Monday, April 28, 2014

Swatches and Reviews: Indigo Bananas - With a Spoon in It

As I've come to be more and more immersed in the world of nail polish, there are a few indie brands that have stood out. One of those which I've heard only amazing things about is Indigo Bananas. Amazing holos, multichromes and glitters,  wonderful formulas and - truly - an artisan among indie nail polish crafters.

Today I received my first Indigo Bananas polishes and figured I might as well throw it on and take photos for the Monday Indie Spotlight.  Of the five polishes that I bought, this is the one that called out for me to try - With a Spoon in It




Indirect Sun
Direct Sun
Product Description: "I like my polish the way I like my coffee... with a spoon in it! Er... pretend that made sense. ;) With a Spoon In It is a light brown ('latte' or taupe), with two kinds of shimmer in it: a greyish brown shimmer that has a slight pink shift (giving this polish a slight pink highlight) and small amounts of gold shimmer particles throughout." (credit: product page)
Vintage: May 2013
Collection: Executive Holos
Limited Edition: no
Finish: linear holographic
Size: 15ml /.5 fl oz
Dupes: 



All of the polishes released in last year's Executive Holos collection take their inspiration from the genius comic workings of Eddie Izzard. This particular title comes from "Dress to Kill," in which he says "I like my coffee hot and strong, like I like my women, hot and strong... with a spoon in them."


Outdoors, direct sun


 From the moment I opened the box and took all of the bottles out of their little bubble wrap cocoons, this was just screaming to be used. With a Spoon in It is such an amazing polish, and such an interesting shade that's really difficult to describe. It's a bit of a chameleon and looks different in different lighting, from different angles, etc. etc.

Indoors, indirect sun
Outdoors, direct sun

It's a dusty taupe or light creamy grey-ish brown, but the flashes of pink give the polish an almost mauve cast. Indoors and in indirect light, you can catch a hint of golden brown shimmer,  where as outdoors you get more of the pink shimmer that is almost overpowered by a beautiful, strong holo.

Indoors, indirect sun

Outdoors, direct sun

The holo in real life is a LOT stronger than what shows up in these photos. The color and holographic effect were so hard to capture on camera. I took a video, hoping to pick up more of the holo, but even then it doesn't show up nearly as much. It's like this polish's is some sort of holo vampire that doesn't show up in pictures :P



The formula was absolutely perfect and went on so smooth and easy. This is probably one of the best holo formulas that I've used yet. An added bonus was that it was very quick drying!

Outdoors, direct sun

The Indigo Bananas product page suggests 3 coats for full opacity, but it seemed opaque to me in 2 coats. I added a third, just to be safe since I would be photographing my nails, but there didn't seem to be much of a difference. All of the photos here show 3 coats with no top coat.

Indoors, indirect sun


In the end, this is a gorgeous and fairly unique colored polish that is an interesting take on taupe/mauve/beige/brown/whatever-color-this-looks-like-at-any-given-moment. It's a very work-friendly color that would allow you to wear a holo in an office. Ultimately, it's a great interpretation of a "neutral."

Nail Art / Manicures  that use this polish:
Amusingly, this almost wasn't the polish that I was going to share with you today! I had just removed my previous manicure, had just painted on my basecoat and was getting to swatch A England's Princess Sabra when the mail came with this polish in it.  I'll probably do Princess Sabra for next week, since I just couldn't resist trying this one out.

Oh! If I haven't mentioned, I absolutely love how in-detail the descriptions are on the Indigo Bananas product pages. As a nail polish and nail art enthusiast, I love being able to know exactly what kind of finish the polish will have, what goes into it, smoothness, opacity, POTENTIAL STAINING (this is a big one....my poor nails ;_;) and all of the other goodies sprinkled in there.

Have you ever tried Indigo Bananas polishes? What did you think?
Disclaimer: I will give my honest opinion on any reviews and swatches that appear on this site, regardless of origin. The polish mentioned in this post was purchased by myself  <3

4 comments:

  1. That is such a pretty neutral looking holographic! Very nice swatch of it too.

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  2. Indigo Bananas is one of my favorites, if not my top favorite indie brands! This shade looks fantastic on you.

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    1. Seriously, I'm in love with the polishes that I got and I can't wait to try more. I'm glad I took a chance and got them!

      I'm usually not much a of a neutral person since I tend to think they're a bit boring... but colors like this tend to look good on me so I keep going back to them!

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