Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Argon was released by indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers as part of the Noble Biolum collection in, I think, June 2014. This set of four polishes was inspired by noble gasses and bioluminescence. Argon is a chemical element with the symbol Ar and is classified as a noble gas on the periodic table. Noble gases are typically highly unreactive except under extreme conditions, making them suitable for conditions where reactions are not wanted. For example, argon is used in lightbulbs to prevent the hot tungsten filament from oxidizing. Argon is the third most common gas in the earth's atmosphere. When an electrical current is run through this gas caught in a tube, it will glow a purple-pink -- hence the suitability of the name for this polish.

Argon is a medium neon purple-leaning fuchsia bearing superabundant very fine, bright turquoise flake shimmers. The shimmers are easily visible to the naked eye and give the base color an ethereal blue glow in most lights. In direct sunlight, they offer up a glittering cloud of turquoise sparks along the axis of light. The shimmer to base ratio in Argon is perfect. Both the base color and the shimmer are cleanly featured, working together without interfering with each other's performance. This is an intensely colorful, beautifully constructed polish that is simply jubilant on the nail. At the first stroke of the brush, my eyes were like "oh yeah!" You absolutely cannot look at this polish on the nail and have a gloomy thought, it's that wonderful. Seriously, it made my spine tingle!

Application was great. The consistency of Argon is fluid and dense, with a creamy glide over the nail and outstanding self-leveling properties. It's a fast drying polish and I noticed a tendency to thicken with exposure to air. Closing the bottle and giving it a good shake every now and then will return it to its former fluidity, and I added a bit of polish thinner to my bottle when I was done in anticipation wearing it again, because I certainly will be doing that. Pigmentation is excellent, with near opacity in one coat. I used two for completely even opaque coverage. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with no running of pigment or difficult to remove flake shimmers. Argon dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth, matte finish. You could certainly wear it that way, but I chose to add a glossy topcoat. 

Photos show two coats of Argon over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. My photos show this polish as ever-so-slightly less purple and more fuchsia than it appears in person, but not by much. Please excuse the dark blue fiber than somehow managed to be painted into the second coat of polish on my left middle finger nail. I didn't even see it until I editing the photos. WTH?! How it got there without my noticing is a mystery in this world. And one last thing, I got acetone on the bottle label and smeared it, so no label photo for this one. My apologies!

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

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Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Alchemy Lacquers Argon

Needless to say, I think this is a fantastic polish. Fantastic for now, in the later months of winter, when a pick-me-up is especially welcome, and fantastic for spring. And I don't even think any photograph could do proper justice to its presence in person. I adore it. It's certainly a loud color, but I don't find it obnoxious in the least. Quite the opposite. It's so gratifyingly personable! On the nail, it has the feeling that you get when greeted by someone you love and haven't seen in a long time, that flush of joy and immense gratitude that thrills your entire body.

There's a whole bunch of win in this little bottle! If you love or have a special hankering for brights, especially near-neon brights, trust me, you need this one. You won't be sorry!

love,
Liz