Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

The Bluest Eyes in Texas from Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe is part of the Spring/Summer 2017 collection, which debuted at Polish Con NYC on 29 April and was released for pre-order on the first of May. It is officially described as "a bright milky turquoise blue creme base with intense gold shimmer and hints of gold to red/pink to green shimmer." The base color is a vibrant, creamy, medium-light mix of azure and cyan, a variation of sky blue that lands somewhere between a deep sky blue and Wikipedia's representation of neon blue, to my eye. Abundant finely-milled gold and red color-shifting shimmers tone it down slightly with a hint of duskiness, and the color-shifting shimmers read as pink within the base, giving the polish a luminous, misty pink sheen. The blue brightens noticeably in the sun, where the shimmers create a glistening swath of pale gold edged with pink along the axis of light.

Application was great! The consistency of The Bluest Eyes in Texas is fluid and creamy with a medium viscosity and a lush, smooth, self-leveling slip over the nail that is a pleasure to work with and amenable to thin or thicker coats as preference dictates. Pigmentation is very good. Two medium coats will produce wearably opaque coverage, but the addition of a third gives the color a bit more density, more oomph. Cleanup is easy. The Bluest Eyes in Texas dries naturally in good time to a smooth, flat finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best. Topcoat also accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of The Bluest Eyes in Texas over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Regarding the dark flecks in the polish that you'll see in the photos, I'm not sure what they are or whether they're supposed to be there but the camera picked up much more than were visible to the naked eye. Honestly, they really aren't noticeable in person and don't detract from the look of the polish in my opinion.


Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

Colors by Llarowe The Bluest Eyes in Texas

I love this color -- it's fresh but not flighty, with a certain graceful, lighthearted resonance on the nail that just makes you happy when you see it. To me, it's very much a Cinderella/Alice in Wonderland sort of blue, with a shimmery twist. The pinkish-red color-shifting shimmers, especially, exert a remarkable influence over the creamy blue base that in a way hearkens back to an old school frost, although this is in no way a frosty polish. The shimmers also create a becoming twinkling effect, delicate sparks of pinkish-red and gold, somewhat subdued in ambient light but quite distinct in the sun. Other than the disconcerting dark flecks, beautifully done!

love,
Liz

2 comments:

  1. Gorgeous!! Coming from someone who doesn't normally sport colours in this wheel-house....but once again you've made it Come Alive !! Most particularly, this time, in your closing statements :-)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, m'dear!

      You know, when I first got back into polish, before I started the blog, I was pretty ambivalent about blue nail polish. I've always loved the color blue, but blue nails seemed, I don't know, kind of defiantly and conspicuously unnatural, or something like that.

      Now, of course, I love it on my nails. The darker blues are my very favorites -- nothing feels quite as "perfect" in the same way as a splendid dark blue.

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