Collections from foreign brands
First picture, from left to right: Glitter Gal: Opals collection Andamooka Blue, Shade Shifters collection Furnace Glow Soft, Red Night Sky Brilliant; Nails Inc.: Mirror Metallics Cheyne Walk, Nail Jewelry Burlington Arcade, Fishnet Magnetic Piccadilly; Butter London: Lillibet’s Jubilee
Second picture, from left to right: Swatches of Glitter Gal Andamooka Blue, Furnace Glow Soft, Red Night Sky Brilliant; Nails Inc. Cheyne Walk, Burlington Arcade, Piccadilly; Butter London Lillibet’s Jubilee
It used to be nearly impossible to get nail polish collections or shades from foreign brands—international shipping was insanely expensive, the waiting time was long, and what if a bottle arrived to you smashed or broken? Too many risks, I’d say.
But things in the nail polish buying world have changed. Sephora now carries a variety of formerly foreign brands, as do online retailers like Llarowe. It’s on the latter that you can get Australian brand Glitter Gal, and the former recently started carrying British brand Nails Inc. And another British brand, Butter London, is available at Sephora, Ulta, and high-end retail stores like Nordstrom.
How to get started with these brands you may not necessarily be familiar with? Go for something exotic you haven’t seen before.
With Glitter Gal, that means their new holographic shades, including the Opals collection polish Andamooka Blue, a flakey top coat that flashes royal and navy blue; the Shade Shifters collection polish Furnace Glow Soft, a sheerish shade that transitions from gold to orange to red and can be layered over other polishes; and the Shade Shifters collection polish Red Night Sky Brilliant, a base of red-pink-coral that shifts into blue, green, and purple in different light. They’re a welcome addition to Glitter Gal’s beautiful line of holographic nail polishes, which we’ve featured on About Face in the past.
Next up is Nails Inc., which recently launched the Mirror Metallic collection, Nail Jewelry collection, and Fishnet Magnetic collection (the last of which adds to the brand’s already existing Magnetic line, which we’ve tested before). Included in the Mirror Metallics is Cheyne Walk, a shiny medium purple that flashes gold and orange in the right light. Part of Nail Jewelry is Burlington Arcade, with large silver and holographic glitter and flake shards (an expansion of Nails Inc.’s extensive glitter collection, which we’ve recommended as good choices for both holiday and spring nail looks). And Fishnet Magnetic adds the shade Piccadilly, a base of mustardy gold with olive shimmer that shows a fishnet design when you use the included magnet.
And lastly is Butter London, a brand that as of last year has been expanding into Ulta and Sephora locations nationwide. (I’ve loved the brand’s spring/summer collection, which we wrote about on About Face, and we’ve featured their new Lippy glosses, too). For Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee earlier this summer, Butter London launched the shade Lillibet’s Jubilee, an absurdly shiny, shimmery silver foil, with just a tinge of lavender. It’s beautiful, and undeniably eye-catching.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY: For Glitter Gal, Shade Shifters are about $18.75 and Opals about $17.22 at Glitter Gal’s website, and limited varieties of Shade Shifters are available for $13.95 at Llarowe. For Nails Inc., Cheyne Walk is $9.50, Burlington Arcade is $9.50, and Piccadilly is $16, all at Sephora.com or Sephora locations. Lillibet’s Jubilee, which is limited edition, is $14 at ButterLondon.com, Ulta.com and store locations, and Nordstrom.com and store locations.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The product/s reviewed in this post were provided to Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog by the manufacturer or their public relations company for review. Chesapeake Family’s reviews are inspired by personal experience and opinion, and are not paid for or influenced by the manufacturer, PR company or any other organization unless mentioned.
Photos by Roxana Hadadi.
In middle school, Roxana Hadadi was a cosmetics-scorning tomboy; in high school, a glitter eye shadow- and black nail polish-loving trend kid; in college, obsessively committed to dying her hair unruly colors that upset her mom. Now a bit older and a bit more mature, she’s trying to figure out what hair, body and cosmetics products will work for her, you and your family in About Face, Chesapeake Family’s new beauty blog — and she’ll leave the sparkle makeup and neon highlights in the past. Roxana also writes movie reviews for Chesapeake Family’s Popcorn Parents blog.
