Elevation Polish Team Member Press Sample
Good morning lovely readers! Today is the 7th and you know what that means, it's Elevation launch/restock day! I have a large post for you, so sit back, kick up your feet and get your scrolling finger ready! In this post I have the Wyoming the Wild Collection, Khongoryn Els (which is being re-released today) and a little bit of info on Lulu's Favorite Things, including a brief review of one of the cuticle oils.
Continue reading after the jump!
Since this post is so long I will keep the chatter to a minimum. I am going to start off with this month's collection, in alphabetical order!
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Cloud Peak is a bright cornflower blue with black and multi-chrome flakes, soft holo and what looks like pink or purple shimmer (can be seen in my sunlight photos). This one is so complex and has so much depth! The formula was smooth and perfect. I used two coats and one coat of top coat for the photos.
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Fireflies in a Dark Meadow is a blackened base with multi-chrome flakies and gold shimmer. This one was originally an SBP and I will have a comparison with it after the photos of this one. The formula was smooth and I only needed two coats for opacity. Shown here with two coats and one coat of top coat.
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And I just had to see how it looked with a matte top coat...
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And now for the comparison with the SBP version. You can see the SBP on my ring finger, all others are the core version being released today. I used two coats for the new one and 3 generous coats for opacity on the SBP version. As you can see, the base in the new one is darker.
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Grand Teton Sunset is a new formula for Elevation! I love how Lulu likes to try new formulas and really push limits and not just do "the same old thing" all the time. This one is different because it has a built in top coat. Because of this it does not play well with top coat. It dries pretty quickly on its own to a high shine, so there's no need for a top coat. If you do add a top coat be prepared for it to darken and/or streak the color. I've worn this color 4 times already. The first time I applied top coat as an experiment. It did slightly streak a few nails but the main thing I noticed was that it darkened the color. I have a photo below showing how it changed using top coat (Pure Ice Girl on the Run). The formula was smooth. Out of the four times I have applied it I only had issues once, and that was with slight bubbling. I took that off and reapplied using thinner coats and it was fine. I am showing two coats in the photos, but if you notice any bubbling when applying I recommend three thin coats instead.
One last thing about this color, it is quite the chameleon because it is very vibrant but looks different depending on your skin tone and the lighting you're in. It is a very vibrant purple on me, but on others I have seen it look much more blue.
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And below is how it looks with top coat on the middle and ring fingers (index and pinkie have no top coat)..
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Hidden Falls is a 23 karat gold top coat. This is a special gold top coat because Lulu hand rolls and cuts the gold for a very small batch at a time to get the look she wants. Because of this the gold flakes are larger than most gold top coats. Due to the cost of the supplies and the time involved in making each bottle the price tag is higher on this one than on other Elevations ($25). There is a lot of gold in the bottle and it is suspended nicely, which made application easy. I did "dab" some of the flakes on to avoid multiple coats and thickness, but anyone who has applied polish with larger glitters knows this method. Since this is a special polish it will have a special gold label and a handsigned sticker from Lulu on the back. Those labels weren't ready when she shipped out to bloggers, but you can see them in the listing.
I am showing it over multiple bases below. First, over Thunder Basin with an accent nail of Iceberg Lake. (The bubbles you see over Iceberg Lake are from my top coat, not Hidden Falls.) Then, how I personally wore it as a full mani, over Uluru. In both manis I used one dabbed coat and one coat of top coat.
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Over Elevation Uluru...
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And I added a coat of Cult Nails Wax That over it...
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Iceberg Lake is a gorgeous jade/seafoam green with a hint of shimmer that is very reminiscent of the shimmer found in Dior polishes. This one was the surprise of the collection for me. I'm not usually drawn to this color family but I am so in love with this polish! Maybe it's the added shimmer or the vibrancy of the color, I'm not sure why, but I do love it. The formula was smooth and easy. I used three thin coats. (I think two regular coats would be sufficient,. I tend to use thinner coats as a rule due to the heat where I live.) The shimmer was kind of hard to capture in photos but you can see it in my macro and both of my sunlight pics.
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Thunder Basin is something I've been waiting for from Elevation for a very long time - a brown creme! It's pretty common knowledge that Lulu loves brown and I've wondered for a long time why she hadn't released a brown creme yet (especially every time I needed one for nail art!). Turns out she was working on it, but wanted to get it just right! This one is a dark chocolate color and the formula was easy to apply. I used two coats for opacity. No top coat for the photos. It's so shiny!
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Whoa! Jackson Hole is probably my favorite from this collection. It is a greige (sometimes it looks grey and other times it looks taupe/beige) shimmer with soft density holo and a slight thermal effect! I really love both the color and finish on this one. Once again, no issues with formula at all. I used two coats and one coat of top coat for the photos. (Note the last photo shows the thermal change.)
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Showing the cold state on my middle and ring fingers, warm ("normal") state on my index and pinkie...
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That's all of the Wyoming the Wild Collection! Isn't the whole collection just fab?! Now for Khongoryn Els. This one was originally released in June 2013 with the Mongolia Collection. You can see my original review here. It was previously discontinued and is being re-released. It's a gorgeous taupe with heavy purple (and blue) shimmer that often steals the show. There have been no changes to the original formula and I am using my original bottle in these photos so you know it has stood the test of time! Two coats and no top coat for the photos.
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And lastly, a little bit of info on Lulu's Favorite Things. Lulu's Favorite Things is a new section on the website where you can purchase some of.... Lulu's favorite things! LOL! All of the items in this section are items she uses on a regular basis. You can read more in her blog post. As of right now there are:
Different Dimension Diversion Oils - I have used the headache one quite often myself and it really does help. In fact, I have some on now because I woke up with a really bad headache this morning).
HK Girl Top Coat by Glisten and Glow - one of my favorite top coats. Super fast drying and also great for nail art.
Emerald and Ash cuticle oils - I have used these as well. They are very moisturizing and also have very rich and unique scents. The bottles are also very unique and have a nice rollerball applicator. I have a pumpkin pie one and I just wanted to eat it up! There are two different scent choices available from Elevation. One of the scents is Yeti relaxes in Lakshadweep and it is a scent created by Lulu using two scents she likes to layer from Emerald and Ash as a perfume oil - creamy coconut and bergamot.
Northern Star cuticle oils - these are available in unscented (the one I have photos of below) as well as an exclusive scent called Yeti Likes it Hot. You can see a review for that one at Pointless Cafe. I have been using Northern Star cuticle oil for awhile and it is one of my favorites. It is very moisturizing, without being greasy. I also love the rollerball applicator and the size is easy to stick in your purse and take it wherever you go!
The Wyoming the Wild Collection will launch tonight, April 7th at 9 PM CST (10 EST/7 PST) and will re-stock on Wednesday, April 22nd at 9 AM CST (10 EST/7 PST).
Lulu's Favorite Things are available for purchase now.
Elevation Polish can be found at their website and polishes retail anywhere from $8.50 - $12.50 for full-size bottles. Launches and re-stocks happen on the 7th of each month at 9 PM CST (new collection launch) and the 22nd of each month at 9 AM CST. One in the evening and one in the morning for international shoppers. All products are kept in stock at all times unless sold out at the restocks (which typically only happens the first time a collection is launched). Elevation Polish is also available at Llarowe.
Make sure you follow Elevation Polish at the social media links below to stay up-to-date on all the latest news and fun!
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Thanks for reading and happy polishing!
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