Bench Work: Sheswai Stoned

Hello Lab Partners!

Allison here with you today for a look at brand of polish we don't often see: Sheswai. I ordered a couple bottles of Sheswai not too long ago, and before I get into reviewing the polish itself, let me say that this company has some of the fastest shipping going! About one hour after placing my order, I received a shipping notification! Impressive!

If you visit Sheswai's site, take a look at their manifesto, where they tell the shopper they believe, among other things, "Painted nails are wonderful accessories." This is an eco-chic brand, with polish bottle caps made from sustainably harvested wood. Intriguing, no?

Sheswai Stoned. Please excuse the drip of polish on the bottle!

But enough of manifestos and sustainable wood. Let's get to the bottom line. How's the polish? For my first foray with Sheswai, I tried the color Stoned  (c'mon, don't tell you me you don't love that name). According to Sheswai, this color is "a smooth pebble grey with a touch of lavender and a hint of shimmer that will leave you feeling blissfully happy." Although this description is mostly accurate, I don't entirely agree with it. It leans much more toward being a nude polish than I'd anticipated. Less of a grey, more of a beige. I was hoping it would look more like Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid. Also, when Sheswai says "a hint of shimmer," they really mint a hint, as in don't expect to actually see shimmer. This color is very similar to Butter London's Yummy Mummy, which we reviewed last week. If you'll recall, I wasn't too fond of Yummy Mummy--just not enough color for me. To a large extent, I feel the same about Stoned, although I like Stoned a bit better because it has a little more lavender than Yummy Mummy, so I don't feel like my nails are completely invisible. Keep in mind, I love bold, bright colors, so nude polishes are never going to be my favorites.

Sheswai Stoned. Inside, artificial light, no flash

Sheswai Stoned. Inside, with flash.

Sheswai Stoned. Outside

But let's discuss the application, shall we? Prepare yourself for what I'm about to say. Sheswai has quite possibly the best application of any polish I've ever used. Yes, that's right. The brush provided excellent control, and the polish went on entirely streak-free. It was opaque--or at least very nearly so--in one coat. I put on a second coat for good measure. Now here's the really unbelievable part: I got a fuzzy in my polish, and had every expectation of having to remove polish from that nail entirely and start again. Imagine my delight when I removed the fuzzy in question and watched the polish sort of glide back together as if it had never been disturbed.

Unfortunately, this polish chipped easily. Now, I wasn't wearing my preferred top coat, so perhaps the top coat is to blame. Further research is needed in this area. Because I change polishes so frequently, nice application is a higher priority to me than durability.

Conclusions: Stoned may not be my favorite cup of tea as far as color goes, but the application of this polish is so far beyond amazing that I'm looking forward to trying the other Sheswai polish I bought. Will I buy more of them? Well, let's just say the results are inconclusive. At $16 per bottle, it's pricey, but if the other Sheswai I bought applies like this one, I'll likely buy more . The color range is limited at this point, but expanding. In fact, since I ordered, they've added two new colors for fall: Yowza and Badass. I may have to buy Badass just for the name.

Until next time, sending you lab love!

Allison