Review: Selections from Anne Kathleen's Queen Anne Collection

Hello everyone!

Here in California, spring is in the air. It's not really a good thing--we need rain desperately, so the near-summer temperatures and precipitation are a mixed blessing. But the fact is, the skies are blue and the plants are poking their heads out of the ground, and it won't be long before Peter Cottontail is hopping down the bunny trail everywhere else, too.

Even if spring hasn't sprung where you are, I have two polishes for you today that will make you feel like it has. :)

Leanne from Anne Kathleen sent me two more polishes, this time from her Queen Anne collection, which is being released today. The collection is a five-bottle celebration of purple, with a variety of shades and finishes fit--I can't resist saying it--for a queen.


First, I have Ana, a dusty lavender potion of tiny glitters and flakes. Warning--lots of pictures to show how amazing she is:

Anne Kathleen Ana

Anne Kathleen Ana

Anne Kathleen Ana

Anne Kathleen Ana

Anne Kathleen Ana

Anne Kathleen Ana

Anne Kathleen Ana--a look at her texture

Anne Kathleen Ana

I have so much to say about this polish, I don't know where to begin. Where the light hits it most directly, it gives off a silver flash that's almost foil-like--but because the whole nail doesn't reflect like that at once, it's pretty and sparkly, rather than gaudy. On the rest of the nail, light catches a few glitters here and there, and dances across the nail the way it does off the surface of the ocean on a bright summer day. And even when you get her in complete shade--not easy to do because light seems to find her wherever she goes--her texture has depth and seems to shine from within. If you're stuck in the winter doldrums, this polish will certainly brighten your day.

What makes this polish over-the-top amazing to me is the formula and application. First, that is two coats only--incredible coverage. Plus, it didn't need topcoat. That's right--those pictures are without topcoat. I did try it with topcoat, and it made absolutely no difference, in terms of appearance or texture. Normally when you get a complete-coverage glitter, it's bumpy and lumpy and needs at least 1-2 coats of smooth it out. You won't struggle with that here.

This is a glitter polish that behaves like it doesn't have a bit of glitter in it. Application was smooth and easy; the polish glided over my nails like any high-performing shimmer or creme. The surface was smooth--I kept having to look at it to confirm that it really did have glitter, and not just flecks, because it performed like a glass-fleck finish polish. But it does, and it's glorious. I felt like a medieval peasant who had just picked up a smartphone that had fallen through a black hole and begun talking to her--I kept looking at my hands asking 'What sorcery is this???'

Removal? This was not as easy as a regular polish, but it wasn't horrendous either like you'd expect from a polish with this much glitter; in fact, it was impressively easy to remove. It was about midway between what you'd expect from a non-glitter polish and a glitter polish. It came off reasonably quickly and did not require nail foils or anything like that. Sublime.


The second polish she sent is Annabelle, an amethyst-tinted jelly with teensy lilac holographic glitter and a spray of square lilac holographic glitters. I think she looks best over undies, and here I have two coats over China Glaze Tart-y For The Party:

Anne Kathleen Annabelle over China Glaze Tart-y For The Party

Anne Kathleen Annabelle over China Glaze Tart-y For The Party

If you're looking for a way to sprinkle some rainbows into your day, this is the polish for you. In that first picture, I've shown you a typical prismatic moment in the day of this polish. It was much harder for me to get the second picture, with none of the squares flashing, since there's almost always one or two of the squares throwing out their magic. This puts me in mind of fairy-tale princesses and sparkly gowns. She gives you a bit of party wherever you go. :)

The website warns you that the squares in this polish may settle, and I found that to be true. I'll be storing this upside down to make sure I can access those lovely squares without having to shake. A good gentle roll between your hand will probably also do the trick--you'll probably want to dab this polish on to make sure you get those squares where you want them anyway, so it's not too much of a problem, regardless.

One last comment here--the rainbow holo effect and my curved nails (my nail edges are so curved they make a full half-circle) make the squares look like they might be curling a bit in the pictures. There was absolutely no curling IRL, this is a visual illusion. :)


I couldn't resist layering these two polishes together to see what joy awaited me...here is one coat of Anabelle over two coats of Ana:

One coat of Anne Kathleen Anabelle over two coats of Ana

One coat of Anne Kathleen Anabelle over two coats of Ana

One coat of Anne Kathleen Anabelle over two coats of Ana

One coat of Anne Kathleen Anabelle over two coats of Ana

I didn't dab on this one, I just let the squares fall where they may. Because Ana is so sparkly on her own, the teensy holographic glitters in Anabelle seemed to disappear when layered over her, but when the light hit them, they definitely threw holographic light, and added extra charm to the look. Ana certainly doesn't need dressing up, but what can I say, I love holo rainbows of any sort, and I enjoyed these two together. :)

Overall, I continue to be very impressed with this line. The polishes have a standard indie price of $10 per bottle, but they perform like higher-priced prestige polishes. I find this all the more impressive given that they are big-5 free, and given Anne Kathleen's commitment to being cruelty-free. She never tests on animals, and makes it a priority to make as many of her polishes vegan as possible. I applaud her for setting an impressive standard of transparency that I wish all brands would follow: she clearly indicates on the website and the label of each bottle whether it is vegan (with a V-shaped leafy symbol) and/or cruelty-free (with a bunny symbol). You know what you're getting and can feel good about buying from her.

Speaking of which...The Queen Anne collection goes on sale today, and you can find it by clicking here. Take a stroll through her other collections while you're there--so many beauties to choose from. :)

Hugs and loves,
M.