Hi friends! Today I am sharing the new 6th anniversary collection by Bee’s Knees Lacquer! This collection is inspired by the book Fourth Wing. On top of having a beautiful 8 piece shimmer collection, there will also be some mystery bags. My spoiler post for the mystery bags is live over here if you would like to see/read what the mysteries will look like.
It has been a hot minute since we’ve had a BKL collection so I won’t bore you with too long of an intro. This release goes on sale this Friday September 15th at 7PM Eastern time on BeesKneesLacquer.com. I do believe some of the BKL stockist pages will also have this release for those of you outside of North American. More sale details can be found at the end of the post, if you would like to see these polishes in more light sources check out my live swatch video!
Live Swatch Video
Bee’s Knees Lacquer is a US based indie brand. Their polishes are in 15ml bottles, 5 free, cruelty free and vegan friendly.
A Dragon Without a Rider is a Tragedy
Description: an olive base with cyan to purple to pink to green multichrome pigment
A Dragon Without a Rider is a Tragedy is a classic BKL sheer shifty shimmer so you do need to build it up to get the most opacity going. In one coat, it’s sheer enough to be used as a topper.
This polish made me want to scream while I was swatching it. I noticed that in bright lighting, the shimmer seems to get washed out. I tried dropping my shooting light brightness down to 10% but even that proved to be too much light. So sadly the shimmer shown in my photos is NOT accurate to what you will see in person. It’s exactly as the brand describes it in the official description.
I really recommend you check my live swatch video for color accuracy in the shimmer because it is beautiful.
I do think outside of using this polish as a topper, it will likely be a 3 coater to get the most opacity as well as getting the base to close to the olive green that you see in the bottle.
My photos show A Dragon Without a Rider is a Tragedy in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Nothing in here will be difficult to remove but it will be fairly messy.
Don’t Borrow Tomorrow’s Trouble
Description: a deep red base with blue to purple to pink multichrome shimmer
*may stain*
Don’t Borrow Tomorrow’s Trouble don’t be fooled by the official description, on the nail this polish looks more like a berry leaning magenta than a true red base. I believe the shimmer is what makes the red seem more pinky purpley.
I found Don’t Borrow Tomorrow’s Trouble to be a bit more opaque than the previous polish but by no means was it completely opaque. I found in two coats, I didn’t quite have fully even coverage nor was the base color looking quite like it did in the bottle. It’s passable in two if you aren’t super picky though.
This will be one of those polishes where in direct lighting (like sunlight) you will have very obvious VNL but in lower lighting where the shimmer is STRONG it will look opaque. I noticed in natural lighting the base looked a little bit uneven for me.
My photos show Don’t Borrow Tomorrow’s Trouble in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. While the brand does worn that this polish is a stainer, I didn’t personally experience any staining.
Lies Are Comforting
Description: a vibrant red with large particle red to green shimmer
*may stain*
Lies Are Comforting this is a bright and juicy red! I didn’t find that this red caused my hands to look too orangery but they did look slightly orange. If you’re like me and have warmer undertones, this will pull warm on you.
The formulation, application and coverage were all fantastic for this polish. I think it will be a 2-3 coater depending on personal preference. If you are a major hater on VNL, go in for that third coat.
The shimmer in here is gorgeous! I wasn’t able to see the green color shift in person but I could see it in the bottle.
My photos show Lies Are Comforting in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. The brand does warn that this polish may stain so I did opt to double up on base coat for my swatches.
Strength of Courage
Description: a sheer blurple with strong gold to green shimmer
Strength of Courage oy the shimmer in this polish is so beautiful. I feel like I was just saying that I am over gold to green shimmer but this made me feel like I should take that back.
Unsurprisingly this is a sheer polish and most of the opacity is coming from the shimmer. So in bright lighting where the shimmer doesn’t glow, you will be able to see all of your nail plate.
But when that shimmer is glowing? It is STUNNING, I was seeing an orangey/gold to green color shift in person. The base color on this polish, to me at least, is more of a cornflower blue shade.
