Hey everyone! Welcome to a new week! Did you manage to marathon the entire new season of Orange Is the New Black? I know I did...because I have no self-control- haha!

Today I'll be sharing the first half of ILNP's Summer 2015 collection with you! This entire set is full of win, so I'm pretty excited to share swatches! (The Ultra Holos are here and here, if you are looking for them. )




Incidentally, if you are looking for swatches of Harbor Island, they are here, as I mistakenly placed it in with the Ultra Holos (switched with Paper Route). What can I say? It's just really holographic!

Here are the polishes we'll be taking a look at today!


L to R: Mega (X), Paper Route (Ultra Holo), Long Walks, Super Juiced, Summer Crush, So Coral


First, we'll start with ILNP- Paper Route* since it's not technically part of this collection:


*This is actually supposed to be one of the Ultra Holos- sorry, my mistake! In my defense, it does look and feel different from the rest in person. The base is less metallic feeling on the brush, and to me the holo sparkle is slightly more delicate, even though the holo flakes are there.

Paper Route is a soft heather or "newspaper" grey with scattered holographic microglitter. The particles are so small you could consider them chunky shimmer, I suppose. Very beautiful though!

Artificial light, three coats:


Outside, sun:



Up close:



Formula: It's similarly sheer like most of the other Ultra Holos, but has a nice viscosity and dries down quickly. With a third thicker coat I had this opaque.

Unlike the other Ultra Holos, this one could be prone to dragging or clumping up if you severely over-manipulate it. I personally had no problems, but I can tell from the texture of this that it might be an issue if you keep going back over and over with the brush too many times. Overall, pretty nice though, especially for a color this light!
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Next, the newest incarnation of Mega, ILNP- Mega (X):


Mega (X) has very large holo particles as well as holo micro flake particles.

Artificial light, two coats:



The holo is very visible even in (bounced, semi-diffuse, first photo) indoor light! (More photos can be seen of it here paired with Float On.)

Outside, sun:


Up close:



Formula: It's sheer, but the texture is very nice! I used two coats for swatches, but I think most people will want a third. I didn't notice it wasn't built up to full coverage until I started looking at the macro images. It's so reflective that it really gives the illusion of being more opaque than it is. So, I think two thicker coats or three thin ones would be good for this one.
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I have a little comparison for you as well!

L to R: Color Club- Harp On It, ILNP- Mega (S), ILNP- Mega (X)

I don't own all four versions of Mega to compare, but I do have Mega (S), from last Spring's release. Also thrown into the mix is the Color Club silver holo called Harp On It. (<--Be prepared for vintage Polish Hound if you click on that!)

Artificial light:


Mega (S) and Harp On It have similar particle sizes, but Harp On It is much less overtly holographic, especially in indoor lighting. (Notice that in the bottle it looks more holo than Mega (S).) Not so on the nail! Mega (X) also has a very strong holographic effect, but the rainbows are more chunky and dispersed or "scattered" across the nail, although there still is a (wider) linear quality.

And here are macros of Mega (S) vs Mega (X):



The effect of Mega (X), compared to Mega (S), is much more of a scattered rainbow (while still being visibly linear), and the two polishes really can't be mistaken for one another. In person, the effect is pretty different! Is it worth owning both? If you're a holo lover- yes!
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Next, one of my favorites, ILNP- Long Walks:


Long Walks is a mauvey-taupe base filled with fine copper shimmer and slightly larger glassfleck-like copper shimmer particles. There is also subtle, super fine-milled holographic shimmer running throughout, which I discovered upon closer examination!

Artificial light, three coats:


Up close:



Here's one with more direct light to show the holo:



The copper shimmers shine when the holo is hiding!


Formula: It's slightly sheer, but the medium viscosity is lovely and very easy to control. My first coat was not streaky at all (a very self-leveling formula), just pretty sheer. The second coat is nearly opaque, but people with long nails or short nail beds will want a third. I used three easy coats for swatches. Seriously lovely texture, though!
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Next, an awesome Summer color, ILNP- Super Juiced:


Super Juiced is a bright indigo creme base filled with small pink flakie-type shimmer. This color appealed to me straightaway, and it didn't disappoint!

Artificial light, two coats:


This shade has been color-corrected pretty dramatically. The sensor records it as a midtone blue with no purple in it. But, I'm working with a color-calibrated monitor, ect., and the end results look pretty accurate to me! Indigos are always interesting to photograph!

Up close:



Formula: This has a really nice medium-thin texture which spreads over the nail easily. It's slightly sheer on the first coat, but builds really well, and dries down quickly to a satin-matte finish! Opaque in two easy, self-leveling coats!
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Here is a stunning pink, ILNP- Summer Crush:


Summer Crush is a neon, warm-toned medium pink with scattered holographic microglitter very similar to that in Paper Route!

Artificial light, three coats:


I love this one more than I thought I would! It dries down to a warmer toned pink than its liquid bottle color, but a lot of neon pinks do that, and I actually prefer the result!

Outside, sun:


Up close:



Love!

Formula: This doesn't have a creme base, so it's predictably on the sheer side. However, it has an excellent crelly texture, and just smooths on so nicely. Since it's a neon, it does dry down to a satin-matte finish, but I've shown it with top coat in swatches. This is pretty nice at two coats (no streaks, even coverage), but I wanted to knock VNL down a little more, so I used three.
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Finally for today, is ILNP- So Coral:


So Coral is a neon coral jelly that, to me, is slightly orange-leaning. This does straddle the line between hot pink and orange, AKA coral, but I think it's just slightly more toward the orange side. It also dries down slightly warmer (more orange) than liquid bottle color.

Oh yea, and it's LOVELY, bright, and flattering! 

Artificial light, four coats:




Outside, shade:


Window-filtered daylight:


I took too many photos of this one- can you tell?! I've also already used So Coral in this neon watermarble art.

Up close:


Formula: It's a bit sheer and the first coat will be streaky, but that's pretty normal for a neon this intense. However, the formula is fairly workable, and you really don't encounter issues like pulling or dragging unless you seriously underload your brush. It dries down very fast to a satin-matte finish.

This is one formula, though, that you need thin coats for, and it also helps to wait awhile between layers. I tried a couple times using medium thickness coats (not even thick, really), and got bubbling both times.  With thin coats to prevent bubbles, I needed four layers to minimize VNL and streaks. So, this one does require some extra care, but it's a neon jelly so I'm not too surprised!
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Overall, I enjoy these so much I can hardly decide which is my favorite! I think I'll get the most wear out of Long Walks, since it's just right up my alley, but the bright Summery shades here are so good too. Summer Crush actually took me by surprise! I don't normally wear pinks like that, but it actually looked really awesome, and the formula had a great texture!  I can also see myself using Mega (X) a lot for nail art!

My one criticism would be that most are sheer, needing three coats (Super Juiced only needs two). So Coral needed four, but it is a jelly, and that's to be expected. That's definitely not a deal breaker for me, though. Doing three coats never bothers me unless they have long dry-down times (these don't), or if the actual texture is gooey or something (none of that to be found here!).











*Disclosure: polishes in this post were provided to me as press samples for honest review, and all opinions are my own.