Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Superficially Colorful Lacquer Tsahik

Tsahik was released by Israel-based indie polish maker Superficially Colorful Lacquer as part of the Life on Pandora collection in August 2014. This collection of near-neon, black light reactive polish is based on the 2009 film Avatar and all the names are in the constructed language of the Na'vi, the sapient humanoid indigenous inhabitants of the fictional moon Pandora. 

Tsahik (pronounced tzah-HEEK, or thereabouts... I looked it up in a NaviDictionary pdf) is a medium-toned near-neon rosy persimmon/orange coral scattered holographic polish. The holo pigment in this seems to be finely-milled and abundant but the color is the overriding star of the show, with muted holo effects, namely a diffuse pinkish violet-predominant flair and rainbow sparkles visible in direct light. In indirect light there is beautiful pink nuancing of the base color with plenty of scattered sparks of color. There's a creaminess to the intensity of this color that keeps it out of the sharp, eye-searing range of true neons, but it's potent -- and gorgeously so.

Application was fantastic! The consistency of Tsahik is very fluid (but not runny), light and smooth with a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail like fine lingerie. Pigmentation is outstanding: this is a one-coater. I used two coats for this manicure because my lines always need some finessing after the first coat, but it really wasn't necessary in terms of coverage. Cleanup is easy and fairly straightforward. The color pigment does disperse a bit with acetone, but it leaves no residual staining. Tsahik dries naturally in very good time to an utterly smooth, matte-like finish. I thought that topcoat helped to pop the slightly diffuse nature of the holo effects.

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


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik


Superficially Colorful Tsahik

Delicious! I developed a hankering for this polish after so many reviews had singled it out as the favorite of the collection, and then more recently saw the photos that Jen of the blog Jen's Wonderland posted in her review of Tsahik, here, and that lit the "get it, get it now" fuse. I purchased Tsahik and three others from the Life in Pandora collection from the Superficially Colorful website shop. They took a little less than a month to reach me, well-packed and totally intact. The packaging includes boxes featuring an adorable caricature of Jin, the owner and creative force behind the brand, with her two cats. I took a photo to share:


Superficially Colorful Lacquer, box

I'm loving the creamy rosy persimmon orangeness of Tsahik and have nothing but good things to say about the quality of the formula, just superb for a polish with neon pigment in it. It's enough of a holo to provide the beautiful dimensional shading that I adore in scattered holos. I really don't think this full-bodied color would translate to a full-on blazingly prismatic holo, it would have to be semi-metallic and the reflectivity would rob the color of it's delectable richness. 

And it really doesn't seem all that strange to have this brilliant summery color on my nails on this chilly February day. It feels like a natural progression from yesterday's RBL Motorini -- probably because that one is from a summer collection also. Whatever! As long as they keep my eyes happy, I'll be wearing them.

love,
Liz

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