The much anticipated collection from a-england has finally arrived: my beauties, allow me to introduce you to ‘The Legend’ – seven incredibly complex and ephemeral lacquers, filled with such wonder, that they almost defy description. All swatches are with a-england’s ‘The Knight’ Base Coat, two coats of lacquer each, and ‘The Shield’ Top Coat (previously reviewed here).
The epic tale of St. George and the dragon is shrouded in much mystery, but at its core it is a tale of incredible bravery and honour. The story begins with a prosperous kingdom, a king and his lovely daughter, and a tyrannical dragon that terrorizes the land unless he is appeased by a sacrificial maiden. In the name of fairness, the king devised a lottery system where the names of all eligible girls are added; It was a terrible day when the king drew his own daughter’s name to be sacrificed, the pure of heart Princess Sabra, but she faced her fate stoically. Along came the sainted knight George, and upon viewing the doomed maiden tied to a tree, took it upon himself to challenge and ultimately slay the dragon, thereby freeing the land from its thrall and restoring peace to the kingdom.
– Saint George by Edward Burne-Jones (1873-77)
‘Saint George’ is teal perfection; a deep true melange of blue and green, it bears ultra-fine scattered holographic particles throughout which cast various golden glints in the light. Much like the saint himself and his valiant heart, this shade seems to literally glow with an inner fire. The formula was utterly sublime, flowing exceptionally well and being intensely colour saturated – almost a one-coater if applied thickly enough, with a wonderful self-levelling finish and beautiful glossy shine at the end. I was pleased to note that with a lacquer as pigmented as this, that there was basically no staining left behind, although I would definitely recommend that you do not skip the base coat.
Sunlight displays every nuance of this shade, in all its profound depth.
A closeup photo reveals the beautiful interplay of ‘Saint George’s’ various hues.
While slightly subdued, even indoor lighting cannot tamp down this shade’s viridian beauty.
Seen in a darker light, indoors.
A deliberately blurred photo, in order to emphasize each and every colour.
A final view taken with flash, continues to impress by spotlighting the intensity of ‘Saint George’.
– Princess Sabra (The King’s Daughter) by Edward Burne-Jones (1865-66)
‘Princess Sabra’ (‘Tristam Eyes’ – in homage to Adina’s incredibly handsome & regal cat!), is everything you want a pale gold-leaning shade to be – giving a nod to its royal pedigree, as well as also bearing an exceptional scattered holographic effect to add to its richness. With olive undercurrents at its base and glints of green, pink & pale blue shimmering within, the formula once more was a dream to work with, applying completely self-levelling and remaining quite glossy at the finish. It must be noted that each and every one of these shades was utterly smooth to the touch when dry, and removal was incredibly easy as well.
Sunlight shows off every stunning facet of this shade, fairly thrumming with life.
A second view in sunlight, emphasizing a slightly deeper tone.
A closeup photo displays ‘Princess Sabra’s’ intricate dance of each colour.
Seen indoors, more of the antique gold tone is visible, but with still visible glints of the other hues.
A deliberately blurred photo, in order to emphasize each and every colour.
A final view taken with flash highlights the burnished beauty of ‘Princess Sabra’, and reveals her inner complex nature.
– Dragon Head by Bob Eggleton
‘Dragon’, a luxuriant verdant green hue with an incredibly fine holographic mix, sends off deep bronze-like flashes in the light, much like the scales of a dragon would as he basks in the sun’s warmth. The formula was beyond superb, applying so easily and being densely pigmented enough to pass for a one-coater, if desired. A beautifully self-levelling surface and glass-like finish, staring into this ‘Dragon’s’ depths can be as dangerous as the beast itself … utterly mesmerizing!
This sunlight view displays a deep greener side to ‘Dragon’, with a paler core in the center that almost seems alive.
In this second sunlight view, the blue holographic particles within are clearly seen at the surface level.
A last sunlight photo highlights the true grassy-green colour of ‘Dragon’s’ base hue.
This closeup photo serves to show every delicate nuance that make up this shade.
Seen indoors, a deeper tone is achieved, but no less beautiful for its intensity.
A deliberately blurred photo, in order to emphasize each and every colour.
A final view taken with flash brings out the blue, pink and golden highlights that make up the heart of this shade.
– Saint George And The Dragon Series: Princess Sabra Drawing The Lot by Edward Burne-Jones (1865-66)
‘Princess Tears’ is a divine yet subtle collection of colours, being at once dove-grey, some lilac leanings, as well as pink and blue holographic pieces thrown in to round it out. Like the glistening twin tracks falling sorrowfully from Princess Sabra’s eyes, the crystalline reflections of this shade are truly ethereal to behold. Continuing with the same stellar formula, application was easy – reaching perfect opacity with two coats, self-levelling, and ended in an excellent gloss at the finish.
This sunlight angle appears to pull out more of the lavender/pink nature of ‘Princess Tears’…
… however a secondary sunlight photo now draws upon the silvery grey tones of this shade’s base hue.
In this closeup photo, note how its holographic beauty plays along the nail edges.
Indoor lighting works some magic on ‘Princess Tears’, by gently calling forth the lilac tones to take center stage.
Once more, a deliberately blurred photo to truly give the clearest indication of the myriad hues that make up this colour.
A final view taken with flash does everything right for this lacquer, seeming to spotlight every tone at the same time, yet still showing each separately – an intriguing contradiction!
