Matte and Shine: LA Splash Arctic Gleam / Nyx Algae

On today's menu, we have two different nail polishes that I tried a couple weeks ago.

The first is a mish-mash of polishes! I mainly wanted to try my LA Splash Arctic Gleam.

[Close up: LA Splash Arctic Gleam]

I bought LA Splash Arctic Gleam because I was entranced by the pink, purple and blue small flakes in the pale blue jelly base. I knew it would be a sheer colour, but my photo really doesn't capture the pretty iridescence of the purple and blue flakes.

Sadly, I don't think the flakes actually stand out much against the polish, but I am doing something strange with it here.

[Essie Matte About You over three coats LA Splash Arctic Gleam over one coat Savvy Coal]

This is Arctic Gleam layered over Savvy's Coal which is a black polish, and then I matte-fied it all with Essie's Matte About You. As usual, you can click on the pictures for a bigger version to better see the flakes.

[Essie Matte About You over three coats LA Splash Arctic Gleam over one coat Savvy Coal]

There's something sedate, but unusual about the overall look. It looks like dark blue frosted glass, with the addition of random flakes of colour to liven it all up a little. An interesting result, I thought.

[Essie Matte About You over three coats LA Splash Arctic Gleam over one coat Savvy Coal]

The flakes were sparser than I expected, but then again, I do like my flakes big and visible from an arm's length away. :)

Perhaps I'll try Arctic Gleam on its own to see how the flakes will look instead of layered over black and matte-fied. Next time then!


I swatched Nyx's Algae during a long week of rain and barely any sunlight so I didn't take many pictures. These are all indoor photos:

[Indoor: Nyx Algae]

Algae on the nails is pretty true to the colour in the bottle. I really like this shade, and I feel like wearing it again soon just looking at the bottle. Algae is a dusty light green and entirely opaque at two coats. I think you could get away with one coat, depending on the length of your nails.

[Indoor: Nyx Algae]

To me, this shade of green looks elegant, while standing out among regular colours. But then again, I do have a fondness for dusty colours.