After my Givenchy post from last week, I’ve been on a major purple kick. Next to green, it’s my favorite nail color. I know I’ve been all about about grays this fall but it’s a passing fancy. Purple has a perm place in my heart.

So while shopping with a gal pal at my local Nordies a couple weeks ago, I was stopped in my purple lovin’ tracks at the sight of Shu Uemura’s Mika holiday collection. Famed Japanese photographer Mika Ninagawa worked with Shu Uemura to create a vibrant, beautifully packaged collection with an AH-MAZING burple (blue purple) polish.

Tanzanite Aquarium was described as blue by a Shu rep but I think it falls somewhere in between blue and purple, thus the use of burple above. Not only is it a gorgeous shade but it’s packed with holographic micro-glitter as well. It doesn’t create a holographic effect on the nail, just multicolored sparkles in the light. In fact I’d call it a blued version of China Glaze Grape Crush, which is much more red based and warm toned.


The application was smooth and easy. The brush is long, dense and firm yet it splays out nicely to give even coverage. Two coats achieved bottle color but the micro-glitter gives a slightly bumpy finish so I recommend using a thick quick drying top coat like Seche Vite or Poshe. Oh and it wears like a dream. Seriously, this formula is like iron. I went chip free for six days with very little tip wear.

Fun fact: During a recent visit to the Shu Uemura offices, I learned that their polish bottle’s unique shape was designed to fit between your fingers while you polish. No need for a bottle holder here.

The Mika holiday collection is on counters now and available online at ShuUemura-USA.com. The collection’s nail lacquers, Tanzanite Aquarium and Sparkling Garnet Aquarium, retail for $16 US.