Hey everyone! Happy Friday!

Today I have swatches/ comparisons and a review of the newly-released I Love Nail Polish (ILNP) Ultra Chrome Flakies! These are super color-shifting, metallic flakie polishes in clear bases. The flakies are quite large, flat, and lay very well on the nail.

The entire collection consists of thirteen different polishes (US $12.50/ea), but I have my favorite three to show you today!


left to right: Electric Carnival, Phoenix, Luna

Before we get in to the actual comparison and swatches, I have some macros for you of each one!

ILNP- Electric Carnival:




Electric carnival has flakie particles that shift warm purple-magenta-orange-yellow-green-aqua/ blue...so basically it's a rainbow...which I love!


ILNP- Phoenix:




Phoenix is overall more of a warm purple, with flakies that shift blue-magenta-fuchsia-orange-yellow.


ILNP- Luna:




Luna is the coolest-toned shade here, with flakies that shift green-blue-royal purple-magenta-fuchsia-orange.

On to the comparison! I decided to show these over a grey creme base, since the internet is already full of them over black. I chose Nubar- Palisade, which is a medium-toned grey that leans slightly warm or green in some lights.

I did originally want to show these flakies layered over a bunch of different colors, because they are very changeable that way, but I'm currently out of empty swatch wheels. Oops! So, I have some swatch wheels coming in the mail, and I might amend this post later with a picture of some layering combinations.

Artificial light, two coats of each layered on top of Nubar- Palisade:


(I didn't label each photo, but obviously the polish order stays the same, so I think you get the idea!)




Phoenix and Luna can look similar sometimes, but in other photos you can see that they are quite different!

Window-filtered daylight:


It was -11°F with windchill, so I didn't take many outdoor photos of these, unfortunately. But, I do have a sunny, indoor natural light photo for you!

Window-filtered daylight (direct sun):


That was taken in a room I don't normally photograph in, but the light was just streaming in super intensely. These flakies are very metallic and light-reflective, as you can see!

And, here is the one outdoor photo! Shade:

If my fingers look like corpse skin, I am so, so sorry! It was cooooold!

I do feel like Electric Carnival has more intense shift than the other two! I think, like everyone else, it has to be my favorite! (I also noticed that it seems to have a higher proportion of the largest flakie particles, but of course that could have been the luck of the draw/application.)

Formula: The formulas on these three were nice! They are suspended well, apply easily, and the flakies are no problem to wear with just one layer of top coat.

The density is on the sheerer side, I would say. I don't think that's a drawback- it gives them more versatility in terms of how you can wear them. Shown is two coats of each, but I think you could have near-perfect opacity with a third layer. There might be some small, small gaps, but I think over black that would be unnoticeable. Of course, you can also choose to layer them over an interesting base color, and just roll with one coat!