Giving it another go- Femme Fatale's "Sea Pony"

As some of you might remember, I acquired some Femme Fatale Cosmetics polishes awhile ago but was somewhat underwhelmed with them when they arrived- I bought several polishes at the time; a couple of international brands that they stock, and some that they produce themselves.
Now, Femme Fatale's service was excellent and I couldn't ask for more in that sense, but their polishes were quite different from what I was expecting, both visually and they were really quite difficult to apply when I decided to swatch them. It all left me feeling pretty ~sad face~ at the time, as I had high hopes having seen them swatched elsewhere.
Anyway, after some advice from the lovely Tara over at Loki's Lacquer I tried adding some thinner to the two polishes I was having trouble with, and also decided to layer them over  similar coloured undies, and thankfully both polishes look much better on now than they did the first time around.

What you see swatched here are Snapvine on my index and ring finger, and Sea Pony on my middle finger and pinkie. Both are "crelly" polishes- that is, not quite opaque or thick enough to be called a creme, yet not sheer and squishy enough to be classed as a jelly, hence the name crelly. And, as per usual with the nail polishes I chose, there's oodles of glitter in there too.

After adding the thinner and having a play with both polishes over various undies, I decided to do a full mani with Sea Pony, which I have layered here over Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure's "Good to Grape" (which is a great match colour wise).

This is a really pretty, cheerful mani and I only needed one coat of Sea Pony over the base colour for these swatches, which is awesome. The glitter pay off is excellent too- in fact, it can be a little overwhelming. I found the best way to apply this was to use a very thin coat and then dab the glitter around the nail until it's sitting how you want it. I then used three (yes, three!) very generous coats of Seche Vite over the lot to give it a smooth, glossy finish.

I'm definitely glad that I gave this a second shot, and using 4 drops of Seche Restore really did make a huge difference as to how this went on. Truth be told I was at a total loss with what to do with it as it was and thought I might even have to toss it. So I'm stoked that it hasn't gone to waste, and that I have such a cute, usable polish in my collection.
However, although the application was made much easier, I still think this is a tricky polish to use, and here's my thoughts as to why;
Crellies and glitter are a delicate combination- you want the base to be opaque enough that you get decent coverage and nice colour vibrancy, but you need it sheer enough that it won't completely cover up your glitter, and that is a difficult balance to strike.
You also want your glitter to spread out easily and evenly onto the nail, and that wasn't quite the case here. I found the glitter tended to clump together which made getting a little bit of everything- without going overboard- somewhat difficult. I suspect matte glitter probably clumps a little easier, simply by virtue of the surface being matte and not glossy, so that might have been a contributing factor.
But, and this is the reason I have made such an effort with this polish, Sea Pony is soooo pretty! The colours are just lovely and the combination of bright orange and pink against that gorgeous purple is really eye catching. It reminds me of long, languid summer sunsets where the sky is a riot of colours and the clouds are stained deep pink and tangerine.
Sea Pony is also a particularly feminine polish... I'm not sure what it is exactly that makes it feel that way to me, but it does and I like that very much.

Overall I am glad that I bought both Sea Pony and Snapvine, but I do think you will need to fiddle with them to get the application down pat and have it looking good on the nail. However, I also think it's well worth the effort, as they look fabulous on, so there's no regrets here.
Femme Fatale Cosmetics have a wide range of products, including makeup, and they also stock quite a few international  brands which can be hard to get a hold of otherwise (I ordered my two Dance Legend polishes through Femme Fatale). Plus their customer service is excellent.
So, I would definitely recommend having a look at what they have to offer as they have a great range, and you should find something to suit just about anyone.

Anyway, that's it from me for today- I've been so tired, it's kinda ridiculous. I was in bed before 7pm yesterday and didn't wake up until 8.15 this morning... I hate being this tired, it's not a nice feeling and it makes getting things done hard too. I saw a doctor today and I'm seeing my normal GP next week, but I suspect it's just a combination of the blues and this cold, dreary winter weather making me want to hibernate ;)
And it really is wild out there today- trees down all over the place, power outages, howling winds and driving rain... definitely a good day for snuggling on the couch with my kid and my cats, watching Horrible Histories and eating toasted cheese sangas.

Until next time, love and polish for all <3
Em xox