Lacquer Slacker Liz: January 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Nine Zero Lacquer May 2016

A little breath of spring/summer for you today!

May 2016 was released in, of course, May 2016 by Michigan-based indie polish maker Nine Zero Lacquer as part of creator Jess' Polish of the Month series for that year. Officially described as "an aqua blue holographic with holographic silver microglitter," the color is a light, translucent cyanic shade, kind of like a blend of aqua and vivid sky blue, with a breezy, poolside vibe. It is intensely holographic and packed with the most finely-milled silver holographic microglitter ever, so it's a total sparklefest on the nail. The holo effects bring dimensionalizing hues of azure, baby blue and light cerulean to the look in ambient light and a super sparkly full linear prismatic flare in the sun.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of May 2016 is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail, an excellent formula that goes on in naturally thin coats and stays right where you put it. Pigmentation is very good. Some sheerness on the first coat builds quickly to wearably opaque coverage with the second, and I added a third for a little extra density to the color for the pics. Cleanup is easy. May 2016 dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, flat finish. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and does not in any way inhibit the holographic properties of the polish.

Photos show three coats of May 2016 over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. The color here is showing very blue -- in person, it leans ever-so-slightly more to green.

Nine Zero Lacquer May 2016

So pretty! Awash in dainty, pinpoint sparkle, it's sleek, serene and summery on the nail. Kind of makes me want to be reclining on a chaise lounge with a breeze-ruffled swimming pool on one side and warm, sparkling sands lapped by the clear, tropical waters of the Caribbean on the other. You'll have to forgive me -- my father and his fiancée just went on a Caribbean cruise and apparently I'm living vicariously through them at the moment.

All of the 2016 Polish of the Month colors, and there are some gorgeous ones, are available on the Nine Zero website.

love,
Liz

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

Cran-bury the Hatchet was available during the month of November 2017 from Canadian indie polish maker Girly Bits as one-half of the brand's popular Color of the Month (COTM) Duo. Officially described as a "cranberry holo with vibrant red shimmer and flakes," the color is a medium, rosy red-violet that's similar to Pantone's magenta. Not only is this polish super holographic, but it's absolutely packed with those bright red shimmers as well, so there's a ton of color nuancing going on. The holo adds hues of misty lavender, raspberry rose and fandango to the look and gives the polish a dusky, shimmering sheen at certain angles to the light. The shimmers read as a glowy pinkish-red within the base and create a glistening semi-metallic underlay with a prominent lick of brilliant Persian rose along the axis of light. In direct light, there's a linear prismatic display that frames a swath of semi-metallic Persian rose and shades to medium magenta at the sidewalls.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Cran-bury the Hatchet is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and an easy, fluent, self-leveling slip over the nail that likes to go on in thin-to-medium coats from a moderately loaded brush. Pigmentation is very good and will deliver evenly opaque coverage and full holo and shimmer effects in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward. Cran-bury the Hatchet dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, somewhat satiny finish. Topcoat really pops the presence and effects of the shimmers and doesn't interfere with the holographic qualities of the look in any way.

Photos show two coats of Cran-bury the Hatchet over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Girly Bits Cran-bury the Hatchet

The vibrancy and brilliance of those shimmers is EVERYTHING! They add a kind of Barbie pink cast to the look of the polish on the nail. Given how prominent the shimmer effects are, it's amazing how smoothly and coherently they work with the holographic properties of the polish -- the dusky, finely-grained qualities of the holo contrast with the brilliant, semi-metallic aspects of the shimmers, but they coalesce beautifully here and give this polish a unique look.

love,
Liz

Monday, January 29, 2018

Different Dimension Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars

Like As Long As The Stars Are Above You, Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars was released this month by Indiana-based indie polish maker Different Dimension as part of the I Do Trio, three special polishes created by Missi in celebration of her wedding day. This particular polish was made to match her gown.

