Bee's Knees Briar

I've been trying like anything to shop my stash instead of shopping, but wow do plenty of people's swatch photos make that a difficult proposition.  I saw something recently that reminded me of an untried already in my hot little hands, so pulled that out instead of clicking "buy"...

indoor, bright CF lighting

Briar is a gorgeous jet black jelly filled with what I usually call "ocean" flakies - they shift from cobalt to aqua to emerald, and I even got a hint of purple in there now and then.  

outdoor, angled bright sunlight

This polish was quite a bit more sheer than I'd expected, and I'm wearing 4 coats to get to the not-quite-opacity you see here.  Though this is very sheer, it applies mostly evenly without obvious streaks - you could sandwich stamping in between the layers easily.  

window-filtered direct sunlight

Because the jelly base is so sheer, the pinky-neutral of my nail beds shows through, pulling the final color over toward brownish or off-black, though this is definitely true black as seen in the bottle.  If you'd prefer a more dramatic look, 2 coats over a plain black undie would give enough flakie payoff to get the look in the bottle.

outdoor, direct sunlight

These gorgeous flakies swimming in the murky depths absolutely demanded a matte topcoat to bring out that "sea glass" look, and while it was stunning IRL, something weird is going on with my matte TC in these pics.  I assure you any unevenness in look or texture is entirely a strange camera reflection off that TC, and not at all how Briar behaved on her own. 

indoor, bright CF lighting

Rating:  a deep undersea 4 out of 5 stars.  Though I typically would not be into a 4-coater, it's absolutely worth it if these flakies get to shine like so.  Also, this polish has major layering possibilities, both in using it as a topper over any very dark shade, and if adding metallic or white stamped designs in between coats. 

Where to buy:  direct from Bee's Knees

~Michelle