Nail Polish Review: "Supernatural" by Mooncat

 

ILNP (which stands for "I Love Nail Polish") was created by Barbra Salet in 2012, when it was only a shop on Etsy. Now, it's a huge company offering hundreds of polishes, featuring mostly specialty finishes. 

I have a complicated relationship with green nail polish. When I was a child, my mom had this Shrek-green polish that she kept in a gallon Zip-lock bag (she still keeps her polish, mostly old and dried up, in that same bag. Of course I've donated some of my unloved polishes to that very bag, but she seems to prefer smelly polishes that never dry...). I loved that polish, but whenever I sloppily applied it to my tiny fingernails, I felt very odd, like a little alien. To this day, I love the concept of green polish, and I occasionally enjoy wearing it on my nails, but there's something about green fingernails that is objectively quirky. 

So, when ILNP's "Harvest" collection came out, I was immediately drawn to the green shade, "Olive Grove," which is described as a "flourishing green nail polish with a golden sparkle." As I mentioned in my previous review, I recently picked up a few shades from this new collection; Olive Grove was one of them. So, I decided to review it this week. 

Unfortunately,  I don't have my own photo of Olive Grove this week because surprisingly (spoiler alert), I did not like this polish at all, and removed it within a few days. Here's a link to ILNP's listing of Olive Grove so you can look at the promo photos.  

For my review, I will use a list of criteria to review Olive Grove so that I can offer a full scope of the polish: Color, Opacity, Ability to Self-Level, and Finish/Effect.

Color: This is my biggest issue with this shade. The promo photos show a polish that glows from within, yet remaining dark and moody. The green color, while described as "flourishing," is more akin to a blackened green. I found that, except for in direct sunlight, the green in this polish is muddy and dull. 

Opacity: This polish is just okay when it comes to opacity. It takes three coats to reach opacity, which isn't great for a dark color. It's not patchy, which is a plus, but it needs three coats to reach its full depth of color. 

Ability to Self-Level: This polish isn't a cream, so it's not going to display the same smoothing properties. That being said, it self levels as much as possible for a polish with larger shimmer particles. I didn't have any outstanding lumpy-ness or textured areas, but the size of the shimmer particles did make it slightly difficult to work with. A good quick-dry glossy top coat is needed for this polish. Here's my current favorite. 

Finish/Effect: This is another area I was disappointed with; the promo photos show an ethereal and whimsical looking shimmer effect that is reminiscent of enchanted forests. In reality, it only mimics that effect, and only in direct sunlight. As with the color, the shimmer is dull and underwhelming in most light. I think this was a reminder that nail polish brands use professional, studio lighting to make the polish look its best. Most brands try to represent their polishes as accurately as possible when taking photos, but some brands simply don't think about how the consumer will experience the polishes. I'm not suggesting ILNP is guilty of this, but there is a noticeable discrepancy between Olive Grove's advertising and the real product. 

My Overall Thoughts: thumbs down. I love the concept of this mythical and moody Autumn green polish. However, the actual product doesn't live up to the promotional material. Olive Grove is dull, dark, and tricky to work with. It appears black on the nail in most lighting, and I even received the question, "is that green or black?" on multiple occasions. Personally, I like my moody polishes to present as their advertised color; I'd rather just wear pure black instead of an awkward, blackened color. 

If you like blackened colors, perhaps this polish is for you! For me though, Autumn is not a season of the dull and dark--it's full of vibrancy and color. Stay tuned, as the polish I plan to review next will hopefully reflect that!