In nail-polish circles, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the amazing nail-polish brand called a-england. If you haven’t, start Googling because every nailphile needs to know about them!
For a long time, I’ve been wanting to try out an a-england nail polish because I saw so many beautiful swatches and unique colours. But I was trying to be ‘good’. *Pushes horns back into head*
Then, out of the blue, NailPolishCanada reached out to me, saying that a-england sent them a few Burne-Jones Dream sets and that NailPolishCanada could pick which bloggers to send it to for review. They chose me as one of the few lucky bloggers! (Ooohh, I was the Chosen One! Now thoughts of Toy Story and those little green-men toys in the arcade are coming to mind.)
What an honour, I have to say! And it came at the perfect time, too, because I had an a-england itch that I’ve been dying to scratch.
So, ta-da, a-england Sleeping Palace from the Burne-Jones Dream Collection is my very first a-england polish!
Was it everything I expected? There’s only one way to find out! 😉
a-england Sleeping Palace Pictures
Sunlight
Flash
Natural Light
Sunlight
Sunlight (Purposely blurred to show the holographic glitter)
Flash
Natural Light
a-england Sleeping Palace Swatches
All swatches have:
- OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener (Used as a base coat)
- 2 coats of a-england Sleeping Palace
- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Sunlight Photos
Flash Photos
Natural Light Photos
Claims: TRUSTED
- Grey-ish dark purple (Yes)
- Holographic (Yes)
Key Notes
- Name: a-england Sleeping Palace
- Collection: a-england Burne-Jones Dream Collection 2013
- Colours Available in the Collection: Sleeping Palace, Fated Prince, Briar Rose, Briarwood & Rose Bower
- Amount: 11ml (0.39 oz.)
- What I Paid: Nothing! (This was provided by NailPolishCanada.)
- Where to Buy: a-england website & NailPolishCanada
a-england Sleeping Palace Review
Colour
The base of Sleeping Palace by a-england is a smoky eggplant that I really enjoyed because I don’t have many polishes like it.
This eggplant is very sophisticated and edgy. Even though it wasn’t screaming like a neon, I found that when I wore this manicure for several days, a lot of people complimented me on it.
If Maleficent could choose her favourite nail polish, I’m pretty sure she would go for this. It’s brooding and cloaked in darkness, but because of the finish, you get what looks like a mysterious potion for your nails!
While the base is dark, the holographic particles run the rainbow with red, orange, yellow, pink, purple, blue, and green. There might be more, but I’d need a magnifying glass to check, and I’m not quite that weird yet. (Give me some more time!) 😉
Check out my purposely blurred bottle shot to really see all the colours. (When I took sharp photos, it was harder to see the individual shades, but when you’re wearing Sleeping Palace, you will see the colours easily.)
Finish
Sleeping Palace by a-england has a wonderful scattered-holographic finish that will excite most nailphiles! And the finish is smooth, as you would expect from a good holo.
In dim lighting, you can’t really see it, but get into bright light or sunlight, and wowwwwzzzaaaa! It’s like a rainbow hitting you over the head, but without the injury! 😉
I had so much fun playing a vain polish peacock, admiring my nails on the bus, in the elevator, in the stores, on the street, etc. It isn’t any wonder that I didn’t walk into a pole or mailbox!
Holographic polishes are always really exciting to me, but the fact that the base was eggplant is truly like nothing else I own. Totally unique!
Application & Formula
Sleeping Palace by a-england has one of the better holographic formulas. It’s highly pigmented! When I used my usual medium-coat application, it was a one-coater for sure! (But I still applied 2 coats out of habit and also to make sure I was truly getting the most intense pigmentation.)
After hearing all the raves about a-england nail polishes, I’m glad to finally be able to chime in and add to them! 🙂 This polish was so easy to work with, and it gave me absolutely no hassles.
Price
This high-quality nail polish doesn’t come cheap. It retails for about $13.50 CAD, and the bottle is 11 mL instead of the conventional 15 mL.
That being said, I think it’s worth the splurge because Sleeping Palace is pretty unique. (I have over 600 bottles of nail polish, maybe 700+ by now, and I don’t have any dupes.)
Plus the perfect formula, amazing pigmentation, and great holo all mean that you can get a flawless manicure with minimal effort.
I think it’s better to pay for a superb formula and colour than to pay less, but have to struggle with a bad formula or an easily duped shade.
Still, not everyone has the disposable income for this splurge. As always, only spend within your means – be financially responsible! Nail polish is never worth going into debt over.
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 10/10
I’m so proud to have a-england Sleeping Palace in my collection! It’s a nail polish that I enjoyed wearing so much, I had it on for several days! (Thank goodness for my new Monday-to-Friday blogging schedule and the fact that I had some extra material for blog posts so that I didn’t have to remove this polish sooner!)
Since I have the other 3 shades in the a-england Burne-Jones Dream Collection, stay tuned – I’ll be reviewing them as soon as possible.
What other a-england shades would you recommend I try? What was your latest nail-polish or beauty splurge?
