Tuesday, January 31, 2012

a-england The Legends Collection Swatches and Review

The long-rumored and highly anticipated a-england The Legends holographics are here! You may remember the first a-england holos, and how amazing they were... And then you might also remember Adina (creator and owner of a-england) saying that she was working on something holographic for the next collection... And now here they are, seven brand new a-england holos and they do not disappoint. I only have five of the seven, but the other two look just as fantastic as these.


Ascalon, Bridal Veil, Dragon, Tristam Eyes/Princess Sabra, Saint George.



a-england Ascalon. Not only is Ascalon holographic, it's duochrome as well. It's a medium grey base with a strong purple flash. At some angles you can see an opposing teal/green flash where there's no purple. I don't think I captured any of the blue-green reflection in my pictures, but it's there in real life. This also has a pretty decent scattered holo effect, and it's the smooth kind of hologram particle, not the chunky glitter-style one like in Nubar Gem.



a-england Bridal Veil. This one is a super rich black with a subtle scattered holo effect. It is incredibly black and extremely pigmented. It's not a match to OPI My Private Jet (the original one) or Color Club Revvvolution. The hologram particles in this are small and sparse. It looks like a plain black shimmer indoors but in sunlight the rainbow effect does come out. It's more like Bloom Mena than any other black-based holo I've tried.



a-england Dragon. Dragon is the *perfect* name for this one. I've never seen a more dragony polish than this. It's a medium soft green base- somewhere in between fern and olive- and it has a fiery orangey copper-gold duochrome shimmer. It's also holographic, but a scattered holo. It looks quite a bit darker in the flash pictures than it does in real life, but the flash seems to show the holo effect the best.



a-england Princess Sabra (Tristam Eyes). Princess Sabra has a little note above the name that says "Tristam Eyes," and I think that's really cute. Tristam is Adina's cat and this shade seems to perfectly match the color of his eyes. It's a light golden olive green, very yellow toned. The holographic sparkle in this one is very strong.



a-england Saint George. This is a very saturated teal with holographic shimmer. It is dark and it is very rich. My picture doesn't adequately capture how colorful this looks, it's one of the nicest teals I've ever seen. The holographic effect isn't very strong in this, and the blue and green sparkles are dominant.

The other two shades in the collection are Princess Tears, which looks to be a soft purple holo, and Order of the Garter, which looks like a blue shimmer.

The application on these was excellent. Better than the previous a-england holos I tried. Some of them are opaque in one coat and have an insane amount of pigment to them. The others are opaque in two thin coats. No streaking or bald spots like many holographic formulas are prone to. The formula on these is very thick and dense, but not the kind of thick that feels dry and drags. Because of the thick formula, these are prone to bubbling. Be sure to do thin coats and wait a few minutes in between each just in case. The dry time was very good as well.

I think these are awesome. The combination of holo and duochrome really stole my heart. The non-duochrome ones are just as nice because they're extremely pigmented and saturated looking. The black is very black, the teal is very teal. I found these to be a joy to use and every shade looks fantastic on the nail. Plus, they're different from the rest of the holographic polishes in my collection; they're not the same old overdone silver/pastel blue/pastel purple holo polishes that we see constantly. The only flaw with them is that they can bubble if you're not careful.

These will be available soon on a-england.co.uk (with free worldwide shipping), but they're currently in stock at Llarowe if you want them now!

(This was sent for review.)

46 comments:

  1. AMAZING photos Scrangie! I LOVE a-England and cannot wait for the polishes to arrive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful, just beautiful! I loved every single thing about these polishes, and not only is the formula on each simply amazing, but they give so much pleasure to just look at them! Excellent swatches....you did them total justice!

    ReplyDelete
  3. *DROOL* So much buttery lovely fabulous goodness...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Damnit. I need Dragon and St George. I'll give up food for those two

    ReplyDelete
  5. Son colores preciosos. Me gustan mucho el segundo y el último.

    Besos

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Dragon, how I wish thee were mine!

