Lacquer Slacker Liz: February 2015

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Rescue Beauty Lounge Opaque Nude

I'm not sure exactly when Opaque Nude was first released by indie polish maker Rescue Beauty Lounge, but I'm guessing it was in 2008. I do know that it was retired then resurrected in 2012 as part of a Bring It Back series of previously released polishes. Ji, owner and creative force behind Rescue Beauty Lounge, describes this one as "buff-colored." I think its more than that. It's a pale creamy peachy-pink with a touch of tan to it, very neutral and flattering.

As many nude polishes do, it totally reminds me of the suede-soled, flesh-colored Capezio character shoe, the one with the strap across the instep and a perfect medium heel. I wanted a pair so badly when I was doing ballroom dancing at a local Arthur Murray studio. Alas, I couldn't afford the lessons AND the shoes. I've always wanted a pair of them, though, for their neat, clean look on the leg -- similar in nature to the effect of Opaque Nude on the nail: neat and clean with an elongating impact on the appearance of your fingers. It's a lovely, soft, subtle mannequin hands kind of look on me. Even Fuzzy, who is generally rather disparaging of nude polishes, liked this one.

Application was delicious. This polish has an outstanding formula. The consistency is fluid, creamy and smooth with a buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail and absolutely none of the patching or streaking common to whitened polishes. Pigmentation is excellent for a polish of this type -- in fact, it's very nearly a one coater. Two coats nets perfectly even opaque coverage. After my difficulties with Thank You, applying Opaque Nude was a surprise and a delight. No problems to mention. Cleanup was easy, as you would expect. This polish dries in fairly good time to a glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Opaque Nude over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Glisten and Glow HK Girl. I'm a little disappointed in the color variation across my photos. It looks more tan in some than it does in person, but that's possibly a function of the light. It tends to lean more yellow in stronger light and more pink in less direct light.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Opaque Nude

Julep Pippa is very similar to Opaque Nude, so if you know that polish then you'll realize that Opaque Nude is pinker, more nude than the yellow-ish tan that it hints at in these photos. My complexion is pink-heavy, so that may also be a contributing factor. But I'm really pleased with how this looks on me, pleased and surprised that I've finally found a nude that is truly neutral against my skin and not too yellow or too chalky.

I originally swatched this polish with the intention of simply using it as a base over which to layer a bangin' (that's still a thing, right?) full-coverage microglitter, Lights from indie polish maker Lumina Lacquer. But I'm so loving the look of this beautiful, delicate neutral that I can't bear to cover it up right now. Maybe tomorrow, eh?

love,
Liz

Friday, February 27, 2015

Colors by Llarow Show Off!

Show Off was released by indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the Show Me collection of multichromatic polishes in July 2014. I won this polish on ebay during the Basset Buddies Rescue, Inc. charity auctions a few months back. It has a metallic berried red base that shifts through the salmony pink/copper/orange/gold/green spectrum. In the bottle you can even see a bit of blue at the edges of the green. This is an easy, athletic shifter whose appearance changes with the circumstances in which its viewed. The predominant look is of either a rich coppery orange with hints of salmon or the deeper berried red metallic, both shading to other colors in the spectrum along the curves of the nail, especially at the edges. It reminds me quite a bit of a redder, less tawny version of ILNP Abundance, except that Show Off has a sprinkling of holo particles in it that show up primarily in direct natural light as tiny sparks of light.

Application was very nice. The consistency of Show Off is fluid, smooth and dense, with a silky, easily-manipulated glide over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. Although it has a metallic finish, the self-leveling properties are such that nail bed flaws are completely hidden. It can show brushstrokes, but these become less apparent as the polish dries. Pigmentation is very good, with completely even opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Show Off dries in average time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of Show Off over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Unfortunately my topcoat application resulted in some prominent bubbles. My apologies!

Colors by Llarowe Show Off!

Although my favorite kinds of multichromes are those with analogous color shifts such as red/purple and blue/green, this particular spectrum with it's warm coppery red heart and beautifully contrasting spring green edges is a close second. It's such a striking shift! Add to that the fact that in any given set of circumstances you can almost always see the full spectrum of shift on each and every nail and you have one very entertaining nail polish!

love,
Liz

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Hare Polish The Norwegians are Leaving!

The Norwegians are Leaving was released by indie polish maker Hare Polish as part of the Winter 2014: Welcome to Twin Peaks, Part 2 collection in December 2014. Creator Nikole describes this polish as a "bright blue jelly with lots of gold flakies, iridescent gold glitter, tiny blue flakies and purple shimmer." It has a lively medium-dark vibrant azure/primary blue creme-jelly hybrid base bearing abundant shardy golden flakes, iridescent golden hexes that flash a coppery pink, Hare's trademark tiny electric blue flake shimmers and pinpoint purple particulate shimmers. Another gorgeous melange of components and color from Hare!

