ILNP ‘Ever After’ Collection: Swatches and Review
Hello lovely readers! Today I have my swatches for a collection I have been incredibly excited about to share with you all; the brand new ‘Ever After’ collection from ILNP. For their newest release, ILNP bring us six romantic, wedding-inspired polishes, three light holographic shades and three vibrant Ultra holographic shades. This collection will be available to purchase from the 30th of April and all ILNP polishes are vegan, cruelty-free, non-toxic and 7-Free. This collection has some really interesting and beautiful shades, so whether you are looking for some subtle holographic shades or some blinding holographic shades, there is definitely something here for everyone.
Please Note: This collection was sent to me as PR for swatches and review but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Each swatch is shown topped with glossy topcoat.
‘Keepsake’
First we have the shade ‘Keepsake’ which is a very pale neutral base with a light pink undertone and a scattering of holographic micro-flakes. This shade is quite delicate on the nails and feels very bridal. Usually I paint my nails in two thicker coats but with this shade I decided to paint it on in three thinner coats, as it has quite a sheer formula. I do believe the sheerness is intentional however, as it feels reminiscing of the lace and sparkle of a white wedding gown and adds to the overall bridal feel of the polish. If you do not like the sheerness of the polish it can easily be counteracted by wearing it over a basecoat designed to blur visible nail line, which I would likely do next time I wear this polish. This shade had a good formula, it applied very smoothly and self-levelled very well. Even though the holographic micro-flakes are not the most visible on the nail, they disperse across the nails beautifully and definitely sparkle when they catch the sunlight. Personally, I don’t think my swatches did this shade justice; it does lean slightly more pink in real life and the direct sunlight was quite unforgiving on the patchiness of my application. This polish is an interesting addition to my personal collection, definitely not one that I would reach for myself, unless as the base for nail art, which it would be perfect for. But I did like how this shade looked on me and I could see this shade looking very vibrant and bright on certain medium to deep, warm, skin tones.
‘First Dance’
Next is the shade ‘First Dance’ which is vibrant purple base saturated with oversized holographic flakies. This style of oversized linear Ultra Holographic polishes is one of my absolute formulas from ILNP, and purple shades often tend to make the most beautiful holographic shades, so this shade is just a match made in heaven for me. This had a great formula, very smooth and even on application and I was able to achieve full desired opacity in two coats. I really love the richness of the colour and I think this colour would look stunning on any skin tone! It really lights up and is just electric in direct sunlight, as you can see from the swatches. My other point to be wary of when wearing this polish is the holographic flakies might give you some trouble upon removal removal; they are metallic, so even though they will not stick to the nails like glitters, they will take a bit of scrubbing to remove and might get stuck in the cuticles, this can be avoided by wearing with a peel-off basecoat.
‘Save The Date’
‘Save the Date’ is described as a soft and muted lavender with a light holographic effect. This shade definitely gives me mother of the bride, or bridesmaids vibes; it’s elegant and classy but quite muted at the same time. This polish took three coats to reach my desired opacity, and despite having a nice formula, some metallic flecks in this did cause some texture on the nail, but this was easily smoothed over once glossy topcoat was applied. As I was applying this, I was unsure about how I felt about this shade, lavender does not always pair best with my skin tone, but once I had this outside in the sunshine, I was in love! It’s really delicate and perfect for the Spring. This shade will have some similar removal problems as ‘First Dance’.
‘Sage’
‘Sage’ is a pale sage green base packed with intense holographic micro-flakies. I don’t own a lot of green nail polishes, especially paler greens but I am really happy to have this polish! It is slightly sheer on the first coat and I built it up into three coats but I think two thicker coats could suffice this shade. This is a very pale green, at first glance I thought this was actually a silver polish, and the lightness of the polish gives it a really beautiful, botanical Spring feel to it and I could definitely see this being used as the base for some really delicate floral nail art.. Once again, the micro-flakes in this might give you some trouble on removal, but it’s definitely worth it for the beauty of this polish!
‘Ring Bearer’
Next in the collection is the shade ‘Ring Bearer’ which is described as a taupe holographic polish with a purple-tinged base and accented with an elegant gold shimmer. Honestly, this might be my least favourite shade in the collection; just because I’m not the biggest fan of grey and taupe polishes on my nails, personally it’s not something I gravitate towards and not something I could see myself wearing again. However, even though it’s not for me I can still appreciate the beauty of this polish! I really like the addition of the gold shimmer as well as the light holographic effect, it really elevates them polish and makes it stand out against the rest of the polishes in this collection. This is another which could have been completed in just two coats but I decided to paint on a third to heighten that golden shimmer and this is another that came alive in the sunlight.
‘Bouquet Toss’
Finally, we have the shade ‘Bouquet Toss’ which is a beautiful deep fuchsia pink linear holographic shade. I have left this shade till last because it is, undoubtedly, my favourite shade in the collection. This is a classic linear holographic formula from ILNP, the polish has a very smooth consistency and had great opacity on the first coat and I built this up to my desired opacity in two coats. I think the name of this shade is perfect too, this shade is so vibrant and reminds of pink roses in full bloom. I chose to swatch this polish last so that I could wear this on all ten of my nails and I absolutely adored it! Pink is one of my favourite colours to wear on my nails, especially at this time of year and this one is perfect for the Spring into Summer transition. I wore this for five days and had no problems with removal.
And that’s the collection! Personally I really enjoyed this collection; the shades are great for the current Spring into Summer transition and the mix of Ultra holographics and softer holographics means there is definitely something for everyone in here. Of course, ILNP are very well-known for their holographic finish nail polishes and they did not disappoint with their first holographic releases of the year! If I could change one thing about this collection, however, I would have preferred this collection have a ‘Something Blue’ shade; of course I am biased because I love blues so much but blues do make for some beautiful manicures at this time of year and it could have fit the wedding theme perfectly too.
The ILNP ‘Ever After’ collection will be available to purchase on April 30th from the ILNP website and their stockists. Be sure to leave a comment letting me know which shades are your favourites and which you plan on picking up!
Thank you so much for reading! 🙂