Hey friends! I have a treat for you today, the entire Summer 2016 collection from Colors by Llarowe! There are 16 shades in all: 12 in the main set; and 4 in a smaller cremes, jellies, and shimmers sub set. I was going to separate them into two posts, but although grouping them all together will make for a very long, picture-heavy post, I think it just makes more sense to do one.
So get yourself a cup of tea (or whatever your preferred imbibement is!), and let's dive right in!
All the necessary purchase details at the end of this post.
Main Collection
"Ahoy Matey!"
"Ahoy Matey! is complicated. It's the color of the ocean - sometimes aqua blue, sometimes green, full of color-shifting shimmer that shifts from violet to copper to gold. Use top coat to bring out this gorgeous shimmer." This shade, as you can see, is fairly sheer, but application was unproblematic and dry time was good. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Annie Get Your Gun"
"This polish is incredibly hard to describe. A continuously changing color scheme that includes shades of blue, green, gunmetal grey, purple with an added pink to purple to lavender sheen. Tightly scattered glowing holographic with arcs of green, yellow, gold, turquoise and purple. Staring at your nails may cause hazardous conditions!". Formula was (and forgive me for using this phrase, I hate it) like butter: so richly pigmented and easy to apply! Easily a one-coater, but my swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Bam!"
"A Persian green intense linear holo with turquoise flame.". This shade is not exceptionally densely pigmented, it has a bit of a holo jelly feel to it. Application was easy though and dried quickly. My swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Fire Down Below"
"A nude ivory scattered holo packed with shimmer that shifts from copper to gold to red.. This polish looks lit from within.". No issues with either formula or application -nicely pigmented, easy to apply. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Fire To The Rain"
"Fire to the Rain is a bright cool-toned candy apple red crelly that's squishy like a jelly and loaded with shimmer. ". As this is a crelly leaning towards jelly, it is fairly sheer, but necessarily so in order for the shimmery bits to peek through. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Lisa's Revenge"
"A bright royal blue crelly that's squishy like a jelly and loaded with shimmer. ", this had the exact same formula and finish as "Fire To The Rain" - sheer, squishy, jelly loveliness. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Pool Partay!"
"A pool water blue/green intense linear holo jelly with cool and light turquoise flashes.", this was fairly sheer, being a jelly holo. Application was unproblematic, but I did need three coats to banish any VNL - you may find two to be sufficient depending on your nail length/level of tolerance for VNL. Swatches, as mentioned, show three coats with top coat.
"Prissy Lil Thang!"
"A rosy pink intense linear holo with lavender flame. Put on those sunglasses before you go outside!". Not intensely richly pigmented but no issues with formula or application. Swatches show two coats with top coat, and depending on your monitor, may appear slightly more cool-toned than it is in reality.
"Rendered Speechless"
"A milky bright minty green packed with shimmer that shifts from copper to gold to pink.". Lovely creme-based formula which is slightly chalky but nonetheless easy to apply and smooths out nicely. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Shiny Happy People"
"A periwinkle blue with purple sheen scattered holo with intense shimmer that shifts pink to copper to green. This polish glows and is a true chameleon!". Slightly jelly feel to the formula but lots of shimmer packed in to ramp up the coverage. Easy to apply. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Stars At Night"
"A grape purple crelly packed with shimmer. Add top coat for a squishy jelly finish.", same formula and finish as "Fire To The Rain" and "Lisa's Revenge", but deeper coloured base gives more coverage. Swatches show to coats with top coat.
"Summer Lovin'"
"A hot pink jelly holo with holo flakes and iridescent micro shimmer.", application was easy. At first this seems like a top coat guzzler - when I top coated, it sucked it straight in and looked all gritty - but I am pleased to say after a minute or two it smooths out completely. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
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Cremes, Jellies, & Shimmers Sub Set
"Creme Of The Crop"
"Medium sea green crelly. Dries semi matte.", very nice formula for a crelly, nicely pigmented, easy to apply. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Hot Summer Nights"
"Blackened burgundy creme base with intense red shimmer. Use top coat to bring out this gorgeous shimmer. Looks amazing with that summer tan!", very richly pigmented, smooth formula which is a joy apply. A careful one-coater, but my swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Lotus"
"Bright orchid pink crelly with intense gold and pink shimmer. This polish glows!". Nicely pigmented, smooth formula. Minimal VNL on my long skanky nails but not enough to warrant an extra coat. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
"Love Me Some Blurple!"
"Medium to dark purple toned blue squishy crelly", another really nice formula for a jelly-leaning crelly, nicely pigmented, smooth, easy to apply. Swatches show two coats with top coat.
And there we have it, sixteen fun, gorgeous summer colours! Which are calling out to you? I love the holos of course, but the jellies are also really beguiling to me!
This collection will be available to pre-order from Llarowe on the 26th May from 12pm - 8pm MST, or if you live in the UK you can order them right now from Rainbow Connection, stock permitting.
Thanks for reading! :) x
**products provided for honest, unbiased review**
