Baroness X Wildfire Holo + non-holo comparison

~~* Press Sample *~~

I'm still all kinds of excited about the gorgeous toppers that Baroness X sent me, and today I'm sharing the holo version of Baroness X Wildfire.

indoor, bright CF lighting

And that's another resounding OH YESSSS.

As a reminder, Wildfire is described as double UP in a tinted base, with matching UP flakies.  This holo version adds a handful of super fine holographic particles, what I usually refer to as "holo dust" - this is not glitter, it's not hard to remove, and it doesn't grey out the base color of the polish you're wearing with it.  Holo dust adds a delicate rainbow sparkle, not a linear holo flame that would compete with the red-to-green shifty shimmer.

outdoor, bright afternoon sunlight

I wanted to swatch Wildfire Holo over something a little more unusual than the typical black, but also wanted to keep the dark base color to really make those Unicorn Pee shimmers *pop*.  Magnetic polishes with flakies have been cropping up all over the place, and I'm quite happy to report that the effect is just as magical with this topper.  In all pics, I'm wearing one coat of Wildfire Holo over Masura Condiments & Spices.  Check out the pics of this polish by itself - all the shimmer is concentrated to the diagonal magnetic bands, so every bit of sparkle you see here is from Wildfire.

window-filtered overcast daylight

Just like her sister, the holo version has flakies that shift red to gold to green in the same way that the UP shimmer does.  These iridescent flakies are most prominent in low light, while the shifty shimmer becomes more prominent in medium lighting, and with the holo dust there's an additional smidge of rainbow sparkles to complement the shimmer when the light is brighter.

outdoor, bright afternoon sunlight

Wearing this shimmer over a magnetic polish really highlights how it looks different over different base colors.  The dark, near-black brown is a perfect background for the smoldering embers look, which is far more subtle over the pale nude-toned magnetic bands.  Though not as obvious in pics as IRL, the holo dust also really accentuated the cool 3-D effect of the magnetic polish tilting in the light.

indoor, office fluorescent lighting

As with the non-holo version, my everyday office fluorescent lighting showed off the red-to-green shift surprisingly well.

outdoor, bright afternoon daylight

But this time, I think my fave capture of that shift might be this one above, where the scarlet red embers are showing on my index finger, then orange fire on the middle, golden bronze on the ring, and finally the start of that emerald green flash on my pinky.

indoor, bright CF lighting

I didn't at all find that the addition of the holo dulled or overwhelmed the UP shimmer.  The shift to bronze, and then that flash to emerald?

outdoor, late afternoon sunlight

Yup, still just as sparkly, just with an additional sparkle flavor thrown into the mix.

indoor, CF lighting

In case you're trying to decide whether you're having a holo or a non-holo type of mani in mind, I've put together a quick comparison for you.  In all pics below, Wildfire is to the left, while Wildfire Holo is on the right.

indoor, bright CF lighting, holo on the right

The cabs right on top of the bottles tell the whole story: both versions are equally densely packed with UP, and the holo is a light sparkle floating over the glowy embers.  I think the flakies are just the slightest bit more prominent in the non-holo version, but I did end up with a little bit more or less on any one nail, so that's likely just how it worked out rather than a genuine difference.

indoor, bright CF lighting, holo on the top/right

For the comparison swatches, I'm showing both versions over classic black and over 2 coats of a sheer nude.  I love the ethereally iridescent look you get wearing flakies or UP (and now both!) over a nude nail.  For all pairs below, the holo version is on the right.

indoor, CF bulb in my basement that magically mimicked the look of bright sunlight

In brightest lighting (above), you can tell the difference between the two versions due to the holo sparkle, which is more subtle in medium-bright light (below).

indoor, CF lighting of a more typical brightness

Cloudy lighting conditions outdoors today show off the density of the pigments and flakies in both versions, with the holo dust showing as super tiny silver sparks over black.

outdoor, overcast daylight

And that green glow, over black or nude, aaaaaaahhhh  <3 nbsp="" p="">

outdoor, overcast daylight

Where to buy:  Wildfire with and without holo are exclusive customs for the X Army Facebook group; you must be a member to purchase at the Baroness X shop, and links to both of them will be posted in the group right before launch.  The launch will be June 16th at noon PT (3pm ET), with a limit of one bottle of each type per person for $21 each.  I've been showing minis for my swatches here, and had absolutely no issues with the full-size brushes contained within - If you like minis or want to snag both at one go, there will be a separate launch of the mini-size duo June 30th at $25 for the pair.

~Michelle