a-england Ascalon

I have found my HG (holy grail) of nail polishes! All the stuff I've heard other bloggers say about formulas, self-leveling, etc. that made no sense to me, or I didn't care about, are now understood. a-england makes the best polish it has been my privilege to put on. Seriously.

Behold!

Let's talk formula for a minute. You know some polishes are runny, some are streaky, some are really thick, etc. Ascalon glided over my nails like a hot knife going through butter and left zero brush marks. It went on easily, but was neither too thick nor too runny. It's pigmented enough that I could get away with one coat, but I dinged my right hand middle finger before the polish dried, so I did a second coat.

Not only is the formula fabulous, but Ascalon has the most sophisticated, subtle beauty I've ever found in a polish. The base colour is a dark pewter/silver with a purple and green duo-chrome finish. It also has some subtle holographic micro glitter that adds a beautiful sparkle to the finish. I swear I took about fifty photos of this polish because I was so in love with it.

The colour is hard to photograph because the purple shimmer and holographic glitter really need sunlight to be evident on film. Japan is going through a rainy, cloudy period at the moment and the best I could do was weak sunlight filtered through the clouds. Please believe me when I say that this colour is SO much more beautiful in person! Even having seen other people's swatches did not prepare me for how gorgeous it would be in real life.

This as the best shot I could get in our crap weather. You can't really see the holographic glitter much except for a tiny bit on my pinkie. In bright light it looks like your nails are full of green, blue and silver sparkles. Ascalon is a bit camera shy. lol

a-england is awesome not only for making great polishes, but also for offering free international shipping. This was so nice after being ripped off by companies like KOH that expects you to pay 15 euros in shipping for one little nail polish. I like a company that appreciates it's customers! Check them out and maybe buy a bottle for yourself (but leave a bottle of St. George and princess tears for me!).