– Saint George And The Dragon: The Princess Tied To The Tree by Edward Burne-Jones (1866)
‘Ascalon’, is nothing short of “majestic”; the legendary title of St. George’s sword, this name was later used by Sir Winston Churchill for his personal aircraft during WWII. This is that particular shade that literally dares you to try and pin it down; at once steely grey, then morphing into a lavender/green/aqua/pink/gunmetal duochrome wonder before your very eyes, I was instantly CAPTIVATED! Following in the footsteps of the rest of this collection, the formula was once more flawless, flowing smoothly from the perfect density brush, leaving a gorgeous shine at the end.
Note how in this sunlight photo the deep steel tones form the background on which the holographic particles play.
In this secondary sunlight view, I love how the tips seem kissed by a pale lavender hue, while further up the nail, some golden tones seem to peek through.
This final photo taken in sunlight, now emphasizes ‘Ascalon’s’ more tungsten side.
This closeup photo taken indoors, gives the clearest view how each colour of this shade harmonizes so well.
In this indoor photo, a transformation is on display, with a violet core and verdigris tips adding to the illusion that is ‘Ascalon’.
A deliberately blurred photo to show how complex this shade truly is … and how intensely colourful at heart!
A final view taken with flash tones down this shade’s greyer nature, and seems to pull forth more of its lavender leanings, with the shimmering particles adding visual depth.
– Order Of The Garter symbol
Known as the oldest and most prestigious order of chivalry in England to this day, The Order of the Garter was founded in 1348 by King Edward III. Claiming St. George as the country’s patron saint and based upon the sainted knight’s many brave & chivalrous acts, The Order remains one of the monarch’s truly personal, executive prerogatives – bestowed rarely and only to those most deserving of this honour. The origins of the use of a garter here are a touch obscure, but probably reference the “garters” soldiers used to apply their battle armor, while the motto of the Order is: “Honi soit qui may y pense” which translates to “shamed be the person who thinks evil on it”, most likely referencing “accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart” – qualities that are anathema to a true hero.
‘Order Of The Garter’ is a richly regal shade of blue, filled with an incredible amount of glass-like flecks, adding such an intense depth to this shade. Like the aristocratic heritage of The Order itself, this colour is to be worn with heroic pride! A slight departure in the formula here from the rest of this collection, it was just a touch more sheer, yet two coats were all that were needed to achieve perfect and full opacity. Bearing the same self-levelling properties of the rest, along with a beautiful shine at the finish, I was so pleased to find that there was absolutely NO staining left behind.
Seen in sunlight, the deeply aquatic tones of this shade are complimented by the faint magenta flecks in its base.
In this secondary sunlight photo, the glass flecks appear like microscopic stars trapped under the surface … stunning!
This closeup view displays the luxuriously rich blue core of ‘Order Of The Garter’.
This first photo taken indoors, does nothing to detract from this shade’s shimmering beauty.
While obviously deeper in tone, this second indoor view still maintains this shade’s true depth of hue.
A deliberately blurred photo, to perfectly emphasize the glimmering effect of ‘Order Of The Garter’.
A final view taken with flash reveals the intricate depth of tone that the glass flecks add to this deeply cerulean shade.
– Saint George And The Dragon Series: The Return by Edward Burne-Jones (1866)
‘Bridal Veil’, is that truly indefinable colour; a deep black base plays host to a multitude of holographic particles, displaying an almost surreal flash of prismatic colours. Representative of the dark veil of mourning Princess Sabra wore to attend her doom, the glimmering flashes within portray that hope is never to be forgotten. The formula here was in a word: INSANE!! So highly pigmented, it can definitely and easily be applied as a one-coater, flowing so well and ultra-creamy. A perfect black hue for today’s woman, it is modern, edgy, urban, and so incredibly sensuous – almost a tactile experience! Bonus: absolutely zero staining.
Seen in sunlight, this shade is almost unbelievable in its complexity.
A second sunlight view reveals ‘Bridal Veil’s’ truly luminous look, with all the holographic pieces on full display.
This closeup view spotlights not only the many hues of this shade, but how well the deep onyx background shows them off to perfection.
The lustrous nature of ‘Bridal Veil’ is beautifully shown in this photo taken indoors.
Another angle (indoors), takes you more towards this shade’s darkly brooding side.
A deliberately blurred photo gives the best indication of the complex array of colour.
A final view taken with flash, and you have a galaxy splashed across your nails … hypnotically beautiful!
Final thoughts: If you haven’t figured it out by now, this collection has not only blown me away, it has made me fall in love with nail lacquer all over again on a whole new level. Once more, Adina Bodana, one of the most beautiful souls it is my absolute pleasure to know, and über-creative genius/founder of a-england lacquers, not only transports us to a world we can only imagine, but allows us to physically indulge in it, with these seven sure-to-be cult shades. The formula on each was of such a superior grade, almost applying themselves, while the brush is that perfect mix of dense fibres and flexibility, allowing for a flawless application. A unique range of colours, these shades are made that much more special by the addition of ultra-fine holographic particles (with the exception of ‘Order Of The Garter’ – bearing glass flecks instead), they will become available soon on a-england’s site, but for now, they can be ordered through email at hello@a-england.co.uk. The bar has been set high with this collection, my beauties – your only dilemma will be in which shade to choose, a task I envy no one!
*Disclaimer: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration
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