a England Flaming June

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I've been feeling the fall vibes lately, with crunchy leaves all around and the drop in temperature, and an ad for a England's latest collection reminded me I had a perfect fall polish waiting in the wings.

indoor, bright CF lighting

Flaming June is named for the iconic Leighton painting of a sleeping woman decked in a gauzy orange dress.  The color is a perfect match for the fabric in that image, a warm coppery metallic orange.  Even though orange is firmly not my jam, I absolutely had to have this the moment I saw it. 

outdoor, bright direct sunlight

That sale ad for the new collection somehow led me down a rabbit hole of looking at the rest of the polishes in this collection, Leighton's Nymphs, and other than the polish named for Leighton himself, the rest have this soft green contrasting shimmer.  I'm convinced that it's here in Flaming June also, making the metallic flash in the center a cooler tone than the warm orange of the base.

indoor, bright CF lighting

In addition to the contrast shimmer, there's a sprinkling of very finely milled holo dust, and like the shimmer it's a contributing element to the whole look, but not a POW in your face element.  The main color is really the star here, with the shimmer and holo playing a supporting role to make that color really something.

outdoor, afternoon daylight

The formula was a bit fussy to work with in a way I haven't come across in quite a while.  It started balding if the brush passed over the same area twice, which means that 3 coats were needed to get a completely smooth and uniformly opaque finish.  This color was rich and opaque enough that 2 would have been completely sufficient if it didn't react that way to being overworked. 

outdoor, bright direct daylight

indoor, bright CF lighting

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars.  If the formula had been as nice as the color, this is easily a 5 star polish.  It's truly unique in my collection, and it's utterly gorgeous, an even more astounding feat considering that I don't like this color family.  The 3 coats and formula issues unfortunately meant that this had wear issues for me, and I had a couple of chips 3 days in.  It was easy enough to patch up to continue wearing it, and well worth doing so.

Where to buy:  from any of a England's stockists; I've never attempted to purchase directly from overseas. 

~Michelle

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