Lacquer Slacker Liz: May 2018

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

As of April this year, Hella Handmade Creations (HHC), formerly Hella Holo Customs, has upped its game in a big way. There is now a dedicated Hella Handmade Creations online store, where artisanal offerings by indie polish makers will be available for pre-order for a week-long window each month. You no longer need to be a member of HHC to purchase, and there will be handmade products other than nail polish available. Featured makers sign up for a series of monthly offerings centered around a theme of their choosing. Find out more about scheduled online store openings, featured makers and what products will be offered by joining HHC on Facebook!

No Fawkes Given was created by Pam of Canadian Indie Polish maker Girly Bits exclusively for the April 2018 HHC online pop-up, which ran from 14-21 April. Pam chose Harry Potter as her HHC product theme, and this polish was inspired by Fawkes the phoenix, Albus Dumbledore's animal companion, proxy, messenger and defender. It is described as "a bright red scattered holo with a golden/copper shimmer, and a slight sprinkling of gold holo microglitter."

The base color is a medium-dark crimson that is warmed by the golden/copper shimmers to more of a dense, cedary vermilion or chili red appearance with aspects of copper, flame and persimmon. It is bold, complex and intensely fiery on the nail, where finely-milled holographic pigment nuances it with hues of crimson, rust and fire brick and creates a subtle sparkly flush of orange and gold in ambient light, complemented by twinkling red, orange and gold sparks from the microglitters. In the sun, the look is blanketed with brilliant scattered prismatic sparkle in every rainbow color.

Application was most agreeable! The consistency of No Fawkes Given is fluid and surprisingly light with a medium viscosity and a fluent, smooth, self-leveling glide over the nail, a wonderful, eminently-paintable formula that is a pleasure to work with. Pigmentation is very good, netting completely even, opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward with a skosh of pigment travel and a little bit of shimmer and glitter stickiness. No Fawkes Given dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of No Fawkes Given over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

Cue the heart emoji! First, a round of applause for the name of this polish -- so clever and funny! If that alone isn't enough to generate heartfelt appreciation, the look does it with gusto -- an unconventional rusty red radiating all kinds of lively sparkle and shimmer, absolutely gorgeous! With its holographic effects, shimmers and microglitters, it's a complex, multifaceted extravaganza of fiery goodness. As perfect as it could possibly be!

love,
Liz

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Mrs Mia Wallace was created by Noelie of Missouri-based indie polish maker Dreamland Artisan Nail Lacquer especially for the May 2018 "90s Pop Culture" edition of Polish Pickup. This polish was inspired by nail color worn by the character of Mia Wallace, played by Uma Thurman, in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 postmodern masterpiece Pulp Fiction. Noelie writes

In 1994, pop culture collided when Mrs Mia Wallace danced her way onto the screen. The very definition of a vamp, Mia was mysterious, gorgeous, dangerous, and drop dead sexy (no pun intended), and she was wearing a very, very special polish on her fingers and toes. That polish changed the landscape of nails away from flower type colors to the rainbow we now know and love. People waited in lines around the block and put themselves on in-store waiting lists to obtain a bottle of the blackened red stunner that everyone was talking about. Spawning endless dupes, and setting the nail industry on a new and exciting journey, it was a real game-changer - so much so that 24 years later, we've tackled the idea of making it vamp like it's 1994, but sparkle like it's 2018.

That polish was Chanel's No. 18 Rouge Noir, known in the US as Vamp.

Noelie's take is a deep, dense, plummy, venous blood color that is similar to Very Dark Reddish Purple from the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names or Benjamin Moore's Dark Purple. Superabundant tiny silver holographic microglitters blanket it with a glamorous, twinkling field of delicate prismatic sparks in ambient light that explodes into bold, brilliant sparkle in the sun, where the intensity of the color takes on an almost chocolatey sensibility.

