Lacquer Slacker Liz: FUN Lacquer

Showing posts with label FUN Lacquer. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

FUN Lacquer Let the Sea Set You Free

Like Starry Night of the Summer, Let the Sea Set You Free was released in July this year by Singapore-based indie polish maker FUN Lacquer as part of the Summer 2016 collection. While creator Yuin describes it as an "ocean blue holographic polish with purple/blue/pink shimmer," it's actually a very complex, changeable blue shade that is difficult to pin down. It has a medium-light, translucent, somewhat cyanic blue base along the lines of Crayola's sky blue that is packed with tiny microflake shimmers in iridescent hues of purple, blue and pink, which give the polish a subtle transparent pinkish-purple sheen and reflective, semi-metallic finish. These shimmers transform the overall look a more azure-leaning color similar to Columbia blue, with a delicate smoky quality to it and subtle periwinkle overtones. The look brightens even more in the sun to a bold, sparkling azure that features a linear prismatic display, slightly dispersed and extra sparkly from the shimmers.

Application was great! The consistency of Let the Sea Set You Free is fluid, light and slightly fluffy from all of the microflake shimmers, with a medium viscosity and a smooth, even, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is sheer, but delivers completely opaque coverage and best representation of bottle color in three coats. Despite the abundance of microflakes and their potential for stickiness, cleanup is actually more or less trouble free. Let the Sea Set You Free dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers and does not inhibit the holographic properties of the polish at all.

Photos show three coats of Let the Sea Set You Free over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

FUN Lacquer Let the Sea Set You Free

This polish is difficult to photograph and I'm a little disappointed with how my pics turned out. They make it look like any old azure holo, which it's not. In person, it has this sleek, almost silvery semi-metallic finish with a pinkish/purplish sheen and an icy vibe that transcends the summery seasonality of the base color and gives it potential for winter wear, when those lovely, lighter, icy blues really come into their own.

Lexa's photos of this polish in her review of FUN Lacquer's Summer 2016 collection on her polish blog Glitterfingersss, here, are closer to what this polish is like in person than mine, plus you can actually see all of the tiny shimmers that blend in a little too well in my pics. She has mad polish-photography skillz! If you've never visited her blog, her photos are a feast for the eyes.

ttyl,
Liz

Saturday, August 20, 2016

FUN Lacquer Starry Night of the Summer

Starry Night of the Summer was originally released in 2014 by Singapore-based indie polish maker FUN Lacquer as part of the Summer 2014 collection. After a reformulation it has been re-released as part of the Summer 2016 collection, launched at the beginning of last month. The original was described as a midnight blue holo and version 2.0, as polish bloggers have been calling it, is characterized as navy blue. I don't know the original polish, but from what I understand and have seen from photos of both, 2.0 is lighter and brighter, "slightly bluer" as creator Yuin says.

The color of this dark blue linear holo is vivid and clean and to me it's a beautiful deep shade of ultramarine with subtle hints of violet, almost an indigo but not quite. Sumptuous and velvety on the nail, it shows a deep indigo heart in ambient light surrounded by a holographic shading of misty sapphire. In direct sun there's a sparkling linear prismatic display predominated by arcs of indigo and azure, trimmed by a slender band of deep spring green that segues into a trailing corona of yellow, orange and red sparks.

Application was dreamy. The consistency of Starry Night of the Summer is fluid, dense and very creamy with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. It sets up fairly quickly but not so soon that you don't have a chance to finesse your application -- just a lovely formula to work with! Pigmentation is excellent. It's opaque at one medium coat, although the color is noticeably deepened and enriched with the addition of a second. Cleanup is straightforward, with a skosh of pigment travel but very little visible residual staining, unusual for a dark blue as well-pigmented as this. Starry Night of the Summer dries naturally in very good time to a slightly flat finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic effects at all and actually seems to give the holographic particles more sparkle, especially in ambient light.

Photos show two coats of Starry Night of the Summer over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Please excuse any tiny glitters hiding out in my sidewalls, they are holdouts from the removal of yesterday's glittery manicure.

FUN Lacquer Starry Night of the Summer

Apologies for the lack of sun shots, it clouded over before I could take them. But you guys know holos well enough to imagine the dazzle of this polish's prismatic display in the sun!

