My first experience with a nail polish pen, was when I reviewed LAQA & Co.’s ‘WTF’ (here), so I had a fairly good idea of what to expect. What I was unprepared for, was how saturated in colour ‘Blurple’ would turn out to be…a pleasant surprise! True to the instructions that accompany each pen, within 8 clicks the polish flows easily to the tip and you’re set to start painting. What makes a nail polish pen unique amongst all the other lacquers out there, is its portability and ease of use. ‘Blurple’, as the name implies, is a cross between a deep purple and a rich blue and the following swatches are with Sèche Natural base coat and two coats of polish, no top coat.
Initially, knowing how much polish to bring to the tip of the pen takes a bit of practice and some skill, but once you get the rhythm going, it becomes a breeze. ‘Blurple’ is an intensely deep indigo shade, becoming fully opaque with the second coat and what I found so impressive, was the awesome glossy finish; you basically don’t need a topcoat, at least not for any extra shine. Whether seen in full sun (top photo) or indirect light (bottom photo), I love how the colour itself doesn’t change all that much and remains true to its purple leanings. Dry time was fairly quick as well, and my only suggestion would be to have a napkin handy to wipe off any excess polish that might come to the tip of the pen or to dab your pen against, in case you push too much of the colour out the tip.
Going through my stash of lacquers, the best match I found was with OPI’s ‘Funkey Dunkey’ from the Shrek Collection. Both polishes needed only two coats to be fully opaque, and the differences themselves were rather minute; the formula on ‘Funkey Dunkey’ seemed to be somewhat thinner, and its base hue was perhaps a tone darker than that of ‘Blurple’ (as you can tell from the top photo taken in full sun), but other than that, they were indeed close enough to be twins.
Final thoughts: Having tried only two of the eight available shades, I have to confess that I prefer ‘Blurple’ to ‘WTF’, mainly because I fell in love with ‘Blurple’s’ colour…..like spilled ink! Apart from the 8 coloured nail polish pens available, the company also offers a top coat (again, in pen form) as well as nail polish remover pads. What’s interesting to note is the totally unique packaging that each item comes in; each polish pen box has been individually designed by an up-and-coming artist, and part of the proceeds of every pen/product sold, goes towards helping to support their endeavours…isn’t that wonderful? Please feel free to browse through LAQA & Co.’s website to purchase or for more information.
*Disclaimer: product samples were provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration
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