Trove of Celestial Treasures

One of the problems with being obsessed with indie nail polish (apart from the ever present threat of bankruptcy) is just how fast the indie scene is exploding right now. On the one hand, it's super exciting that the number of labels putting out polish in Australia alone has literally tripled in the last year; on the other hand, this exponential expansion also makes it really difficult to keep up with all of them!

I've been aware of Celestial Cosmetics pretty much since I started this blog, and I picked up some of their very first collection way back in the way back times. But since then they've been kind of dropping on and off my radar - not because I don't like what they do, but because there are just SO MANY labels to keep track of! After answering a call I put out for labels to help me with a Super Sekrit Project, the lovely Nikki from Celestial Cosmetics offered to catch me up on the beautiful things she's been creating while I was occupied elsewhere, and I'm DELIGHTED she did. While I've been distracted, Celestial Cosmetics has grown into a booming little hive of creativity, and today I've got a TON of swatches to show you the latest and greatest from this label.

From left to right, my little bundle of joy contained; Celestial Sphere, Comet Lulin, Aurora, Meteoroid, and In The Navy. The science nerd in me is pretty delighted Celestial has come back around to their astronomical naming conventions! While I loved the Game of Thrones collection as much as the next person, there's a surprising lack of space inspiration in indie polish, and I dig it. 

First off the rank we have stunning duochrome Aurora! The coverage on this one is pretty good - you could get away with two coats alone with no major issues. However, like a lot of other duochromes, I think Aurora looks best over black or dark blue to make the rainbow really pop out of the black jelly base.

Even in the bottle it's SO pretty

All these photos are two coats of Aurora, over two coats of plain black. The shift is mostly between green and purple, but there's a smattering of blue in there are well. (The shift is also HELLISH to capture - it's much more evident in person)

I nearly fell in my bathtub taking this shot.

Under artificial light, to really amp up those green sparks!

I've got far too many duo and multichromes, and Aurora stands up really well against better known labels like Crows Toes, as well as being MUCH easier to get your hands on. I see myself wearing rather a lot of this in the future.

Next up Comet Lulin, one I specifically requested to try because I'm in the middle of a perplexing green fixation right now, and this looked like a good one. It is SO much sparklier in person than I was prepared for, and I freaking LOVE it.

Close up to show the complexity

This polish has so delightful I hardly know where to start. It's the perfect green - not too grassy, but not too similar to everything else either. The combination of large holo hexes and a generous sprinkling of holo dust make this shine like starlight, and the formula is very easy to use. The base is a little sheer, so if you're impatient I would recommend two coats over a plain green, like I've done here.

I took this one inside my lightbox, to imitate a mattified version.

 Now, this next one is a little bit complicated for me to review - I'm not a huge fan, but that's got nothing to do with the quality of the polish. Meteorite is an olive based holo, with a slight duochrome, and only needs two coats for perfect coverage and amazing fire in sunlight. Buuuut....I just don't dig polishes with olive tones, and they look weird with my skin. HOWEVER, if you're a fan of olive tones and holo, then you should totally take a look at this one.

Just LOOK at that holo fire! Seriously, amazeballs.

The duochrome in this polish is subtle, and definitely camera shy, but I think I captured a little of it here. The shift is olive to a sort of dusty purple, and works quite well with all the holo shine.

In the shade, to show the base colour off a little bit.

The next holo, on the other hand, I ADORE. To be honest, I've been a bit meh about holo polishes for a long time. I was so super excited when I first tried them, but since then it's trailed off to..."Oh, another holo." So I wasn't  THAT excited when I pulled In The Navy out of the bag, but once it was on my nails...UNF. It is SO beautiful.

So much holo before you even get it out of the bottle!

In The Navy has a deep blue jelly base, and when combined with the VERY generous serving of holo it, the rich rainbow shimmer really reminds me of a peacock's tail. I've noticed the colours in holo polishes can sometimes get a little washed out, but the blue in this polish is deep and intense even in the shade. These pictures are three coats alone, although you could do two because for a polish with a jelly base, the coverage is excellent.

I could seriously look at this all day

Finally, we have Celestial Sphere, a rich purple jelly base packed with a variety of purple microglitters and large holo hexes. The base on this one is a little sheer, so I would recommend using a dark purple undie polish, like I did for these pictures. 

I'm pretty sure the holo hexes in this are the same ones used in Celestial Night, because they're similarly gorgeous in person, and similarly camera shy. The jelly base for this polish does help them stand out a little more though than the metallic base of Night.

The richness of the purple in this polish is really lovely - I appreciate a good, royal purple

Under the lightbox for a mattified look

I don't know about you, but I'll definitely be keeping a closer eye on Celestial Cosmetics in the future! Within Australia you can grab these beautiful polishes and lots more from the Celestial Cosmetics website, and internationally you can hit up Color 4 Nails,  Mei Mei Signatures or Edgy Polish.

If you keep an eye out at my Etsy store Femmecraft, you might see a few new designs going up featuring these polishes, if you want something shiny to match your mani!

And one final bit of housekeeping - just a reminder that I'm a mod for a Facebook group AIPAS, dedicated to celebrating all things Aussie, Indie, and polish related. If you want to dive deep into the world of Aussie indie polish feel free to drop by!