Monday, December 19, 2011

Holiday Hands from butter LONDON

I wanted to try some festive nail lacquers from butter LONDON, so I ordered two: British Racing Green and The Black Knight ($14 each). Online, both appeared to be perfect shades for Christmas. I love one of them.

British Racing Green is a dark, “hunter green” that has become a classic. Given that it wasn't sparkly, I also ordered the limited-edition The Black Knight, pictured at right from the butter LONDON site, and described as a glitter fusion containing black, pink, blue, and silver suspended in a black base. The description was a bit strange, but I used the photo to guide me. I anticipated a vibrant, glittery purple.

When I applied them, I was surprised by The Black Knight. I had to apply three coats to get even color. That might be due to my inept application techniques. I also found that the glitter wanted to extend beyond the tip of my nail (and I have no idea how to fix that). The same thing happened when I swatched on a color wheel, as you may see in my swatch photo below, which was taken in full sun. I tried to clean up the tip with my finger, and I did pretty well for some reason.

I adore the glossy British Racing Green. I love all things this color, so I'm not surprised. The Black Knight? Not so much. It's a little too black (for my taste) and a little too glittery/chunky. I'll know next time. Read the description; don't just look at the photo.

What do you think of these butter LONDON shades? What do you think of glittery glosses in general? I could use some help with this one. Which one would you wear for Christmas? You can find them at the butter LONDON Web site, Nordstrom, Beauty.com, and other online sites.

Photos at top courtesy of butter LONDON; other photos by Best Things in Beauty

8 comments:

Dovey said...

British racing green seems like a great alternative to holiday red nails. I'm intrigued by the concept behind black knight, but it's harder for me to imagine wearing it. Perhaps new years would be more appropriate?

Unknown said...

Try a super shiny top coat on top of black night! makes a big difference to the overall appearance!

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Dovey!

Definitely. Actually, I'm going to try what Polish Jinx suggested - a top coat.

Charlestongirl said...

Thanks, Polish Jinx!

I'll do that next time. Great thought!

Viking Beauty said...

I've heard that butter has a problem with their glitter formulations. A friend of mine blogged about The Black Knight and she used Gelous over the polish to smooth out the glitter. I am going to try this technique with No More Waity Katie and see if it works.

Charlestongirl said...

Thanks, Noel. I guess I should have done my homework first on this one. Live and learn. I don't really like the glittery charcoal color. I might have been willing to overlook the gritty texture if it had been royal purple. :)

Viking Beauty said...

Purple is my favorite color, so I fully understand this sentiment :)

bisbee said...

I love the green...I almost ordered it, but I think I have a similar color (not the Butter polish though). I LOVE all of the Butter polishes I have - although they all go on my toes, since I have pink and white acrylics on my hands.

As far as glitter - they are a problem - except I do have No More Waity Katie, and that has such small glitter particles that I haven't noticed a problem! Of course, I don't do my pedicures myself, so I don't know if the nail tech has any problems with it!