Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster was released by indie polish maker Literary Lacquers as part of the Literary Liquors collection in September 2013. Amy describes this polish as "a vibrant turquoise blue linear holographic polish with added fine holographic glitter," which is perfect. Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is a favorite among polish enthusiasts and once you've tried it, it's easy to see why. The holo pigments enrich the turquoise base color with nuances of brilliant cerulean blue and deep sea green, and the sprinkling of holographic glitters throw out twinkling blue-green sparks from within the depths of the polish like stars in a turquoise galaxy.

This polish has a translucent very jelly-like base. It also goes on like a jelly, sheer at first and building color and opacity with subsequent coats. The consistency is fluid with a little bit of stickiness to it and it dries quickly enough so that you don't want to dawdle or overstroke lest you pull patches, but it does go on in an even, self-leveling manner. You can achieve an acceptable opacity with two coats, but I found the addition of a third provided substantially deeper, richer color and I would recommend three coats for this polish to look its best. Cleanup, which I failed to accomplish satisfactorily (as I found once I began editing my photos), isn't difficult but I wish I'd taken more care with it not only because I overlooked some cuticle swipage but also because I left some traces of color behind where I'd cleaned. I find this happens a lot when I'm working with translucent jellies that go on in thin coats, areas of brush touches and minor swipage are harder to see and get by my naked eye. But the MACRO SEES ALL, dammit. Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster dries naturally in very good time to a slightly flat finish with a tiny bit of texture from the glitters, both remedied by the application of topcoat.

Photos show three coats of Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

All of the above shots of this polish were taken under indirect natural light, and you can see that the holo flair and its chromatic influence on the base color are quite strong even so. Such is the genius of Amy's formulary skill, that she chose a jelly formula for this polish, where the intrinsic jelly translucence naturally gathers and holds light to it. This gathered light instantly activates the prismatic display of the holographic pigments. If there's any light anywhere, Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (you'd think that would get easier to type as you go along... NOT) will pick it up. In direct sunlight, the spark that kindles the most dramatic reaction from holographic pigment, Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster's linear flair is rich and intense enough to all but drown out the loose holo glitters in the polish. Wanna see? Sure, I knew you would....

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, direct sun

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, direct sun

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, direct sun

Literary Lacquers Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, direct sun

So yes, there's plenty of reasons to love this beautiful polish, not the least of them being the striking interaction between the translucent turquoise base and the holo pigments it contains, which produces an aquatic turquoise so deep and rich in color that it takes your breath away to see it. That's what happened to me, anyway, as I was applying it. After the second coat I casually stuck my hand into the shaft of sunlight pouring through the skylight and literally gasped. 

I love it when that happens!

xo,
Liz

ps. Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster did not stain my nails where I'd used basecoat. It did slightly stain areas that weren't basecoated, ie the areas of free edge alongside the shoulders of my fingertips, and the skin of those areas where I'd gone off the nail with the polish. Don't be like me, be extra neat when applying this puppy, use basecoat, and you shouldn't have any staining at all.

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Amazeballz: A Blended Family is a spin off of the maverick polish Amazeballz by indie polish maker Lacquistry, which was originally released in the spring of 2012 to the jubilance, awe and acclaim of polish enthusiasts everywhere. Amazeballz is a metallic flake glitter bomb, only it's not like the typical glitters found in polish. These highly reflective flakes, suspended in a clear base, are relatively large-sized irregularly-shaped flat shardy particles that lay perfectly level and smooth on the nail when applied. The color is a cool gold, or as Jenna says, kind of a cross between silver and gold, a platinum color that is similar to the way sterling silver looks when it's just begun to tarnish. Layered to opacity, this polish presents as a beaten metal coating on the nail, very smooth, reflective and blindingly blingy with scintillating sparkles from the individual flakes.

Since the debut of the original Amazeballz, Jenna, the owner and creative force behind Lacquistry, has branched out from the parent polish into particle size variations. There is a Fine variety, an Extra Fine variety and now the Blended Family variety, which incorporates all three particle sizes into one polish. Jenna created A Blended Family for those who "who simply cannot decide if they want Amazeballz Original, Fine, or Extra Fine." Hello! I'm so glad she decided to make this version.

