Elevation Toubkal

I'll let Lulu of Elevation Polish describe the inspiration for tonight's polish: "Part of the Morocco Collection. Toubkal has one of the most amazing summits. The view from the top is nothing short of spectacular. You can see for miles and miles but I got fixated on the valleys below and how all that green short grasses mixed with shadowing looks like it was glowing and shining purple."

Let's take a look see, shall we?

*I was not financially compensated for this post.  All items in this review were purchased by me for my own use.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*

Color: Deep blood red with gold, red, and pink flecks

Finish: Glitter Jelly – glitter in a colored jelly base.  This isn't strictly a glitter, but this is about as close to a strict definition as I can get.  It's not quite a shimmer, but the particles, to me, are more like a glass fleck than a glitter.  It's in a crelly base that is less transparent than a jelly, but the flecks still shine through.

Bottle / Brush: Rectangle bottle – ribbed cap that is a little hard on the hands to open if you have sensitive skin.  The wand is the standard length, but the brush is a little too thin to pick up large / shaped glitter without fishing.  The brush's width is also an issue for spreading.  It doesn't fan out and pretty much requires you to dab polishes that are densely packed with glitter, but that's not really an issue with this polish.

Opacity: Medium – achieves opacity at four coats.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.  Just because the glitter spreads well, however, doesn't mean that the polish does...  See Overall Ease of Application.

Consistency: Thick – thick and can be clumpy, but is somewhat remedied with some polish thinner.

Overall Ease of Application:  Impossible – It's so thick that it’s almost impossible to spread.  Clumps from the thickness.  Also, because of the thickness, it will almost always shrink once you add a quick dry topcoat.  The first three layers were a streaky mess that wouldn't spread evenly, but the last layer finally evened it all out.

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

Dry Time: Long – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in over 8 minutes. Overall Thoughts:  I love me some Elevation polishes, and I really wanted to love Toubkal.  The color is gorgeous.  The shimmer is beautiful.  The richness and depth are divine!  HOWEVER, the application was a nightmare.  I haven't reapplied it since my first try, but you can see how much is missing from the bottle.  I used ALL of that for this mani.  That is INSANITY.  The first three layers were a streaky mess that clumped and wouldn't spread.  The fourth layer finally evened the color out, but it was a bit thick.  I added a little thinner, but it didn't really help.  I'm planning to add more thinner and try again because I really want to love this polish.  I'll definitely keep you guys posted on my second try with this bad boy.  It works great as undies to one of my all time favorite glitters, which I'll show you tomorrow!

You can purchase Elevation Polishes at Lulu's store.  Follow her blog for info on restocks and new additions to her line.

What polish did you really want to love but came away let down after you tried it?