Pour it Up with Astrologié Beauty’s Tea Garden Collection

I’m back again with another nail polish review. And once again, we are checking out a collection made by the California-based indie brand Astrologié. Beauty. Late last year, Astrologié released its first ever collection (which reviewed on my blog in addition to a Q&A with the company founder), which dazzled its new fans with a wide range of colors and special effects that had quality and ambitions of a longtime-seasoned company. They have since rang in the new year with a Champagne-colored metallic polish aptly named 2020 Visions and as of today have launched four new polishes that make up their Tea Garden Collection.

I got the chance to try out all four colors and am excited to share my findings with you!

The Tea Garden Collection

The Tea Garden Collection features four polishes: Hibiscus, Turkish Delight, Sakura and Tea Cake. It’s full of vibrant shades of pink that capture the feeling of springtime flowers and manicured gardens.

HIBISCUS

Hibiscus is a raspberry-toned linear holographic polish. While it looks quite red in the bottle, the polish applies very dark pink or fuschia. The overall color definitely shifts depending on the lighting. Fittingly, it’s very reminiscent of the red to dark pink ombre effect that is commonly seen on hibiscuses.

Hibiscus is self-leveling and quick to dry with the top coat. Don’t worry if your first coat is relatively sheer. The second coat fills in every gap with ease.

TURKISH DELIGHT

This pink jelly polish with holo and flakies galore perfectly evokes the color of the surface of Turkish Delight after its hot pink center has been dusted with the perfect layer of confectioners sugar. In fact, it’s that lovely shade of pink that immediately makes you think of anything sweet from donut boxes, to cupcake liners to cup patterns at high tea.

Because this polish is a jelly, I recommend 3 coats for total opacity. I’m usually very jelly-challenged application-wise, but this ended up being very easy to apply evenly.

SAKURA

Your eyes do not deceive you! All of the photos above are of the exact same manicure. The polish - named Sakura after the Japanese word for cherry trees and their blossoms - is a very unique solar polish. While I’ve seen a lot of thermal nail polish in my day, I can honestly say that I’d never seen a solar color-shifting nail polish ever before. In the shade or under non-solar light, Sakura is pearly white and relatively sheer. But stand out in the sun (or place your hand under a UV light) and it very immediately turns a vibrant blueish pink. The effect happens so instantaneously, that it was impossible for me to photograph my nails in white under the sunlight. I had to go inside and take the photos of the pearly white finish under a normal lamp!

This polish applies with ease, the effect is dramatic and both colors are gorgeous. I recommend at least two thin coats of the polish, or enough polish to make the color opaque enough that your nail’s smile line is no longer visible.

This polish is my favorite of the collection and something that I think very much so showcases Astrologié Beauty’s ambitions as a company. It’s not everyday you see a nail polish company experiment with solar pigments - and this is only their second ever collection!

TEA CAKE

Tea Cake is a mixture of shifting pink shimmer encapsulating and a chocolate-esque brown base. I also boasts a subtle hint of holo. What I love about this polish is that because the pink shimmer is so prominent, the color of the brown base shifts completely in different lighting In direct lighting, the base can look almost Maroon/Terra Cotta-like in color, with the shimmer glowing bright pink. Then when you head to the shade, the base goes back to looking the color of rich milk chocolate, and the shimmer takes on a more purple hue.

This polish takes only a few minutes to apply, dries quickly between thin coats and self-levels. I always love color combinations like that of Tea Cake. I love how dynamic the combination of a pastel color and a true neutral always is.

The Tea Garden Collection, from its theme and color palette to its polish names, is very cohesive yet diverse. There’s a little something for everyone if you want to shop a la carte, but you get four very different polishes if you decide to get the entire collection. It’s just the pop of color I needed around the house at a time like this. I can’t wait to see what Astrologié Beauty dreams up of next.

Until we meet again!