My photos show Strength of Courage in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
The Right Way Isn’t The Only Way
Description: a deep violet base with emerald to blue to purple to pink multichrome shimmer
*may stain*
The Right Way Isn’t The Only Way is one of the polishes in this release that gave me some Deja Vu. I didn’t see anything in my BKL photo archive that I thought was *exactly* the same but it sure looks familiar.
I found the formula and application were both perfect. It will likely be a 2-3 coater depending on how you feel about obvious VNL. I found for me personally, the base looked a little too uneven in 2 coats so I opted for a third to try to even everything out.
My photos show The Right Way Isn’t The Only Way in 3 coats. The brand does warn that this polish might stain, I think this is going to be one of those stainers that target people with gel enhancements the most. I wore 2 coats of base coat for my swatches and didn’t experience any staining.
To Teach Us About Our Past
Description: a milk chocolate base with large particle green to blue shimmer
To Teach Us About Our Past I knew this polish was going to be a highlight of the collection for me just by looking at the bottle. I really don’t feel like BKL does enough of these brown based shimmers and I loved this!
In the bottle, this does look like a brown but I found on the nail it looks more like a burnt orange. This is a more jelly-like base so it is fairly sheer. I will never complain about a burnt orange BUT I do wish this was more brown on the nail.
My photos show To Teach Us About Our Past in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Truth Is Painful
Description: a sheer cornflower blue full of red to orange to green aurora shimmer
Truth Is Painful this shimmer in this polish is unreal!! It’s super strong, super color shifty AND sparkly! The cornflower blue base starts off pretty sheer so you do need to build it up.
As I mentioned, the shimmer in here is super color shifty. I saw all of the described colors in person. If you are undecided between this and Strength of Courage, I would say this polish looks more impressive on the nail as far as color shifts go.
My photos show Truth is Painful in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
You’re Making Us Look Bad
Description: a cobalt blue base with blue to purple shimmer
You’re Making Us Look Bad I love cobalt blues, they’re one of those colors that I rarely get tired of. That saying this polish does seem very similar to some recent BKL polishes.
This polish will be a 2-3 coater depending on personal preference. I have a feeling this one has the potential to be a stainer so I doubled up on my base coat for my swatches.
Bee’s Knees has released *a lot* of cobalt blues with predominantly blue shimmer. Some have blue to green, some have blue to purple and some are just blue. Scrolling through my blog archive I counted 6 that I have swatched over the past 2 years. I’m not saying this is a dupe for them, just that they’re similar.
My photos show You’re Making Us Look Bad in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Like I mentioned, I have swatched a lot of blues by this brand. So I opted to compare the most recent blue, Game Over Hella Handmade Creations June 2023) from the brand. If you would like me to do side by sides of any more polishes just leave a comment and I can update the blog post!
Final Thoughts
I am really happy that Sarah from BKL was able to give us a release for the brand’s anniversary this year. If you weren’t aware, the brand had to slow down on releases earlier this year due to the owner’s health. It seems like they are back in full swing.
While I do wish this release had more variety of finishes (as I tend to when we get any release that is all the same finish) I don’t think any of the polishes were bad. While this isn’t a seasonal release, I do think the color story is pretty. I think my only gripe is that a few polishes reminded me of past ones.
My top picks are going to be To Teach Us About Our Past and Truth Is Painful.
Mystery Polishes
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post. There will be some mystery bags inspired by Resident Evil 4 character Leon. If you would like to get some spoilers on the mystery bags click the above image or right here.
The mystery bags are priced at $25 for two 15ml shimmer polishes. There are a total of 12 possible po
Bee’s Knees Lacquer
15ml, 5+ Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Sale Information
The Fourth Wing collection goes on sale this Friday September 15th at 7PM Eastern time on BeesKneesLacquer.com for a week long pre-order. Each polish is priced at $14 for a 15ml bottle.
There is a soft cap on the polishes with 1000 bottles available. If the polishes sell out, a new pre-order window will open for them. That pre-order will have a 3-4 week turnaround time. There will be a 1 polish/mystery bag limit per person until the 18th at midnight.
Bee’s Knees Lacquer ships internationally from the US. They also have a few different stockist pages for folks outside of the US. Girly Bits Cosmetics (Canada), Hypnotic Polish (EU/UK), Femme Fatale (Australia), and Rainbow Connection (EU/UK).