It's officially described as a "champagne/ivory linear holographic polish with color-shifting shimmers and holographic microflakies," and while you could certainly call it champagne or ivory, I feel like those terms belie the beautifully-balanced complexity of this creamy off-white shade. The white base is tinted ever-so-slightly with grey and fawn, kind of like a very pale beige or eggshell or parchment but with greater subtlety, and it has a smooth, silk satin luster with a certain pearly quality that makes it the most eminently bridal polish I think I've ever seen. I'd call the color isabelline, an organic, warm, creamy off-white with aspects of cement and pearly grey. Luminous pink-to-gold color-shifting microflake shimmers give it a pinkish glow in certain lights and create a delicate, glistening trail of minute orangey-pink microflakes along the axis of light under a direct source. Holo pigment and flakies read as silver within the base, and add a mist of complementary sparkle in pasteled prismatc hues, especially in direct light.

Application was blissful. The consistency of Others That Broke My Heart They Are Like Northern Stars is fluid and creamy with a medium viscosity and a fluent, silky-smooth, self-leveling slip over the nail, a gorgeous, user-friendly formula that is simply outstanding for an off-white or white-based polish. Pigmentation is very good. A touch of sheerness and unevenness in the first coat builds surprisingly easily to wearably opaque coverage with the second if using medium coats. Thinner coats will probably need three and I used three for the photos, but I'm inclined to think that the delicate luminosity of the look is actually complimented by the hint of native translucence at two. Cleanup is easy. Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show three coats of Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Different Dimension Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars

I suspected that my pics wouldn't do justice to this polish and they don't. It has qualities that just totally transcend the two-dimensional aspects of a still image, like the fact that it's actually wearable for me, for one. Generally, cream or ivory looks like death against my skintone, but this is elegant, lustrous, congenial, becoming... in short, beautiful. It is not at all stark, nor is it overly soft or listless. It has a stunning creamy luminosity and an easy, flattering grace on the nail. Without a doubt my most favorite white/off-white polish look ever! Highly recommended!

The name of this polish comes from the lyrics of "Bless The Broken Road" by American country music/light rock/pop band Rascal Flatts. Before I listened to this, I was wondering how in the world I could shorten or abbreviate the polish name for the purposes of my post. But after hearing the song, I didn't even want to shorten it. A wonderful, resonant, romantic image!

love,
Liz

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Tonic Polish Lula

Some of you may remember my July 2017 review of what I thought was Tonic's Lula, which turned out to be a mislabeled bottle of Huckleberry Sparkle instead. Well, I'm happy to say that I finally got my paws on the real Lula during Tonic's recent sale.

Released in August 2016 as part of the Interlude collection, Lula is officially described as "a purple polish with strong red shimmer and a sprinkling of silver holographic micro glitters. It is the alter ego polish to Huckleberry Sparkle, but where Huckleberry Sparkle has a blue-purple base, Lula is true purple." The base color is a Mardi Gras purple, a rich, regal shade, one of my favorites. Here, it is given a magenta cast by abundant, luminous, ultrafine red particulate shimmers, which brighten and blend with the base, transforming it to more of a Munsell purple with a glowy, dimensionalizing mist of magenta along the axis of light. A loose net of starry, twinkling prismatic sparks from the microglitters completes the look.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Lula is fluid and smooth with a medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is very good. Slight sheerness on the first coat builds easily to wearably opaque coverage with the second. I used three coats to maximize the impact of those red shimmers. Cleanup is easy. Lula dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss that accentuates the presence and dimensionalizing effects of the shimmers.

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

Tonic Polish Lula

There's something particularly romantic about this polish that would make it a wonderful Valentine's manicure if you're not into the traditional reds and pinks. The glowing red shimmers add a bit of worldly passion to the imaginative and spiritual qualities of the purple.

