Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Earlier this month I shared my first experience with Hong Kong-based indie polish maker Too Fancy Lacquer, Smoke and Ambers. So profound was my admiration for that polish that I almost immediately went back to Llarowe and had myself a real-for-true Too Fancy spree, snapping up nine polishes. I've had them lined up here behind my keyboard since their arrival, just kind of mentally rolling around in the bounty of beautiful colors. I've already showed you the two Llarowe exclusives, Passionfruit Daiquiri and Dragon Fruit Infusion, as well as Lake Como. It's time for more!

Peacock Parade is described as a peacock green linear holographic polish, and it's exactly that. The color is a rich deep teal green or dark cyan, and reminds me of the color Ming from the Xona.com Color List. The holographic properties of this polish are simply tremendous, taking advantage of any light available however little it may be to reveal an amazing linear flair that totally transforms the dark somewhat murky base color to a brilliant display of a whole slew of sparkling cyanic blues and greens edging a central flush of intense cerulean blue with a gleaming semi-metallic flash of sea green beneath. This sort of effect, where the colors in the prismatic display are derived almost wholly from the base color of the polish, is absolutely my favorite kind of linear holo and it's one that Charlene, the owner and creative force behind Too Fancy Lacquer, excels at creating.

Application was wonderful. The formula is consistent with the other polishes I've tried from this brand, which is to say that it's superb. The consistency is fluid, creamy and dense with a perfectly balanced viscosity for painting, a velvety glide over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. Pigmentation is also excellent, with near one-coat coverage. I used two coats for this manicure. Cleanup was easy and straightforward. Peacock Parade dries naturally in very good time to a look that is brighter and much more colorful than the bottle color would suggest and a smooth glossy finish. Suffice to say that Charlene's formulas are the gold in the crown wherein the jewels of her creations are set, and are an utter delight to use.

Photos show two coats of Peacock Parade over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. It's cloudy and overcast here again, but that doesn't seem to phase the holographic properties of this polish in the least!

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

Too Fancy Lacquer Peacock Parade

I'm sure it's bolder and brighter in direct sun, but as you can see it's not too shabby in less propitious circumstances either! The holo effects remind me of moire silk and are just as endlessly fascinating to look at. The other Too Fancy polishes I got during my spree are also linear holos and I can hardly wait to swatch them.

If you're in the US, Too Fancy Lacquer is stocked by Color4Nails as well as Llarowe, a delightful fact that I only discovered today. Other stockists include DAZZLED (Hong Kong, international shipping), Rainbow Connection (UK) and Edgy Polish (Sweden, international shipping).

love,
Liz