Lacquer Slacker Liz: Emily de Molly

Showing posts with label Emily de Molly. Show all posts

Monday, June 4, 2018

Emily de Molly LE 95

LE (Limited Edition) 95 was released in April this year by Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly, one of four LEs released that month. It's described as "a dark grey holo with subtle gold and copper shimmer and flakes." The color is indeed a silky dark grey with gentle blue and purple undertones, similar to gunmetal. It has the finely-grained visual texture that you see in holographic polishes, with a dimensional blue-violet heart in ambient light. Tiny gleaming microflake shimmers are clearly visible on close inspection -- their reflectivity gives them a silvery look against the dark grey and I think they impart a transparent silvery sheen to the look of the polish on the nail. In the sun, there's a gorgeous fully-linear prismatic display predominated by azure.

Application was lovely. The consistency of LE 95 is fluid, light and smooth with the thin-to-medium viscosity that I love and a buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. The shimmers like to stick to the nail, but cleanup is otherwise straightforward. LE 95 dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not interfere with the holographic effects in any way.

Photos show two coats of LE 95 over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Emily de Molly LE 95

If you like dark greys, this is a beautiful one, elegant and sleek on the nail with a touch of indie flavor from the scattered gleaming microflake shimmers and the transparent silvery sheen they seem to generate.

As you can see, I'm back to shorties again following a bad break on my swatching hand at the end of last month. *sad star!* Seems as though I had, like, YEARS (not entirely true, but it feels like it in retrospect) of continuously long nails until last fall. Since then, every two or three months I'll get one of those below-the-nail-line breaks/tears on that left hand. For some reason, I find it more difficult to paint and photograph nail polish with shorties. Luckily, my polish enthusiasm does not diminish with the length of my nails.

Continued apologies for the sporadic posting. Fuzzy has been in rehab following her 15 May knee replacement surgery and will be coming home tomorrow. She's walking well with a walker but is not allowed to drive until the beginning of July. She'll need some extra support around the house and I'll be running all of her errands and ferrying her to physical therapy several times a week, so I anticipate that you still won't be seeing very much of me here during June. I miss posting -- my days feel a little discombobulated without it.

love,
Liz

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Emily de Molly Prime Time

Prime Time was released last fall by Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly as one of nine new polishes for November 2017, all of them linear holos. This is the warmer of the two pinks from that release, which creator Hayley describes as a "coral/salmon strong holo." It's one of those holos where the prismatic effects are so powerful that they make it tricky to pin down the base color, but to my eye it's a medium-light, rose petal kind of pink similar to Crayola's tickle me pink, a creamy, buoyant shade that's gently silvered by holographic pigment. Pervasive holographic effects give it a gleaming, semi-metallic aspect on the nail with a rich golden pink underlay and a glowing lavender heart, nuancing the base with hues of mimi pink, misty rose, salmon and New York pink in ambient light. In direct light, there's a bold, sparkling, fully linear prismatic flare.

Application was a pleasure! The consistency of Prime Time is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and an easy, even, self-leveling slip over the nail with that feeling like it actually wants your manicure to be beautiful. Love! Pigmentation is excellent. I found it to be evenly opaque in one medium coat, but think that two intensifies the holographic effects and adds a bit more oomph to the color. Cleanup is easy. Prime Time dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not in any way interfere with the holographic properties.

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

Emily de Molly Prime Time

Stunningly prismatic in the way of Hayley's linear holos, with a radiant aura of breezy, graceful femininity. There's a certain rich sleekness to the color that reminds me a little of an old college favorite circa 1980, Revlon Cocoa Pearl. So pretty!

love,
Liz

Monday, March 12, 2018

Emily de Molly Little Whispers

Little Whispers was released last month by Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly as one of eight new polishes for February 2018. It's described as a grey-leaning purple with strong gold to green color-shifting shimmers and holographic microglitters. The color is a cloudy, medium-toned purplish grey, kind of like a darker lavender grey or a Spanish grey imbued with opera mauve. It's packed with fine gold-to-green shimmers that give it a sharply contrasting, reflective greenish-gold sheen along the axis of light, and abundant scattered holographic microglitters stipple the finish with twinkling prismatic sparks.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Little Whispers is fluid, smooth and slightly fluffy with a medium viscosity and a easy, fluent, self-leveling glide over the nail, an excellent formula that is a pleasure to work with. Pigmentation is very good -- two coats delivers completely even, opaque coverage. Cleanup is easy. Little Whispers dries naturally in very good time to a gently textured finish, easily smoothed by topcoat.

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

Emily de Molly Little Whispers

The prominent greenish-gold shimmer effects are an unusual accompaniment for this bruise-colored shade, giving it a certain electric, rarefied air that reminds me of the greenish light that suffuses the atmosphere just before a huge thunderstorm. On the nail, it has a similar sensibility -- the pause before the storm. A creative, unconventional beauty!

love,
Liz

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Emily de Molly Sugar Coated Memories

Sugar Coated Memories was created by Hayley of Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly especially for the "Sugar Rush" February 2017 edition of Polish Pickup. It is described as a bright red jelly filled with metallic silver flakes and silver holographic micro glitter. The color is a brilliant, intensely saturated, medium-toned variation of scarlet, similar to red-orange. Abundant, highly-reflective silver flakes read in bright hues of red, pink and orange from within the base and give the polish a foily, semi-metallic sensibility with a dappled visual texture that has tremendous light play -- gleam, glow, flash and sparkle -- interspersed with pinpoint prismatic sparks from the holographic microglitters. Fabulous!

