Lacquer or Leave Her!: Review: Sassy Pants Polish 'Twas The Night Before Christmas collection

Monday, December 19, 2016

Review: Sassy Pants Polish 'Twas The Night Before Christmas collection

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

I hope you had a great weekend--I spent mine swatching and manicure-making so I could make this last week before Christmas a parade of polishes, plates, and inspiration!

Sassy Pants Polish 'Twas The Night Before Christmas Collection

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I'm going to kick it off today with Sassy Pants Polish 'Twas The Night Before Christmas collection! This collection takes my breath away for so many reasons...the first how beautifully it captures the inspiration. I'm pretty sure just about every child who celebrates Christmas in some form grew up having 'Twas The Night Before Christmas read to them, and then eventually reading it themselves. I personally spent ages puzzling over the line 'the moon on the breast of the new fallen snow': how could snow have a breast?? And how was the moon on it??

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Someone gave me a fancy book of it when I was a child, decorated in a vintage Christmas turn-of-the-last-century sort of style that melded with the old-fashioned language of the poem to embody the magic of Christmas for me. Angie has captured that feel so perfectly in this collection--the colors are Christmassy but muted, vintage but cheery, cozy and warm. When I look at the bottles, I can see the right jolly old elf putting his finger up to his nose, and the twinkle in his eye.

Let's jump in with Sassy Pants Polish Jolly Old Elf, a building glitter filled with green metallic shards and a ton of holo glitz:

Sassy Pants Polish Jolly Old Elf

This is three coats with topcoat; application and formula were both excellent. You may be able to get away with two coats. The holo in this is strongly scattered, with a linear flash as well--I hate it when bloggers say 'this looks so much better in person!" but I have to say it--the light this polish throws and the depth to it is gorgeous. I love how it captures the Christmas green, but in a way that combines light, like someone went all out with tinsel and ornaments on their tree. I loved shards before it was cool, and I love this effect.

I personally like wearing polishes like this with undies, too, so I did a swatch over Zoya Saint to show you the power of even one coat of this polish:

Sassy Pants Polish Jolly Old Elf over Zoya Saint

I'm really into the combination of blues and greens right now, and I love how these colors work together. Notice the soft linear effect of the holo, even with one coat!

Next up is Sassy Pants Long Winter Nap, a light steely blue crelly with blue and silver hexes and microglitters, opal shards, and silver holographic glitter:

Sassy Pants Long Winter Nap

This is two coats with topcoat, excellent formula and application.

This polish feels like a stormy, snowy afternoon, the kind where you come back from running errands and warm up by the fire with a good book and a cup of cocoa. The silvery gray in it gives it versatility similar to a neutral, but with a subtle amount of special that makes it cozy and fun.

I couldn't resist throwing a granny-square quilt accent nail on it:

Sassy Pants Long Winter Nap + Lina Nail Art Supplies Can't Wait For Xmas plate + Messy Mansion Sterling

How cozy is that?!

Next we have Sassy Pants Polish Luster Of Midday, a golden jelly filled with gold glitter, flakies, and holo goodness:

Sassy Pants Polish Luster Of Midday

This is three coats with topcoat; formula and application were excellent. You can see I still have a teeny bit of visible nail line, so keep that in mind if that bothers you with jellies. This polish has an antiqued feel to the gold that makes it unique and more subtle than a typical gold, but the scattered holo here is vibrant and eye-catching.

I wanted to see how this worked as a topper, so I tried it over Barry M Gold Foil; it gave the foil a deeper, burnished effect, and a glow:

Sassy Pants Polish Luster Of Midday over Barry M Gold Foil

This is one coat, and every single one of those teeny glitters catches the light. This is glittery while still being sophisicated, and you can pump up that light with more coats--very versatile.

Next up is Sassy Pants Polish New Fallen Snow, an off-white crelly with an icy sprinkle of holo amid white and opal hexes, squares, and shards.

Sassy Pants Polish New Fallen Snow

This is two coats with topcoat. I had a little patchiness with the first coat, but that disappeared completely, and the formula on the polish was excellent.

