More and more I recognize the fact that when you get right down to it, I love creme polish formulas above most others. I love looking at the shimmer and sparkle of other polishes – I’d love to paint a car in them, perhaps – but on my nails, nothing entrances me more than a straight-up creamy, glossy finish.
However. There is one other formulation that captivates my heart: holographic polishes, or what I think is the more accurate term – prismatic.
Actually, let’s settle this terminology before we move on. Every time I mention ‘holographic nail polish’ to my bf, he gets confused, and insists that is an incorrect term. After I thought about it, I think he might be right. Here are the definitions of ‘holographic’ and ‘prismatic’:
Holographic: Of or relating to holography or holograms. Soo…
(Without getting too technical) A hologram is a three-dimensional image, or representation, in photographic form.
Prismatic: 1) Of, relating to, resembling, or being a prism. 2) Brilliantly colored; iridescent. 3) (Physics) Exhibiting bright spectral colors (prismatic light).
Which sounds more accurate to you???
Ok, now that we’ve cleared that up!
So yea, I love me some PRISMATIC polishes in all their iridescent goodness. I like them so much that I ended up buying two purple shades that come pretty darn close to being one and the same – a-England’s Lady of the Lake (purchased first) and Color Club’s Wild at Heart. They’re not dupes, but they’re near enough for me that I don’t see a good reason to own both – though I’ll probably keep ‘em both because their purple, and their prismatic. Reason enough!
Here are some swatches of the two – you can certainly see the difference with the naked eye, but for all intents and purposes they’re quite similar:

On my index and ring finger is Wild at Heart, middle and pinky fingers are Lady of the Lake. You can clearly tell that it’s two different polishes, but still. Wild at Heart is more plum, while the Lady is a muted violet. I normally don’t pick up even near dupes, but when I saw shots like this online, I thought it would be entirely different. Wild at Heart did not get that fabulous from my perspective, but then again it is Winter and perhaps the cool sunlight isn’t doing it any favours. Regardless, the multidimensional shimmer (in both) does come out at the right angles in sunshine:

I don’t really think I like one better than the other really…maybe Wild at Heart because its more vibrant, but overall they’re both lovely polishes (I’ve reviewed Lady of the Lake previously; Wild at Heart has a good formula with no issues to speak of) with a pretty sparkle that I thoroughly enjoy. It’s a shame it’s not consistently more sunny here in Halifax, as the beauty of these types of polish really don’t come out without it (unless you have a really stellar formula – from what I’ve seen, Speciallita and Glitter Gal look pretty amazing regardless of lighting…will.own.soon.).
And – despite the seemingly incorrect use of the word ‘holographic,’ I’ll still probably use as it’s more commonplace and I don’t want anyone to get confused
Enjoy the rest of your day everyone!





#1 by Liz (Beauty Reductionista) on January 24, 2012 - 11:02 pm
LOL! Holos just sort of roll off the tongue so I’ll just go with that, though you (& your wise yet clueless BF) are right.
Both are lovely and Color Club isn’t a bad brand, but I find myself reluctant to pick up any. Did you order any from a-England’s Legend collection? I don’t have a PayPal account so I’ve been reluctant, but St. George is calling my name.
#2 by Latoya on January 26, 2012 - 11:24 pm
I picked up three from The Legend, and received them in the mail yesterday. I am SOOO eager to post them but I want to get the perfect shots to do them justice, and the weather / light is just not cooperating :S St. George is effing INSANE – you MUST buy!!!!
#3 by Eugenia on January 25, 2012 - 11:25 am
Hahaha! Thanks for clearing that up! It’s funny how we adapt some words and use them one way, without stopping to think if that’s correct or not, eh?! Still, while your definition of “holographic” is most likely dead on, I must say that there have been a few of these types of polishes, that in certain lighting go beyond being merely prismatic and actually do come across as more three-dimensional. That being said, I hate the shortened term “holo” and absolutely refuse to use it! Prismatic is so much more refined, elegant and eloquent, wouldn’t you agree?!!
Ok….the shades…. my personal favourite is obviously Lady of the Lake, and not just for the name (love) or my connection to Adina (love), but the formula is STELLAR! Then again, I don’t own any Color CLub and can’t say whether or not this one is equal, but I have *ahem* many polishes in my collection, and FEW come up to the quality of my a-englands. There! I went ahead and put myself out there, lol! They both look fabulous on you – don’t get rid of either one, my friend!
#4 by Latoya on January 26, 2012 - 11:26 pm
LOL Thanks Eugenia, I’m glad you see where I’m coming from! I know what you mean about holographic being apt too. As for the polishes, of course a-England is just fantastically lovely in all ways, but Color Club has impressed me so far so I can’t write it off just yet. Of course, I AM going to keep them both because they’re not really dupes and you can’t have too many purple polishes with that prismatic effect!!
#5 by kat on January 28, 2012 - 6:15 pm
purple is such a beautiful color on you!! and the sparkles, sooo pretty
#6 by Latoya on January 30, 2012 - 8:47 pm
Aww, thanks Kat! That’s nice of you to say
The sparkles are SOO pretty!