Oksana of The Polished KOI made an interesting observation about Lula in her review of it not long ago:

This polish is kind of one that got Tonic its start - I remember seeing swatches of this proto in comparison to a popular color at the time, Illyrian's Unicorn Spell that was released in April '16, and so many people wanted to get their hands on it that Tonic as a brand was more or less forced to step up on the market! It was exciting watching it unfold, but Lula was released to the public in the Interlude collection rather than Debut, and I suspect some people have missed picking it up as the hype over Unicorn Spell kind of died down. So this is a very important color in Tonic's history, as far as I'm concerned!

Lula is also an excellent example of what I think of as a signature characteristic of Lindsey's polish making, the use of fine shimmers in carefully calibrated amounts to create new, more complex colors, textures and looks. Tonic won a bunch of categories in the recently announced 2017 Indie Bests by IndieSwatch.com, including Best Shimmer and Best Overall. I can't wait to find out what Lindsey has in store for 2018!

love,
Liz

Friday, January 26, 2018

Painted Polish Orangeade Obsession

Orangeade Obsession was released in June 2017 by California-based indie polish maker Painted Polish as part of the Summer Citrus Trio, and is described as "orange ultra holo with added silver holographic glitter." The color is a bright, expansive medium-light orange peel hue that lies about halfway between amber and orange. Holographic pigment nuances it with shimmering shades of gold, amber and carrot in ambient light and gives the polish an effervescent, finely-grained visual texture as well as a flashy, semi-metallic underlay. The glitters emit tiny, twinkling sparks in gold, orange and spring green as light travels over them and blanket the look with prismatic sparkle in the sun, where there's a fully linear, gradated holographic flare in red, orange, gold and spring green that frames a lick of semi-metallic ambery-orange and shades to a deep carrot hue at the sidewalls of the nail.

Application was lovely. The silvery glitters had sunk in my bottle, but reintegrated beautifully after letting the bottle stand upside down for a little while and giving it a brisk shake. The consistency of Orangeade Obsession is fluid and creamy with a medium viscosity and an even, smooth, self-leveling glide over the nail, an excellent, eminently-paintable formula. Glitter payoff is excellent and evenly dispersed. Pigmentation is very good -- two coats delivers evenly opaque coverage and full bottle color. Cleanup is easy, even with the glitters. Orangeade Obsession dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not interfere with the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show two coats of Orangeade Obsession over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Painted Polish Orangeade Obsession

A wonderful amber-leaning orange! It's got such a sunny, confident, social disposition on the nail, extroverted in the manner of all oranges but not loud or overly flamboyant. Very wearable! I love it when Lexi adds those dainty, twinkling holographic glitters to her holos, it really ups the glamour and charisma of the look and adds that extra bit of panache.

xo,
Liz

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Nail Hoot Autumn Fire

I have another Polish Pickup lacquer for you today -- Autumn Fire, created by Brandie of Nail Hoot for the "Fall Foliage & Fun," September 2017 edition. This is described as "a cherry red jelly with gold, pink, and orange flakies." The color is a bright, medium-light, cool-toned red with the two somewhat antithetical characteristics of being both very translucent and of near-neon intensity, giving the color a kind of hard candy sensibility, like a cinnamon pastille. It's packed with regularly-sized, glowy metallic flakies in gold, pink and orange, which combine with the base color to produce a brilliant, fiery shade that's similar to red-orange, with aspects of watermelon and maraschino cherry. The flakies also give the finish a flashy, foily, semi-metallic quality with tons of sparkle, especially in the sun.

Application was most agreeable! The consistency of Autumn Fire is fluid and slightly fluffy, with a medium viscosity and a fluent, smooth, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is sheer. Coverage is provided in part by the flakies, and builds to opacity in three coats. Cleanup frees tiny reflective flakies that love to stick in the sidewalls. Autumn Fire dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show three coats of Autumn Fire over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Nail Hoot Autumn Fire

Wow, this is bright! Showy too, with loads of lively flash and that reflective, gift-wrap-ribbon look that bright, foily shimmer polishes can have. The color is an outstanding polish translation of the poignantly intense red-orange/flame color you see in sugar maples in the fall, with a heady, almost ecstatic kind of energy that's just off the charts. Zing!

love,
Liz