Lacquer Slacker Liz: Colors by Llarowe

Showing posts with label Colors by Llarowe. Show all posts

Monday, April 16, 2018

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Life is a Highway was released in April 2016 by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the Tribute to a Wonderful Friend collection, and is described as a "magenta pink jelly with scattered holo and magenta and purple iridescent micro glitter." The color is indeed a vibrant, medium-dark variation of magenta that reads as a pinker violet-red in bright direct light and a redder telemagenta in lower light and shade. It's packed with minute microglitters in pink and purple for a subtle sparkle in ambient light that explodes into a brilliant, glittery field of twinkling sparks in the sun, complete with scattered prismatic sparkle in all of the rainbow colors.

Application was great! The consistency of Life is a Highway is fluid and dense with microglitters, with a medium viscosity and a full-bodied, self-leveling flow over the nail that went on best for me in medium-to-thicker coats from a well-loaded brush. Pigmentation is excellent. You could wear this at one coat for a brighter, pinker look or two to three for a darker, more bottle-color look. Cleanup is straightforward with some scattering and stickiness of the microglitters as well as a little bit of pigment travel with a hint of residual staining. Life is a Highway dries naturally in very good time to a sandy-textured, matte finish that smooths to glossy perfection with a layer of glitter-smoothing topcoat.

Photos show two to three coats of Life is a Highway over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Girly Bits Glitter Glaze. All nails have two coats except for the middle finger nail, which has three. In person, the difference is almost unnoticeable but you can really see it here!

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Love this rich, deep magenta color and the twinkling, disco-ball sparkle in the sun is outrageously pretty and so much fun! Excellent!

love,
Liz

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

Jitterbug was released at the beginning of this month by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as the brand's March 2018 Polish of the Month (POTM). It's described as "a reddened hot pink, prismatic holo flake with a blue to purple aurora pigment for added sparkle." The color is a vibrant, rosy, medium-dark Mexican pink with aspects of raspberry and cerise. Abundant silvery holographic flakies give the polish a luminously dappled visual texture and create a delicious, dimensional prismatic flush in bright hues of red, rose, pink and lavender in ambient light. So pretty!

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Jitterbug is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling glide over the nail, a beautiful, eminently-paintable formula that is on par with the brand's best. Pigmentation is very good to excellent, almost a one-coater, and delivers completely even opacity and full bottle color in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward with a tiny bit of pigment travel. Jitterbug dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the prismatic effects of the flakies.

Photos show two coats of Jitterbug over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat.

Colors by Llarowe Jitterbug

I always look forward to CbL's POTMs and this one is gorgeous, I love it! The color is fierce -- lush, saturated and feminine -- and the luminous prismatic effects of those holographic flakes really complement its native rosy richness. Perfect!

Currently, Jitterbug is still available at Girly Bits in Canada and Hypnotic Polish in the UK.

xo,
Liz

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Colors by Llarowe Young Turks

Young Turks was released in February 2014 by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the Spring 2014 collection. Described simply as a "bright turquoise holo," the color is bright, saturated, medium-toned cyanic blue from the pool blue family, but it's so lush and intense that it actually kind of transcends that category. I searched for something similar on Wikipedia and the closest seems to be Pacific blue with aspects of process cyan, but you might also call it a summer sky blue or a Malibu blue. It is hypnotically beautiful, a luxuriant marine shade from the most brilliant seascape of your imagination.

Abundant finely-milled holographic pigment makes it a linear holo, but the saturation, richness and intensity of the color is such that the prismatic properties inform the color rather than stand out from it. In ambient light, lush hues of ultramarine, cerulean, deep turquoise and misty hints of sea green nuance and dimensionalize the base. Bright direct light elicits a brilliant linear flare with an ultramarine heart and sparkling arcs of azure and spring green.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Young Turks is fluid and creamy with a medium viscosity and a fluent, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail. Superb! Pigmentation is excellent. Wearable opacity can be had in one medium coat, but two does better justice to the color. Cleanup is surprisingly easy for such a saturated shade, with only a tiny bit of pigment travel and little perceptible trace staining. Young Turks dries naturally to a smooth finish with a satiny shine. Topcoat does not affect the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show two coats of Young Turks over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. As is common with cyanic shades of this kind, my camera skews to blue. It's even richer in person, with a touch more green to it.

Colors by Llarowe Young Turks

This is, hands down, a must-have polish in my opinion. Don't fool yourself, as I did for far too long, by thinking that it's just another bright blue holo. There's a reason that it's still around and available after four years! It will evoke startlingly visceral visions of the most profusely blue sea on the clearest day you can think of, transporting you there in an instant. For the seasonally-minded, Young Turks not only makes for an absolutely stunning summertime manicure, but is certainly bold and brilliant enough to hold its own amongst winter jewel-tones as well. SO GOOD!

