Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Lava Lust was released in June 2016 by Iowa-based indie polish maker Tonic Polish as part of the Debut collection. Creator Lindsey describes this as "a red jelly base with copper-orange metallic shimmer." The base color is a translucent medium-dark crimson with aspects of telemagenta, but the polish is so packed with ultrafine orange metallic shimmers that you see only a hint of the base once it's opaque on the nail. There, it evolves into a gleaming, semi-metallic flame color, rich with nuances of vermilion, burnt orange, persimmon and chili red. It has a sensuous visual texture and sheen reminiscent of silk satin, and displays a glowing swath of bright red-orange along the axis of light. In the sun the shimmers pick up a bit of sparkle, adding an aspect of glamour to the luxurious nature of the polish. 

Application was great! The consistency of Lava Lust is fluid, full-bodied and very smooth with a medium viscosity and a luxe, velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail that is easy to manipulate with Tonic's flattened, flexible brush and shows no brushstrokes. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. There's a skosh of pigment travel but little to no residual staining. Lava Lust dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful shiny finish. Topcoat intensifies the presence of the shimmers, although they hardly need it, and adds a becoming gloss.

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

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

Tonic Polish Lava Lust

This is a masterful shimmer polish, carefully constructed to bring out the resonant, ornamental beauty of its shimmer component. The combination of the crimson base with the orange shimmers is so rich with analogous colors that in person it is almost multichromatic in appearance, and it has an ember-like glow on the nail that is utterly bewitching. Fantastic! 

Apologies for being AWOL the past few days. I've been feeling rather puny lately. I am not a particularly courageous person and suddenly have some big things on my plate that I am having difficulty facing. Hopefully I can push through this somehow and keep to my regular posting schedule, but if I miss a few days here and there, that's why. 

love,
Liz