Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

Jitterbug was released at the beginning of this month by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as the brand's March 2018 Polish of the Month (POTM). It's described as "a reddened hot pink, prismatic holo flake with a blue to purple aurora pigment for added sparkle." The color is a vibrant, rosy, medium-dark Mexican pink with aspects of raspberry and cerise. Abundant silvery holographic flakies give the polish a luminously dappled visual texture and create a delicious, dimensional prismatic flush in bright hues of red, rose, pink and lavender in ambient light. So pretty!

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Jitterbug is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling glide over the nail, a beautiful, eminently-paintable formula that is on par with the brand's best. Pigmentation is very good to excellent, almost a one-coater, and delivers completely even opacity and full bottle color in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward with a tiny bit of pigment travel. Jitterbug dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the prismatic effects of the flakies. 

Photos show two coats of Jitterbug over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat. 

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

I always look forward to CbL's POTMs and this one is gorgeous, I love it! The color is fierce -- lush, saturated and feminine -- and the luminous prismatic effects of those holographic flakes really complement its native rosy richness. Perfect!

Currently, Jitterbug is still available at Girly Bits in Canada and Hypnotic Polish in the UK. 

xo,
Liz

Great Lakes Lacquer A Warm, Bright Flame

Like In Brightness and The Cold Hour of Dawn, A Warm Bright Flame was released this past November by Michigan-based indie polish maker Great Lakes Lacquer as part of the Holiday 2017 collection, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl."

Officially described as a "magenta base filled with red, purple and gold shimmer touched with a scattered holographic finish," the color is an incredibly rich and saturated, medium-dark red-violet or magenta dye with plummy overtones. Tiny particulate and microflake shimmers emit a luminous, dimensionalizing magenta glow from within the base, twinkling as light travels over them. Scattered holographic pigment particles give the polish a subtle but glamorous prismatic sparkle in direct light.

Application was lovely. The consistency of A Warm Bright Flame is fluid, dense and smooth with a medium viscosity and a full-bodied, velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent, nearly a one-coater but use two to make the most of the color and components. Cleanup is straightforward with a skosh of pigment travel but little to no residual staining. A Warm Bright Flame dries naturally in good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show two coats of A Warm Bright Flame over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Great Lakes Lacquer A Warm, Bright Flame

Great Lakes Lacquer A Warm, Bright Flame

Great Lakes Lacquer A Warm, Bright Flame

Great Lakes Lacquer A Warm, Bright Flame

Great Lakes Lacquer A Warm, Bright Flame

Great Lakes Lacquer A Warm, Bright Flame

Great Lakes Lacquer A Warm, Bright Flame

Great Lakes Lacquer A Warm, Bright Flame

I am thrilled with this polish! The color is just glorious -- deep, lush and dramatic -- and the twinkling shimmers are the perfect accompaniment and give the polish a bright magenta flash. I love the subtlety of the holo in this, the delicate scattered sparkle is like a diaphanous twinkling prismatic veil, so classy!

xo,
Liz

ILNP Short Circuit

More from ILNP! Short Circuit, also part of the Spring 2018 collection and also an Ultra Metallic "Bright," is described as a "mind-numbingly radiant" yellow with subtle green undertones. It's a blast! The color is a metallic chartreuse yellow or traditional chartreuse, a greenish yellow with lemon-lime aspects that's composed of superabundant, highly-reflective, flat metallic particles in a transparent base. Bold and beaming on the nail, this will be a crazy-good alternative to neon yellow come summertime. The metallic color is softly reflective in the way of foil polishes, with a finely-grained, piecey visual texture, loads of scintillating sparkle and a lively, gleaming flash. It absolutely glows, even in low light.

Application was great! The consistency of Short Circuit is fluid and smooth with a medium consistency and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail that is a pleasure to manipulate with the brand's flexible, flattened-style brush. Coverage is provided by the metallic bits, which seem slightly more plentiful and dense here than they did in Hi-Fi, delivering a wearably opaque look in two medium coats. I added a third for the photos. As with Hi-Fi, cleanup looses a legion of shiny, sticky metallic bits to ensconce themselves about the nail environs, adhering to skin and nail like little limpets. I recommend going for as clean a manicure as possible from the outset and doing any necessary cleanup very carefully while the polish is still wet. Short Circuit dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

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

ILNP Short Circuit

ILNP Short Circuit

ILNP Short Circuit

ILNP Short Circuit

ILNP Short Circuit

ILNP Short Circuit

ILNP Short Circuit

ILNP Short Circuit

ILNP Short Circuit

How about that?! The color can lean more to yellow or to a fresh, new-leaf green depending upon the kind of light in which it's viewed, and is brighter in person than it appears in the pics. It's definitely an in-your-face 24/7 sort of look, but I think that it's most striking in low light, where the burnished, show-stealing glow really ramps up the amperage.

love,
Liz

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

Moon Blinked was created by Kirsten of Utah-based indie polish maker The Lady Varnishes exclusively for the March 2018 "Books" edition of Polish Pickup. This polish was inspired by The Guardians of Ga-Hoole fantasy book series by Kathryn Lasky, and is described as a "deep blue-leaning teal with sterling silver coated, holographic silver and white flakes and a hint of blue and gold sparkle."

The color is a medium-dark cerulean with aspects of ming and teal blue, a rich, dense, complex shade that seems to lean more to green or to blue depending upon viewing circumstances. Layered clouds of small luminous flakes are suspended within, giving the polish a dimensional, dappled visual texture and gleaming or glowing in varying hues of blue-green and sea green as light travels over them, interspersed with occasional tiny sparks of blue, blue-green and gold. The rich color brightens a bit in the sun, and a loose net of fine prismatic sparkle joins the mix. 