Application was great. The consistency of The Norwegians are Leaving is dense with components but nicely fluid. It has an easy self-leveling flow over the nail with some tumbling of the shardy flakes and a few protrusions over the free edge that need a nudge back onto the nail. In the end, all components lay flat and smooth. Pigmentation is excellent for a crelly with completely even opaque coverage in two to three coats depending on how you paint. Since my coats tend to vary in thickness for some reason, a few nails got three coats but most were fine at two. I did notice a bit of sheerness on the tips of a few nails where I used only two coats, especially on my right hand. Need to wrap those tips a little more carefully! Cleanup was surprisingly easy for a flake-laden intensely blue polish, with no sticky components and no residual staining (although I did miss a few spots, oops). The Norwegians are Leaving dries in fairly good time to a mostly smooth finish with some visual texture from the components that persisted through a coat of Nail Pattern Baldness Glitter Food and topcoat.

Photos show two to three coats of The Norwegians are Leaving over treatment and basecoat with a layer of Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food followed by a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Hare Polish The Norwegians are Leaving!

Such a great bold Scandinavian blue! The combination of the blue with its translucence and shimmering components reminds me of vintage lucite beads. I'd love to have a necklace of beads like this polish. Wearing this polish with similar bright primaries and secondaries will really make it pop, and who doesn't love a pop of color? Granted, certain circumstances don't lend themselves to it but if you don't have to worry about that and love your brights, this is a wonderful polish!

love,
Liz

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Rescue Beauty Lounge Thank You

Thank You was released by indie polish maker Rescue Beauty Lounge as part of the Emoting Me collection for spring 2013. Creator Ji describes it as a bare, neutral nude with pink opalescent shimmers. It's a beautiful polish on the nail, a pale delicately tawny translucent nude with a pearly veil of cool pink particulate shimmers that float above the base color giving it a glow like fine thin porcelain. The diffuse opalescence of the surface has a clean, softly radiant look, very fresh and lovely.

Application was ok. The consistency of Thank You is very fluid and light, but not runny. It prefers to go on in thin coats, with the first coat especially allowed to dry before applying the next. The first coat was streaky, as was the second. With the third coat, the streaks began to disappear and topcoat helped them to melt away almost completely. This is a translucent polish and opacity must be built. For me, three coats was enough. Self-leveling properties were excellent. Even though I could see my ridges beneath the polish after two coats, the surface was smooth. The ridges finally disappeared after the third coat. Cleanup was easy and straightforward. Thank You dries naturally in slightly longer than average time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show three coats of Thank You over Seche Rebuild treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite that turned out to be extra bubbly, as you'll see in the photos. My images do not do this polish justice.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Thank You

This is a lovely, feminine polish in person, neat and luminous with a very clean look.

love,
Liz

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Rainbow Honey Gingered!

Gingered was released by indie polish maker Rainbow Honey as part of a five-polish Limited Edition December set for Holiday 2014. It is also available for purchase alone and is currently on sale at the Rainbow Honey shop. This is another of founder and chief designer Dee's luscious shimmer blends, a coppery orange melange of particulate shimmers sharing a suspension base with flake shimmers in gold and bright pink. The overall effect is of a softly scintillating bright coppery orange with a blush of melon to it and a gentle metallic glow. I had forgotten until I began applying this polish that it is gingerbread scented. At first the scent mixed with the volatile elements of the polish is quite sharp and peppery, but as it dries it softens and sweetens into a delicious gingerbread fragrance, so true that it made my mouth water. I've experienced scented polishes before, but nothing like this! While I wouldn't consider it overpowering, it is certainly effusive, with sillage enough that I would not recommend this polish for those with sensitivities to fragrance. Personally, I am really enjoying it!

Application was great. The consistency is fluid, soft and fluffy with components. It has a smooth, even flow over the nail with some tumbling of the flake shimmers, which eventually settle flat to the nail with no stick-ups. Any protrusions over the free edges are easily taken care of with a tip-wrapping swipe of Rainbow Honey's round, flexible brush. I used medium coats and had some pooling along the free edge, so I advise thinner coats. Completely opaque even coverage is achievable in two coats. Cleanup is surprisingly easy for a flake-laden polish. Gingered dries in good time to a smooth, soft finish. Topcoat seems to enhance the sparkle of the shimmers.

Photos show two coats of Gingered over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Rainbow Honey Gingered!

I was very attracted to this polish upon seeing my friend Marisa's swatches on her blog, Tiny Twinklings, and I'm happy to say that as lovely and shimmery and full of sunset colors as it is in photos, it's even better in person. I especially adore the pink flake shimmers -- they add a flattering wash of coolness to this fiery concoction that makes it eminently wearable on my pinkage. Hooray!

love,
Liz