    ReplyDelete
  7. They are all extremely beautiful. I need Dragon and St. George!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh God they look amazing, love your photos they look always so accurate.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The more swatches I see of these the more convinced I get that I *need* Ascalon and Princess Sabra! And your description of Saint George makes me want to add that to the list as well... it seems a bit less unique, but I can hardly resist a *good* teal. :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. I ordered Dragon, Saint George, and Princess Sabra and seeing your swatches I'm so glad I did! They're gorgeous, and now I wish I'd bought Ascalon too :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I ordered Dragon, Saint George, and Princess Sabra, and seeing your swatches I really wish I'd bought Ascalon too! They're all stunning

    ReplyDelete
  12. They are so amazing that when I tried out my first five, I had to order the last two... as you said, the colours are so complex, they're not your regular silver, lilac or green holo, they are just mesmerizing!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ascalon and Saint George are my favorite. Looks like Saint George already sold out! Too bad I just placed an order with Llarowe yesterday for two other polishes because you're the second blog today to post colors I now "need" from her!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Amazing polishes. I love a-England and wish it was distributed in the US and not falling all on poor Leah Anne who is got a great eye but taking so much junk from greedy customers who think she owes them something. These are all amazing polishes - not one would be put into a silent drawer in my stash if I had every one of them! Good photos. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  15. These are such stunning polishes. I have them on my list to buy. Yay holos!!! Beautiful swatches

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am completely in love with Saint George...oh my god that is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  17. AHHHHHHHHHH They are sold out of Dragon :( so bummed!!! Love my green holo polish :) Thanks for posting these!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I NEED Ascalon and Princess Sabra!!I start my new job in two weeks so I can't buy these for a while :-(

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yow! St George is just a stunner. Your pictures are so lovely as always, makes me want all of them. :-) x

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow! I LOVE St George! That is the prettiest Teal I have seen in a long time!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I've been so impressed with everything I've seen from this brand. Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Saint George and Dragon are the ones I'm drooling over the most, although really, all your swatches are to die for!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Now this is gorgeous. I think I'll try this brand when I have more money. Really pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Man, Llarowe is already out of Dragon, the one I want the most! I will definitely splurge to get Dragon. It's GORGE!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Absolutely love dragon and Saint George. I agree the "dragoness" thing. THe colour really makes me think of a dragon!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Really love Dragon and Saint George. Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Maybe I'm crazy but I'm not that into these :( I really prefer strong holo to scattered.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I think Saint George is the real stand out of the collection. I'm torn about whether I want to get Dragon - I want it because of the name but I'm not sure if I'm a big fan of the copper/gold shimmer with the green.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I'd love to have Dragon but too expensive =(.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I must must must get Saint George! But I'm having issues finding these online. Must be me but... where could I order them?

    ReplyDelete
  31. The two I want aren't on the llarowe site. I hope a-england puts them on their site for sale soon!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I do not need more nail polish right now. I do NOT need more nail polish right now. I DO NOT NEED more nail polish right now. I DO NOT NEED MORE NAIL POLISH RIGHT NOW!

    I think I need Ascalon and Dragon.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I just got mine in day before yesterday and I can't freaking WAIT to wear them. Ascalon took my breath away when I saw that it was a duochrome/holo. I saw it described as a holographic gunmetal gray and all I could think was, "It's SOOOO much more than that!" They're all gorgeous. You hit the nail on the head- they're very different from most holos. The are deep, rich, and pigmented. They aren't those typical holo colors. Yep, I have a day off tomorrow so I think one of these pretties is going to end up on my nails tonight. Ascalon is my first instinct and I can't fight it. Beautiful as always, Scrangie!

    ReplyDelete
  34. bridal veil is IMMENSE! i love it and need it in my life!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Dragon is winging (haha!) its way to me as we speak. I CAN NOT wait for it! Might have to get Saint George too!

    ReplyDelete
  36. I love St. George, but i do tend to love all things teal, & the Tristam Eyes is beautiful & sentimental too. Come to I have a blue russian cat with eyes very close to that color also, must be a very handsome cat.
    Hey, when you do your swatch reviews are you basically removing & applying each color in one sitting? I'm going to be starting to go through my polish collection & posting on my blog so I've been trying to plan how I'm going to go about that & how much time I'm gonna have to set aside to do so. Anyways, so cool, I love these polishes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep! Apply, remove, apply, remove, lather, rinse, repeat! Haha :)

      Delete
  37. OMG!!!
    When I saw Ascalon I thought - gosh, I need that!
    Then I saw Bridal Veil and I thought - forget Ascalon, I need THAT!
    Then it was Dragon and I thought-Hell, how come I declare myself as green - hater?!
    Then Princess Sabra caught me heart and my eye, and then I figured there is no way I'm going to live without Saint George.

    And then you said they would ship internationally, and even for free.
    I think I totally lost my mind this second... I am so deeply in love...
    Thank you so much!!!

    ReplyDelete
  38. scrangie you are my go-to for polish swatches. i've admired this collection for so long, i am thinking of ordering dragon and maybe some others. a england probably my favorite polish collections out there right now.

    ReplyDelete

Please be respectful. Refrain from using my comments for unsolicited advertising. If you would like me to check out your blog or product, please email me. Thank you!