Incidentally, CbL's Spring 2014 collection was also the fountainhead for two other highly prized and venerable core shades, The Mighty Red Baron and My Big Girl Panties. An amazing collection, for sure.

love,
Liz

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana

Dirty Diana was released in August 2013 by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the Tribute to Michael Jackson collection. Described simply as "a magenta holo," the color is a deep purple-berry shade along the lines of dark magenta, with red-violet aspects. Powerfully holographic, it exhibits some sort of prismatic effect in almost all circumstances, and sports the delicious, delicately-grained visual texture common to holos. Rich hues of violet, plum and claret nuance the base in ambient light, with a gleaming, semi-metallic underlay of red violet. In direct light, there's a bold, sparkling linear holographic flare predominated by azure and bright red.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Dirty Diana is fluid, dense and smooth with medium-to-slightly-thicker viscosity to which I added a touch of polish thinner at the outset. Thinned, it still retained a good bit of body, with a plush, velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent. Had I not thinned it, I believe it would qualify as a one-coater for many -- I used two. Cleanup is straightforward. Dirty Diana dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish that takes topcoat beautifully with no interference to the holographic effects.

Photos show two coats of Dirty Diana over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. It's heavily overcast and snowing here, so my pics aren't as sharp and clear as I would like them to be -- my apologies! But you guys know holos well enough to imagine the potential.

Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana

Gorgeous!

Back in the day when Dirty Diana was released, great holographic indie polishes like it, while no longer a rarity, were still new enough to provoke amazed delight from polish enthusiasts and bloggers compared to earlier days. Many reviews that I read noted happily the qualities that had been lacking not so very long before, stuff like opaque coverage, smooth application without balding or patching and topcoating without fear of dulling the holo effects. It reminded me of just how much innovation, improved quality and creativity indie polish makers have brought and continue to bring to the practice of nail adornment. I am so grateful! It's a great time to be painting your nails!

love,
Liz

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Colors by Llarowe Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man

Lion Scarecrow Tin Man was released last month by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe (CbL) as one of three custom, limited edition polishes created exclusively for members of the Hella Handmade Creations (HHC -- formerly Hella Holo Customs) Facebook group.

Described as an intense magenta purple holo with deep blue microflakes, the color is a vivid, saturated, medium-dark variation of red-violet with a purple lean, something along the lines of fandango. Holographic pigment gives it a glowing heart of electric violet in ambient light with a stealthy, glistening underlay of reddish steel pink, and enriches the color with nuances of fuchsia, dark magenta and burgundy. In the sun, the violet heart intensifies and there's a sparkling linear prismatic display predominated by azure and bright red.

Application was great! The consistency of Lion Scarecrow Tin Man is fluid, dense and smooth with a medium viscosity and a full-bodied, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is outstanding, an unequivocal one coater. I used two like I always do, to fix lines left wanting after the first coat, but it made no difference to the look. There's some pigment travel with cleanup as you might expect from a profoundly saturated color. Lion Scarecrow Tin Man dries naturally in very good time to a slightly flat finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its very best.

Photos show two coats of Lion Scarecrow Tin Man over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Colors by Llarowe Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man

Sleek, feminine, dramatic and, I think, wildly romantic on the nail, this polish is the red-violet of my dreams. I can't even tell you how much I love it. Simply fantastic.

From what I understand, this polish is similar to CbL Courage Brains Heart, so if you missed or can't lay your hands on Lion Scarecrow Tin Man, you could give that one a go.

love,
Liz

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Colors by Llarowe Sugar & Spice

Sugar & Spice was just released at the beginning of this month by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the Mild & Wild collection. Officially described as "a light lilac creme base with pink to red fine shimmer," to me the color is more of a medium-light floral lavender, bright and deliciously creamy. Abundant superfine particulate shimmers give the polish a transparent pink sheen and a delicate, luminous reddish-pink mist along the axis of light that has a subtle dimensionalizing effect on the look and a dainty sparkle in the sun.

Application was interesting. The consistency of Sugar & Spice is fluid and creamy with an eminently-paintable, medium viscosity and a buttery, even, self-leveling glide over the nail, so nice! Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two or three coats, depending on how you paint. The first coat dried noticeably lighter than it went on, but the second returned the look to bottle color. Cleanup is easy. Sugar & Spice dries naturally in good time to a smooth shiny finish.

I'm curious about the pigment used in this polish because the color appears to react to quick-dry topcoat, developing barely perceptible streaks and irregular areas that are ever-so-slightly deeper, as well as a whisper-thin band at the cuticle edge especially that is slightly lighter. This may be my hyper-acute visual discrimination aptitude freaking out on me as the differences are very slight, perhaps even unnoticeable by someone else, but I did want to mention it.

Photos show three coats of Sugar & Spice over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Girly Bits Glitter Glaze.

Colors by Llarowe Sugar & Spice

A gorgeous, singing color for spring! Really resonates with those purple spring bloomers like crocus, violets, iris, lilac and wysteria!

love,
Liz