Butter LONDON Pitter Patter

Butter LONDON has released a new limited edition, US only lacquer in honor of the soon-to-be newest member of the Royal Family, Prince William and Kate Middleton's baby. It's an incredible color, a rich, dark shade of purple that has royalty written all over it. I love the bottle so much--the color is alive with shimmer, swirling and gleaming like nobody's business.

Then I put it on my nails. And boy, was I one disappointed girl.

The color is still gorgeous, but once I got it on, I could see nothing in any way that says "shimmer". It wants to be nothing more than a purple creme. I had a hard time applying it because it seemed overly thick and didn't want to make one pass over my nail without leaving a gap somewhere. I hate having to double-dip to finish one nail, but I found myself doing just that, over and over again.

Usually butter LONDON has an excellent formula. And I haven't really seen any reviews where people had problems, so perhaps I just got a flukey, thick bottle. I'm considering adding a few drops of lacquer thinner to see if that helps with the application and maybe bring up the shimmer a bit. If I do, I'll let you know how it goes.

Here's how it looks--lovely in spite of my vague disappointment. I didn't take many pictures, I was hoping for sunshine to get some daylight pix. It didn't happen on day 1, and it's been rainy/cloudy/stormy ever since. Springtime storms in the midwest, what do you do, right? Top photo, with flash. Second, indoors at night.

But I have a little story for you! The day after I applied this mani, I was on my way to work. I pulled into my local Sonic to get a drink to take with me--I'm sort of addicted to their blackberry tea--and when I stuck my arm out of the car window to pay for my Route 44, the girl said, "Oh my God, your nail polish is GORGEOUS!" I said, "Thanks, it's butter LONDON Pitter Patter." She said, "And look at it sparkle in the sun! It matches your car!" (I drive a Mazda Miata that looks pretty much exactly like this one). She went on and on about how pretty and sparkly it was. But I'll be honest--I have yet to see a single sparkle. I tried. It's just not there, as far as I can see. I really wish I could see whatever it is she saw. You know how I love me some sparkle!