Baroness X Deminator

 This week, 2 things happened that in combo can't be denied: the weather turned cool, and my nails were longer than I usually wear them, so a thermal polish was clearly necessary.

indoor, bright CF lighting

Deminator - named for the creator of Baroness X herself - is a pink (warm) to purple (cold) thermal that also has a healthy smattering of iridescent flakies and a hefty dose of Clarins 230 red-to-green pigment.

outdoor, overcast daylight

I have at least one other pink-to-purple thermal, which is probably why this one was untried for a while.  That other one feels candy-colored, a bit more girly than I typically go for, so this one was on hold while I thought it was super close.  Not so!  Deminator's base appears to be ever so slightly dusty, just a touch greyed out, so instead of bubblegum-to-grape, this looks on me like mauve-to-eggplant.  Just a touch more adult and a lot more wearable on my skintone.  

outdoor, bright sunlight

As with other thermal + 230 polishes I've worn, I feel that the thermal pigment muddies the base just enough to partially mask the sparkle of the "unicorn pee," but that red or bronze (above) fire is very much there in bright sunlight, and a witchy hint of green sparks is visible in angled light (below).

outdoor, overcast daylight

Thermals are typically only guaranteed to continue working for 6 months after purchase, and while I've had some sadly that delicate, many have lasted much longer in my collection.  I think in a climate controlled house, sunlight is the worst cause of damage, and my keeping them in a closed light-proof drawer helps extend thermal reactivity.  Deminator was the June 2017 custom for the OGUP Facebook group, which it's now outlasted by quite a bit!

indoor, bright CF lighting

The bottle remains the same original slightly smoky eggplant purple, and reacts very quickly to become this warm-leaning mauve pink.  My nails often had the funky french tip effect or were completely warm, and were only rarely were completely cold (below).

outdoor, overcast daylight

I'm showing 3 coats here, plus one layer of topcoat as per usual.  As with most 230 polishes, the base is kept as sheer as possible to allow the sparkle to be at its best.  The cold state was mostly opaque at 2 coats, but I heartily recommend that 3rd layer for any thermal that transitions to a paler color in the warm state, and this was no exception. 

outdoor, overcast daylight

The flakies and the UP were both most prominent in the cold state, but of course the flakies predominated in low light while the shimmer took over in bright light.  All in all, the sort of polish that has many different looks depending on any different condition I found myself in.

indoor, CF lighting

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars, this lovely was far more wearable than other similar polishes I have, and unusually for a jelly base wore quite well on me.  Some of these pics are after more than 5 days of wear, with no loss of shine or chipping.  It's also sheer enough that if the thermal isn't your jam, layer this over black or grey for a more subtly transitioning look.

Where to buy:  This was a one-and-done LE, so haunt destashes & blog sales to score a bottle of this one.

~Michelle