I don’t think it comes to anyone’s surprise that I’m absolutely smitten by a-england’s nail polish. And what’s not to like? Fun, history and art based names, stunning, deep colours, as well as a good amount of holo. Today I’m showing you another gem; this time in the form of “Sleeping Palace” from their Burne-Jones Dream collection.
Shown are two coats of a-england’s “Sleeping Palace” over one coat of Essie’s “Here to Stay” basecoat. Topcoat is Seche Vite. I bought this nail polish through Vinted.
Although the original web page for this polish on a-england’s website has been long gone, Nailland still has theirs up:
“An unnatural twilight has fallen upon the land” – a plum/coppery base hue filled with vivid prismatic life, as though mocking the eternal slumber of the entire castle
And I think it describes it well! Well, at least partially. Personally, I don’t see the coppery base, unless it’s in the slight shift on my ring finger on the photo directly below. But it is a stunning aubergine colour, slightly muted and darkened. It’s vampy and gothic, and with a depth to it that I can always appreciate!
Obviously, due to the name and description above, this nail polish has been inspired by the depiction of Sleeping Beauty as painted by Burne-Jones in his “Legend of Briar Rose”. Burne-Jones was a painter in the pre-raphaelite tradition, and made quite a few remarkable and stunning works during his career. One of them is “The Rose Bower”, and it immediately struck me.
Note this line in the description: “as though mocking the eternal slumber of the entire castle”. Four people are asleep in the painting, but one thing clearly isn’t: the plants surrounding them. And doesn’t the colour combination in the top thorn bushes remind you exactly of the description of plum and coppery hues? It did to me, at least! Regardless, I really do love this painting, and even if this theory of mine is just that, I’m at least glad I got to look at great paintings, haha!
a-england never seizes to amaze me! Their formulas are amazing, the polishes as gorgeous as they get, and longevity is rather good, and this polish is no exception. It’s a unique colour with a lot of depth, and would make such a proper autumn colour!