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I made the plunge to try a new indie brand on Etsy -
Piper Polish. Erin makes mainly holographic polishes with duochrome bases, but she has a growing number of glitters too.
I couldn't find any swatches or reviews for Erin's polishes online and with all the hysteria about the quality of Indie polishes on the market I was a little nervous.
Luckily Erin delivered, big time!!
First off, the customer service was amazing! Erin sent off my order really fast and included 3 cuticle oil pens (that she makes) as freebies! All of her etsy feedback basically says the same thing - 'lightning fast shipping'. Everyone seemed to get their order quicker than they expected, which in my experience is not usually the case.
Next, the formula of the polishes was great and the dry time was quick too. Nothing was streaky or difficult to apply. Pretty much all of the polishes I ordered only needed 2 coats and they were thicker than some but spread so well.
Here we go:
Mack Attack
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Mack Attack is a pretty purple with blue flash shimmer and a soft linear holographic effect. It falls somewhere between lavender and mauve and is certainly different to all the other light purple holos I either own or have seen. At just 2 coats it gave perfect coverage and I had absolutely no issues with cuticle drag because the lacquer base used, is similar to a suspension base used for chunky glitters. It dried fast too which I didn't really expect due to the thickness - very impressive! It's a more subtle holo than most, which I love! I recommend it to those that like the prismatic sparkle of holos but feel like they stick out like a sore thumb when they wear them. Maybe a holo for a more 'mature' woman. Anyway, it seems the stronger the holo, the more silvery the lacquer becomes (because of all the spectraflair) and you lose the true colour of the polish. That's not a problem with Mack Attack though. It always looks purple (even in the shade) and you see even more of the blue flash in sunlight.
Razz-A-Ma-Tazz
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Razz-A-Ma-Tazz is a pale pink linear holo with a blue/purple flash. It reminds me a bit of Dollish Polish Looking for my Mr Big (which I don't have to compare). This bottle is quite different from the listing batch (which is a much richer pink with red tones) which I asked Erin about because I just assumed she'd tweaked the formula. She said she used a different base and actually added more pigment than usual so we're not sure how it ended up so light, and she's offered straight out to send me a new bottle, which is so fantastic! I really admire sellers whom take such pride in their products that they will send you replacements right off the bat! And I would have had no problem buying another from her (I just really like the swatches on the listing) because this version is really pretty! Overall, it's a soft lilac/pink with the same subtle linear holo as Mack Attack. It's feminine and looks quite nice next to my skin, so I'm happy!
Flash Mob
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Flash Mob is my Holy Grail of taupe holos. I've been looking for the perfect neutral holo for so long and Flash Mob wins because of the colour but also because it has the easiest application of all the others I have tried! I'm talking China Glaze Cyberspace & FYI here! It's described as a 'bronzed metallic' and I really can't elaborate. But it looks just like the photos. It also has a stronger linear holo effect than the others. I only needed 2 coats of this one too. I want to say it's my favourite... I just don't think I can commit to it though!
Grape-Blueberry Jelly
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Grape-Blueberry Jelly gives ok coverage at 2 coats, but I wanted to get perfectly even coverage so I ended up with 3 coats - as you can see in the photos below. There are HEAPS because I just couldn't get enough of it!
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Grape-Blueberry Jelly is a gorgeous grape purple jelly base filled with small blue hex glitter. I am completely in love with GBJ! It's so simple but just looks flawless at the end of the day. It is really gritty though, so I used 2 layers of
Aqua Daisy Glitter Gloss to give it a smooth and glossy appearance. (I'll be reviewing Glitter Gloss soon!). It's amazing how much more vibrant the purple looks with a 3rd layer. It actually had a pretty good formula, just remember to wrap your tips (I didn't so they look a bit rough with glitter hanging off in some places)!
Spectraflair Top Coat
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Spectraflair Top Coat is by far Erin's best seller! I chose it out of all the others on Etsy because it looked like it was really buildable. And, it is. In all the photos I'm only wearing 1 coat over Sation Love At First Lavender. I meant to get a photo of 2 coats but I completely forgot, I love the subtle holo right now!!! I already have the Specialita Hits Hefesto and while it has an amazing holo pay off, it really alters the base colour. I wanted a holo top coat that would add some prismatic sparkle but not make the base really silvered!
Of course another coats makes it way more holo - you can see it
here on the listing. Another reason for getting this top coat is that it actually acts like a top coat in its own right! It's nice and thick and hardens to give great protection to your manicure!
BTW
If you're wondering what all the black fluff is on my nails, it's black fluff! I accidentally fell asleep while the base was drying and got sheet indentations so I added another coat of the Sation - only after I realised that lots of fluff from my throw rug was stuck in the indentations and they showed through majorly in the photos!
Wow, that was a lot of post for me! Usually I'm so lazy but I just spent several hours (not all in one go!) putting this review together. I hope this provides you with a little insight in to the Piper Polish brand!
You can purchase these and other Piper Polish lacquers
here starting at US$3.50 for 5mL and $7 for 15mL bottles. (The holos start at $5 and $10 respectively).
xxx
NPA