Lacquer Slacker Liz: November 2013

Saturday, November 30, 2013

a england Dragon

Eleanor, you will love this polish.

a england's Dragon is a beautifully saturated medium-toned rich mossy green holo polish with forest green overtones, bronzy golden undertones and abundant finely milled holographic pigments that produce a splendid loose linear prismatic display on the nail in direct light. It's nigh to impossible for me to describe just how beautiful to the eye this polish is. You won't find it's like anywhere.

Liquid but creamy, smooth and dense with pigments, Dragon spreads evenly over the nail surface with the perfect amount of viscosity between polish and brush and polish and nail. If you paint your nails often, you know how amazing and wonderful it is to work with a finely formulated polish, and a england's are the best I know. Dragon is self-leveling and dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth shine. It's pigmentation is such that it is essentially a one coater, but two will add richer depth.

Photos show two coats of Dragon over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite for additional gloss and color boost. Unfortunately we had overcast skies and rain here today so I don't have any shots showcasing the holo flair of this polish, but the rich turns of color reveal it's holographic nature even if when the prismatic display is subdued..

a england Dragon


a england Dragon

a england Dragon

a england Dragon, macro shot on the nail

a england Dragon

Is that a force for good in this world or what?

love,
Aunt Liz

Friday, November 29, 2013

Butter London Pillar Box Red

Butter London calls Pillar Box Red a "classic red-orange creme." There is a drop or two of blood orange in this well-pigmented medium-toned vermilion lacquer, about enough to safely call it a fine tomato red. What I really wanted to know about this color was, it is really the color of the columnar UK letter boxes, aka pillar boxes?

source

Judging from the results of a google image search, I'm inclined to say yes. Pillar Box Red does indeed have a certain visual conspicuity, an easily recognized boldness that one might associate with painted landmarks and signage. It's kind of like the school bus yellow of reds, or the traffic cone orange of reds. Highly functional, almost administrative, but also archetypal and dynamic. This is a red that communicates, and what it says is "I am RED," with all the associated images, concepts and cultural references efficiently packaged in a sleek glossy creme. No moodiness or sensationalism here, just fresh bright color.

Application of Pillar Box Red was great. It has a light and liquid consistency, enough so that if you're prone to the occasional flourish while applying, as I now realize that I am, you might want to pay close attention to your brush wielding because the feel is a tad slippery. You know what I mean, right? It also seems to be slightly prone to bubbling with thick coats, but the consistency makes it easy to apply thin ones. Pigmentation is awesome -- this polish could easily be a one coater. Pillar Box Red dries in good time to a glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Pillar Box Red over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. One comment about the light in these photos. It's the low angled golden light of a midafternoon in late fall and it adds a certain amount of romantic translucence to the color that doesn't really belong to it. Not that this polish lacks luminosity, but it is a little bit flatter, creamier and denser (if you will) in person than what you see here. At least, I think so.

Butter London Pillar Box Red

This is a great "getting things done" red polish and the application is wonderful so I'm glad to have it in my stash. Personally I tend to prefer cooler blue-based reds, I feel they are more forgiving of my pinkage. Pillar Box Red feels a little, just a little, too sleek and rapid and efficient for me. I do think it's a fantastic red for a pedicure though. Not on my piggies, they don't like being painted. But perhaps on my sister's... Kate, are you paying attention?

Speaking of pedicures, Eleanor do you ever paint your toe nails? Inquiring minds want to know!

love,
Aunt Liz

Thursday, November 28, 2013

OPI Rising Star

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rising Star was released by OPI as part of the Burlesque collection for Holiday 2010. It is a beautiful medium-light gold-infused orange shimmer polish with a scintillating metallic foily finish. This sparkling golden orange is so perfect for this time of year I can hardly stand it! But let that not bias your mind that it isn't perfectly wearable year round, as it most definitely is.

Application was easy and smooth. This is not a patchy shimmer, it goes on evenly and smoothly in thin coats and does not show brushstrokes. The first coat is a bit sheer, but I obtained bottle color and an opacity I was happy with in two coats. I'm still a bit awed by the sweep of OPI's pro-wide brush and there was much swipage of skin and a cuticle or two. Or three. This is one of those polishes that dissipates into a million minute shimmers the second acetone hits it, so don't be surprised to see sparkly skin in my photos. Rising Star dries naturally in average time to a smooth finish. The foily metallic look is so reflective that it kind of outshines a glossy topcoat, but I added one anyway to ward against smudging.

Photos show two coats of Rising Star over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. My apologies for the incomplete clean up job, it seemed ok until I looked at the photos. Oh macro, why must thou taunt me so?

OPI Rising Star

OPI Rising Star, partial sun

OPI Rising Star

OPI Rising Star, full shade

OPI Rising Star

As much as I love how the sun brings out every sparkle in the shimmery finish, I think I love the burnished nuanced orange to gold look Rising Star has in the shade even more. The spiced colors of flame, so fugitive and evanescent in real life, are wonderfully represented in this awesome polish. I imagine it would feel right at home in front of a roaring fire.

My father taught be me to lay a fire in the fireplace when I was little and I've never forgotten the importance of abundant dry kindling in crossing layers between two larger logs, the largest in the back, to encourage air flow, and how to warm the chimney with a lit twisted spire of newspaper so that all of the immediate smoke goes up the flue and not into the room.We've not had a fire yet this year, maybe we'll have one tonight! It's cold enough for it.

Your dad, Eleanor, is the consummate fire maker. I'm sure he's showed you how to do it. Somehow I don't think I'd fare too well outdoors without a match.

love,
Aunt Liz