Application was great! The consistency of Moon Blinked is fluid and dense with a medium consistency that thickens quickly with exposure to air, and I added a bit of polish thinner a couple of times during application to maintain the consistency with which I felt most comfortable. Thinned, it had a lush, smooth, self-leveling glide over the nail. The flakes dispersed evenly and laid flat to the nail without stickups. Pigmentation is very good to excellent, delivering evenly opaque coverage and full bottle color in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward. Moon Blinked dries naturally in very good time to a silky matte finish that loves a glossy topcoat to make the most of the color and the components.

Photos show two coats of Moon Blinked over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

The Lady Varnishes Moon Blinked

This is a beautiful, complex, evocative polish with a ton of dimensionality and character on the nail. The color is absolutely gorgeous -- deep, rich and mysterious -- and the layers of gleaming, glowing flakes within give it a watery dapple that has a certain eerie, undersea quality. It reminds me of the kelp forest scenes from the "Greens Seas" episode of Blue Planet II. It definitely has that one-of-a-kind, artisanal sensibility that makes you feel like you've discovered a treasure -- which, of course, you have!

love,
Liz

ILNP Hi-Fi

Hi-Fi was just released this month by Nevada-based indie polish maker ILNP as part of the Spring 2018 collection. This and six other colors make up the Ultra Metallic "Brights" subset of the collection, foily polishes "formulated with premium ingredients for truly superior metallic finishes and effortless removal."

Described simply as a purple, Hi-Fi is a true medium purple, a kind of amethyst-esque shade also known more officially as web medium purple. As a foil, it's composed of minute, flat, highly-reflective metallic pieces that give it a softly-reflective, finely-grained visual texture that always reminds me of tin foil that's been crumpled and smoothed out. I used to do just that obsessively with Wrigley's aluminum foil gum wrappers (which the company replaced with paper in 2010, btw, in order to make their packaging more cost effective) and a pencil during class in middle school because: a. I was bored, and b. I loved the piecey mirror of the smoothed out foil. But being obsessive about quirky stuff like this is pretty much the raison d'être of every middle school student, no? Maybe it was just me.

Anyway, the foily metallic finish of Hi-Fi is gloriously glowy and loaded with fine, scintillating sparkle, especially in the sun.

Application was quite agreeable. The consistency of Hi-Fi is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is somewhat sheer, especially on the first coat. Two medium-to-thicker coats will net a wearable opacity, but I think the polish looks best in three thinner coats. Any visible brushstrokes that appear during application vanish as the polish dries. Cleanup scatters tiny purple bits far and wide. Hi-Fi dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show three coats of Hi-Fi over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Any magenta-ish spots you see are my shirt reflected in the polish.

ILNP Hi-Fi

ILNP Hi-Fi

ILNP Hi-Fi

ILNP Hi-Fi

ILNP Hi-Fi

ILNP Hi-Fi

ILNP Hi-Fi

ILNP Hi-Fi

ILNP Hi-Fi

I don't seem to gravitate as much toward foils these days as I used to, but wearing this one reminds me of how much I love that special foily radiance and sparkle, and the way the tiny metallic pieces fit together on the nail like a mini mosaic -- at least, that's how I like to think of it. It's a totally different look from the super smooth, chrome-like reflectivity of straight metallics, and foils are much more forgiving to apply and do not show nailbed imperfections like straight metallics do either. I also have Short Circuit (yellow) and Love Me Not (red) from this line to show you, and I'm thinking that I may just have to go back for Blueprint and possibly Sugar Coated (rose) as well.

What about you? Do you like to wear foils? Did you pick up any of ILNP's new Ultra Metallic "Brights"?

love,
Liz

Zoya Tawny

Tawny was released in mid-October this past fall by Zoya as part of the Party Girls collection for winter/holiday 2018. It's officially described as "a deep, coppery rose sparkling metallic," which I think is quite accurate except that I would add "shimmer" after "metallic." The base is a translucent, medium-dark, rich, rosy Indian red kind of color, a little brighter, pinker and not quite as heavy as rust although it does have a rusty aspect. Superabundant, highly-reflective metallic microflake shimmers read in shades of gold, flame and pink from within the base, giving the polish a finely-grained visual texture with a radiant semi-metallic quality that has a fine, piecey sparkle.

Application was most satisfactory once I'd clipped a few wonky bristles from my brush. The consistency of Tawny is fluid, light and smooth with a medium consistency and a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is a little sheer and streaky on the first coat but will build to wearable opacity with the second if you're using medium to thicker coats. I added a third to ensure the absence of any sheer spots in my photos, and the color seems richer and more fiery that way. Cleanup is easy. Tawny dries naturally in fairly good time to a smooth, shiny finish. 

Photos show three coats of Tawny over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. The polish is darker and more red in my pics than it appears in person.

Zoya Tawny

Zoya Tawny

Zoya Tawny

Zoya Tawny

Zoya Tawny

Zoya Tawny

Zoya Tawny

Zoya Tawny

Zoya Tawny

I think this is gorgeous! The color is uncommon, a fiery mix of red, rose, and flame with a dash of magenta for good measure. It's especially brilliant in the sun where it's alive with fine, twinkling sparkle and a bright swath of coppery pink along the axis of light.

love,
Liz