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.