Deborah Lippmann Rockin’ Robin nail polish review

I’ve gone dotty!

Well, the ‘gone’ bit might be questionable (some might argue it’s more a case of ‘always has been’) but I’m totally seeing spots at the moment – and of course, it’s all because of nail polish! Hot on the heels of the blue strawberry slushie that was pa AA162, I finally managed to get my mitts on Deborah Lippmann’s Rockin’ Robin to continue my dotty delirium.

Rockin’ Robin is part of Lippmann’s cutely named Staccato Collection (look up the musical notation for the term ‘staccato’ in case you don’t know what I mean!) – three ice cream pastels studded with yummy black spots of glitter. Of course, my obsession with all things vaguely turquoise meant that it was the creamy pale aqua base of Rockin’ Robin that was the first to catch my eye, and it ended up being my colour of choice to a gorgeous spring wedding I was invited to back in the UK.

I’ll be honest – I didn’t end up loving Rockin’ Robin nearly as much as I thought I would. Although the base colour reminded me of Essie’s Mint Candy Apple (an all-time fave), I found it a little disappointingly chalky and white leaning. Meanwhile, the layered coats of glitter did result in a slightly bumpy appearance, which is very apparent in my photos even if it wasn’t really that noticeable in real life. That being said, I received a LOT of compliments on this shade – although that might just be because I led a slightly more sociable week than normal (usually, all my nail polish gets shared only with my weary boyfriend and my camera!). One of my friends compared it winningly to a duck egg, and I definitely received a few more ‘cool’s than usual!

Application was fine; Rockin’ Robin is easily opaque with two thick coats, although I did find that three thinner coats resulted in a slightly smoother appearance (that actually wore longer too). The glitter comes onto the nail easily, although you may find it tends to pool towards certain areas depending on your brush stroke action! So be prepared to work with it quickly whilst it’s still wet to move the glitter around and achieve a nice spread (seriously… nail polish really is an art, right?!).

As usual, Deborah Lippmann impresses with her use of colour and glitter. The pastel/black glitter combo is a clever one – for me, it’s a neat way of playing with the glitter trend, but in a way that’s more palatable and accessible than the all-out glitterbomb. For those of you who aren’t quite ready to go frolicking in the fountain of sparkly just yet, this is a cute way to get in on the fun, with a colour combo that’s a proven winner – as evidenced most deliciously by mint choc chip ice cream! Just wait for the mainstream copies to come flooding in…

Although I wasn’t totally convinced by the slightly chalky base, what I did love was the effect of the black glitter peeking through the layers of turquoise. It was just right – eye-catching matte black staring straight and strong at you on top, with hints of teeny tiny grey circles swimming dreamily beneath the surfaces. Nail polish addicts are big fans of the ‘jelly sandwich’ effect of layering glitters, but since the base of Rockin’ Robin definitely ain’t no jelly, I can only pronounce it an ‘ice cream sandwich’ – and hell, who doesn’t love those?!

Looks good with: ice cream sundaes, confetti and cupcakes, spring weddings
Drying time: 5-8 mins
Coats: 2-3
Chips: 1-3 days

Deborah Lippmann Rockin’ Robin, Spring 2013 Staccato Collection, $210, JOYCE