Lacquer Slacker Liz: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer

Showing posts with label Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Show all posts

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Set Me on Fire in the Evening

Set Me on Fire in the Evening was released by Georgia-based indie polish maker Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer (BEGL) as part of the We Saw the Stars collection, which debuted at the Indie Polish Shop event in Atlanta in March this year. Described as a "bright pink-red creme," the color is a vibrant, medium to medium-dark shade that is nice balanced between cool and warm. To my eye, it's very similar to CNN red, the color currently used by American news channel CNN in its logo and television graphics, although it brightens considerably in direct sun to more of a crimson. I think it has a bit of a 50s pinup flare -- it makes me think of private dicks and dangerous women. :)

Application was lovely. Set Me on Fire in the Evening is fluid, full-bodied and creamy with a medium viscosity and a lush, velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail that went on best for me in medium coats from a well-loaded brush. Pigmentation is excellent. With the proper mojo, you can get evenly opaque coverage in one medium coat, although I used two for this manicure. Cleanup is fairly straightforward with some pigment travel but little residual staining. Set Me on Fire in the Evening dries naturally in good time to a smooth, ever-so-slightly flat finish that loves a glossy topcoat to look its very best.

Photos show two coats of Set Me on Fire in the Evening over KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Set Me on Fire in the Evening

I haven't had a simple red creme on my nails in a long time and I'd almost forgotten how provocative and impactful it is. Never underestimate the mystique of a glossy red polish! Definitively feminine and powerful, it has a timeless glamor that is both elegant and charismatic. Every polish enthusiast needs a great, resonant red creme in their arsenal and this one fills the bill perfectly!

love,
Liz

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer The Siren's a Callin'

The Siren's a Callin' was released in March this year by Georgia-based indie polish maker Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer as both an Encore Siren Shade and a new addition to the 'It Got Away From Me, Yeah...' Dr. Who collection. Creator Julie describes it as a "navy blue with silver holo microglitter, fine turquoise shimmer, aqua shimmer, and turquoise glass flecks," and I'm telling you, this polish is dead sexy. The deep cobalty blue base and lighter, more cyanic components combine to give the appearance of a rich, dark cerulean or midnight blue sort of color, with a radiant, glistening teal blue shimmer effect along the axis of light, twinkling teal blue pinpoint sparkles throughout and aspects of indigo around the edges of the nail.

Striking and profoundly glamorous, it has this sultry/smoky/jazzy vintage feel to it that's difficult to describe. It makes me want to put on something sparkly and go have cocktails and listen to jazz in a dark, tucked away club to the wee hours.

Application was great! The consistency of The Siren's a Callin' is fluid, full-bodied and dense with a thicker viscosity to which I added a couple of squirts of polish thinner at the outset. Thinned, it had a luxuriously plush, even, self-leveling glide over the nail that went on best for me in medium coats from a well-loaded brush. Pigmentation is very good to excellent, delivering evenly opaque coverage on the first coat and full, rich bottle color with the second. Often very fine shimmers like this will show brushstrokes, but this one does not. Cleanup is fairly straightforward with a bit of pigment travel and some trace staining. The Siren's a Callin' dries naturally in good time to a flat, gently textured finish that is easily smoothed by a generous layer of topcoat, which also accentuates the presence and effects of the components.

Photos show two coats of The Siren's a Callin' over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. The color of the polish leans very blue in the pics. In person, there's a touch more green to it.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer The Siren's a Callin'

It's even better in person. Richer. More sultry.

This polish really doesn't come together completely until you get topcoat on it. You start to get an idea of the potential with the second coat, but a glossy topcoat really brings out the true nature of this superbly-composed beauty. The color is deep, lush, mysterious and ornate, and the shimmers and tiny twinkling sparks are an exquisite complement. And although it definitely has an after midnight vibe, it's breathtakingly beautiful in the sun as well, where the color brightens and the twinkly clouds of tiny sparks take on a gorgeous prismatic quality.

Perfectly named, utterly fabulous!

love,
Liz

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Broke Away from the Atmosphere

Broke Away from the Atmosphere by Georgia-based indie polish maker Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer (BEGL) is part of the We Saw the Stars collection, a series of twelve polishes that debuted at the Indie Polish Shop event in Atlanta on 12 March and was released for pre-order on the 27th. It's a beautiful medium hot pink with aspects of French rose. A moderate amount of finely-milled holographic pigment contributes a touch of dimensional interior illumination to the look, and superabundant tiny cyan/blue/red colorshifting microflake shimmers add a misty wash of pale cyan with luminous blue undertones that brightens and glistens along the axis of light.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Broke Away from the Atmosphere is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail that is a pleasure to work with. Pigmentation is very good, netting completely even, opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Broke Away from the Atmosphere dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that looks great with a glossy topcoat, which also intensifies the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show two coats of Broke Away from the Atmosphere over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Broke Away from the Atmosphere

So pretty! We're overcast here today so no sun shots, but I imagine direct sun would throw a net of prismatic sparkle over the look.

