Lacquer Slacker Liz: Contrary Polish

Showing posts with label Contrary Polish. Show all posts

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Contrary Polish Harvest Moon

Released earlier this month, Harvest Moon was created by Carrie of Missouri-based indie polish maker Contrary Polish as a November 2017 limited edition custom polish exclusively for members of the Holo-Maniacs Facebook group. Inspired by a photo of a huge orange moon in a dark blue-grey sky silhouetting a foresty horizon, Carrie describes it as a "deep slate blue linear holo with strong contrasting orange shimmer/microflakes."

The color is a soulful medium blue-grey along the lines of glaucous with aspects of steel blue and deep blue-grey. Abundant holographic pigment gives it a dusty, delicately-grained visual texture, dimensionalizes the color with gentle, shadowy hues of blue and grey in ambient light and lights up in exquisite tiny prismatic sparks as light travels over it. Fine orange microflake shimmers create a sparkling orange mist along the axis of light, a dainty bloom of interior illumination that adds a hint of warmth to the look. The color brightens in direct sun and takes on a denimy quality, displaying a slightly dispersed linear holographic flair predominated by azure with a corona of mixed prismatic sparkle.

Application was delicious. The consistency of Harvest Moon is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, a lovely formula that is a pleasure to manipulate with Contrary's flexible, flattened-style brush. Pigmentation is very good. A touch of sheerness on the first coat built easily to evenly opaque coverage with the second on my shorties, but may need a third on longer nails. Cleanup is easy. Harvest Moon dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and effects of the microflake shimmers and does not interfere with the holographic properties in any way.

Photos show two coats of Harvest Moon over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Contrary Polish Harvest Moon

Wow, this is SO GOOD! And speaks directly to my pan-seasonal love for unusual blues, although it does have a gorgeous, rainy, autumnal quality that seems suit November particularly well. The warming effects of the orange microflake shimmers add a kind of gentled quality to an otherwise stormy color, giving it a companionable, delightfully wearable feel. I love it!

Harvest Moon is available through the end of the month by accessing the hidden listing from Carrie's post in the Holo-Maniacs Facebook group. You must be a member to see the post, so travel on over and join up!

xo,
Liz

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Contrary Polish Midway Magic

Midway Magic was created by Carrie of Missouri-based indie polish maker Contrary Polish for Polish Con September 2017 and released on the Polish Con website as part of the ongoing Road to Polish Con series on 23 July this year. Described as a deep crimson with purple/red/orange multichrome shimmers and a scattered holographic effect, the color is a dark variation of crimson along the lines of Harvard crimson, nudged to a deep, vampy red-violet appearance by abundant fine multichromatic shimmers, which generally read as purple and give the polish a misty purple sheen in ambient light. Depending upon the angle and orientation to light, the shimmers shift to a brilliant ruby and then to a glowing red-orange. The look is dusted with finely-milled holographic pigment that ignites in direct sun to create a delicate spray of infinitesimal sparkling motes in all of the rainbow colors.

Application was great! The consistency of Midway Magic is fluid, full-bodied and smooth with a medium-to-thicker viscosity that I added a bit polish thinner to at the outset. Slightly thinned, it had a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail with a tiny bit of pull to it. Pigmentation is very good. It is nearly opaque in one medium coat, with fully opaque, even coverage in two. Cleanup is straightforward with a tiny bit of pigment travel but little to no trace staining. Midway Magic dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of Midway Magic over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Contrary Polish Midway Magic

This is my favorite multichrome colorway, so I am predisposed to love this polish. The purple/red/orange spectrum with its spectacular sunset-hued shifts of color is just poignantly beautiful to me and it's perfectly couched here in the deep crimson base. The look generally is of a vampy red violet with a luxurious, velvety depth to it that is sleek and elegant on the nail. A gorgeous dark polish!

love,
Liz

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Contrary Polish Grape

Like Green Apple and Blue Raspberry, Grape was released in May this year by Missouri-based indie polish maker Contrary Polish as part of the Cotton Candy Mattes collection. Although created to finish matte, I prefer these pretty shimmer polishes with a glossy topcoat and that is how you'll see this one.