Edit: Yay! NailPolishCanada retweeting this blog post!
Beautiful! But way too expensive. I’ll pass
Hey Norma!
I understand. It’s definitely not in everyone’s price range. Thank goodness for online swatches. We can all admire it that way. 🙂
I’ve just recently started buying a england polishes. In fact, I just got Sleeping Palace in the mail a couple days ago and now I’m dying to wear it even more after seeing your swatch! She Walks in Beauty is a gooooorgeous topper! Super unique in my opinion. It looks so delicate and feminine but is just beautiful. I’ve seen some really cool glitter gradient combos with it online. I also have And the Moonbeams and Lady of the Lake that I haven’t tried out yet. I’m hoping to snag St. George (which looks amazing) and maybe Briar Rose this weekend when Llarowe restocks.
Hey Camille!
I’m sure you’ll love this one, especially on a sunny day! It’s amazing to see a rainbow on your nails!
I’ve been reallllly wanting to buy St. George. I’m a greeeen fieeend, and that one in particular looks like pure love to me!
Looking forward to seeing your next swatches. I love this gorgeous , unique collection- always admired at a-england swatches but resisted, like you. I think this may be the collection that changes all that. I have my eye on Fated Prince and Sleeping Palace.
Hey Lorraine!
Thanks – I can’t wait to wear the other shades in this collection and share photos and thoughts with you! 🙂
Talk about a coincidence!
I just received the entire collection yesterday (except for Briarwood, the rosy brownish one, that is the fifth color and not yet ready to be distributed, I’ve been told).
I’m wearing Rose Bower right now and I can’t wait to try out the other colors.
As far as recommending goes, the only other ones I have are Order of the Garter (bright blue with glass flecks… gorgeous) and, are you ready for this… a dark green one called St. George!
I’ve seen swatches where it looks teal, but on my fingers it was a definite dark emerald with tiny blue and green glitters.
Thinking about it, I’ll probably wear it again once I remove Rose Bower 🙂
Hey Joyce!
Ohhh yeah – St. George sounds like it’s totally up my alley. I must try it for sure!
your nails are longer than usual ! i like 🙂 xx
Randi recently posted: I will survive
Hey Randi!
Yes, I was lazy. Haha, I didn’t feel like trimming them. 😉 But eventually I did because it was getting a bit tricky to type.
Jealous! I would (nearly) kill to get free A England! *dies* She keeps putting out new polishes. It’s killing me.
Lizzy recently posted: Misa: Spinning Out Of Control & June Challenge Day 20
Hey Lizzy!
Haha, I’m glad you added the ‘nearly’ part. 😉 Hehehehehe!
A England is my favourite brand! Their colours are amazing and the formula is always flawless:)
I think everyone should at least have St George and Dragon!
Hey Amanda!
I’ve heard so many amazing things about the a-england formula. Can’t wait to try St. George! It looks gorgeous from what I’ve seen online!
I have St.George and I love it. I think you would love it too because is a rich emerald version of Sleeping Palace. I got it during sale but its worth the regular price.
Hey @messy_manis!
Definitely from what I’ve seen online, St. George looks like it’s totally up my alley! Greeeeeeeeeeen fieeeend here!
This polish is sooooo gorgeous (and your magnificent swatches are too!)! Can’t wait to see your swatches of the red holos (or are they magenta? :))!!! They already are on my wish list, just as this beauty:)
I love the a-england formulas: so easy to wok with, pure magic! I’ve got Lady of Shalott, Ophelia and St. George, and they are just sooooo adorable:)
You need to try St.George. Seriously, you’ll love it. Holo emerald green polish – and it really looks like a gemstone:)
Hey Annie!
Aww, thank you so much! 🙂 This polish definitely was very easy to work with.
They looked more red, but I’ll have to take a closer look. I’ll be reviewing those two as soon as I can! 🙂 Stay tuned!
The Claw….
Hey Lisa!
Is there an a-england nail polish called The Claw? I’m not sure I follow.
what a peculiar shade, but is nice
Hey Icequeen81!
Why do you think it’s peculiar? 🙂
There have been so many beautiful holos lately — this one is really pretty!!
Raina recently posted: Zoya Sooki, Revisited
Hey Raina!
Yeah, there are so many great choices with awesome formulas. Do you have a favourite?
Given your love for greens and purples, you need to try St. George, Dragon, and Lady of the Lake! They have the scattered-holo finish too, and are all beautiful. I know you’ll love them!
Hey Triceratops!
Thanks for the suggestions – I’ll definitely have to try the ones you mentioned. 🙂
Oooooohhhh! So purdy! I’ve seen other swatches from collection and since my beloved Nail Polish Canada has the entire collection for a fab price, I will be getting entire collection!
Hey Lisenden!
Enjoy the whole collection! 🙂
Love, Love, Love This polish! I still haven’t tried a-England but this totally sold me!
Hey Caitlin!
I’ve been hearing so many great things about a-england St. George, an amazing green, so you may also want to look into that.