Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Magnifique was released by Hong Kong-based indie polish maker Too Fancy Lacquer as one of the brand's debut polishes in the summer of 2013. This is a deep magenta linear holographic polish. In typical Too Fancy form, the color and the holo have equal footing here, each informing the other to produce a beautiful melange of shifting analogous hues that enhance and complement the magenta base. The holo effects are athletic and responsive in almost all circumstances, with nuances of berry, violet, purple, orchid, fuchsia and cerise dimensionally shading the base color and floating over a gleaming semi-metallic flash of rosy golden pink. In direct sun there is a brilliant prismatic display with a central flair of almost fluorescent blue-violet edged by a sparkling band of rainbow colors that shades to a plummy red-violet around the edges of the nail. The colors visible in this polish remind me of lampworked borosilicate glass beads and the ethereal drifting wisps and clouds of color that are rendered by the flame. No matter how many times you see them, they never cease to leave you openmouthed with delight.

Application was exactly as one would expect from this brand -- in a word, wonderful! The consistency of Magnifique is fluid, smooth and creamy with a silky, self-leveling glide over the nail and a beautifully-balanced viscosity for painting. So pleasant and satisfying to work with! The user-friendly formula is amenable to thin or thicker coats, as preference and skill dictate, without running, pooling or bubbling. Pigmentation is excellent with near-opacity in one coat, but you'll want two for fullest depth color. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Magnifique dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat does not diminish the holographic effects in any way. In fact, I find it actually enhances the colors. 

Photos show two coats of Magnifique over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite, a little less bubbly than yesterday but still sporting a bubble here and there. 

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Too Fancy Lacquer Magnifique

Another deliciously radiant holo from Too Fancy Lacquer! The magenta base color in Magnifique is only a breath of reddish pink away from yesterday's deep fuchsia creme, Essie Flowerista -- the holo makes a world of difference! Magenta and fuchsia are often used interchangeably, but in my mind magenta leans more pink while fuchsia leans more purple. Shades of both are ubiquitous in the nail polish world, though if acuity of visual discernment leads you to pursue the finer points of color differentiation, you know they each possess their own individual charms.

I'm humbled to remember how I once disliked magenta, considering it heavy, muddy and trite. Oh, the aesthetics of the ignorant! Nail polish has been and continues to be a source of enlightenment for me -- I learn something new almost every time I write about it.

love,
Liz