Divergent/Detergent

That’s how I refer to the Divergent series of movies, the third installment of which, Allegiant, opens next weekend.  I am not a fan (the young adult dystopian thing interests me not one bit) but my husband entertained a brief flirtation with the first flick.  It was fine. They’re all fine.  Bland and fine.  Someone will love them; that someone just won’t be me.

Last year, in a nod to my husband’s for-a-time obsession, I purchased this Divergent-inspired lacquer, Dollish Polish’s One Choice.  I thought with the latest movie hitting theatres, One might want to make the Choice to pick up this really lovely polish, which is still available online.  Also, the last time I swatched One Choice, I had just sustained a rather nasty nail break to my ring finger, in addition to an inch-long, carpet tack-induced gash to my index finger.  Needless to say, my longer nails and tidier hands now make for a better swatching base.

Released as part of Dollish’s Ultimate Fandom (Part Deux) Collection, One Choice is a sheer white polish sprinkled with blue, red, yellow and black glitter.  Each colour represents a different faction within the Divergent universe, if that matters to you. But what matters to me is that this polish is super cute!  Cute, and it applies (and dries) nicely. I’ve regrettably had some trouble with Dollish’s glitters in the past, but One Choice thankfully remains immune, applying smoothly in three glossy coats.  A very good Choice.

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One Choice

I bought this polish, Dollish Polish’s One Choice from their Ultimate Fandom Collection, because yes, it’s cute and its glitter mix of primary-coloured hexy bits is something a little bit different, but mostly because – sorry, sweetie, but I’m about to out you – Mr. Finger Candy is a giant nerd for dystopian teen romance action movies such as the inspiration for this polish, last year’s Divergent. I thought he’d enjoy the nod to his favourite movie of the summer of 2014.

He also likes dance movies.

And I love that I’m still sporting that badass-looking cut on my index finger for this mani. It really fits in with the whole “I sustained this whilst leaping from a moving train onto the roof of a building before rappelling into an impromptu rave/fight club in a leather jumpsuit” vibe of the movie (I wish I could say the same for the broken nail on my ring finger, but that just straight up broke on me this week – twice.) Actually, I think the five different colours of glitter – red, blue, gold, silver and black – represent the five factions of the Divergent world. I actually can’t remember, because, unlike my beloved, I thought it was just sort of okay; nothing I really ever need to see again. But I’ll definitely wear this polish again, because it’s super pretty – a unique choice for a time of year typically swamped with pinks and pastels, and just in time for the release of the second movie in the series, Detergent. Sorry, I mean Insurgent.

Lizzie’s Been a Bad, Bad Girl

Fans of The Walking Dead will get this splatter effect manicure that draws heavy inspiration from the base polish I used here, Dollish Polish’s icky-gorgeous zombie green glitter, Look at the Flowers, Lizzie. I’m not the biggest fan of the show (my husband is The Walking Deadhead around here, although I casually watch just so I can stay up to date on my pop culture education) but even I know those five devastating words, uttered by a character pushed to the absolute brink of her humanity, truly sum up the moral core of this show – no matter who you were or the person you will never get the chance to become, if you’re not part of the solution, you are the problem. And problems need to be dealt with. Just devastating.

Know what else is devastating…ly gorgeous? This nail polish! Also, friends, that is the second such horrendous non sequitur I’ve dumped on you in as many weeks. It’s the written equivalent of a star wipe, and nearly as subtle! You deserve better! You ought to revolt and tell me to go get fu —————–

*** STAR WIPE!!! ***

For these zombiefied splatter nails, I brushed on three coats of Look at the Flowers, Lizzie, an unexpectedly delicate mix of black, white, pink, yellow and green glitter in a pale, mossy green jelly base. I had initially thought this polish to be quite murky-looking, but on the nail it’s a lovely, clear yellow-green shot through with brainy bits of multi-coloured glitter in hexes, circles and squares of every size. An incredibly beautiful and unique polish that has so much more to offer besides the shock factor of its name, although that certainly doesn’t hurt, because look at what this simple swatching exercise turned into!

To do the incredibly easy – but messy and stainy – splatter effect, I dipped a straw directly into the glittery red I always use when I need a bit of blood splatter in my manis, Ceramic Glaze’s Hong Kong Diva. The straw needn’t, and shouldn’t, be dripping with polish, but there should be enough clinging to the end so that when you next blow the polish onto your nails – and for the love of all that’s holy, please remember to BLOW as opposed to SUCK (God, Elton, can’t you suck?!”) – there will actually be enough to, you know, blow. Go one nail at a time, dipping the straw back into the bottle to grab more polish as you go. I typically clean up the inevitable over-spray on my splatter manicures, but I liked the more is more approach I went with here, although I can’t condone sporting this look around, say, your boss or your nana or anyone else you don’t wish to offend with your “bloody” mitts. It also shouldn’t need saying, but please do remember to cover up anything you don’t want to see splattered in red nail polish with a large plastic bag before you get to Dexter-ing.