Lacquer Slacker Liz: Alchemy Lacquers

Showing posts with label Alchemy Lacquers. Show all posts

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Alchemy Lacquers Ennui

Like Guanxi, Ennui was released in October this year by Pennsylvania-based indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers as part of the Alchemy in the Abstract collection. Described as a "dusky darkened purple with pink, purple and turquoise micro flakes," it has a milky, greyed-out Chinese violet look in the bottle. Once on the nail, however, the color becomes slightly more ambiguous, more of a murky indigo shade with slate and navy-ish aspects, similar in depth and tone to a dark blue-grey, but with a violet undertone that is more or less perceptible depending upon viewing circumstances. Difficult to describe, it's a shadowy, crepuscular sort of color with a touch of stormcloud. Abundant variously sized and shaped metallic microflake shimmers in purple, pink and turquoise float within, visible mostly upon close inspection when the light hits them just right, adding a subtle complexity to the romantic duskiness of the base color.

Application was wonderful. Ennui is packed with microflakes but still manages to maintain a fluid and light consistency with a medium viscosity and an easy, fluent glide over the nail. The microflakes are by and large well-behaved, occasionally threatening to hang off the free edge but never actually doing so. Pigmentation is very good. Any sheerness or streakiness to the first coat builds easily to completely even opaque coverage with a second. Cleanup is fairly straightforward -- those little flakes love to stick, though, especially to the nail. Ennui dries naturally in good time to a shiny finish with a delicately dimpled visual texture, not discernable to the touch. Topcoat helps to highlight the shimmers.

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

Alchemy Lacquers Ennui

The microflakes are somewhat more distinct in the photos than they are to the naked eye in person.

I love this color, it reminds me of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. It has a soft, washed, slightly dusty quality that is tremendously appealing, I think. There's a sort of organic elegance to it, an easy earthiness that is inherently graceful and romantic. Very chic, as well, and the kind of color that will be beautiful on everyone, regardless of skin tone or nail length. I could wear this again and again and not tire of it. Recommend!

xo,
Liz

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Alchemy Lacquers Guanxi

Guanxi (pronounced GWAN-she, or thereabouts) was released in October this year by Pennsylvania-based indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers as part of the Alchemy in the Abstract collection. It is officially described as an "avocado green nail lacquer with a linear holographic finish and coral-orange/gold/green/blue multichrome flakes." The color is indeed a perfect avocado, a slightly murky medium-dark yellow green that shimmers with finely-milled holographic pigment. It is absolutely packed with metallic multichromatic flakies ranging in size from tiny to relatively large. Their most prevalent color is a coppery coral-orange with a touch of pink, a sunset hue that contrasts very nicely with the avocado base and creates a rosy flame-colored glow along the axis of light with a lit-from-within look, a striking and beautiful effect. The finish has a semi-metallic quality with a coppery flash and an interesting visual texture from the gleaming flakies.

Application went very well. The consistency of Guanxi is fluid and dense with flakies, with a medium viscosity and a fairly even, self-leveling glide over the nail. It's remarkably tractable for such a component-laden polish, with only a little tactile feedback from the flakies, and went on best for me in medium coats from a moderately loaded brush. There's a degree of built-in translucence to the base so coverage is provided in part by the flakies, but it builds easily to wearable opacity in two medium coats. Cleanup is best done as you go along, since those flakies stick like tiny limpets once the polish is dry. Guanxi dries naturally in very good time to a shiny finish with a skosh of gentle texture from the flakies, easily smoothed with a single layer of topcoat.

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

Alchemy Lacquers Guanxi

It's heavily overcast and raining here today so I didn't get a chance to see this in the sun, but it's so amazing in this kind of diffuse ambient light where you can see all the shifting multichromatic colors that I really can't imagine liking it better in the sun. I absolutely love the coppery flame-colored bloom. In person, it's more prominent and encompassing than what you see in the photos above, and serves to pull all of the elements together in a coherent look. I think it's magical!

love,
Liz

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Alchemy Lacquers Naiad of the Spring

Naiad of the Spring was released by indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers as part of the Alchemical Imaginarium: Water Fae collection at the end of May 2014. It's a radiant medium-dark sapphire jelly bearing abundant tiny metallic turquoise microglitters, ultrafine purple interference shimmers and a sprinkling of holographic pigment. In direct light this polish is breathtaking! All kinds of multicolored sparks burst from the rich brilliant blue, which has a bold scintillating sparkle. In indirect light the shimmering turquoise microglitters in combination with the sapphire blue provide lots of dimensionality and depth. This is one of those dazzling, glamorous, extroverted peacock shades that really puts your nails on parade.

