I'm The Spare Driver! Emily de Molly Bright Young Things Review

You might have noticed I very rarely do a straight up nail polish post around here. I usually find some bit of mythology, or fashion, or feminism to drag into it. Today I've got two things to recommend to you - the polish Bright Young Things from the ridiculously talented Emily de Molly, and the movie Bright Young Things, written and directed by the ridiculously talented Stephen Fry.

 

Image courtesy of the Emily de Molly etsy store

Both these things are, in my opinion, dreadfully underrated. While both Emily de Molly and Stephen Fry are widely praised, when I mention Bright Young Things in either context people tend to look at me oddly. Which I am more or less used to at this stage of my life, but still, I feel like some of you are missing out.

The movie Bright Young Things sadly came and went with barely a blip on the radar back in 2003, and as soon as I saw it went straight on my pile of things I insist people Must Watch. It's based on the book Vile Bodies, which I've actually never gotten around to reading, but I imagine that's why the movie ended up rather wordy. However, while there is a LOT of it, the dialogue is incredibly witty and fast, and reminds me a lot of Katherine Hepburn comedies like Bringing Up Baby. It's set in the height of the flapper heyday, in the upper financial strata of London society, so the costumes are just gorgeous.

It also does a really great job of capturing the breathless excitement of being 20 something and feeling like you can do absolutely anything. It also manages to capture quite perfectly that moment when you just KNOW a party is going bad, and you know you need to go. Unfortunately for the main characters, their whole lives are one big party, and when it goes bad they don't have the sense to go home. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Stephen Fry's dry, witty, wordy British humour, and doubly so if you enjoy dark satire. There is the extra added bonus of a very young James McEvoy in the mix, if you like that sort of thing. Which *I* totally do.

The polish Bright Young Things has been out for some time, and it's not as sparkly or holographic as some of Emily de Molly's other creations, so I feel like sometimes it gets overlooked. Which is an enormous shame because it's a wonderful little polish. The clear base means you can layer it over various colours, and the formula is just PERFECT. I have no idea how she gets the ratio of polish to fluid so absolutely perfect, but Emily de Molly really does every single time. These pictures are two coats (not even dabbed, just slopped on) over OPI Every Day is Oktoberfest.

The polish Bright Young Things is available from the Emily de Molly Etsy store within Australia, and Shoppe Eclectico if you're outside Australia. (Shoppe Eclectico also stock Alanna Renee, Femme Fatale, and many of the other pretties I keep taunting you poor foreigners with)

The movie Bright Young Things is probably available on iTunes or some other such dreadful DRM filled service, but also available on Done Dirt Cheap for under $7.