Lacquer Slacker Liz: Chaos & Crocodiles

Showing posts with label Chaos & Crocodiles. Show all posts

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, January 22, 2017

Chaos & Crocodiles Essence of Nostalgia

Essence of Nostalgia was released in last month by Maryland-based indie polish maker Chaos & Crocodiles as part of the Snowbound collection. Creator Sarey details the components: "purple shimmer, two sizes of red/green shifting iridescent glitter, holographic microglitter, and holographic pigment in a purple base." The base color is clean and bold, a medium-dark French violet with a shimmering Munsell purple underlay and flash. It has a satiny, semi-metallic sheen on the nail, with the scattered sparkle of glitters and microglitters creating a starry twinkling effect from within while ultrafine holographic pigment particles light up in drifting prismatic clouds across the surface.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Essence of Nostalgia is fluid, full-bodied and very smooth with a medium viscosity and a lush, buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail. Glitter components go on smoothly and randomly and lay flat without stacking, stickups or protrusions over the free edge. Pigmentation is very good to excellent, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup was remarkably easy for a darker polish with glitters in it. Other than a touch of pigment travel, I had no issues. Essence of Nostalgia dries naturally in very good time to a shiny finish with only the tiniest bit of texture from surface glitters, easily smoothed with a generous layer of topcoat.

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

Chaos & Crocodiles Essence of Nostalgia

Essence of Nostalgia is definitely a fantasy, galaxy-effect kind of polish, with those beautiful colorshifting iridescent glitters standing in for planets, the prismatic microglitters for farther stars, and the drifts of holo pigment for galaxies. I especially love the brilliant red of the colorshifting glitters (although they came out pink in the photos for some reason), so impactful against the violet and purple of the base. And no worries when it comes to removal -- despite the glitters, it's no more difficult to remove that a shimmer. Hooray!

love,
Liz

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

Like Inglenook and Polar Bear Snow Angels, Red Velvet Cake at Midnight was released last month by Maryland-based indie polish maker Chaos & Crocodiles as part of the Snowbound collection. Officially described as "a blackened red/wine colored holo," this is one of those sumptuous deep red-violet shades, a dark, mulberried mix of red and purple tones that most closely resembles amaranth deep purple or flirt. It bears abundant finely-milled holographic pigment, which dimensionalizes the look with hues of dark red and glowing, translucent violet and creates a rich, ruby-colored semi-metallic underlay and flash. In the sun, there's a fierce linear prismatic display predominated by arcs of indigo and bright red.

Application was dreamy. The consistency of Red Velvet Cake at Midnight is fluid, full-bodied and creamy with a medium viscosity and a velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail that has a skosh of pull to it. Pigmentation is outstanding, a true one-coater. I used two for this manicure but it reaches even opaque coverage and full bottle color in one medium coat. Cleanup is straightforward with a touch of pigment travel, not unexpected for such a saturated color, and a tiny bit of trace staining. Red Velvet Cake at Midnight dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic effects in any way.

Photos show two coats of Red Velvet Cake at Midnight over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Chaos & Crocodiles Red Velvet Cake at Midnight

So beautiful! One of the things that impresses me most about this polish is that even though it's a gently blackened shade, the color is still clean and intense. There's vividness and radiance to its depth that's got a real sort of sultry energy to it, a dramatic aspect that's quite seductive. Love!

xo,
Liz

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Chaos & Crocodiles Polar Bear Snow Angels

Like Inglenook, Polar Bear Snow Angels was released last month by Maryland-based indie polish maker Chaos & Crocodiles as part of the Snowbound collection. Officially described as a "pale blue creamy holo with purple shimmer," the color is a variation of baby blue with gentle grey undertones that is similar in depth and tone to the shade beau blue from the Plochere Color System. Finely-milled holographic pigment creates a delicate effervescent flare of azure and yellow-gold with a touch of rose in ambient light, and abundant purple microflake shimmers generate a subtle pinkish-purple glow along the axis of light. In the sun there's a linear pastel-hued prismatic display.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Polar Bear Snow Angels is fluid, creamy and smooth with a medium viscosity and a silky, even slip over the nail. Self-leveling properties are very good, and pigmentation is great for a pastel color, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. I added a third for the photos to ensure the non-appearance of my nail ridges, but would happily wear it at two otherwise. Cleanup is easy. Polar Bear Snow Angels dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat highlights the presence and effects of the shimmers and does not in any way inhibit the polish's holographic properties.

Photos show three coats of Polar Bear Snow Angels over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Chaos & Crocodiles Polar Bear Snow Angels

I love the subtlety of creamy holos and this one is just perfect! The graceful, snow-shadow blue has a sleek, slightly silvery presentation on the nail with a holographically-generated dimensional aspect that is especially flattering to the color. A charming, eminently wearable light blue for winter -- or any time of the year, really. Delicious!

love,
Liz

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Chaos & Crocodiles Inglenook

Inglenook was released for pre-order around the beginning of last month by Maryland-based indie polish maker Chaos & Crocodiles as part of the Snowbound collection. Creator Sarey describes it as "a strong silvery holo with blue/purple/red/copper shifting pigment." Between the powerful holographic effects and the color-shifting pigments, the coloring of the polish is in a constant state of flux, but the general impression it gives is of a dusky Chinese violet with a reflective semi-metallic swath of indigo-tinted azure along the axis of light that mixes with the violet to read as a lovely bright lavender blue or periwinkle, which can shift to copper or a silvery purple. Slender effervescent arcs of shimmering prismatic color are nearly always visible to some degree and the dusky violet base shifts to red-violet or plummy purple depending upon viewing circumstances.

Application was a pleasure. The consistency of Inglenook is fluid, full-bodied and creamy with a medium viscosity and a plush, velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail that has a little bit of pull to it. Pigmentation is very good, delivering completely opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Inglenook dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not affect the holographic properties in any way.

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

Chaos & Crocodiles Inglenook

Quite honestly, my photos don't do justice to this polish. They capture the holographic effects but not the subtler, more interesting dyamics of the color-shifting pigment. Those beautiful shifting colors -- lavenders, violets, purples and blues, with touches of spring green and copper -- have a kind of water color quality and remind me of an Impressionist painting, like the skies in my mother's Florida paintings or something by Claude Monet like Vetheuil in the Fog or parts of some of the Water Lilies paintings. The polish has a burnished, semi-metallic shine along the axis of light that gives it a sleek, flashy vibe on the nail, and I expect the prismatic display in the sun will be brilliant, sparkling and fully linear, but those color-shifting pigments make it special in any light.

love,
Liz