Application was pretty good. The consistency of Naiad of the Spring is somewhat gel-like, full-bodied but still fluid. I found it easiest to manipulate with medium coats and a generous bead of polish on the brush. It's a fast drying polish that becomes a little sticky if you linger too long or use too many strokes, so a quick deft touch is helpful. I am neither quick nor all that deft, but the formula accommodated my finagling without too much trouble. Self-leveling properties are very good and the coverage builds quickly to a wearable opacity in two coats, which is what I used for this manicure. In retrospect, I wish I'd added a third coat for more even coverage, as I was able to see a few thin spots that were unnoticeable until I looked at my nails in direct light. Cleanup was fairly straightforward with a few escapee microglitters that were relatively easy to brush away. Naiad of the Spring dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, satiny finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Naiad of the Spring over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Alchemy Lacquers Naiad of the Spring

This is such an awesome lacquer to wear if you're going to be out and about on a sunny day. It is just incredibly sparkly and dimensional in the sun, you can't stop staring at it! We had a gorgeous day here today, the air was washed and clean after yesterday's multiple thunderstorms, the humidity was low and a fresh breeze was tossing the newly leafed out flora around, the baby leaves shining bright green and silver in the sun. Naiad of the Spring with it's fantastic sparkles felt like the polish equivalent to the beautiful weather, fresh and radiant!

love,
Liz

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

Tekhelet was released by indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers as part of a four-polish collection for holiday 2014. Two of the four were Hanukkah polishes, one of which is Tekhelet. This is a microglitter bomb with a clear suspension base bearing a gorgeous, twinkling mix of microglitters in royal blue, turquoise and silver, some of which are holographic. It's a dancing sparklefest in blue and silver, with an added shower of rainbow-colored sparks that appear in direct light. So pretty, and so apropos for the Festival of Lights!

Application was great! The consistency of Tekhelet is on the thicker side with a gel-like quality common to polish bases made especially for suspending glitters. It spreads rather than flows onto the nail in a well-mannered, easy-to-control way without undue stickiness as long as you don't overwork it. Glitter payoff is excellent with an impressive amount of components per brushful that disperse evenly over the nail. Coverage is a function of the microglitters, which are abundant enough to provide even, wearable opacity in two medium coats. Impressive! Cleanup is best done as you go along without allowing those little buggers to dry on skin or cuticle. But even dry they do come up with a bit of sweeping by the cleanup brush, which leads me to believe that this polish will remove without resorting to foil. If that's not the case, I'll leave a postscript. Tekhelet dries naturally in very good time to a matte, gently textured finish. For a glitter-under-glass look. I used a layer of Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food before topcoating, but I've seen this polish turn out beautifully with just a good layer of topcoat.

Photos show two coats of Tekhelet over treatment and basecoat, with a surface-smoothing layer of Glitter Food followed by a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Alchemy Lacquers Tekhelet

The word tekhelet is Hebrew for blue or turquoise, and refers to a legendary dye used to color the robes of priests, tabernacle tapestries, prayer shawls and specially wrapped garment tassels in the Hebrew Bible. Stripes of tekhelet on prayer shawls inspired the design of the flag of Israel.

wrapped tekhelet colored strings in the tassels of a prayer garment

Tekhelet is just gorgeous on the nail, with a plush dynamic sparkle that reminds me of fiber optics. Again, very fitting for Hanukkah but also lots of fun for anytime you're craving some twinkle for your tips. Just be careful when you're driving with this puppy on your nails, especially if it's a sunny day. You won't be able to take your eyes off of it -- ask me how I know!

love,
Liz

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Alchemy Lacquers Lilac

Lilac is part of the core line of Philadelphia-based indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers. Many of Rebecca's polishes are named for botanicals with homeopathic qualities, and Lilac is one of those. It is, as you'd guess from the name, a pastel purple with what I consider to be a creme/jelly hybrid formula sprinkled with tiny microglitters in shades of purple and bearing abundant beautiful pinkish gold particle shimmers. The color is slightly warmer or pinker than a lavender, very much a lilac shade. The microglitters aren't large enough to be noticed from afar, but give the polish a deliciously speckled look upon close inspection. The shimmer, while discreet, adds greatly to the depth and visual interest of this lovely polish, creating a softly glowing interior mist of golden pink along the axis of light and giving the overall look a beautiful, dewy sheen.

Application was outstanding! This is absolutely the best application I've ever gotten from a pastel. The consistency is fluid, light and creamy with a silky smooth glide over the nail. The formula, slightly translucent without any hint of chalkiness, is quite user-friendly and self-levels like a dream. Pigmentation builds easily with wearable opacity in two coats, although I used three for the purposes of this post because MACRO. There's some sheerness on the first coat that can appear streaky, but it evens out beautifully with the second. It seems to like going on in medium coats, and that's how I generally apply polish so your mileage may vary if you use thin coats. I got a lot of satisfaction and pleasure from this application -- pastels are usually so difficult for me. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Lilac dries naturally in good time to a satiny finish with some shine that is enhanced with a glossy topcoat.

Photos show three coats of Lilac over Seche Rebuild treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Alchemy Lacquers Lilac

My photos under our greenish, overcast skies hardly do justice to this sweet little polish. It has a very smooth, clean, fresh vibe in person, more so than these pictures show. I really love this polish, it's such a great color and the application so superior to what I'm used to with pastels.

(source)

As you can see, the color is very true to the real thing. If you're looking for a pastel purple that's really special and a little unusual with a great formula, this one's for YOU! And since it's part of Rebecca's core line, there's no fear of it disappearing anytime soon.

Wonderful polish, especially for this time of year!

love,
Liz