a-england Elaine Swatches & Review

It’s the kind of nail polish that has such a smooth finish, it’s glass-like.

This is the colour that I imagine villains like Ursula (from The Little Mermaid) or Maleficent would wear because a-england Elaine has a badass personality, an air of mystery, and a seductive quality. (This is a femme-fatale nail polish!)

I wore a-england Elaine in early March, and I was really digging how vampy this made my nails look.

I only have a few a-england nail polishes in my collection, and all of them have top-notch formulations. So whenever I try out a new a-england lacquer, it is judged with very high expectations in that department.

(If you’re curious, click here to view my other a-england nail polish reviews, and you’ll see what I mean about the brand consistently churning out quality lacquers!)

a-england Elaine Pictures

Natural Light

Flash

Natural Light

Flash

a-england Elaine Swatches

All swatches have:

• OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener (Used as a base coat)
• 2 coats of a-england Elaine
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Natural Light Photos

Flash Photos

Claims: TRUSTED

• Smoky violet amethyst (Yes)

Key Notes

• Name: a-england Elaine
• Collection: a-england The Mythicals Collection
• Colours Available in the Collection: Elaine, King Arthur, Excalibur, Excalibur Renaissance, Merlin, Morgan Le Fay, Iseult, Guinevere, Lady of the Lake, Tristam, Lancelot, Camelot, Avalon, Perceval, Galahad & Holy Grail
• Amount: 11 mL (0.39 oz)
• Retail Price: $12.95 CAD (I got this free, as it was provided by NailPolishCanada.)
• Where to Buy: a-england UK website & NailPolishCanada

a-england Elaine Review

Colour

Amethyst is my birthstone, so right off the bat, a-england Elaine appealed to me. (Plus when I first began seriously collecting nail polishes back in 2008, purple was my main love. Becoming a green fiend happened later down the road.)

Elaine by a-england is a very dark, sexy purple. In most lighting conditions, it looks near-black, but with enough purple for your eyes to register it as a purple instead of a black nail polish.

However, if you wear this in the winter when there’s little sunshine and the sky is overcast and gloomy, I can see how this would tend to look closer to black. While that’s a shade some nailphiles love, I prefer seeing the purple in this.

There aren’t too many near-black shades that I reach for over and over again, but this one has just enough purple, so it doesn’t look like another black nail polish. (I can see myself reaching for this one again.)

Finish

Although I always wear a shiny top coat, it’s worth mentioning that before I painted it on, Elaine by a-england looked very shiny and glass-like. It looked so polished that I could see my own reflection in my nails clearly!

The creme finish doesn’t contain any shimmer or glitter, so the colour you see in the bottle is what winds up on your nails.

Application & Formula

Had I not been in a rush to paint my nails, I probably could’ve gotten cleaner lines around my cuticles, but I firmly stand behind my life philosophy that happiness is more important than perfection. This manicure made me happy because I enjoyed the colour and the glossy finish. My enjoyment of that helped me to overlook the imperfections in my paint job.

The formula is smooth, and I remember it having such rich pigmentation even with a single coat.

You could wear just one coat and get full coverage, but I’m in the habit of using at least two coats. The reason is that I feel like two coats makes the polish a little thicker, so it can better adhere to my base coat and nails.

(If there are any professional nail technicians who read my blog and can confirm or debunk my hunch, please let me know. I’m curious if this is true, or if it’s all in my head, along with the dancing unicorns and sparkling rainbows.)

Ingredients & Animal-Friendliness

In case you’re making conscious shopping choices, you’ll be happy to know that a-england nail polishes are Big-3 free meaning that they don’t contain DBP, Toluene, or added Formaldehyde. Additionally, a-england lacquers are cruelty-free.

Pros

• Smooth, glossy formula
• Dark vampy purple
• No DBP, Toluene, or added Formaldehyde
• Cruelty-free
• Vampy & is near-black (This can be a Con for some.)

Cons

• Is near-black, so sometimes it can look black in dimmer lighting conditions (This may be a Pro for some.)

Final Verdict: 8/10

Elaine by a-england is congruent with all of my past experiences with the brand’s nail polishes: it applies well and it’s pigmented.

I’m continually impressed by the high-quality formulas. Unlike some brands that have hits and misses, so far all the a-england polishes I’ve worn have been hits!

What is an a-england nail polish you keep coming back to? If you could design an a-england lacquer that hasn’t already been done, what would it look like? Do you enjoy vampy shades?