Hi Goddesses
Hola and welcome to some more swatches that have been loitering with intent - these ones since last June. Ooops.
When these 4 polishes first came out, everyone went wild, and some stunning photos were delivered by bloggers. However, some of them were a little TOO stunning, and a lot of us wondered whether the polishes would look like that in real life (without you holding your hand at unnatural and painful angles!).
Each of these "ultrachromes" was released in a holo and non holo version, and I thought it would be interesting to wear both versions on the same hand, and test whether the holo inhibited the colour bend.
First up we have Birefringence, primarily blurple, but in occasional lights it would hint at ruby and gold.
I couldn't get it to turn as much as some other bloggers could, and I'm usually pretty good with duochromes, but you can't win them all.
The holo version holds up well, usually turning as much as the non-holo version, and I think it's only at the very purple end that it lacks as much oomph.
Cygnus Loop is very similar, but darker. It lacks the pink highlights of Birefringence, but otherwise shares a very similar spectrum.
The blurple aspects are deeper and darker and more dramatic, and I think it's very close as to which of these 2 colours is the "best".
Again, the holo version holds up well, but the difference is more noticeable here than with Birefringence - it can't quite reach the brighter edges of the spectrum.
Of the 3 brands I wore at the same time - Girly Bits, KBShimmer and ILNP - I personally feel the ILNP were the weaker ones. For me they applied more thinly, and lacked kapow on the nail. I appreciate that is against the conventional wisdom, and I may be the only person on the planet to think so, but I did think the other 2 brands were a better product.