Lacquer Slacker Liz: January 2015

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Elevation Polish Mount Cangyan

Mount Cangyan was released by indie polish maker Elevation Polish as part of the View From the Top collection in March 2013. Sadly, this polish has been discontinued to make way for new offerings, but you still may be able to snag a bottle from blog sales and venues like Storenvy.com. Lulu described Mount Cangyan as a complex royal purple with a high concentration of red shimmers as well as shimmers in copper and gold. To me, this polish has a violet-leaning dark sapphire jelly base with superabundant red shimmers that transform the look to purple in the bottle and on the nail. It's a painterly, multidimensional approach to color creation that interacts with light as it hits the nail to produce a stunning almost fuchsia glow in the center that shades to purple with violet at the edges.

Application was interesting. The consistency of Mount Cangyan is fluid and smooth with an even, self-leveling glide over the nail. I found that it developed a bit of stickiness with exposure to air that was easily remedied by closing the bottle and giving it a shake or two. Being a jelly, this is a fairly translucent polish that requires at least two coats for wearable opacity. I used three for this manicure and prefer the look of three coats over two. There was still some noticeable translucence at the nail edge, but it didn't bother me. I think it kind of adds to the dimensional look of the polish overall, but it would probably show wear rather quickly. Cleanup was easy and straightforward. Mount Cangyan dries naturally in average time to a sort of rubbery finish. Topcoat adds gloss and pops the color of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Mount Cangyan over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Elevation Polish Mount Cangyan

Mount Cangyan is a scenic area in Jingxing County, Hebei Province, northeast China, famous for its combination of natural mountain scenery with historical man-made structures.

Cangyan Mountain (source)

love,
Liz

Friday, January 30, 2015

Alchemy Lacquers Thundersnow

Thundersnow was released by indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers as part of the Arctic Alchemy collection earlier this month. Rebecca, the owner and creative force behind Alchemy Lacquers, describes Thundersnow as a blue-leaning grey with shimmers in various shades of blue. It has a creme/jelly hybrid base that's a medium-toned slatey blue grey, a distinctive hue that reminds me of what was commonly called "Williamsburg blue" by paint manufacturers. Like if you took a deep cadet grey and crossed it with Williamsburg blue. It's a moody, organic stormcloud color that I find extremely attractive and chic, containing lots of lively silver and blue shimmers that almost seem to rise to the surface as the light hits them, effecting the illusion of a rolling wave of sparkle across and up and down the nail.

Application was somewhat moody as well, but Thunderstorm isn't an overly finicky polish -- it just likes what it likes. The consistency is fluid and slightly fluffy, and has a tendency to grow a little pasty with exposure to air. This polish does not like thin coats, where it tends towards stickiness, preferring instead to go on in thicker coats, which apply much more smoothly. Pigmentation is buildable, with wearably opaque coverage in two coats although I used three for the photos. Cleanup is fairly straightforward with a little bit of limpet-like behavior on the part of the shimmers. Thunderstorm dries naturally in average time to a mostly smooth finish that looks its best with a generous topcoat.

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

Alchemy Lacquers Thundersnow

I don't think my photos do this one the justice it deserves, it's very flattering and eyecatching on the nail, with a dramatic, tempestuous feel that somehow manages to be soothing at the same time. But then, I find thunderstorms soothing also....

love,
Liz

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Rescue Beauty Lounge Bicicletta

Bicicletta was released by indie polish maker Rescue Beauty Lounge as part of the Italian Summer collection in August 2014. It is a pale understated almond pink with a whisper of greyed lilac to it bearing superabundant shimmers in pale pink, blue and silver. Ji writes about the inspiration for this polish:

In Sorrento, while strolling by the sea, I saw a precious, dark-haired little girl in a bikini riding a bike with training wheels. The bike was pale pink and it sparkled and twinkled in the sun, the matching streamers flying along with the girl’s confident peddling.

On the nail, this polish has a silvery nacreous gleam to it like the opalescent inside of a mussel shell. It's very much a grown up pink, a "your nails but better" kind of color, faintly speckled with shimmers that have a delicate sparkle in direct light. It reminds me of the pale lip that Sophia Loren and Ali MacGraw used to wear back in the day -- it has that chic, movie star coolness to it.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Bicicletta is fluid and creamy with a touch of fluffiness to it from the shimmers. It has a smooth flow over the nail and is easy to manipulate with RBL's round flexible brush. Pigmentation is buildable. The first coat is very sheer and a little streaky. After two coats there is still some visible nail line, but the coverage evens out. Three coats produce even, opaque coverage, and that's what I used for this manicure. Cleanup is fairly straightforward -- the shimmers can be a tad sticky but relinquish their grip with a few sweeps of the cleanup brush. Bicicletta dries naturally to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat emphasizes the shimmers, bringing a little extra glow and sparkle to the glistening shell pink of the base.

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

Rescue Beauty Lounge Bicicletta

This polish works almost like a cool-toned nude on me. It's a professionally appropriate polish with a hint of princess mixed in, a gleaming diaphanous note that gives it a certain magic. But it's really uniquely sophisticated for a pink shimmer, graceful and slightly aloof.

Cool polish!

love,
Liz

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Elevation Polish Lost in Darkness 2

Lost in Darkness 2 was released by indie polish maker Elevation Polish as part of the Darkness collection in December 2014. This is a medium-dark blue-leaning myrtle green linear holo with a dusting of golden microshimmers. Lulu classifies it as a medium/high density holo and wow is the prismatic effect ever robust! It manifests brilliantly in direct and indirect light, emanating from within the foresty depths to produce gorgeous blue nuances to the base color around the axis of light that shade to deep pine green at the edges of the nail. Central to the flair is a dazzling gleam of vivid pacific blue, underneath which you can see a semi-metallic olivine flash at certain angles. Beauty!

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Lost in Darkness 2 is fluid, creamy and dense with a silky, self-leveling flow over the nail. This is a user-friendly formula that is easily manipulated with Elevation's round flexible brush. Pigmentation is excellent, with near-opacity in one coat. Two coats delivers coverage that is more evenly opaque, and that's what I used for this manicure. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with no residual staining. Lost in Darkness 2 dries naturally in good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not diminish the holographic effects in any way.

Photos show two coats of Lost in Darkness 2 over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Once again it is overcast here in central NC with low clouds and intermittent rain, but as you can see the prismatic flair of this holo is alive and well despite the lack of direct sun.

Elevation Polish Lost in Darkness 2

I imagine the holo flair on this puppy in direct sun would be blazing! It's one of those beauties where the prismatic colors do not merely sit on top of the polish but work their magic from within the base color, merging with it to product the gorgeous blues and greens you can see in the photos. It gives the polish exquisitely dimensional coloring that simply sparkles and makes you want to extend your hand toward the nearest light source, twirling your wrist to view it from every possible angle.

(source)

Lost in Darkness 2 evolved from a small batch prototype polish, Lost in Darkness. It has deeper, richer color, higher density holo pigment and is more opaque than the small batch prototype. If you'd like to see the two compared side-by-side, Ida has just such a comparison photo on her blog Ida Nails It, here.

love,
Liz