Amazeballz: A Blended Family applies just like a regular polish. The suspension base is thick but nice and fluid, easy to control, with excellent flow over the nail. Each brushful delivers an astonishing amount of the metallic flakes, which disperse evenly over the nail without any extra effort or manipulation. I was extremely impressed by the opacity delivered in just one coat! I've seen manicures with Amazeballz layered over a metallic base polish as well as layered to opacity over itself, and believe it's just a matter of personal preference as to how best to wear it because the look is totally awesome regardless. I chose to do two coats of A Blended Family by itself for this manicure and it looks completely opaque to the unaided eye. It's practically impossible to clean up after this polish, as you will see in my photos, because once those flakes are on there, they're not about to go anywhere far. Amazeballz: A Blended Family does indeed dry naturally to a smooth finish, and it does this in very good time. The brilliant reflective shine created by the cobbled mosaic of metallic flakes is only enhanced by topcoat.

Photos show two coats of Amazeballz: A Blended Family over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Glisten and Glow HK Girl. Chagrins du jour include the mess o' metallic flakes that I made attempting to cleanup minor swipage made during application and a serious case of peely flaky skin on the fingers of my left hand especially. Not sure what's up with that, salt scrub rendezvouses are definitely in order.

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

Lacquistry Amazeballz: A Blended Family

This is an amazing polish. I walked into the dining room where Fuzzy was busy working on a sculpture and before I could even raise my hand or speak a word she noticed it: "What's that on your NAILS?!" followed by exclamations of wonder and delight as I explained what it was and how it worked. Only the fact that her hands were coated with sculpture medium prevented her from grabbing my hands for closer inspection.

Amazeballz is for me the ultimate metallic foil and far more interesting visually than any straight metallic could ever be. More wearable too, since straight metallics show every nail bed flaw while the composition of Amazeballz allows it to disguise all flaws. I adore the mostly unseen tiny gaps left here and there between flakes -- they add dimension to the mosaic, beaten metal look of the polish and allow sparks of light to bounce from their edges. From afar (as in, at arms length), the look of Amazeballz reminds me of the abstract, wavy, impressionistic reflective quality of an antique silver-backed mirror.

Just a spectacular polish composition and a must have for any polish enthusiast, truly! You can find Amazeballz in its various iterations at Jenna's Lacquistry etsy shop.

love,
Liz

a england Order of the Garter

Order of the Garter was released by British indie polish maker a england as part of the The Legend collection in early 2012. It is a medium rich royal blue jelly with tone on tone iridescent glass fleck shimmers. The glass flecks produce a scintillating sparkle in the sun and provide a glowing lit from within look to the polish in shade and indirect light. At close range and certain viewing angles, you get to see bits of magenta and purple flashing from them, difficult to capture in a still photo but lending additional complexity and chromatic depth to this marvelous azure polish.

The polish was inspired by the Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, the highest order of chivalry and most prestigious honor (after the Victoria Cross and George Cross) in England and of the United Kingdom. The order's emblem is a garter, which is sort of like a small belt for holding up stockings and socks, with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense (middle French: "shamed be the person who thinks evil of it") in gold lettering.

Jeweled star of the the Order of the Garter, with the blue enameled garter encircling a heraldic depiction of the cross on the shield of St. George, the patron saint of England (source)

Application began a bit trepidatiously, only because this polish goes on so sheerly at first. Being a jelly shimmer, that's pretty much par for the course but based on my previous experiences with a england lacquers I wasn't expecting it. However, Order of the Garter builds rapidly to rich color and opacity in two smooth, user-friendly coats. I added a third coat due to small disasters with two nails, which recovered beautifully, and I think I actually prefer the look of three coats at my current nail length. For shorter nails, two coats would certainly be sufficient. Cleanup is easy and non-staining, and Order of the Garter dries naturally to a smooth shiny finish. The addition of topcoat makes the most of the gorgeous color and the sparkling glass flecks.

Photos show three coats of Order of the Garter over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

a england Order of the Garter

a england Order of the Garter

a england Order of the Garter

a england Order of the Garter

a england Order of the Garter

a england Order of the Garter

a england Order of the Garter

a england Order of the Garter

a england Order of the Garter

a england Order of the Garter

There's a certain amount of moodiness to this variation of royal blue that befits the exclusive heritage of its inspiration and gives it the discriminating sophisticated vibe of a true jewel tone rather than the carefree breezy character typically embodied by bright blues. In dim indoor lighting it reads almost like a dramatic bright navy with a cerulean glow, which reminds me of London blue topaz, the deep sky blue variety of the gemstone. I love blue polish so I'm very pleased with Order of the Garter. It's got me wanting to try more of Adina's shimmers.

love,
Liz

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

Human Nature was released by Deborah Lippmann in July 2012 as one-half of the Sookie Sookie duo, itself part of Ms. Lippmann's larger collaboration with the HBO series True Blood, the Forsaken collection. The entire Forsaken collection included a nail polish duo, a nail polish and lippie duo, a trio of mini polishes, a fragrance that was also available in scented candle and reed diffuser forms, a shimmering veil body powder and a body cream. Holy tie-in, batman! 

