Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire

Night Fire was released by Philadelphia-based indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers as a stand-alone addition to the core line in August 2014. Rebecca, owner and creative force behind the brand, describes this as a "hot pink jelly with iridescent glitter and a blue to pink multichrome finish," inspired by the bloom of the Night Fire Hibiscus. The vivid neonesque rosy pink jelly base is packed with variably-sized iridescent square and hex glitters that sparkle in shades of gold, orange and bright pink from within the layers, plus abundant electric blue particle shimmers, which give the polish a fluorescent lavender blue glow. It's a stunning creation with a radiant, beachy effervescence on the nail and boatloads of light-catching sparkle and shimmer.

Application was great! The consistency of Night Fire is fluid and slightly fluffy with a gel-like quality that is not overly sticky or difficult to work with. It spreads rather than flows over the nail and is easily manipulated with Alchemy Lacquers' round flexible brush. Glitter payoff is very good with abundant glitters per brushful that disperse evenly across the nail without undue tumbling or protrusions over the free edge. Pigmentation is also very good, with wearable coverage in two coats and completely even opacity in three, which is what I used for this manicure. Cleanup is easy for a polish full of glitters and shimmers, with very little pigment travel and no residual staining. Night Fire dries naturally in good time to a slightly textured finish that wants a good topcoat to smooth it out. I used one coat of Seche Vite but in retrospect I wish I'd thought of applying a dedicated surface smoother like Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food before the topcoat for a truly glassy finish.

Photos show three coat of Night Fire over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire


Alchemy Lacquers Night Fire

It's interesting how different this polish is from the two Alchemy Lacquers that I featured here, Thundersnow and Permafrost, but all three share a similarly inventive, meticulous quality in their composition. Rebecca clearly has a gift for combining elements and colors in her polishes. I fell for Night Fire the moment I saw it swatched by Jenne of Polished Pathology, here. The random sparkling pastiche of components is just irresistible and I adore the vivacious floral pink base color. It's a gorgeous creative polish interpretation of its namesake.


Hibiscus rosa-sinensis cultivar Night Fire (source)

I notice that Night Fire isn't currently available in the Alchemy Lacquers etsy shop, and don't know whether it's just out of stock at the moment or discontinued. Hopefully not the latter! There are many other intriguing polishes, though, including some more mixed-glitter pretties that, if they're anything like Night Fire, most definitely need to find their way into my stash!

love,
Liz

4 comments:

  1. OMG that hibiscus, and THAT POLISH!! It's so fabulous I can't even believe it. Such fun on your gorgeous long nails, girly! Lurrrv <3

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    1. Thank you, Marisa! I love polishes like this, where the sparkle and texture comes from within. Lemme tell you, I thought I'd lost my green thumb a long time ago but looking at hibiscus photos really kinda made me want to get a pot and grow some (though not all are suitable for growing in pots, a lot of them are -- including Night Fire), they come in such delicious colors!

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    2. Ooohlala, what a wonderful idea! I've had orchids but never considered hibiscus... I wonder if they would get along with the cold, dry Rocky Mountains, even indoors haha :P

      Probably not worth even considering, for me... speaking of green thumbs (or a lack of one), I worked in a greenhouse and have a landscape architecture minor, and yet nonetheless I have sadly dispatched those orchids, succulents (actually, it was my dad who did in the succulent, but admittedly it was already on its way out), and even most of an AIR PLANT, the easiest thing to take care of short of a pet rock. But once I have graduated and am not oscillating between states at alternate months, I am determined to grow *something* successfully because I LOVE flowers and plants! I've kept a garden just fine, in the tradition of my mother and grandmother, but potted plants escape me :/

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    3. Dispatched an air plant... hee hee! That is too funny!

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