"Imperio" by Smitten Polish

Hello ladies! It's been a while since I last posted a Smitten polish, so here is the final polish I own from the Words of Magic collection (see also Elekha Nahmen and Klaatu Barada Nikto) - this beauty is Imperio, and it's a doozy :)

Smitten Polish "Imperio" - artificial light



Like its collection-mates, Imperio is an astonishingly packed glitter polish.  I have no idea how  Noelie, the genius behind indie brand Smitten, has managed to make these polishes this sparkly...I have a ton of sparkly polishes and not a one can hold a candle to any of these.  Like its collection mates however, it does have the same application issues.  It's a bit like trying to apply gloopy gravel paste to your nails, and it dries to quite a matte grainy texture.  Slap on a bit of topcoat though and it bursts into life!  I don't own any 'liquid sand' type texture polishes, but I do wonder if these are bordering on that kind of formula.



Smitten Polish "Imperio" - artificial light

Imperio is a cobalt/indigo jelly base packed with blue, red and magenta sparkles. Interestingly I've seen the swatches of Imperio on the Smitten website which look like a royal purple...I wonder if Noelie has changed the formula recently, because certainly my bottle is a purple leaning blue rather a straight purple as her swatches appear.  It is significantly different though from Klaatu...(see bottle comparison at the bottom of this post).

Smitten Polish "Imperio" - sun light

In indirect natural lighting this polish tones down to a dark purple blue jelly with a speckled finish...but as soon as some direct sunlight, or a lovely bit of artificial light, and POW glitter bomb explosion!

Smitten Polish "Imperio" - natural light

In these pictures I'm wearing 2-3 coats of colour, I needed a varying amount to make up for the patchy/uneven job I made of the first coat.  I've got NE base and a single coat of SV topcoat.  Despite the glitter content, this isn't a 'thirsty' polish.

Smitten Polish "Imperio" - artificial light

Sigh....just LOOK at that sparkle...it's like a gorgeous purple galaxy on your nails...

Smitten Polish "Imperio" - artificial light

Here is the comparison with the other polishes in the Words of Magic collection...the main comparison to make here is between Imperio and Klaatu - you can see here that these are very different indeed.  Klaatu is a much darker shade, and a true Navy blue base.  Imperio is definitely purple, but leans more towards blue on the nail.



Smitten Polishes from the "Words of Magic" collection

These are three very special polishes, but if I had to rate them I'd say Klaatu Barada Nikto, then Elekha Nahmen, and then Imperio, although I'd strongly recommend them all.  "Words of Magic" is an apt title for this collection, because there has certainly been some wizardry involved in their creation...

I bought my bottle of Imperio from Rainbow Connection for £8.20.

Eleka Nahmen by Smitten Polish

Hello ladies!  With the arrival of Spring, and St Patrick's Day around the corner I have the perfect nail polish for you - "Eleka Nahmen" by Smitten Polish.  This is from the "words of magic" collection which take their inspiration from spells and incantations used in popular films and culture.  After a bit of googling I found that "Eleka Nahmen" is a quote from witchy musical "Wicked".

Eleka Nahmen by Smitten Polish - artificial light

Eleka Nahmen is one of the most phenomenal polishes I have ever seen, let alone worn.  Like its collection mate (and a personal favourite of mine) Klaatu Barada Nikto this polish has an astonishing amount of sparkle.  On the nail it's simply mesmerising.  Here I'm wearing my customary two coats, atop NE base and beneath SV topcoat.

Eleka Nahmen by Smitten Polish - artificial light

This is a lime neon jelly packed solid with ultra-sparkly holo glitter in shades of green and a surprisingly lovely sky blue that really gives this polish an extra pop.  On the nail it looks like crushed emeralds.  I'm actually not a fan of green at all, it's my least favourite colour, and I absolutely love this polish which goes to show just how special it is.  In the shade, with no direct light hitting it, this polish looks like a really fun neon lime polish with the glitters giving it a speckled look.  But 99% of the time, in all types of light, this is a total glitter bomb.

Like Klaatu Barada Nikto the formula is really rather hard to work with due to the glitter content.  It has huge 'clump and drag' issues which can be overcome by using generous coats, and not going over the same strip twice until its mostly dry. Also be warned - this must have topcoat.  On its own this dries to a matt, gritty looking finish, almost like a textured polish, but with a single coat of Seche its transformed.  It's not a 'thirsty' glitter, one coat of topcoat will do the trick for a smooth glossy finish.

Eleka Nahmen by Smitten Polish - glitter bomb!

In case the rest of this review wasn't clue enough, I highly recommend this polish.  It's utter amazeballs.  I picked up my bottle from Rainbow Connection UK (link on suppliers page) for £8.20.  Sadly it doesn't look like its in stock at the moment - but Klaatu Barada Nikto is in stock and I would also highly recommend getting your mitts on that one!

I'll also have one final polish from the magic words collection for you another day - they purple offering "Imperio".  Until then, happy St Patricks day!