Jacaranda - 44 - Professional Gel Polish 15ml

**Colour Story & Identity**
Royal-deep, electric-cool, unmistakably spring. Jacaranda takes its name from the trees that turn whole Australian streets purple every October and November — Brisbane's suburbs, the Sydney University quadrangles, and the river-banked town of Grafton in northern NSW with its month-long Jacaranda Festival running every year since 1934. For two months a year, the trees drop their bell-shaped flowers in carpets thick enough to walk across, and the country looks briefly as though it has been dipped in violet ink. This shade captures that exact bloom-on-bough moment: a saturated jewel-purple base alive with dense silver-white shimmer that catches the light like sunlight through a flowering canopy. The base sits cool of centre — closer to electric purple and royal violet than to warm aubergine — and the shimmer reads as broken sunlight rather than fine glitter. The result is the most theatrical purple in the OPAL gel range: a shade that signals season, mood, and a uniquely Australian rite of spring.

**Wear Experience & Styling**
Jacaranda is built for moments of bright contrast. Pair with cream silk, fresh white tailoring, soft lemon, or pale yellow — the warm-cool clash flatters the jewel-cool purple. Layer over a black gel base for an even deeper royal-purple cure, or wear solo over clear builder for jewel clarity. For nail art, run a gold-leaf detail down each centre, or French-tip in a clean white over Jacaranda for a high-femme contrast. Application tip: brush in long single-direction strokes to keep the suspended flake aligned — back-and-forth strokes cause the shimmer to fragment and read patchy after cure.

**Skin Tones**
Jacaranda flatters every skin tone, with the strongest pop on warm undertones. Fair and porcelain skin tones gain editorial drama. Light and medium tones get a clean royal-purple lift. Olive skin sees the cool purple settle handsomely against warm undertones. Tan and deep skin tones glow in this shade — the silver shimmer reads as starlight against rich complexions and the purple flatters every melanin range.

**Best Worn For**
Spring weddings, racing-carnival fascinator events, gallery openings, October and November graduations, Mother's Day brunches, milestone birthdays, bridal-party manicures with a non-traditional brief, festival weekends, opera nights, and any occasion that benefits from a colour with a clear seasonal story.

**Pairs With**
Pair with a creamy ivory for a high-contrast spring pairing. Layer beside a soft buttery yellow for a true jacaranda-on-pavement tribute. Run alongside a clean rose-gold chrome for jewel-tone drama. Sit it next to a mid-tone slate grey for a contemporary contrast that feels architectural rather than floral.

**About the Finish**
Glitter finish suspended in a fully-pigmented purple gel. The flake is fine silver-white, dispersed densely so the base reads as living rather than flat. Light catches the shimmer at multiple depths to mimic broken sunlight through a flowering canopy. Top coat locks the finish under a glassy gloss without dulling the dimensional sparkle.

**Colour Type**
Cool-toned royal purple with bright silver-white shimmer. Saturation sits in the rich-and-deep range — fully pigmented in a single coat, jewel-clear in two. Sits firmly in the purple family on the OPAL colour wheel, leaning electric and cool rather than warm and red-toned. A close cousin to royal violet, amethyst, and the darker tones of native iris.