Manic.Monday - Models Own Green Fairy

Earlier this autumn Model's Own released their Velvet Goth Collection which has five dark and vampy jewel shades. As soon as I saw the previews of the shades, I knew I had to try them since I have a bit of a thing for textured nail polishes, and the shade that I most wanted to try was Absinthe. It's not just the color itself that appeals to me, it's also the connotations of images of Paris in the winter time in another era.

Absinthe is a ridiculously strong anise flavoured spirit, that should really be mixed with water before you drink it and it was very popular among artists and writers in 19th century Paris. If you're a literature buff like myself, you'll recognize that absinthe is mentioned in many classic novels where it's referred to as the Green Fairy. For me Absinthe conjures up images of bohemian Paris in the autumn time, eating roasted chestnuts in Montmartre - perhaps sitting on the steps of  Sacré Coeur... but before I lose myself completely thinking of Paris, let's move on to the nail polish!

The nail polishes in the Velvet Goth collection have a very unique finish which is slightly textured, matte but glimmering at the same time. When you apply the first coat of any of the shades, the polish goes on like any other product - glossy and easy to work with. After you've applied the second and maybe even a third coat, the polish creates an amazing and interesting multi dimensional effect created by different glitter shapes, sizes and slight differences in color.

The brush is a very standard size - not particularly wide, but since the formula is nice and easy to apply and the glitter is spread evenly in the polish you'll easily get a streak free and even finish. You'll definitely need to apply at least two coats to get that sumptuous effect, but even if you should decide to go for even more coats, you don't need to worry that it's going to long time creating the lovely finish, since the polish dries very quickly and evenly. Personally I like to apply three coats to get the really dense effect of heavy and shimmery velvet, and that's what you see in the pic below.

 

The shade Absinthe is a dark Persian green with a blue undertone which give it a shimmery slightly teal like hue, and it's broken up with different size glitter in various lighter shades of green like forest green and even lime green. Together it creates an amazing, rich, vampy and plush effect. I really like the final results and despite it being a very distinct look, it could definitely be worn as an every day polish, and I would probably pair this with an outfit in berry or plum colours or even the mono chrome trend. I like this so much that I'll get some of the other shades as well and have my eye on Sardonyx - a lovely rich burgundy red and Amethyst a glorious royal purple. Have you tried the Velvet Goth collection yet? Which is your favourite shade?