Application was great! The consistency of Mrs Mia Wallace is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, going on easily in medium coats. The brand's flattened-style brush holds quite a lot of polish -- take care not to overload! Pigmentation is excellent, very close to opaque in one coat although I used two like I always do. Cleanup is straightforward. Mrs Mia Wallace dries naturally in very good time to a sandy-textured, matte finish that wants a good glitter-smoothing topcoat to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Mrs Mia Wallace over treatment and basecoat with a layer of Girly Bits Glitter Glaze plus a layer of Seche Vite for the ultimate glassy finish.

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Noelie's microglitter polishes are perfection, I just love them! This is a fabulous look, intensely vampy and mysterious with the glamorous twinkle of countless prismatic sparks. I don't often gravitate toward colors this dark, but I love this one a lot for the Pulp Fiction reference and its homage to the Chanel Rouge Noir phenomenon, so significant in the evolution of nail polish culture. Outstanding!

xo,
Liz

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Chaos & Crocodiles Stealth

Stealth was released in February this year by Maryland-based indie polish maker Chaos & Crocodiles as part of an update to the Secret Agent collection, originally released in June 2014. The new installment is divided into three parts or "types": New Recruits, Double Agents and Rogue Agents. Stealth is one of the Rogue Agents and is described as a "blue-purple with teal/purple shimmer and orange-red/green flakies."

The color is a clean, bold, medium-dark to dark blue with ultramarine aspects, similar to International Klein Blue. Teal/purple color-shifting microflake shimmers have a slightly more subtle overall effect on the nail than in the bottle, reading largely as bright azure/royal blue but also giving the color a certain chameleonic quality, leaning it more toward a darker royal blue or an indigo depending on viewing circumstances. Abundant flakies, sized from tiny to small-medium, glow in shades of flame, pink and lime green as light catches them, offering a striking contrast with the deep, intense blue of the base and giving the look a fetching, mosaic-like visual texture.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Stealth is fluid and full-bodied with a medium consistency, dense with flakies but not at all unwieldy or difficult to work with. It has a fluent, self-leveling glide over the nail that went on best for me in generous coats from a moderately-loaded brush. The flakies go on flat to the nail without stacking or stickups and only an occasional attempt to protrude over the free edge. Pigmentation is very good. Two medium coats nets completely even opacity. I did my cleanup as I went along and experienced a little bit of flakie-sticking but no pigment travel to speak of. Stealth dries naturally in very good time to a mostly smooth finish with a slightly satiny look. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and really pops those gorgeous flakie colors.

Photos show two coats of Stealth over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Girly Bits Glitter Glaze,

Chaos & Crocodiles Stealth

This is a beauty, livelier and more complex than you'd guess from my pics, and so much fun on the nail! The formula is excellent for a flakie-filled polish, totally paintable and a pleasure to work with, which endeared the polish to me from the get-go. I absolutely adore the colors of the flakies and their contrast with the base -- it is just delicious and makes my eyes happy. Boatloads of light play here, and tons of visual interest that never gets old. Awesome!

love,
Liz

Sunday, May 20, 2018

A-England Puck A Fairy

Pardon my absence! Fuzzy's surgery went very well. The crippled, arthritic knee was replaced without complications and she has a good start on the road to recovery -- they had her up and walking with a walker the day after! She has a lot of pain, perhaps more than she expected, and she's a little cranky because of it but they're giving her meds to help. I'm proud of how determined she is! On Monday she'll be going to short-term rehab for two weeks.

Back to nail polish! Today I have yet another A-England from the Shakespeare's Fairies collection for you: Puck A Fairy, described by Adina as a vivid peacock blue-green with additional iridescent glimmer. The color is a strikingly bright, clean, medium-toned variation of blue-green along the lines of aqua cerulean, a little brighter/less dusky than a true cerulean with a lush, tropical vibe. It has the finely-grained visual texture common to holographic polishes, and a dimensional prismatic bloom of gold and azure with hints of indigo travels up and down the center of the nail in ambient light, shading to a deeper blue-green at the edges. In bright direct light, there's a sparkling scattered holographic display predominated by brilliant hues of azure, spring green and gold.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Puck is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and an even, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail, a gorgeous, eminently-paintable formula that is on par with the best from the brand. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage and full bottle color in two coats. Cleanup is surprisingly easy for this kind of color, with just a tiny bit of pigment travel but no trace staining to speak of. Puck dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat seems only to enhance the holographically-generated dimensionality of the polish on the nail.

