Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

Liquored Up was released toward the end of August this year by Ohio-based indie polish maker Top Shelf Lacquer as part of the Drunken Creme Fall Holos collection. This is the grey of the collection, which creator Amy describes as "a cool medium grey creme holo polish." It's a nicely-balanced, creamy battleship grey. There's a certain plush quality to the look of this polish on the nail that reminds me of grey minky or even real fur. Abundant holographic pigment creates a light blanket of effervescence in ambient light, giving the polish a subtle heathered sensibility. In direct sun, there's a beautiful scattered field of delicate rainbow sparkle with a mobile prismatic flush that seems slightly more pronounced here compared to the other Drunken Creme Fall Holos.

No surprises with application -- Liquored Up has the same fantastic, eminently-paintable formula as the rest of the collection: fluent and buttery smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a biddable, even, self-leveling slip over the nail. Every time I sit down to work with one of these polishes I'm happy because I know it's going to be a good polish day, you know what I mean? Pigmentation is very good to excellent. I used two coats for completely even, opaque coverage. Cleanup is easy. Liquored Up dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish.

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

Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

Top Shelf Lacquer Liquored Up

This isn't a stormy kind of grey. To me, it has an elegance and a sense of quiet dignity that go well with the conservative aspects of the color and make for a manicure that feels tailored and purposeful. At the same time, the holographic effects add to that plush minky quality that I mentioned above, lending a sense of luxury -- a feminine touch -- as well as visual interest. Nice!

love,
Liz