Sunday, March 29, 2015

6 Harts Polish "Swim Through The Deep Skies"



The hidden polish community is a fascinating digital underground: all words, no voices, all hands, few faces.  In a world of nuggles, with no inkling of the irresistible allure that something so innocuous as nail polish holds on the minds of ladies (and gentlemen!) all over the planet, it is a rare happening indeed to meet with another of this invisible, magical world.  We, the nail fairies, or nairies, if you will, walk through the physical world hidden in plain sight, and reveal ourselves only in our digital kingdom to our fellow nairy passionistas.  Oh, your nuggle friends are aware of (and baffled by) your ever-shifting, perfectly-painted nails, and might even, to their intense bewilderment, catch an occasional glimpse of one overflowing corner of your nail polish dynasty.  I find it is always best that they never know the full extent, unless you have a fainting couch and smelling salts immediately near your stash.  These dear nuggles are delicate creatures, you know.

But, once in a blue moon, a holographic blue moon (because, well, we're nail polish folk and cannot help ourselves), you might just be lucky enough to encounter another nairy in real life...

Until the day I met Courtney of 6 Harts Polish, I had never been so lucky, and, I suspect you will likely understand why that day I felt like I had actually found a unicorn.  A craftsy, hug-loving, sweet-as-sugar Montana girl who is not merely nairy-literate, but so fully engrossed in The Obsession as to concoct her own lacquer magic...?  It was kind of like looking into a mirror, or a dream.

An immensely warm, kind, darling dream mirror who gives really great hugs.

These lovely qualities of hers were really emphasized in this circumstance: after weeks of correspondence and anticipation, I was a full half hour late to our appointed meet-up.  Thirty minutes!  I dislike being late so I was absolutely horrified, and so ashamed that I wanted to sink into my own skin, but when I finally bounded, near panic-stricken, into our local riverside Bernice's Bakery, Courtney was so gracious beyond any expectation; all friendliness and warm welcome.  You would just love her!  The next half hour was revolutionary to me: words spoken that I had only ever seen typed (indie lacquer!  Helmer stash!  Elevation Polish!), sentiments reciprocated that had only ever evoked confusion in my nuggle friends (the unforgivable sin of a four-coat slow-drying crème polish, for example).  This nairy world that I had been living in for almost four years now was finally a living and breathing entity, and it was all kinds of beautiful.

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Speaking of beautiful, just look at this sparkling jewel of a polish that will be released next month!  Courtney generously surprised me with this little sneak peek, which I am so very honored to share with you.  When I first saw this gemstone lacquer I immediately assumed that it was inspired by our very own Treasure State, with its blue timbered mountains, endless sky, and royal blue state flag, but in fact was created for a movie-inspired polish maker's swap.  However, when it comes to deep skies, I believe I can reasonably attest that we natives of Big Sky Country are something of an authority ;)





>> Swim Through The Deep Skies <<


"Swim Through The Deep Skies" is a brilliant ultramarine blue brimming with silver holographic microglitter, and a linear holographic flame that glistens in its heart with the finest silvery and coppery metallic shimmer.  In that same flame's center and in oblique, indirect lighting, the tiny microglitters shine bright silver, studding their sapphire sea like a constellation of diamonds.

I will tell you right now that these images do not represent the tenth of the holo wizardry that was happening when this polish met sunshine.  I've included some slightly blurry shots to begin to portray the wealth of rainbows that radiates from the union of holo pigment and holo glitter, and also some shady shots as evidence of the starry quality this polish adopts in indirect lighting.

This polish was inspired by The Neverending Story, which I have never seen in its entirety, and even then when I was too young to remember anything anyway, but those that have might understand the fabled connection between this royal blue hue and the film's dragon in particular (an unusual half-dog, half-dragon creature, so I am told).  I just love the powerfully evocative name, "Swim Through The Deep Skies", and I'm imagining a world where one could just jump up and plunge into the ultra-saturated depths of a fantastical, unfathomable sky.






Courtney carefully balanced the opacity of this lacquer's jelly base to allow the glittery shimmeries to shine through, and yet to still be opaque in two-three layers.  I opted for three coats on my medium length nails to obscure my pronounced VNL.  The first layer will go on streaky (this is a dark jelly, after all), and depending on how compatible your base coat is with jellies, it may not like to be over-manipulated, and can get patchy if you use too many strokes (I was randomly using Essie "Feed Me" and it didn't seem to be playing the nicest).  But do not fret; my first coat looked pretty hopeless, but on the second everything evened out perfectly.  I couldn't believe that the drama of my streaks and patches was remedied so easily, but so it was!  Hooray!! 

"Swim Through The Deep Skies" has a thin, fluid viscosity with none of a jelly's sticky or thick tendencies.  It'll pool if you touch your sidewalls, but I was able to brush it away without staining.  The lacquered finish sets to the touch quickly, but characteristically of jellies, takes longer than the initial set to dry.  I like to be extra cautious and allow generous time between coats, as I have dented many a quick-setting multi-coat mani being too hasty.  I found the surface to be resilient to scratches and scrapes though, so waiting between painting was not so difficult for me- and you know how squirrel-like I can be, getting in to everything and never wanting to sit still!


> shade <
 
> shade <

> sun <

> sun <



"Swim Through The Deep Skies" does not yet have an official release date, but will likely be available around April 15th along with at least one other new lacquer!  Do visit/follow/like 6 Harts Polish on their social media and market platforms for the latest news and updates on exciting new releases  

>> 6 Harts Polish <<


Marisa + Courtney


And here we are, just a couple of giggly polish girls!  You can see, I was just so tickled to meet the the artistic soul behind these lovingly crafted lacquers.  Courtney has such a playful, kindhearted, and cozy presence, and her pretty smile and infectious laugh reminded me just how much of a person's warmth and beauty we don't get to experience through words on a screen.  This is what we love most about indies- the people behind them- and for those dear nairies who cannot skip off to Montana on a whim to come see us, I hope you feel you have met your maker!  

Do you have any local nairies in your life??

XOXO
Marisa + Sprinklepuff

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P.S. - I was kind of just making up this word "nairy" as I went along, but turns out there is an Urban Dictionary definition as well, and luckily for me, it is actually quite a nice one:

nairy (noun) var: nairi.  the coolest girl in the world; the most beautiful woman on the planet; intelligent, attractive, and extremely loving.

Nairy is also an Armenian name for baby girls meaning "land of rivers".  You learn something every day, don't you?

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* This product was provided for review. *

6 comments:

  1. Amazing polish - can't wait for it! And you guys are adorable. Thanks for sharing such a lovely story of your meet up.

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    1. Teehee, but of course! ;) It was such a unique experience for me that I could not help sharing in any case, haha! Amazing is the word- blue lovers need this in their life.

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  2. OMGoodness! You took amazing photos and you have such gorgeous nails, dear!! When I made this, the sun wasn't showing itself, NOW! Wow! I seriously giggled and grinned as I read this post, thank you so much dear <3 .....and boo to the 4 coat cremes!

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    1. Oh Courtney, I am so happy!! Your opinion mean miles to me :) This polish is insane in the sun, my camera was all OMG SPARKLES and could not focus on anything, haha. This one is a see-it-to-believe-it! I had such fun writing this one, and just hope that all nairies can read this and so feel the great joy of meeting a like-minded polished soul <3

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  3. A beautiful post for a beautiful polish! Well done, Marisa! The photos are gorgeous! Having vicarious happiness that you met up with fellow-nairy (so cool, that word) Courtney!

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    1. Inspiring vicarious happiness was my dearest wish for this post!!! HOORAY!!! You are, as ever, the very best. <3

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