Lacquer Slacker Liz: Pahlish The Sun in Retreat and Jindie Nails Super Freak'n Neon

The Sun in Retreat was released by indie polish maker Pahlish as a limited edition bespoke batch polish at the end of April this year. Creator Shannon describes this as "an intense neon coral with a mix of pink, white, and copper flakes." Against my skin it is more of a neon orange with an electric pink glow from the flakies. It does have a lot of pink in it, though, and it may be that the neon aspect in combination with my skin tone makes it appear as an orange to me. The overall effect is kind of like an intense neon cantaloupe, very bright and very saturated, delicately speckled with flakes that glow in shades of pink and orange when the light hits them just right.

Application was great! The consistency of The Sun in Retreat is fluid, light and fluffy with flakes, with a nicely balanced viscosity for easy painting and a smooth flow over the nail. There is no excessive tumbling of the flakes but I did experience a few protrusions over the free edge and into the sidewall. Pigmentation is very good with reasonably opaque coverage achievable in two coats, which is what I used for this manicure. If I were going to wear it alone, I would probably use three coats to maximize the impact of the color and ensure no visible nail line, but since I planned on layering a glitter topper over, I stuck with two. Cleanup is easy and straightforward except for a few sticky flakes. The Sun in Retreat dries naturally in very good time to a mostly smooth, slight flat finish. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and pops the colors of the flakes.

Photos show two coats of The Sun in Retreat over Pretty Serious Rock On nail strengthener and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a topcoat of Pretty Serious Crystal Coat. I've been using All Your Base for a long time now, but this is my first experience with Crystal Coat and I'm really liking it! It's easy to work with, bubble free, less bulky than Seche Vite and dries only slightly more slowly. It's not as glossy as le Vite, but does dry to a nice shine.

Pahlish The Sun in Retreat

Super Freak'n Neon was released by indie polish maker Jindie Nails as part of the Soul, Funk and Disco collection early this month. Named for Rick James' epic 1981 single, this is a glitter topper that is packed full of fabulous neon glitter goodness! It has small silver hex glitters and six colors of neon glitter including pink, purple, green, orange, yellow and blue in matte hexes and squares, all suspended in a clear base that dries to a matte finish. Candy-licious neon confetti for your nails!

Application was awesome! The suspension base is fluid and light with an easy, smooth flow over the nails. Glitter payoff is outstanding, with a copious selection of glitters available per brushful that disperse easily over the nail. I brushed on one coat of Super Freak'n Neon over the Sun in Retreat manicure, dabbing a bit here and there on the barer spots. Quick and easy! Super Freak'n Neon dries naturally in very good time to a textured satiny matte finish. You can wear it that way with a matte topcoat to eliminate the satin shine or add a glossy topcoat, which is what I chose to do. I tried out my new bottle of Pretty Serious Plump up the Volume gel effect topcoat, designed to leave a plump high-gloss finish over any polish. It's not quite as easy to use as my other glitter smoothers, but works very well as long as you use generous coats and apply evenly.

Photos show one coat of Super Freak'n Neon over The Sun in Retreat manicure above, with a smoothing coat of Pretty Serious Plump up the Volume followed by a topcoat of Crystal Coat to cure and dry all the layers.