte white glitters scattered within. Now, this shade is photographing kind of questionable on me, but in real life I actually really liked it. Again, it pulls a bit green, but in this case, the overall effect is almost like a very soft pistachio green. Those little white hexes add such a delicate and elegant feel. I really, really enjoyed this shade. I hope you can view my photos on a computer, or something that can show a wider range of colors than just a typical cell phone, and hopefully the colors will look more accurate.

3 coats + 2 coats of top coat

Tender Affection

Tender Affection is a rose pink microglitter bomb packed into a clear base. The official description also lists additional microflakes and holo pigment, but to the naked eye I just see microglitter. But it is beautiful. This kind of microglitter polish always has such an incredible dynamism and sparkle that cannot be captured in a still image. Unfortunately this one seems to be showing up as a very bright pink on my phone screen. It’s not a shy shade of pink, but there’s a softness in it as well. To me it looks like a very classic shade of rose pink. There’s always room for a pink glitter polish in any Valentine’s release, and this one fits the bill perfectly.

The formula is flawless for a glitterbomb. I had very good coverage after two coats, and I just brushed a partial third coat onto the tips to cover up the little bit of patchiness that remained.

2-3 coats + 2 coats of top coat

It truly amazes me how the colors really are reflected in the original print (even though it is not very colorful to begin with) and how the resulting collection is very Valentine’s and delicate, retaining the signature FF spark while refraining from being overly pink and feminine. This set is beautifully considered and balanced, which is all the more incredible considering all these constraining factors.

My personal favorites are Snowscape and Crow.

The Lovers in the Snow collection releases for preorder on January 4 at 9am AEST.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics: http://www.femmefatalecosmetics.com.au/

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