Described as a "greyed lavender with fine silver shimmer," the base color of Grape is a pale, soft, translucent variation of lavender along the lines of lavender mist. Superabundant ultrafine silver particulate shimmers give it a slight silvery aspect and a luminous dimensionality on the nail with a finely-grained visual texture that reminds me of sueded silk. They really come alive in the sun, blanketing the look with a veil of delicate sparkle in shades of pale blue and pink as well as silver.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Grape is fluid, light and smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail that is a pleasure to work with. It sets up fairly quickly but not so fast that you feel the need to rush your application. Pigmentation is sheer and a little uneven on the first coat, but builds to evenly opaque coverage in three coats. Any brushstrokes that show in the wet polish melt away as it dries. Cleanup is easy. Grape dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, matte finish. A glossy topcoat accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Grape over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Contrary Polish Grape

As you ponder the beauty of this lacquer, keep in mind that my skin tone is not the best showcase for lavender. And still, it looks wonderful! The way Carrie creates luster and luminosity with shimmer in these Cotton Candy Mattes is a marvel in this world and I am loving it. This polish is so dreamy. For me, it brings to mind nothing so much as silky lingerie, a lustrous negligee or gown or a floaty silk peignoir. It's like the essence of femininity. And the color is not so silvered or "greyed" that it ever appears muddy -- even in very low light it still registers as lavender. Nice!

love,
Liz

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Contrary Polish Blue Raspberry

Like Green Apple, Blue Raspberry was released in May this year by Missouri-based indie polish maker Contrary Polish as part of the Cotton Candy Mattes collection. This series can be worn with the natural matte finish or a glossy topcoat, and I've found that I like them best glossy so that's what you'll see here.

Officially described as a "turquoise blue with fine green shimmer," the base color of Blue Raspberry is a translucent but bright medium-toned sky blue along the lines of French sky blue, inclining slightly to azure on the azure/cyan spectrum. Ultrafine grassy green particulate shimmers reverse the inclination, giving the color more of a cyanic lean to a beautiful pool blue shade similar to Spanish sky blue. It reminds me of those glacially-fed lakes where glacial rock flour is suspended in the water and gives it a luminous bright blue color. The translucence of the formula allows plenty of light to penetrate and fire up the shimmers, creating a dimensional, ever-so-slightly milky luminosity to the look of the polish on the nail in ambient light and a fine mist of delicate green sparks in the sun.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Blue Raspberry is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a biddable, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail that sets up fairly quickly but still gives you plenty of finesse time. Pigmentation is sheer, but builds nicely to evenly opaque coverage and full bottle color in three medium coats. Cleanup is easy. Blue Raspberry dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, matte finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers and gives the color a luminous appearance.

Photos show three coats of Blue Raspberry over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Contrary Polish Blue Raspberry

I love the translucence of the color and how delicately balanced the ratio of shimmer to base is in this polish. There's a certain lucidity and depth to the look that all but invites you to dive right in -- the very definition of a pool blue! A tiny bit of milkiness adds luminosity (thereby making it even more delicious, in my opinion), but the impact is clean, fresh and buoyant. So good!

xo,
Liz

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Contrary Polish Green Apple

Green Apple was released a little over a month ago by Missouri-based indie polish maker Contrary Polish as part of the Cotton Candy Mattes collection. I bought this collection with the intention of swatching the polishes matte, as created, but I'm finding that I like them better with a glossy topcoat. So that's how you'll see them here.

This polish is described as a "minty green with fine gold shimmer." The base color is actually a light cyanic shade of blue along the lines of Crayola's sky blue -- it's only due to the shimmers mixing their lemony gold color with the base that the polish appears green. It's a cool green that's kind of like a pale, milky variation of jungle green, a poolside sort of shade that also reminds me of green turquoise. The shimmers create a luminous, lemony, lit-from-within glow along the axis of light and add a dimensional, almost pearly silkiness to the look.

Application was dreamy. The consistency of Green Apple is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and an even, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail, a fabulous formula that all but paints itself on and is a true pleasure to finesse with Contrary's flattened-style brush. Pigmentation is sheer and requires three coats for wearable opacity, but you can get away with two on shorties. Cleanup is easy. Green Apple dries naturally in good time to a smooth, matte finish. The presence and effects of the shimmers are much more prominent with topcoat than in the natural matte state.

Photos show three coats of Green Apple over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Contrary Polish Green Apple

The camera is somewhat unforgiving with visible nail line in this polish but I assure you that in person you really have to be looking for it to notice it. I'm not usually one for sheerish polishes, but the translucent formula here creates a depth and dimension when layered over itself that is just exquisite, like the luminosity of milky sea glass or very delicate porcelain. It's quite striking, and plays beautifully with the milky quality of the color.

If you'd like to see how Green Apple looks with its natural matte finish, here are three blogs with reviews of the entire collection that show them matte and shiny both: Manicured & Marvelous, Addicted to Polish and Cosmetic Sanctuary.

love,
Liz