Friday, April 8, 2016

Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner

Rum Runner was released by Ohio-based indie polish maker Top Shelf Lacquer as part of the Cruise Cocktails collection at the end of February this year. Creator Amy describes this as "a rich plum with pink and blue glass fleck." The base color is a medium-toned hybrid of purple and red violet, sort of like a slightly milky fandango or orchid purple, with an exotic floral vibe. It is chock full of pink and blue glass fleck shimmers, which are not the least bit shy. The translucent base allows plenty of light to permeate and fire them up, giving the polish a noticeable twinkle that's especially pronounced in the sun, and generating an almost startling blue flash that shifts to pink when you angle your nails obliquely toward a light source.

Application was great! The consistency of Rum Runner is fluid, light and slightly fluffy with a medium viscosity and an easy, self-leveling flow over the nail. It has the kind of formula that goes right where you put it and stays there. The translucent base needs to build to opacity over multiple coats -- I used three and that's what I'd recommend for full bottle color. Cleanup is easy and straightforward, with a little expected stickiness on the part of the glass flecks. Rum Runner dries naturally in good time to a silky smooth finish with a soft shine. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and enhances the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Rum Runner over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.


Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner


Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner


Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner


Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner


Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner
Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner

Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner

Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner

Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner

Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner

Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner

Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner

Top Shelf Lacquer Rum Runner

This is a tender, feminine, tropical variation of purple. You may notice from the photos that it has the interesting characteristic of varying its look according to the temperature of the light in which it's viewed -- cooler light plays up the violet in it, while warmer light elicits pinker, mauve-like tones. The glass fleck is stunning in every circumstance. Very pretty for spring!

xo,
Liz

4 comments:

  1. After holos, I'd say glass fleck is my next fave finish, so when I first saw this brand, I was planning a purchase. I had to pull the trigger once this collection first came out, so I bought this whole collection, plus Purple Flip Flop from a previous collection that I'd had my eye on.

    I wore PFF right away; it lasted several days and I just loved looking at it. I sent an email to say how much I liked the polish and whole ordering experience (I'm in Ohio so my order arrived super fast) and got a lovely response. :)

    I happen to be wearing Ocean Breeze right now, from this collection (and a gradient on one nail with OB, PFF and RR - lesson learned glass fleck a little hard to remove from skin).

    Two thumbs up and five stars :)

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    1. I love glass fleck too -- the subtle visual texture of those luminous translucent flecks and the twinkling light play they bring to a polish, delicate but so lively and beautiful to the eye!

      Both times I've ordered from Amy I ended up selecting quite a few polishes from various collections but this last time I did end up choosing three from the Cruise Cocktails series, this one, Ocean Breeze and Salty Dog. I just couldn't resist them, you know? That gradient sounds delicious, a conflux of intense sunset colors!

      Kudos to you for letting Amy know how much you appreciated her polishes and service. I'm sure you made her day! Thanks for your comment!

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  2. While I don't normally care for blue purple polishes, I do like this color range of purple, even though I don't have many. I love those glass flecks - love their shimmer. This is a beautiful polish!

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    Replies
    1. Even though it's definitely a purple, I can't help but think of this color as belonging more to the red-violet family, which I love. There's a high-spirited femininity to it that makes me smile! Seriously perfect execution of a glass fleck shimmer. I agree, a beautiful polish. :)

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