Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Today's polish is the last one from my recent Cadillacquer spree. *sad* But it's a beauty!

Beyond the Walls was released by Cadillacquer as part of the Seek the Fire collection earlier this spring. "Beyond The Walls is a light taupe with blue shimmer, blue micro flakies and a subtle holographic effect," says Madeleine. This is a medium true neutral taupe (no purple in this puppy!) with that delicious slightly dusty appearance from the added holo pigments, which give it a subtle luster on the nail. It also carries a sprinkling of complementary bright blue microflakes and shimmers that add visual interest and a bit of ethereal dimensionality. Another beautifully composed shimmer crelly from Cadillacquer!

Application was a pleasure. As with the other Cadillacquer polishes I've tried, Beyond the Walls has a fluid and light consistency with excellent flow over the nail that is easy to apply well. The uniformly consistent high quality, user-friendly formulas from this little brand have impressed me more than I can say. Pigmentation is very good with smooth, even, opaque coverage in two medium coats. Cleanup is a snap. Beyond the Walls dries naturally in good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that wants a good topcoat to pop the shimmer color and add shine.

Photos show two coats of Beyond the Walls over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of HK Girl. My apologies for the lack of cleanup on my middle finger, I didn't even notice it until I was most of the way through taking the pics. As for the extraneous glitters huddling along my cuticles and elsewhere, they're leftover from yesterday's Keep Breathing. What can I say, occasionally patience fails in the face of stubborn glitter!

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Cadillacquer Beyond the Walls

Beyond the Walls is a lovely work-appropriate neutral that is easy to wear and easy to love. It is graceful, elegant, understated and eminently wearable, all Madeleine's formulary hallmarks. There is an easy, supple, gentle beauty to her style that makes wearing her polishes immensely satisfying. Add to that their completely trouble-free application and she's got me carrying a torch. While it's true that shipping to the US from Switzerland isn't cheap, if you can get past that initial outlay her polishes are so worth it! 

So, which were my favorites? It's hard to pick, but if I had to I'd say Blowfish and 9 Crimes. But I really don't think you can go wrong with Cadillacquer! 

love,
Liz

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Keep Breathing was released by Cadillacquer as part of Madeleine's Dexter collection early last summer. Madeleine says, "Keep Breathing has a light teal base packed with green and white flakes, lilac and purple hex glitter." I'd call it a turquoise rather than a teal, with a creme/jelly hybrid base that really is packed with components: abundant lavender hex glitters in two sizes and clouds of pale green and silvery white shimmery flakes. 

This is another beautifully applying Cadillacquer glitter crelly. The consistency is fluid and light with great flow over the nail and excellent glitter payoff. The glitters do have a tendency to tumble if you don't apply in thin coats, which I don't so they tumbled aplenty on me, and I had some instances of glitters protruding off the free edge. But for me the crelly formula is once more the star of the show, with it's user-friendly easy-to-manipulate texture, fabulous suspension properties and great opaque coverage in two medium coats. Cleanup was again a matter of chasing down runaway glitters, but Keep Breathing applies so nicely that thankfully I didn't have too much cleanup to do. This polish dries naturally in average time to a shiny slightly textured finish.

Photos show two coats of Keep Breathing over treatment and basecoat with a smoothing, leveling coat of Gelous followed by a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Cadillacquer Keep Breathing

Isn't that a beautiful turquoise? It reminds me of a cross between Kingman and Sleeping Beauty turquoise, a gorgeous pale milky cyan blue. So refreshing and clean! The lavender glitters and white flakes give it a fetching mottled quality and sparkle in the sun. This is a great polish for summer. 

Speaking of which, it is supposed to be 90°F here in Chapel Hill today. At least the humidity is only in the low 40s. Ask me if I'm ready for summer heat. *lol* NEVER!

love,
Liz

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

9 Crimes was released by Swiss indie polish maker Cadillacquer last spring as part of Madeleine's very first collection, Do You See What I see, and is a personal favorite of hers. The inspiration for most Cadillacquer polishes springs from popular culture: movies, TV, music, games. 9 Crimes is named after a favorite song and it's also an episode title from the HBO series True Blood, another favorite. This polish was the primary catalyst for my Cadillacquer spree last month. Of course I was also entranced by some of the subtle shimmers from the Breaking Bad collection as well as several of Madeleine's other glitter crellies, but I'd been lemming 9 Crimes ever since I laid eyes on it last summer and if I were only allowed to buy one polish from Cadillacquer, it would have been this one.

"9 Crimes has a grey/purple base color with gold shimmer and various sized silver glitter," says Madeleine. The color is a beautifully crafted blend of grey and violet resulting in a rich soft slate shade, medium to medium-dark in tone. In it are suspended silver glitters in three sizes, medium, small and tiny, as well as a gorgeous sprinkling of sparkly golden metallic shimmer. It's a well-balanced combination of components that in combination with the sleek soft base color make for a very classy, sophisticated and graceful look.