Application was great! The consistency of Sugar Coated Memories is fluid and full-bodied with a medium consistency and a very even, self-leveling flow over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent -- it goes on so evenly and opaquely that you could easily wear it at one medium coat. Two deepens the color to match the bottle. Between pigment travel and sticky silver flakes, cleanup can get messy real fast -- ask me how I know! Best to go for as clean an application as possible and allow the polish a bit of dry-time before going in with the acetone-dampened cleanup brush. Sugar Coated Memories dries naturally in very good time to a slightly flat finish with a skosh of discernible texture from the components, easily smoothed by topcoat.

Photos show two coats of Sugar Coated Memories over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Emily de Molly Sugar Coated Memories

If you're after a high-energy, uber splashy look, here you go -- the very definition of eye-catching! The brilliant, saturated color and dynamic light play of the components make for a jazzy, flamboyant presence on the nail, like a glitzy stage costume -- sensational!

love,
Liz

Friday, February 23, 2018

Emily de Molly Memory Maker

Memory Maker was released at the end of January this year by Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly as part of the Valentine's Day Trio, officially described as "a dark raspberry red with blue shimmer and copper flakes." The color is a dark, dramatic, saturated variation of red-violet along the lines of Crayola's jazzberry jam, with aspects of Tyrian purple that wax and wane with the type and angle of light in which the polish is viewed. It has a richly opaque quality but there's still enough translucence to allow easy visibility of abundant, tiny bright blue microflake shimmers along the axis of light as well as small, reflective copper flakes, which gleam in bold hues of flame, raspberry and red as light travels over them.

Application was great! The consistency of Memory Maker is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a fluent, self-leveling glide over the nail. By and large, the copper flakes go on smoothly and disperse evenly with a few attempted protrusions over the free edge, easily rectified by a tip-wrapping swipe of EdM's compact, flattened-style brush. Pigmentation is excellent. There's only a hint of translucence on the first coat that you might not even notice until you apply the second, which does slightly deepen and add density to the color. A bit of pigment travel is released with cleanup, not entirely unexpected, and the shimmers and flakes are a little sticky. Memory Maker dries naturally in good time to a mostly smooth, shiny finish with occasional shallow dimpling from flakes at the surface of the polish. Topcoat accentuates the components beautifully.

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

Emily de Molly Memory Maker

Red-violet is among my favorite colors for polish and this dark beauty is fabulous -- bold, dramatic and seductive, filled with stealthy blue sparks and sensuous, twinkling gleams of analogous hues from the copper flakes embedded within. My photos don't completely capture the deliciousness of those flakes -- for a better idea of what they're like, check out Tracy's photos in her review of the Valentine's Day Trio on Olivia Jane Nails.

love,
Liz

Monday, February 19, 2018

Emily de Molly Coming Around Again

Coming Around Again was released in November 2017 by Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly as one of nine polishes for that month, all linear holos. Creator Hayley describes it simply as "a light brown strong holo," and I agree. The color is a soft, desaturated shade of rosy brown with aspects of copper that is fairly well-silvered by holographic pigment, which combines with the color to give the polish a gleaming coppery underlay. Powerfully holographic, it's in holo mode 24/7, even in shadow, with shimmering, misty swaths of pale violet and pink edged with whisper-thin ribbons of light red, yellow and pale azure washing the nail in ambient light. In the sun, there's a dazzling linear prismatic flare featuring the full retinue of rainbow colors.

Application was dreamy. The consistency of Coming Around Again is fluid, dense and very smooth with a medium viscosity and a buttery, even, self-leveling slip over the nail. Superb! Pigmentation is very good to excellent. It's close to if not wearably opaque at one coat but the addition of a second brings some extra density and presence to the color. Cleanup is easy. Coming Around Again dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not interfere with the holographic properties in any way.

Photos show two coats of Coming Around Again over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Emily de Molly Coming Around Again

If you like coppery polishes, this rosy tan holo is right up your alley! Besides the stunning prismatic effects, the most notable aspect here is the brilliant coppery underlay, sleek and gleaming along the axis of light. With an ethereal, nude-ish sensibility on the nail, this polish makes for a pleasing, effortlessly graceful neutral look. You really can't go wrong with one of Hayley's holos!

NPR, I love the song "Coming Around Again" that Carly Simon wrote and sang for the soundtrack of the 1986 movie Heartburn, which came out right after my marriage ended. Listening to it again, I remember clearly what a drag it was putting one foot in front of the other, day after day, trying to work my way out of that awful, heartbroken, lonesome time. The sense of inevitability in the music and lyrics and Carly's soulful contralto voice made an indelible impression, encapsulating the poignancy of that moment in my life more completely than any single memory ever could.

love,
Liz