Textured polishes are available in a growing variety of styles. There are crackles, shatters, caviars, velvets, liquid sands, magnetics, suedes, vinyls, rubbers, pixie dusts and mattes. Personally, I'm not all that attracted to the more radically textured polishes or polishes that require extra steps to set up a texture. To me, nail polish is first and foremost about color and that's where I live. Texture for texture's sake is a little too cutting edge for me, although I appreciate the attention it gets from polish and nail art enthusiasts.
I do enjoy more subtle textured finishes like mattes, suedes and pixie dusts. I think they bring a lot to the table when it comes to how color is perceived. As an example let's take a nice long look at Julep Hailee.
Hailee is described by Julep as a "khaki green suede." That was a surprise to me because in the bottle it looks like a medium silvered charcoal. On the nail, though, especially in direct light, there are overtones of faded army green. The overall impression is muted and soft. This is supported by a silky matte finish. In this way, the color and the finish work together to produce a comprehensive look.
The consistency and pigmentation of this polish are excellent. I used one coat over my basecoat duo for the photos....
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| Julep Hailee, natural finish |
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| Julep Hailee, natural finish |
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| Julep Hailee, natural finish |
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| at the window... |
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| Julep Hailee, natural finish |
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| EXTREME CLOSE UP WHOA! |
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| Julep Hailee, natural finish |
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| Julep Hailee, natural finish |
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| Julep Hailee, macro shot on the nail |
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| Julep Hailee, natural finish |
Pardon the injury to my pinky knuckle, I scraped it while scrubbing out one of our cement bird baths, the little one that's trough shaped. It's so hard to get into the corners of that thing!
I really really like this look, it reminds me of the way a macadam road surface shimmers when the sun is directly overhead and makes me all nostalgic for the road trips I used to take in college. The feel is cool but not overly edgy. It's neat, soft like weathered soapstone and attractive in the same sort of way. As I said, I like it very much!
But you know I couldn't leave it matte. I had to see what Hailee looked like with a glossy topcoat over it. On went the Seche Vite!
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat |
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat |
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat |
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat |
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat |
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat |
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat |
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat |
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat, against my shorts |
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| Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat |
Now this, I LOVE. Wow, the green totally comes out and it is charcoal and silver flecked chic. This Hailee is not about road trips past, this Hailee is test driving a Maserati Quattroporte and scaring the hell out of the sales rep in the passenger seat.
The topcoat changed up the whole look and feel of this polish, no?
So what if... what if we add a pearly holographic glitter mix topper? I've got one right here and it's called Cassandra by Shimmer Polish. Cassandra is deceptively simple by Shimmer's standards. No color mix, just iridescent white holo glitters in sizes from micro to medium. Liquid rainbow lace for the nails.
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra, bottle shot |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra in the bottle, Julep Hailee with glossy topcoat on the nail |
Cassandra will add yet another texture to Hailee's repertoire. Let's see what it can do, shall we? I added one coat of Cassandra to the glossy Hailee manicure, then an additional coat of Seche Vite.
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
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| at the window... |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
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| Shimmer Polish Cassandra over Julep Hailee |
OMG. I think Hailee just got her pilot's license. Either that or it's snowing during that Quattroporte test drive. Or maybe Hailee is a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station.
Cassandra, I think, would give any polish a celestial look. If joy and mystery had a lovechild, it would be Cassandra. And did I mention all the rainbow sparkles from the holo glitters? What a wonderful creation from Shimmer.
The next manicure I do with Cassandra I think I'm going to try it over a shimmery turquoise or an aquatic green. Or maybe a light purple.
By the way, Eleanor, if there are colors you'd like to see just let me know. I take requests!
love,
Aunt Liz
Love!
ReplyDeleteHooray! :) Thanks so much for stopping by!
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