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Luminary is my number one desert island product in my studio. Often immitated, never duplicated. I was beyond stoked when Kelly Van Dahl, the owner and creator of Luminary, reached out to me to try the newest addition to the Colors by Van Dahl collection: a gorgeous warm dove gray called “Essence”.I’m not going tp lie it was also a bit of a Sally Field “you like me, you really like me” moment, because, well, I’m an artist and a woman and imposter syndrome is REAL. The TL;DR of the matter is, it’s nice when a brand you love, loves you back.

Truthfully, don’t often reach for the non nude/pink members of the Luminary family, but, Essence might change my mind, she’s really cute. As far as technique, texture and viscosity- Essence hits all the marks of her brand-mates: strong but with flex, hard but not rigid or brittle. In my video below you can watch me do a basic Luminary overlay, however if you want proper education you’ll want to check out Luminary Educator Candice Green’s certification courses (she certified me and is also a personal friend, so I can vouch for her) if you’re wanting to give it a go on your own, check out the Luminary Nail Systems Youtube channel for tips and tricks.

Let’s get into some ART. For this look I’ll be using Luminary Essence (duh), Kokoist Color Gel in E-206S Black Martini, Ageha Sharp Liner in White and Akzentz Gel Play in Cosmic Silver. You’ll also want to grab your Luminary Commit Primer and Empower Top Coat. For tools, this look keeps it super simple- the only brushes you’ll need are the Kokoist Round Brush and the Nail Thoughts x Kokoist Detailer.

If you’re looking to grab some Luminary for your salon or studio, you can shop my distributor My Nail Stuff by clicking this link and using code RACHEL at checkout. You’ll save 10% of the Luminary color of the month, Erica’s ATA and Dulce Nail Sprinkles.