Indie Metallic Holo Comparison Showdown

Happy Monday everyone! When I got back from my girls weekends in San Luis Obispo earlier today, I had a nail mail package courtesy of Fair Maiden Polish. Recently I purchased a few newer polishes they had released when they restocked their Garden Party collection just last weekend.

Included in this order was another golden holo polish, and while I wanted to compare it immediately to the LE Fair Maiden Polish I had that was similar, I realized I probably had a whole slew of golden holo indie polishes I could compare.

So off to my shelf I went in search of some comparable golden holos. It's definitely been one of those colors I have purchased a lot of lately. And who doesn't love gold?! It is the perfect accent for any look.

While in search on comparable golden holos, I realized I had some other metallic holo polishes I wished to compare. So since I was super busy last week and left you with nothing on Friday, I thought I'd include two comparisons in one post – an Indie Metallic Holo Comparison Showdown!!!



Now I'll start with the golds, since that was my original mission. None of these are exact dupes, but they are similar.



The cast of characters in this comparison are, from thumb to pinkie, Different Dimension Armstrong, F.U.N. Lacquer TGIF, Fair Maiden Polish Gilded Garden, Fair Maiden Polish Secret Garden and ILNP Iconic.







 

Application on all of these were very easy to manage. Armstrong, TGIF and Iconic all were opaque in two coats. The Fair Maidens had a thicker consistency and took three coats for perfect opacity.

The differences in these polish is varied. I would say Armstrong leans more champagne with copper gold chrome flakies and has the strongest linear holo finish. TGIF has a more true gold finish with matching chrome flakies and a more scattered less strong linear holo finish. Gilded Garden is also a golden holo with pink iridescent flakies which create a lovely pink flash. Secret Garden has those same flakies but a more coppery gold finish. Both the Fair Maiden Polishes had a softer scattered holo finish. I would describe Iconic as a rosy, lavender-leaning gold holo polish with brighter golden flakies throughout (which I never noticed before comparing all these polishes side by side) and a strong linear holo finish.

Now let's take a look at the chrome flakie holos I had that I had been itching to compare for quite some time now!



This case of characters contains only two brands – ILNP and Indigo Bananas. The Indigo Bananas polishes here were released well before the INLP flakie craze that has been flooding the interwebs lately – so they definitely hold a special place in my heart. The colors, from index to pinkie are, Indigo Bananas Taffeta, Darling?, ILNP Happily Ever After, Indigo Bananas Bridal Veil and ILNP Fame.







All of these polishes had the same great coverage and application. Opaque in two coats, smooth application and no difficulty with the flakies sticking up or creating texture here.

I think the biggest differences in these polishes lie in their content and holo finishes. The Indigo Bananas seem to have a more scattered less dense holo finish with heavier emphasis on the flakies. While the ILNP has a strong linear holo finish with much more holo content per polish, balancing the holo with the flakies. Also Happily Ever After and Taffeta, Darling? are clearly different shades of purple and Fame has some golden flakies as well, making it the slightest bit more golden that the straight silver flakies in Bridal Veil.

While all these colors are definitely similar, I am sure glad that I have them all and can definitely see a purpose for all of them!

Do you have any of these polishes? What do you think? Which of these do you like the most?!

Floral nail stamping over Indigo Bananas Taffeta, Darling?

Today's nail art was brought you by the Stamp One, Stamp All Ten nail art prompt of the week: Florals! And for the occasion, I thought I thought I would try the leadlight technique for the very first time (it's also a challenge later in the month, so practice makes perfect).

To start out this look, I broke out one of my newest polishes Indigo Bananas Taffeta, Darling? Which I won from a giveaway on The Mercurial Magpie!




I wore this polish for the weekend I was visiting my in laws. The weekend consisted of a mix of outdoor time and inside time, so I wanted a polish that would shine inside and out. Taffeta, Darling? was it! This is a purple glass fleck holo, which in the sun shines bright with holo and in the shade has a lovely silver shine to it. This polish is truly a gem and individual in my collection.



When I got back from my in laws, I knew that this was the perfect base for the floral stamping. And since I knew I needed to practice the leadlight technique, I thought that this might be a good base to practice on.


Since I don't have a lot of experience in this technique, and I was short on time, I thought I'd just stamp an accent to start with. Using Rica Squish the Rainbow jelly polishes, which I got specifically to try leadlighting, I colored in this flower I stamped using my MoYou London Pro 06 XL Plate. I used Essie No More Film to stamp the image (a very opaque darkend purple creme polish).



I really think this is a fun technique and I look forward to trying it again with a different look! It's not at hard as I thought it would be. I just broke out a fine nail art brush and with a gentle hand, colored in various parts of the flower!



Clearly you'll be seeing this technique again in the future! Have you ever tried the leadlight technique? Do you have tips for me, or plate suggestions? I'd love to hear them, because I expect I'll be trying this out again and again in the future!

And don't forget to check out the other ladies who are partaking in the challenge this week!


   

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