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Hey friends! I have so many fun collections to share with you all this week! The first is a new release from Night Owl Lacquer. It has been a hot minute since we had a collection from this brand and I was so excited when Lindsay let me know she had one brewing!
For Spring 2023 we have the Stormy collection. And no, this collection is not inspired by my cat Stormy but we can pretend that it is. This collection launches on April 16th on the Night Owl Lacquer website. I do have an affiliate link with this brand so if you plan on shopping, do consider using my link! As always, links and sale deets can be found at the end of the post!
Live Swatch Video
Night Owl Lacquer is a US based indie brand. Their polishes are handmade, 5 free and cruelty free.
Cloudbursts
Description: a black base filled with violet/indigo/blue micro flakie shimmer and holographic flakes
Cloudbursts I am not generally one for a black base but this one had a gorgeous formula. I will fully admit it, the flakie combo is what sold me on this polish.
It does start off a little sheer on that first coat but it builds up really nicely. The micro flakie shimmer gives a really pretty color shift and the holographic flakies gives all of the rainbow goodness your heart could want. Indoors, I wasn’t seeing boom holo but I could see twinkles of holo indoors.
My photos show Cloudburst in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Longer nails will probably want to throw on a third coat to cover up VNL. Removal won’t be overly difficult but it will be messy.
Lightning & Rainbows
a clear base filled with grey reflective glitter pigment and rainbow shifting large particle shimmer.
Lightning & Rainbows I knew as soon as I opened this PR package that this polish was going to be amazing and I was right!! The base was slightly on the thicker side but thinner than what I expected from the light reflective glitter polish.
You get a rainbow of colors from the shifty shimmer but the glitter does give the polish some texture. I opted to live life dangerously and use one thick coat of the Night Owl Lacquer quick dry top coat but I would recommend doubling up on top coat for longer term wear. A glitter smoother (I like the Salon Perfect Glitter Gloss or KBShimmer’s Smooth Moves) plus your quick dry top coat will give the smoothest finish.
The reflective glitters were super sparkly and I was able to see some grey reflects out in direct sunlight. With these glitters, you do also see some grey looking glitters out of direct lighting.
My photos show Lightning & Rainbows in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Longer nails will probably want to go in for a third coat to cover VNL. Removal will of course be on the more difficult side, use the soak off method or a peel off base coat.
Puddle Reflections
Description: a clear base filled with holographic flecks and glowy fuschia/red/orange/gold shimmer.
Puddle Reflections hot damn this polish was pretty! It had a great formula. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any application issues.
The shimmer is STRONG and the holographic flecks are equally so. I loved how color shifty and holographic this polish is. Despite it being in a clear base, you do still get a full coverage polish.
I used 2 coats plus glossy top coat for my photos. Longers nails will likely want 3 coats to cover up VNL. I did have some hints of VNL on my nail length but I loved how this looked in 2 coats so I stopped there. Removal won’t be difficult but it will be messy.
Rainy Daydreams
a clear base filled with dark grey/violet micro flakies and iridescent rainbow shifting flakes
Rainy Daydreams was probably my least favorite of the collection, by no fault on its own. It is a beautiful polish and I love how the flakies look. It’s just the sparkle factor of the other polishes made this one not stand out as much.
The micro flakies make this seem like it has a grey base, it doesn’t but it seems that way. Because of that, I don’t think this would be a good contender as a topper.
I love love love the rainbow of colors you get from the flakies of this polish. In indirect lighting, they really knocked my socks off. Coverage is pretty good in 2 coats but to reach full opacity I would say this a three coater. For personal wear, I would go for 2 coats.
My photos show Rainy Daydreams in 3 coats plus both glossy and matte top coats. Removal will be pretty messy but not overly difficult.
Final Thoughts
I am sure it’s no surprise to anyone that I thought this collection was fantastic. It is for sure one of my favorite spring collections this year. Nothing really screams “Classic Spring” but I can still buy this being a springtime release.
As always, I appreciated the variety of finishes we got with this release.
My favorite polish without a doubt was Lightning & Rainbows but I also really liked Puddle Reflections.
And I know I said this collection wasn’t inspired by my cat Stormy, I am fully pretending that is though.
Night Owl Lacquer
15ml, 5 Free & Cruelty-Free
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Sale Information
The Stormy collection will be available starting on April 16th at 6PM MST on the Night Owl Lacquer website. Each polish is priced at $13 or you can pick up the quad for $48.
This collection is not a limited edition so it should be around for a while! Night Owl Lacquer ships to both the US and Canada. Orders over $60 ship for free domestically with discounted rates internationally.