This polish truly applies like a dream, it is unbelievably well-behaved and user friendly. I had absolutely no issues and needed very little cleanup. Of particular note is the glitter distribution, which was just about as perfect as any glitter polish I've ever used -- all the more impressive as 9 Crimes is not glitter heavy. It's thoroughly blended and the suspension properties of the crelly base are just plain outstanding. Three different sizes of glitter spread out randomly but evenly across each nail with no clumping or stacking whatsoever. I didn't even get any that protruded from the free edge, which I nearly always do when applying a glitter polish. Application bliss!

9 Crimes dries naturally in good time to a smooth glossy finish with only infinitesimal texture from the glitters. I applied a smoothing layer of Gelous anyway, just because I could mostly, and finished it with a thick topcoat of HK Girl. As I was applying the topcoat, I was thinking: I wonder if this is too much topcoat? Well, in retrospect, it was. *sigh* I have moderation issues.

Photos show three coats of 9 Crimes over treatment and basecoat with one coat of Gelous and a topcoat of HK Girl. I used medium coats and only applied the third because MACRO. I would have been perfectly happy with two for normal wear.

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

Cadillacquer 9 Crimes

The silver glitters in take on a matte look when they get a veil of the grey base over them that is a nice contrast with the sparkly glitters at the surface. The golden shimmers are much more overt and sparkly in direct light than I could show in the photos. My expectations for 9 Crimes was high and I am not disappointed. It's gorgeous! And like the other Cadillacquers I've tried, eminently wearable and flattering. 

love,
Liz

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

It's Going to Happen Again was released by Cadillacquer as part of the Dexter collection early last summer. It's a glitter creme/jelly hybrid with a medium azure blue base with sparkly turquoise shimmers that is speckled with matte aqua and teal glitters in squares and tiny hexes. I love this serene, creamy, slightly dusty shade of blue! It has a delft quality to it and reminds me of the color of the raised flowers in the blue on white version of Wedgwood's famous Queensware pattern.

source: chinasearch.co.uk

This is a beautifully constructed polish. The square glitters in matte aqua and teal are mirrored by the same color combination in tiny hexes, providing dimensionality, depth and continuity. The turquoise shimmers float above the other components and in the sun, the teal glitters light up and pull on the greenish turquoise color of the shimmers in a bit of color synergy that is very cohesive. The combination of the azure blue base and with the teal/turquoise of the glitter and shimmers is unexpected and airy. Love it!

Application was smooth and easy. The consistency of It's Going to Happen again is fluid and creamy, with each brushful delivering the perfect amount of glitters, which scatter randomly across the nail as you paint. I had a few runaway protruding glitters that were easily coaxed back onto the nail, but I had to restrain my typical overworking ways as overstroking tended to tumble the squares. Pigmentation is very nice. Any sheerness on the first coat is smoothed over and built easily to opacity with the second, while still allowing the glitters peek out from within. Cleanup is really a matter of chasing down any loose glitters. It's Going to Happen Again dries naturally in good time to a shiny finish that is somewhat textured by the components. I used a coat of Gelous to level everything out and sealed it with a topcoat of HK Girl.

Photos show two coats of It's Going to Happen Again over Seche Rebuild treatment and Butter London Nail Foundation basecoat with a coat of Gelous followed by a topcoat of HK Girl.

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again, macro shot in the bottle

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

Cadillacquer It's Going to Happen Again

This is a lovely, eminently wearable glitter crelly with the perfect ratio of glitter to base for providing visual texture while not overwhelming the base color, which is a gorgeous, flattering shade. I love its randomly speckled look, and it felt great on the nail with a natural tranquility that makes it very easy to love. Sometimes when I've applied blue polish at home and love it, I get out in the world and feel like it's too much. Not so with this little beauty! Wherever you go, it's a perfect companion.

xoxo,
Liz

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Pinkman was released by Swiss indie polish maker Cadillacquer last fall as part of the Breaking Bad collection. Described a "light pink with gold sparkles and a subtle scattered holographic effect," this is a very cool pale New York pink containing delicate golden flakes and a sheer veil of holo pigment that floats at the surface of the polish and gives it a lustrous silvery bloom on the nail. Shaded with a touch of grey, this pink reads nearly nude on me and might just possibly be my ideal mannequin hands polish.

Application was wonderful -- Pinkman is beautifully formulated and I am duly impressed! Although a very pale color, it's not a pastel and has none of the application issues typically associated with pale whitened colors. The consistency is fluid, light and creamy, and applies like a dream with Cadillacquer's flat flexible brush. Pigmentation is great, with slight sheerness after the first coat that quickly builds to completely opaque coverage in two. Cleanup is straightforward but I did find the shimmers to be a little bit recalcitrant so you may notice some shimmery nail environs in the photos. Pinkman dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of Pinkman over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of HK Girl.

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Cadillacquer Pinkman

Perhaps not mannequin hands but Pinkman is definitely the nail polish equivalent of the my lips but better lippie for me. I love it, a lot. It's the perfect whisper of color, demure but capable, understated, with a luminous glow and a touch of pale golden sparkle. I could live in this in this for the rest of my life and be happy with my nails, for real.

love, 
Liz