This polish is exactly what the name promises--when I look at this, I see a pristine blanket of snow shimmering in the light, with flakes floating down and softly adding to the top. This is the perfect polish to capture the feel of a white Christmas, and to represent snow in any of your nail art manicures. So soft and serene.

Next we have Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry, a silvery polish packed with red metallic shards and holo glitters:

Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry

This is two coats with topcoat, excellent formula and application. I wanted to show you two coats here versus three with Jolly Old Elf, since this is the red version of that polish, so you can see the difference in coverage. Two coats really does give you pretty darn good coverage.

When I look at this, I can practically taste peppermint, so yeah, what's about to happen was inevitable:

Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry + UberChic Beauty Christmas 02 + Messy Mansion stamping polishes

How adorable is that?! So simple, but so festive, and so much impact. The colored shards and the play with light gives you a ton of bang for your buck. And, of course I wanted to know what this would look like over undies:

Sassy Pants Polish Nose Like A Cherry over Barry M Silver Foil

I didn't think it was possible, but that's even more festive--I love how those red shards pop, and the holo catches the light from every angle.

Next is Sassy Pants Polish Not Even A Mouse, a gray crelly with silver shard flakes, lavender micro-flakies, and lavender shimmer:

Sassy Pants Polish Not Even A Mouse

This is two coats with topcoat, excellent application and formula.

For me, This is the pinnacle of the beauty Angie has accomplished with this collection. The touches of white and lavender take this grey to a sophisticated place between just gray and flashy silver, with a sprinkle of holo light that adds a touch of unexpected complexity. If this is a mouse, it's the most beautiful mouse I've ever seen.

I had to play with the vintage feel of this, so I stamped an accent nail with Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons-Winter 01 and Hit The Bottle Polishes Champagne Shifter:

Sassy Pants Polish Not Even A Mouse + Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons-Winter 01 + Hit The Bottle Polish Champagne Shifter

Quick, simple, elegant.

Next is Sassy Pants Polish To All A Good Night, a royal blue crelly with navy holo hex and silver holo shards:

Sassy Pants Polish To All A Good Night

This is two coats, good formula and application; I had a little pull with the first coat, but nothing serious, and everything evened out nicely.

This crelly makes me want to coin a new term, maybe shimelly? This leans more to the jelly side, and has a ton of shimmer which brings light and depth the the polish. If Long Winter Nap is a snowy, stormy afternoon sky, To All A Good Night is a clear, snowy night sky. I can feel the chill on my cheeks and my nose when I look at this; it makes me think of peering out a window at evening snow flurries, or walking around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights.

The chill inspired me to do a frosty accent nail with Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons-Winter 01 plates, and Girly Bits Silver Bells:

Sassy Pants Polish To All A Good Night + Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons-Winter 01 + Girly Bits Silver Bells

And for our coup de grace, we have Sassy Pants Polish Visions Of Sugar Plums, a gorgeous blend of purple, deep garnet red, and pink glitters, with a healthy dose of holo:

Sassy Pants Polish Visions Of Sugar Plums

This is two coats, great application and formula.

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I'm still not sure what a sugar plum is, but if it's anything like this, it's magical. I love all types of purple, but the smoky antique eggplant base of this is exquisite. The mix of shapes and sizes to this glitter keeps me staring down into it lovingly--while I'm getting blinded by the light that holo is throwing. This is tied for my favorite with Not Even A Mouse...fun, festive, but with just a touch of nostalgia. LOVE.

So what do I think of the collection as whole? If you're the sort of person who loves a vintage-style Christmas, or who just wants a break from bold red-green Christmas colors, this collection will soothe your soul. The quality is excellent, and the artistic vision has been realized beautifully.

This collection is on sale now at Sassy Pants Polish; each is available full size (15ml) for $12 each, or mini (7.5ml) for $8. You can buy the complete collection for $84, which is the equivalent of getting one of the polishes for free; you can get the mini-sized collection for $56m a $7 savings. Also, Sassy Pants Polish ships free in the US with orders of $50 or more, and in Canada with orders of $75 or more.

And don't forget to follow Sassy Pants Polish on Facebook and Instagram for news and sales!

Happy polishing,
M.