Oh Christmas Tree – Colors by Llarowe

Let’s talk about rainbows for a minute.

Those lovely, fleeting, colorful ROYGBIV’s that unfurl after a rain – they show up for only a moment, and then they’re gone. But where do rainbows go once they’ve vanished from the sky?

I think I know.

Rainbowsplosion, aka ‘Oh Christmas Tree’ under my kitchen lights.

Here’s my theory, and I’m pretty sure it’s 100% possibly true: there’s this leprechaun, and he hates rainbows because they’re basically like enormous, shiny arrows proclaiming ‘BUCKET OF GOLD HERE ~>’ and I think him and Llarowe are in business together. So he stuffs all the rainbows into bottles and sells them to Llarowe, and clearly that’s the only thing that makes any sense here, there is NO other logical explanation, because look at this:

One generous coat with HK Girl on top; with flash.

Seriously, look at it.

Direct indoor lighting.

There has gotta be some crazy hijinx going on to make that much rainbow glide off a lil polish brush.

‘Oh Christmas Tree’ is a darkened green teal, and the holo is insane. It’s even stronger in person. And on top of that, the formula is rich enough to be a one-coater. Nice.

Some of you may remember that I was a little cranky with my first Colors by Llarowe experience because I felt like the polish was different in person than pictured on the site. I can tell you that I have tried two more CbL’s since then (Oh Christmas Tree and Oxen), and both of these have been accurately portrayed and excellent quality. Combine that with her excellent customer service, and I’m definitely still a fan.

In sunlight.

This was a holiday polish that is no longer available in Llarowe’s shop, but it is one of the polishes available in my giveaway. And as of right now there are only 67 entries, so you have not-so-bad odds if you enter!

So, here are some links for those interested. Later, lacqueristas!

– Colors by Llarowe shop

– Colors by Llarowe giveaway

– Llarowe’s Facebook page (for updates, restocks, and the occasional flash giveaways)

– Andddd a random picture of a very happy puppy if you need a pick-me-up.

Gunfighter – Colors by Llarowe

Sigh. This polish totally bummed me out.

‘Gunfighter’ is the first Colors by Llarowe I’ve ever tried. Her polishes sell crazy fast, and I had been lemming after this one for a while ever since I first came across it on Llarowe, but it was sold out for a long while and I couldn’t find blogger swatches of it anywhere. But it looked amazing in the listing picture – a rich, deep green jelly with sparkles of red shining through the dark depths. I hadn’t seen a combo like it before, so when the next restock finally came around I picked it up and couldn’t wait for it to arrive in the mail.

Maybe I built it up in my head, but when I finally got the package and unwrapped it, it was a total ‘meh’ experience seeing it in person. It didn’t look very similar to the swatch picture I had seen on her website, but I had hope it might look different once I finally tried it on.

This is the picture of Gunfighter on Llarowe’s listing:

This is Gunfigher as worn by me, in indoor lighting with no flash:

Two coats Gunfighter with one coat Seche Vite on top.

Oh. Well, maybe I just needed to go into direct sunlight to get the intense shimmer as described and pictured in the listing.

Direct sunlight, no flash.

Um…kind of?

On the bright side, one cool thing about Gunfighter was that at certain angles it would flash a brilliant green, like this:

But again, that wasn’t described in the listing and it wasn’t what I was expecting.

I mean, it’s a pretty polish. But the shimmer, while a pretty burnt orange color, is not as bold in real life, and in low lighting it gets completely swallowed by the deep green. And the formula was rather difficult to work with – it was thick, a little gloopy, and the first coat applied streaky in some places. Jellies in general can be a little more difficult to work with, but it was the cherry on top of my initial disappointment.

I think if my expectations for this polish had been different, I might have enjoyed Gunfighter overall.  I don’t think Llarowe was trying to be misleading with the listing (I have done business with her company several times and she always has amazing customer service), but I think the polish does appear different in person than it does in the current listing, and ultimately I felt a little like Hercules:

only less dramatic and without the goatee.

So, I don’t think I would recommend Gunfighter. However, I DO have a couple more Colors by Llarowe coming my way and I have high hopes for them, as they are holos instead of jelly and I’ve heard that’s where Llarowe really shines. Gunfighter didn’t do much for me, but I am still impressed with Llarowe’s dedication and creativity in general, and have heard her holos are some of the best around.

View Colors by Llarowe on her website. They sell out quickly; follow her on facebook for restock updates.