Orly Frisky + Dear Laura PA AA04 + China Glaze Luna

I almost didn’t want to show the photos of this swatch because my impatience led to a wrinkled look on my middle finger. However, I really like Orly Frisky and didn’t want to “waste” these photos. Besides, it does contain a lesson to learn about applying special glitters and thick top coat. A good reminder to myself and something worth sharing. Definitely need to do this post then.

My eyes (and hands) have skimmed past Orly Frisky at least a couple of times before I finally decided to get it after reading a post at All Lacquered Up. The reason I had skipped it previously was that it seems as though I already had similar colours. I even thought it was similar to the robin blue of China Glaze For Audrey and Orly’s own Gumdrop. Once I put Frisky and Gumdrop side-by-side, however, I realised that Frisky is clearly more blue, brighter, and a seemingly stronger and brighter colour.

Orly Frisky and Orly Gumdrop. Frisky is clearly more blue than Gumdrop.

When I decided to swatch Frisky, I decided to also swatch one of the Dear Laura PA polishes that I had bought at the same time. In addition, since China Glaze Luna was a glitter with lots of blue shimmer in it, I figured it would be apt to swatch it as well. Here’s a pic of the three beautiful bottles of polishes:

L-R: Dear Laura PA AA04, Orly Frisky, China Glaze Luna

Here was what I did:

All fingers: Two coats of Orly Frisky. Index finger: One coat of China Glaze Luna over Frisky. Middle finger: One coat of Dear Laura PA AA04 over Frisky

I used two coats of Orly Frisky on all the nails. It was well-pigmented. I did find it a little too thick and care was needed to apply it more smoothly. Once that’s done, I found myself with a set of bright, beautiful blue nails that are smooth and shiny.

I love how the bottle colour translated perfectly onto the nails.

Orly Frisky was pigmented even with just one coat, but since it’s a creme, it’s better to use another coat to smooth things out better.

Next, I added PA AA04 to my middle nail. AA04 has many small holographic glitter pieces and larger gold and silver star and crescent shaped glitter pieces in a clear polish. It is not one of those polishes that are chock-full of glitter. In particular, it didn’t seem easy enough to get more of the stars and crescents on to the brush.

I was trying to get at least one of each on the brush. Because of that, I was trying hard not to “wipe” the glitter pieces back into the bottle when wiping excess polish on the inside of the bottle neck. What I ended up with was an over-laden brush and I ended laying too thick a coat of polish on the nail. That was the first mistake, although I did manage to lay two stars on the nail.

I was hoping Poshe would help to tame it a little, but that was a second mistake. I probably applied Poshe too fast and it didn’t seem to know how to work with the thick layer of AA04. In the end, it started wrinkling. I contemplated re-doing that nail, but it was getting a little late and I was tired. I decided to just leave it and decide what to do with the photos when I was in a clearer state of mind.

You can see the reflection of the glitter both in the bottle and on the bottle cap. Dear Laura PA comes in a smallish square bottle with round cap. The volume isn’t indicated anywhere on the bottle but it’s of similar size to the 5ml (0.16 fl oz) mini Essie polishes.

And, finally, I added a coat of China Glaze Luna on my index finger. Luna is a beautiful polish. Clear base but with a sweet baby blue shimmer and lots of holo glitter pieces scattered throughout. Pretty as it was, however, it is not meant to be used over Orly Frisky. They are different types of blue – one bright and one pastel – and the blue shimmer of Luna neither stood out nor blend well with Frisky. I would probably use a few coats of Luna over just a base coat or a white polish to bring out the shimmer better.

You can see the flash reflected on the holo glitter pieces.

Here’s a closer look at Luna over Frisky. You can see how the baby blue shimmer has “disappeared” against Frisky. On the nail, the incompatibility of the two colours is more evident. Both are beautiful polishes, but I wouldn’t use them together again.

China Glaze Luna over Orly Frisky

I love all three polishes although I would need more time to understand Dear Laura PA AA04. I would probably buy more from this line of polishes simply because it is unique among the polish lines I’ve come across. And I am so glad to have added Frisky and Luna to my polish family as well.

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