Polished For Days Waitomo

Like Morocco, Waitomo was released at the end of June this year by California-based indie polish maker Polished For Days as part of the Around the World Part 3 collection. It is named for New Zealand's Waitomo District, a territorial authority located on the west coat of the North Island and home to the famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

Creator Jenna describes this polish as "a deep purple based grey with holographic flakes, green-blue-fuchsia-gold color shifting flakes, navy-violet-teal chrome flakes, and a bright-purple blue shimmer." The color is more of a medium blue-grey to my eye, similar in depth and appearance to the way Crayola's shadow blue looks on a computer screen, with subtle hints of violet to it. Copious tiny metallic and holographic flakies stipple the look, punctuating it with delicate gleams of color, most notably purple and turquoise, when the light hits the metallic bits just right. Abundant bright blue particulate shimmers give the polish a transparent blue sheen and are visible as a radiant mist of blue along the axis of light. They really come to the fore in direct light, where the holographic flakes blanket the polish with a net of fine prismatic sparkle.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Waitomo is fluid, light and remarkably smooth for a flakie-laden polish, with a medium viscosity and a fluent, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. All flakes are well-dispersed, going on easily and laying flat to the nail without stacking, stickups or protrusions over the free edge. Nice! Pigmentation is very good to excellent. Occasional patches of sheerness on the first coat build quickly to evenly opaque coverage in two. Cleanup is mostly easy -- watch out for sticky metallic flakies! Waitomo dries naturally to an unexpectedly smooth and shiny finish. Topcoat serves to accentuate the presence of the colorful flakies. 

Photos show two coats of Waitomo over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

Polished For Days Waitomo

I'm feeling quite partial to this lovely grey polish with its flecky visual texture, eclectic mix of gleaming metallic flakies and smoky blue sheen, and I expect it will continue to grow on me as I wear it. There's something particularly elegant about its composition that I find very satisfying, and the crelly-ish formula is outstanding and such a pleasure to work with -- unusually so for a flakie-laden polish in my experience. A wonderful example of indie creativity!

love,
Liz

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Whatz-Her-Face was originally released back in 2014 by Texas-based indie polish maker Vapid Lacquer and has been reformulated a couple of times along the way to its present iteration as one of creator Krys' core-line linear holos. The color is a splendid dark red-violet shade along the lines of Crayola's jazzberry jam, a rich, deep, purple-berry color with strong aspects of Mardi Gras purple. Powerfully holographic, it has that wonderful delicately-grained visual texture that you see in holos, and displays a glowing heart of electric violet edged with deep red in ambient light. Analogous, nuanced hues of mulberry, wine, and byzantium further enrich and dimensionalize the look, and there's a stealthy, semi-metallic underlay of silvery red-violet that adds a ruby flash in certain circumstances. We are overcast with light rain here today, but I'm sure that the prismatic display in the sun is glorious.

Application was a pleasure. The consistency of Whatz-Her-Face is fluid, full-bodied and very smooth with a medium viscosity and a plush, even, self-leveling glide over the nail with a bit of pull to it. Pigmentation is excellent, possibly a one-coater for some. I used two for this manicure. Cleanup is straightforward with a tiny bit of pigment travel but little to no trace staining. Whatz-Her-Face dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not mess with the holographic effects in any way.

Photos show two coats of Whatz-Her-Face over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

Vapid Lacquer Whatz-Her-Face

One of my favorite non-blue nail colors, this beautiful, bold red-violet shade is just to die for in my opinion, I adore it! The sheer opulence and richness of it about sends me into raptures! It has the passion of a red and the mystery of a purple, I think, and there's a sense of luxury to it that makes for a very glamorous, high-end kind of manicure. Superb!

love,
Liz

Tonic Polish Curio

Like Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe, Curio was released this month by Iowa-based indie polish maker Tonic Polish as part of the Unicorn Pee collection. Creator Lindsey describes it as "an ode to a classic Tonic polish, 'Huckleberry Sparkle', but with unicorn pee!! A blue toned purple with the ubiquitous red to green shimmer." The base is a dark but vibrant translucent blue-violet jelly along the lines of color wheel violet or electric indigo with aspects of ultramarine. Layered over itself, it becomes very dark indeed, with more of an indigo appearance. It's packed with color-shifting red/green/gold unicorn pee shimmers, visible mostly as a misty cloud of radiant red particles within the base that twinkle delicately as light travels over them, their red mixing with the base to produce a palatinate purple hue at the center of the nail that shades to indigo at the sidewalls. 

