Elianto Sparkling Diva Nail Colour in Persian Indigo

Here is another polish from Elianto’s Sparkling Diva line – Persian Indigo.  This turned out to be one of my Top 3 picks from this collection.  Lovely.

Elianto Persian Indigo

Just when I thought that the name Persian Indigo was just some random naming decision, I googled it and found out that it was actually a real color name! Here’s a portion of the Wikipedia entry:

It is also called dark Persian blue. Another name for this color (seldom used nowadays) is regimental.

Persian indigo is named for an association with a product from Persia: Persian cloth dyed with indigo.

The first recorded use of regimental (the original name for the color now called Persian indigo) as a color name in English was in 1912.

To make it even more “legitimate” it actually has an RGB value. Interesting! I love finding out about the etymology of polish names.  Makes this hobby a bit more interesting and academic.

Anyway on to my review:

Note: You can revisit and learn about my review/rating system here.

Elianto Persian Indigo

Formula: Another winner from the Sparkling Diva collex.  No problems with application – it was smooth and streak free.

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Opacity: Standard two coater.  If you use a thick coat (which I don’t recommend by the way since it takes longer to dry and tends to chip more easily), you can actually get away with just one.

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Removal: Even if this polish sparkles like crazy, I didn’t have to deal with polish residue when I went through my usual removal routine.

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Color: This is an absolutely unique, must-have polish especially if you’re a purple/blue lover.  It is a harmonious marriage of the two hues, with pretty sparkle to top it off.  Look at how it glows!  I love it.

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The polish bottle ratings say it all – one of the best nail colors out there.  I think it may be in my Top 20 polishes – and that’s saying a lot considering that I’m nearing around 2000 colors in my collection.

Elianto Sparkling Diva Nail Colour in Lilac

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Today I bring you the first of hopefully a lot of swatch posts of the 1000+ nail polishes in my collection.

Elianto is a Malaysian brand of cosmetics that started as a costume jewelry company two decades ago.  To date, it has since expanded overseas to the Middle East and nearby SouthEast Asia (including the Philippines, which has several outlets).  When they opened their first store in Manila a couple of years ago, I was addicted to their eyeshadow pans and their build your own palette concept.  I was enthralled with the variety of bright colors at dirt cheap prices.   Even before I became totally addicted to everything nails, I was already a fan of their core line of nail polishes.  They are cheap, readily available, and boasts of a solid assortment of shades.   Soon though, as my need for variety kicked in, I started praying to the nail polish gods to make Elianto come out with more colors.

The gods were apparently listening, as Elianto came out with a new line of nail polishes called Sparkling Diva.  All those years waiting for my prayers to be answered was actually worth it – this line has that beautiful micro glitter/shimmer/glass fleck (ala China Glaze) quality that I totally love on nails.

As much as I want to show you the whole collection in one go, I will pace myself and try to post one color every day till I finish the rest of the polishes I have from this collection.  I have most of the colors but plan to get all of them in the next few days.

I want to apologize in advance for the quality of these photos – these are the first nail pics I have taken and I am still learning to work my new camera.  So expect better pictures as we go along.

Anyway, on to the first polish in this series.  Presenting: Elianto Lilac.

Elianto Lilac

Note: Please go here to learn about the my review/rating system.  In a nutshell, I will be reviewing nail polishes based on four criteria: Formula, Opacity, Removal, and Color.  (I’m actually thinking of another criterion that starts with an E so I can use the acronym FORCE.  Corny, I know.  But easy to remember!)  Three polish bottles being the best, one polish bottle being the worst.

Here are my thoughts:

Formula: Pretty easy to control considering this is a sheer color.  Builds up nicely without streaking.

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Opacity: Lilac was clearly not intended to be used a standalone polish, not unless you want to look like you’ve been out in the cold too long since it turns your nails bluish/purple.  The picture below shows how this polish looks on the nails at FIVE coats more clearly.  I have to try layering this over other nail colors (particularly cremes) soon and show you how it turns out.

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Elianto Lilac

Removal: No problems whatsoever.  A breeze to remove even if I had to use a million coats.

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Color: I must admit, I wasn’t a fan of this color when I first discovered the Sparkling Diva collection a few months back.  It was too sheer for my taste.  However, I’ve recently gotten into the whole nail color layering thing – using glitter/shimmer/sparkle top coats and even sheer nail colors to layer over more opaque shades to create a new look.  Saves me the hassle of doing my mani from scratch (which involves removal, prepping my nails, application of nail treatment and base coat) and yet satisfies my craving for a new color on my tips every couple of days!  I could totally imagine rocking Lilac over some of my creme polishes in the blue, purple, and red families.

Looking at the pictures, you can see how it has this whole iridescent/”duochrome” effect going on with pink/silver micro glitter.  So pretty and interesting!  It may also work as a funky french mani base color.  Totally unique in my collection!  I love nail colors that change their appearance depending on the lighting conditions.

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Watch out for more colors in this line!