a-england: Guinevere, King Arthur & Lady of the Lake (review/swatches)

 

All the romantic glory that defines Camelot, has been given new life with a-england’s ‘The Mythicals Collection’.  I originally previewed this new brand here, but today I bring you 3 shades in all their splendour: Guinevere – a dusty mauve, King Arthur – a steely grey, and Lady of the Lake – a holographic purple.

The bottles have an elegant simplicity to them and fit comfortably in your hand, with a short wand and a slightly wider brush, making it easy to cover your nail’s surface area quickly.  The formula itself was superb, being more on the thick than thin side and completely self-levelling, a benefit with the 3 colours I’m showing today as I found that 2 coats gives you wonderful and full opacity. The dry time was quicker than anticipated and the end result is a glossy shine that almost doesn’t need a top coat. All swatches shown are with Sèche Natural base coat and 2 coats of lacquer, no top coat.

 

 

 

Guinevere is one of those shades that you can’t help but fall in love with; it is a creamy muted mauve touched lightly with lilac hints.  It has an ethereal beauty to it, but with a modern boldness that fits well with today’s trends. I absolutely love the romantic look this one gives!

 

 

King Arthur brings to mind the burnished steel of a hero’s breastplate; this is a shimmery gunmetal grey but with very subtle coloured micro shimmer in pink and green, that gives this polish a unique depth. Once again, the formula flowed beautifully, leaving absolutely no brush strokes behind. It is a powerful shade, but with a modern feminine edge.

 

 

Lady of the Lake is a delicate holographic lacquer (my very first!), as mysterious to behold as the miracle of the Lady herself.  This is a rich amethyst shade, with a silvery cast to it and incredibly fine holographic particles strewn throughout.  Indoors, the prismatic effect is not readily apparent, but the deep purple hue is still magnificent on its own.  Upon viewing this colour either in full sun or with the camera’s flash, your eyes are dazzled by the myriad rainbow hues. Like the light continuously changing over the Lake’s surface, this polish constantly evolves as you wear it. Utterly fabulous!

Searching through my stash for any similarities only yielded 2 results: OPI’s ‘Done out in Deco’ compared to Guinevere, and NARS’ ‘Full Metal Jacket’ compared to King Arthur.

 

 

OPI’s ‘Done out in Deco’ is slightly more pink in tone than Guinevere, and apart from the fact that OPI has that significantly wider ‘Pro-Brush’, the biggest difference was in the formula, which was thinner than Guinevere. Index and ring fingers: Guinevere, middle and pinkie fingers: Done out in Deco.  All are with Sèche Natural base coat and 2 coats of lacquer, no top coat.

 

 

NARS’ ‘Full Metal Jacket’ was a very close match to King Arthur, but I did notice several differences.  Firstly, Full Metal Jacket seems to lean more towards a silvery grey tone and was of a thinner consistency as well, but the biggest difference was in the finish, with the NARS leaving faint brush strokes behind. Index and ring fingers: King Arthur, middle and pinkie fingers: Full Metal Jacket.  All are with Sèche Natural base coat and 2 coats of lacquer, no top coat.

 

Final thoughts: I cannot help but be completely impressed with this brand; I love how the concept is so unique, yet it beautifully melds history with modern beauty.  The formula, which is completely free from all harmful toxins (no DBP, toluene or formaldehyde) and not tested on animals, is of excellent consistency with amazing colour payoff, and incredibly glossy shine. It is unfortunate I didn’t have decent sunlight to properly photograph Lady of the Lake to give you its full effect, but you can still see how awesome the holographic glitter is. All products can be purchased through their website which offers international shipping, and in my opinion, you will not be disappointed, whether its in quality, colour selection or customer service. Your only dilemma will be in which shade to choose!