Described on HSN as a "mortal putty taupe," Human Nature is a pale beige/grey putty creme, a clean-looking unobtrusive neutral greyish tan that to my eye leans slightly toward the cooler end of the tan spectrum. In the bottle it looks to have a touch of pink to it that doesn't show on the nail. Most all tans look muddy on me but not this one! It reminds me of the classic Capezio "character shoe" color, something that would be called fawn or doeskin or chamois if it were house paint. I always wanted a pair of those flesh-toned, suede-soled Capezio t-straps back when I was into ballroom dancing. In a strange way, having Human Nature kind of makes up for that. Its creamy café au lait color makes me really happy!

Application was great. Human Nature has a fluid and creamy consistency with excellent flow over the nail. This is a well-behaved polish, especially for a whitened color, with a user-friendly formula that is devoid of any chalkiness. It wasn't self-leveling enough to hide my ridges on the first coat, which was also a little streaky, but two coats produced lovely, even, opaque coverage. Unfortunately today turned out to be Tiny Fiber Day, host to one those maddening polish sessions where flocks of minute filaments and fibers appear out of nowhere to immerse themselves in your polish and leave their little squiggly impressions beneath it or hang half-embedded off of your free edge. Argh! I ended up adding a third coat in order to present the least filament-challenged look in the photos, but it really wasn't needed otherwise. Cleanup was easy and straightforward. Human Nature dries in good time to a glossy finish.

Photos show three coats of Human Nature over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

Deborah Lippmann Human Nature

My pinkage seems to bring out the grey in this polish, which is probably the reason that it actually works on me. It has a mannequin hands feel, but I hesitate to classify it as such because on me it's really not a true fleshtone. But if it had any more red or peach or pink in it than it does, if it even does have pink in it, and it would lose the clean industrial chic quality that makes it so refreshing. Finally, a tan I can wear!

love,
Liz

Zoya Carly

Carly was released by Zoya as part of the Surf collection for summer 2012. Zoya describes Carly as a "very rich, bold, red-toned dark purple with iridescent red and silver metallic shimmer and a dense foil finish." You can't tell from looking at the bottle, where the polish has sort of a meh so-so look, how beautifully it turns out on the nail and Zoya's description is quite apt. Carly is a gorgeous, vibrant medium-dark well-saturated warm plummy purple packed with silvery metallic shimmers that read through the plum-colored base as magenta, adding to the richness and depth of the color. It has a brilliant magenta flash along the axis of light and deepens along the edges to a dark red purple. The shimmers in Carly are quite finely milled as opposed to the flakier shimmers that I usually associate with Zoya's foils. 

Application was great. The consistency is of the sort that Zoya does so well, fluid, creamy and dense, with excellent self-leveling flow over the nail. Pigmentation is outstanding. Carly is a one-coater, although I did two to straighten up some of my lines in the first coat. I had a lot of cleanup to do (it was a shaky hands day), which freed the shimmers to disperse themselves freely about my nail environs, but this wouldn't be a problem for someone applying with a steadier hand than mine. Carly dries naturally in good time to a smooth shiny finish. 

Photos show two coats of Carly over Seche Rebuild treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat. I was wearing a light blue top when I took these, so if you notice some blue reflected by the polish, that's what it is.

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Zoya Carly

Beauty, eh? This is a great polish in a vivid, striking color with an easy application and a beautiful shimmery finish. What's not to love? I especially like the plummy hue, it's nicely balanced between red and purple without leaning too far into fuchsia territory. It reminds me of the color used in the classic diamond-patterned harlequin costume. Green is the traditional complementary color to purple, but this color also looks great with turquoise, aqua, cerulean and other blue-greens as well. I think it'd be a nice pop with navy too, and yellow. Because it's so well-pigmented, Carly would work well for stamping and other nail art. Just a great polish to have in your collection!

love,
Liz