I love the poetic name of this collection and the names that Julie has given to its polishes, which seem to mark the passage from dusk through the night to dawn, very evocative and romantic -- Broke Away from the Atmosphere most of all, and it's such a gorgeous lacquer. The mist of shimmering microflakes floating over that lush pink base gives it a certain tender, dewy quality that's very graceful and feminine. Beautifully formulated, too.

I like it! I like it very much!

love,
Liz

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Special Selection

Special Selection was released the first week of February this year by Georgia-based indie polish maker Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer as one-half of the month's Destination Duo. Each month Julie teams up with a guest polish maker to create a Destination Polish Duo inspired by a photograph of a certain place. This month's collaborative partner was Carrie of Contrary Polish. Their inspiration photo was taken by Carrie at the Sundance Film Festival. I'll be showing you Carrie's polish in another post.

Officially described as a black cherry jelly with gold microflakes, gold microglitters, ultrachrome flakies in a copper/gold/fuchsia spectrum and ultrachrome flakies in a green/pink/gold spectrum, the base color of Special Selection is a deep variation of ruby similar to Crayola's Gem Tone ruby with aspects of rich magenta for a look along the lines of vivid burgundy. The translucent jelly formula allows plenty of light to penetrate and refract off of a profusion of glitter and flakie components, creating a rich, dimensional visual texture full of sparkle and glints of fuchsia, hot magenta, cerise and gold. In the sun, the holographic microglitters add a veil of bright prismatic sparks to the mix.

Application was studied. The consistency of Special Selection is fluid, full-bodied and a little sticky with a thicker viscosity to which I added a generous amount of polish thinner to get a density more commensurate with my skills. Once thinned, it had a light, fluent, self-leveling flow over the nail with excellent component payoff. The glitters and flakies dispersed easily and randomly with no stacking or stickups and only a few protrusions over the free edge, easily pushed back onto the nail with a tip-wrapping swipe of the brush. Pigmentation is very good, with evenly opaque coverage achieved in two medium or three thinner coats. I did most of my cleanup as I went along to avoid sticky glitters and flakies and had no issues. Special Selection dries naturally in good time to a flat, gently textured finish. For a glassy smooth finish, I double-topcoated with a layer of gel effect topcoat followed by quick dry.

Photos show two coats of Special Selection over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Pretty Serious Plump Up the Volume and finished with another of Seche Vite.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Special Selection

This is a seriously glamorous, ornate polish. The look is rich and decadent with boatloads of Old Hollywood-style panache, an interesting take, visually and philosophically, on the Sundance Film Festival photo.

Julie pulled inspiration from the bits of red and burgundy in the photo for her creation. The dimensional visual texture and abundant light play within the polish generate a certain high end, haute couture kind of quality that adds excitement to the look. Gorgeous!

love,
Liz

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Goin' Way Down South

Goin' Way Down South was released at the beginning of February this year by Georgia-based indie polish maker Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer as part of the Dad's Mixtape Side B collection. It was inspired by the American rock standard "Hey Joe" as performed by Jimi Hendrix, and the name taken from the lyrics of that song.

Creator Julie describes Goin' Way Down South as a "medium jewel-toned green with blue to purple to pink shifting shimmers." The color is a resonant, grassy Munsell green that is packed with fine colorshifting shimmers, which in natural light appear mostly in their bright, almost turquoise blue iteration and combine with the base to give the polish a slightly cooler Persian green appearance that really does recall one of Jimi's famous velvet suits. The shimmers are quite visible thanks to the polish's semi-translucent formula, creating a thin, diffuse veil of misty blue or purple or pink (depending on viewing circumstances) that sharpens and brightens along the axis of light.

Application was great! The consistency of Goin' Way Down South is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a lush, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is sheer, with most even opacity coming in three coats for me, although those with a more even hand may be able to do it in two. Cleanup is easy. Goin' Way Down South dries naturally in good time to a silky smooth, satiny sort of finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its best.

Photos show three coats of Goin' Way Down South over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Goin' Way Down South

I use Google for my browser's home page, and yesterday noticed a link for their Doodle 4 Google competition, an annual contest for students K-12, who are invited to create and submit their own doodle for the chance to have it featured on the Google homepage. This year's 53 state and territory finalists have been posted for viewers to consider and vote for their favorites, here. The theme is "What I see for the future..." and it is a revelation to see the imagination, creativity and skill in the artwork submitted by these kids, one that vastly lightened my puny mood. If you're feeling a bit worn out by the world (and who isn't these days), I encourage you to take a look!

Goin' Way Down South reminds me of many of those designs, a portion of which focused on keeping the planet clean and safe. These designs are full of flora and fauna and greens and blues and some are incredibly, delightfully intricate.

It turns out that this polish also looks great with the petite emerald cabochon in my new silver birthstone ring, which Fuzzy commissioned from a local artisan jeweler for my birthday (which isn't until May, but she just couldn't keep it to herself).

How about that!

love,
Liz