Monday, July 27, 2015

Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake

Like yesterday's polish, Curious Yellow, Dreamsnake was released at the beginning of June by indie polish maker Literary Lacquers as part of the Vurt-U-Want collection, a series of polishes inspired by the 1993 sci-fi/cyber-hallucinogenic novel Vurt by British author Jeff Noon. 

Creator Amy describes Dreamsnake as a "shimmering soft violet linear holo with green flakies and glass flecks." Shimmered holos are always magical, and this one especially so. It's a sleek light-to-medium violet with a delicate ephemeral quality, slightly silvered and reading darker or lighter depending on how its angled to the light. It's filled with abundant green glass flecks and flake shimmers that look to have a green/blue color shift. These shimmers give the polish a silvery greenish glow on the nail and flash like tiny scales in pale shades of celadon and aqua when light hits them just right. In direct light there's a beautiful linear prismatic display with a sparkling central blaze of violet-blue trimmed with twinkling bands in rainbow colors including lots of red, which I love to see, before shading to a deeper violet around the edges of the nail. The effects of the holographic pigment in low and indirect light generates soft shifting hues of lilac and lavender in the violet base, with occasional scintillating sparkle on the part of the glass flecks. Under incandescent light, there's a dreamy lilac flash. 

Application was lovely. The consistency of Dreamsnake is fluid and smooth with a little bit of pull to it that went on best for me in thin to medium coats applied with a generously loaded brush. Self-leveling properties are very good. Pigmentation is sheer on the first coat but builds easily to wearable coverage in two, with fullest opacity and richest color in three coats. This is a fast drying polish that doesn't appreciate overstroking, and will kick up a flakie or two if you mess with it too much. Cleanup is fairly straightforward although those flakies do like to hang around. Dreamsnake dries naturally in very good time to a smooth finish. Topcoat seems to enhance the presence and effects of the shimmers in this polish without diminishing its holographic properties in any way.

Photos show three coats of Dreamsnake over treatment and basecoat with a bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite. Apologies for the flaky fingers -- got a little distracted by Battlestar Gallactica on the scifi channel while applying the cuticle remover the other day.


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake


Literary Lacquers Dreamsnake

Still images really don't convey the sleek, shimmery quality of Dreamsnake on the nail. It has a sort of rippling liquid reflectivity in indirect light that is so delicate and otherworldly, and then you stick in in the sun and BAM! It blazes with this gorgeous scintillating fully prismatic flair, the kind you can't get enough of. 

Fuzzy was quite taken with this polish and took a few moments from watching Donnie Darko to turn my hand in the light, looking at it. "That's a nice one!" I made some tea and sat down with her to watch the movie, which is a favorite of mine and which I had recommended to her. Unfortunately the netflix disk was scratched and skippy at crucial points. I really need to figure out how to stream movies to her tv....

love,
Liz

4 comments:

  1. I don't know Donnie Darko! Get that Fuzzy a Roku

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I watched it at your place with William once a ways back, if we didn't then shame on me because that's a good one for him -- it's a teenager kind of movie, science fiction/drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal (awesome), kinda dark and confusing but with funny parts too. It came out in 2001 and has become a cult film. Worth watching! Not for Eleanor, though.

      You're right about the Roku. Sounds like an excellent birthday present.

      Delete
  2. Liiizzzz whhyyyy do you do this to me??!! This has to be the hundredth time you've taken something I've passed over and made it irresistible :*( Haha but in all seriousness only a few weeks ago I won a giveaway for some Literary Lacquers, and while I do love the ones I chose (especially Ether Binge, ohlala!), Dreamsnake would have DEFINITELY been one of them had I known it had my favorite combination ever... holo and aquatic glass flecks!! In an ephemeral lilac base? How did I not see this??!! I think the truth is that your natural lighting often elucidates the lovely detailed qualities that I appreciate so much in a polish, the same features that can be overwhelmed in harsh, forceful lighting. You're a goddess :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooo, Ether Binge! I've got a serious craving for that one! Dreamsnake has to be the most perfectly named polish, it's got a slithering liquidy sheen to it in indirect light that's very unusual for a holo. And what a holo, too! Don't worry dear, Amy will have this one in stock for while.

      Lighting is so crucial for showing the true nature of a polish -- sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don't. I'm glad you like these photos, I had a hard time with this one.

      Delete