As I started to think about what I wanted to offer at Dreamland’s inaugural PBE, it occurred to me that this will be a lot of people’s first experience with me and Dreamland.
If we’ve not crossed paths before, I opened Dreamland as Smitten Polish in 2012 and later changed the name to Dreamland Lacquer due to trademark woes. I’m an unabashed nerd who enthusiastically loves both science AND magic, darkness AND whimsy, glitter AND cremes. I’ve been an artist since I could pick up a pencil / brush; I draw (both physical media and digital), paint (watercolors, acrylics, digital), sculpt, AND make polish. I was always torn between science and the arts, initially wanting to pursue chemistry and then later art / theater set design. Life took me on a different path, and here I am doing something that combines a little bit of each of my initial loves.
The collection that is debuting at PBE is called Welcome to Dreamland - it's an introduction to who I am as a maker and a person. The collection is a total of 18 polishes: 2 quads, 2 trios, and 2 duos. One of the quads is exclusive to 2026 PBE, and the others are debuting at PBE and will be stocked in our shop after the show.
Welcome to the Art Institute of Chicago (PBE Exclusives) - "I love and live and breathe art, and my first stop on my first trip to Chicago was the Art Institute (where I definitely didn’t get barked at by a guard for standing too close to a Van Gogh)."~Noelie
Chromesthesia - Inspired by Blue and Green Music (1921) by Georgia O’Keeffe. Chromesthesia is a tri-thermal that is purple when cold, transitions through navy blue, and ends in a bright, mint green when warm, and it’s filled with pinky-purple shifty iridescent flakes.
No Visible Exits - Inspired by Nighthawks (1942) by Edward Hopper. No Visible Exits is a light, minty-sagey green filled with orange-gold-green shifting flakes and holographic microflakes.
A Single Canvas of London - Inspired by Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect (1903) by Claude Monet. A Single Canvas of London is a mix of blue and silver holographic microglitters with a shimmer that shifts from orange to gold to green (at extreme angles). It can be used as a topper, but is designed to be opaque on most nail lengths at three coats.
Flashed Glass - Inspired by America Windows (1977) by Marc Chagall. Flashed Glass is a cobalt jelly base filled with green-blue-violet shimmer that results in a smooth, nearly metallic multichrome finish.
A Shimmering Odyssey - "Four bright, glowy shimmers inspired by the people and places of Homer’s The Odyssey. I was that kid - you know, the one who had the Greek mythology book from the library checked out in perpetuity? I have been eagerly awaiting Christopher Nolan’s take on this story, and when I realized it was coming out the same weekend as PBE, it felt like kismet. All four of these polishes have very fine shimmers that feel like they glow in different colors. " ~Noelie
I show this collection in two coats with topcoat. Please note that Dreamland Lacquer polishes are forumated for best coverage in three coats and the rest of this review's images show 3 coat coverage. Aegean Drift - a medium cobalt-violet base filled with blurple shimmer.
Circe’s Grove - an intense phthalo green base filled with green-violet shimmer.
Land of the Lotus-Eaters - a vivid warm pink featuring an aqua-blue-violet shimmer.
Penelope’s Gift - a bright purple base brought to life by a purple-pink-gold shimmer.
Gardening Magic - "Three reflective glitter polishes inspired by the science magic of changing the color of hydrangeas by altering the pH of the soil. I love hydrangeas, and I love flowers and plants, but unfortunately, I have a black thumb. I can make pretty polishes though!" ~Noelie
Acidic Azure - a mix of silver holo and reflective glitters in a light blue base, accented with blue-violet shimmer.
Alkaline Blush - a mix of silver holo and reflective glitters in a pale pink base, accented with pink-gold-green shimmer.
Purple is the New Neutral - a mix of silver holo and reflective glitters in a light purple base, accented with green-blue shimmer.
The Moonbeam Mani Club - "Whimsy is my happy place. I love fairies and gnomes and goblins and elves. I collect gnomes and I have them everywhere, and my friend, Jill, and I collaborated on a set of stickers that will be available at PBE. All three polishes in this trio are crellies filled with iridescent flakes." ~Noelie
Gnome is Where the Heart Is - a medium peach filled with orange-gold-green iridescent flakes.
Moonbeam Mani Club - a light blue filled with pinky-gold iridescent flakes that shift to aqua and green.
Tiny Hat Energy - a medium, warmer leaning purple filled with pinky-purple iridescent flakes that shift to gold and green.
Polar Opposites - "I was working on prototypes one day and realized I had quite accidentally made opposite polishes. Magnetics always feel a bit like a mix of science and magic to me when I’m formulating them, so leaning into the science seemed like a natural fit for this pair." ~Noelie
Daybreak - an aqua-cobalt-violet blue base with a purple-gold-green magnetic pull.
Evenfall - a purple-pink-red multichrome base with a blue-violet magnetic pull.
That’s Chicago - "One of my other loves is musical theater (all theater, really), and it seemed appropriate to combine one of my favorite finishes, glitter, with one of my favorite shows (and one of my favorite places on earth), Chicago!" ~Noelie
Cellophane - a mix of silver and reflective glitters in a pink-red-orange-gold shimmery base.
Razzle Dazzle - a teal holographic microglitter mixed with pink-red-orange-gold iridescent microflakes, in a lightly tinted purple base.
All of my swatches are shown in three coats with topcoat unless otherwise stated above. There were no issues with formula, in fact they are all very nice! All photography uses a neutral color temperature bulb with white bounce card. My nails are natural with no enhancements and no blurring/cream base, I have a fairly prominent VNL.
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