Application was smooth and easy. The consistency of Curio is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a fluent, self-leveling slip over the nail that went on best for me in medium-to-thicker coats from a well-loaded brush. Pigmentation is sheer and meant to be that way. Wearable opacity can be had in three medium coats for longer nails, perhaps only two for shorties, with some sheerness at the tips in the photos that is really not noticeable in person unless you are looking for it. Cleanup is easy. Curio dries naturally in good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat further accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Curio over KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

For those of you like me, who love deep blues and violets for fall, Curio is perfection. Although the shimmers appear red most of the time, you can see the green and gold shifts on the nail at certain angles to the light, breathtaking moments in which the full magic of unicorn pee is revealed. But I most love the otherworldly look of it as a sparkling mist of red within the deep indigo base. It is surprisingly noticeable even in very low light with the effect of increasing the native mysterious and cosmic qualities of the base color exponentially -- the very definition of a soulful shade. Beautifully done!

love,
Liz

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

I Skis With My Knees was released at the beginning of this month by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the Late Summer 2017 collection. Described as a turquoise holographic polish, this one has turned out to be the fan favorite of the collection -- with good reason! The color is a bright, vibrant, medium-toned variation of blue-green along the lines of Pacific blue, a particularly lush and resonant shade. The intensity of the color is dimensionalized and magnified by abundant finely-milled holographic pigment, which creates a mobile, golden green prismatic flush in ambient light and gives the polish an effervescent, delicately-grained visual texture. In the sun, there's a beautiful, smoothly-gradated prismatic flare of gold, sea green and bright turquoise.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of I Skis With My Knees is fluid and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, self-leveling glide over the nail, a gorgeous, user-friendly formula that's just what you'd expect from Llarowe. Pigmentation is excellent, delivering one-coat coverage although I used two for this manicure. Cleanup is straightforward. There's a tiny bit of pigment travel and a skosh of trace staining as you might expect from an intense blue-green like this. I Skis With My Knees dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish.

Photos show two coats of I Skis With My Knees over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

Colors by Llarowe I Skis With My Knees

This brilliant jewel-tone with it's smooth, lush prismatic radiance feels seems especially fitting for this time of year as we begin to look to fall, but it's definitely a wearable color year round.

For my friends in southeast Texas, I am thinking of you and hoping that you made it safely through hurricane Harvey, and I will continue to think of you as you deal with the cleanup and flooding, wishing you fortitude. Take care of yourselves!

love,
Liz

Native War Paints Shift Change

Shift Change was released in June this year by Michigan-based indie polish maker Native War Paints as part of the Nifty Shifty collection, a series of six multichrome polishes with various combinations of glitters and flakies. 

This polish is officially described as "a red/bronze/copper with chameleon iridescent glitter and gold holographic glitter in a red base." It's like a sparkling homage to fall leaf color! The base is basically sheer with a very light red tint in which is suspended the multichrome pigment along with copious tiny iridescent and holographic glitters. The shift spectrum runs a gamut of rich golden/bronzey brown through coppery russet with vermilion and flame highlights to orangey gold to chartreuse with a whisper of electric blue at the far end, with gradations along the way that make up a full fall arborescent range of color. The color you see most is a medium mahogany or sinopia, a smoldering reddish/coppery brown with aspects of rust and flame. The semi-metallic finish is studded with glitters, which throw out sparks in a rainbow of colors, most noticeably green, orange, red and gold. 

Application was quite agreeable. The consistency of Shift Change is fluid and smooth with a thicker viscosity that I added polish thinner to at the outset. Thinned to more of a medium viscosity, it had a light, fluent, self-leveling spread over the nail with a bit of glitter tumbling and occasional stacking, but even dispersal, only one minor stickup and no protrusions over the free edge. Pigmentation is sheer, building to wearably opaque coverage in three coats for me. Medium coats are the way to go with this one, as even as you can make them and tip-wrapping with each one to avoid any undue sheerness there. Cleanup is easy. The glitters stick to skin, but can be dislodged with a little extra care. Shift Change dries naturally in good time to a pebbly-textured, shiny finish, mostly smoothed by topcoat.

Photos show three coats of Shift Change over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Native War Paints Shift Change

Native War Paints Shift Change

Native War Paints Shift Change

Native War Paints Shift Change

Native War Paints Shift Change

Native War Paints Shift Change

Native War Paints Shift Change

Native War Paints Shift Change

Native War Paints Shift Change

Native War Paints Shift Change

Eminently autumnal, no? It is especially dramatic in direct sun, where there's a brilliant mist of crimson particles along the axis of light and the base shades to a deep coffee color at the edges of the nail.

love,
Liz