Photos show two coats of Puck A Fairy over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

A-England Puck A Fairy

Fabulous! It's almost too intense and lush to be called a pool blue but it's definitely of that ilk, kind of like a "bionic pool blue" or a "pool blue to the nth" or something. This sort of bold, bright color is unsual to see from A-England, so all the more welcome by lovers of such shades (ahem!) when we do. Energetic and showy on the nail -- an excellent summer bright and gorgeous scattered holo as only Adina can do. Love!

xo,
Liz

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Picture Polish Blossom

Like Cactus and Heaven, Blossom was released in March this year by Australian boutique polish maker Picture Polish as part of the Spring Autumn 2018 collection. This is yet another Collaboration shade, created with Paulina of Paulina's Passions, according to her design. You can view her post about Blossom here.

Officially described as a "shifting soft baby pink to lilac" jelly with pink glass fleck shimmers and PP's signature mix of holographic flakes, the color is a cool-toned, pastel tint of pink that's similar to a desaturated version of Pantone's Fairy Tale, milky and delicate. It has gentle lilac undertones that seem to assert themselves more or less depending on viewing circumstances. Subtle, scattered flecks in an ever-so-slightly brighter tone of pink glisten as light travels over them, and fine holographic flakes sparkle in hues of silver, pale gold and pastel pink and azure in the sun.

Application was a pleasure. The consistency of Blossom is fluid, light and creamy with a medium consistency and a fluent, easy glide over the nail, a lovely formula that's really more of a crelly than a jelly and self-levels beautifully for a pastel. It is semi-translucent by design and a tiny bit of streakiness, mostly ridge-related, built steadily to evenly opaque coverage in three coats for me, although I think it's also beautiful at two with a touch of visible nail line. Cleanup is straightforward with a bit of stickiness on the part of the pink glass flecks. Blossom dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show three coats of Blossom over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Picture Polish Blossom

I haven't always been a fan of pastels, but this one really is so pretty and the formula exceptionally user-friendly. The cool, pale, milky pink is clean and graceful on the nail and not stark like I was expecting, a more subtle, grownup pastel shade that feels particularly flattering on the nail.

I picked this polish for today knowing that I will be wearing it for a while as Fuzzy is going in for knee replacement surgery tomorrow and I'll be staying with her in the hospital until they send her off to rehab at the end of the week. It's delicate and unobtrusive with a certain serene sensibility to it that I think will make it a good companion before and after the surgery, for me and maybe for Fuzzy as well.

love,
Liz

Monday, May 14, 2018

A-England Peaseblossom A Fairy

Continuing with A-England's Shakespeare's Fairies collection, today's polish is Peaseblossom A Fairy, officially described a violet red hologram with additional iridescent glimmer. The color is a bold, well-saturated, medium-dark red-violet, a lush, berried purple-ish red shade that's about 3/4 of the way between red and magenta on the color wheel, closer to magenta than red. It's saturated enough to nearly swallow the holographic effects in ambient light, but reveals a beautiful prismatic flush in bright direct light featuring a flame-shaped flare of bright red and indigo sparks.

Application was excellent. The consistency of Peaseblossom is fluid and smooth with a medium-ish viscosity that is slightly thicker than the other Shakespeare's Fairies, and I added a little bit of polish thinner to my bottle at the outset. Thinned, it had a fluent, velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail that was opaque in one medium coat, although I used two like I always do. There's some pigment travel with cleanup but little to no residual staining. Peaseblossom dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of Peaseblossom A Fairy over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

A-England Peaseblossom A Fairy

Adore!! Red-violet polish is always among my favorites for the poignancy of the color and the fiercely feminine, romantic sensibility it evokes. It just seems to have this amazing, almost untamed kind of vitality, making for an irrepressibly lively, dramatic manicure that simply brims with panache. Superb!

love,
Liz