This is another of FUN's most popular polishes and I can see why. The glorious deep ultramarine color and romantic name seem to generate a poignant sense of nostalgia that goes beyond simply recalling memories of summer nights passed. It's about a memory that we've all had at some point, of a particular time in a particular place marked by the sort of profound natural beauty that evokes an intensely-felt, spiritual sense of being intimately connected to marvel of life. It's a feeling that this beautiful polish has the capacity to conjure up, and it's a large part of what makes it so very special and appealing.

love,
Liz

Friday, August 19, 2016

FUN Lacquer Black Holo Witch over Cirque Memento Mori

Black Holo Witch was released in May this year by Singapore-based indie polish maker FUN Lacquer as part of the Simply Nailogical collection, a series of six polishes created in collaboration with the ever-hilarious, charismatic and talented Cristine of Simply Nailogical, blog HERE and youtube channel HERE. Between this collection and the recent release of her very own Picture Polish blogger collaboration shade, Holo Sphere, I'd say Cristine is having a bust-out year! You go, girl!

Like yesterday's 24 Karat Diamond, Black Holo Witch is a holographic microglitter bomb with a clear suspension base that can be used either as a topper or layered over itself as a full-coverage microglitter. What makes it special are the glitters. They are black AND holographic, which as Cristine says, is NOT the same as silver holographic microglitters in a black jelly base. "I prefer 100% pigmented glitters in a clear base, so you really get the purest of all holographic glitters and can see all the holos of the rainbow without being clouded or darkened by tinted jelly." The black microglitters are quite reflective aside from their holographic properties, and their presence lightens the black a bit and gives it a sort of powdery look in ambient light. Intensely holographic, they are at their best in direct light, producing a gorgeous blanket of pinpoint prismatic sparkle.

The microglitters here are super high quality, very tiny and fine. Cristine recommends sponging this polish on with a latex-free makeup sponge, a technique she has perfected to the point where she doesn't even need to do cleanup afterwards -- whatttt?! I really need to get some latex nail barrier and peel-off basecoat and try out this sponging of the glitter thing. In the meantime, I decided to try Black Holo Witch as a topper over a black creme, namely Memento Mori by NYC-based indie polish maker Cirque Colors, a one-coat jet black with a superb formula and a glossy finish.

I used two light coats of Black Holo Witch over Memento Mori. Black Holo Witch has a fluid, fairly smooth consistency with a medium viscosity and an easy, even spread over the nail. Do your cleanup as you go along to get those rogue glitters out of the picture! Black Holo Witch dries naturally in good time to a flat, textured finish. I used a layer of gel-effect topcoat followed by a layer of Seche Vite for a smooth, glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Black Holo Witch over one coat of Memento Mori topped with a coat of Pretty Serious Plump Up the Volume and finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

FUN Lacquer Black Holo Witch over Cirque Memento Mori

Apologies for the lack of sun shots, the ones I took just didn't represent the way the polish looks in person. But I think you can imagine the bling -- it's sensational! You can even see a trace of linear flare flash up and down the nail as you curl your fingers in the sun! For a better idea of the kind of sparkle Black Holo Witch generates, visit Cristine's review of the Simply Nailogical collection, here.

love,
Liz

Thursday, August 18, 2016

FUN Lacquer 24 Karat Diamond

24 Karat Diamond was originally released in 2014 by Singapore-based indie polish maker FUN Lacquer as a duo with its spectraflaired sister polish 24 Karat Diamond (H), one of three duos that made up the Birthday collection. Both versions are now part of FUN's permanent shades, and are among the brand's most popular polishes.

24 Karat Diamond is a silver holographic microglitter bomb with a clear suspension base that is designed to be used either as a topper or layered over itself as a full-coverage microglitter, which is how I wore it. It is created with special high quality holographic microglitters that creator Yuin tells us are much brighter and shinier than other microglitters. They are incredibly tiny and fine! I can't even imagine what it would be like to work with such nanoscale glitters, they must be lighter and finer than dust! On the nail, they create a twinkling blanket of pinpoint prismatic sparkle, even in the lowest ambient light. And in the sun, SHAZAAM! A solid field of massive rainblow bling will blow the minds of all you meet!

Application was great! The consistency of 24 Karat Diamond is fluid and exceptionally smooth with a thicker viscosity that I thinned to medium. It has a graceful, even spread over the nail with excellent glitter pay-off and distribution and is remarkably easy to manipulate with FUN's flattened, flexible brush. I barely had any cleanup to do, and you know me and my shaky hands! Coverage is of course provided exclusively by the microglitters, which are dense enough to render wearable opacity in two medium coats. Cleanup is best done as you go along for cleanest removal of extraneous glitters. 24 Karat Diamond dries naturally in very good time to a gently pebbled, shiny finish that is almost completely smoothed by a generous layer of topcoat.

Photos show two coats of 24 Karat Diamond over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

FUN Lacquer 24 Karat Diamond

As I was editing the photos I was surprised to discover that there are actually two sizes of glitter here. One is micro and the other is almost microscopic it's so teensy!

I almost did a do-over on this manicure. I wish I'd used three thinner coats instead of two medium ones. It looks a bit thick on the nail here for my taste, and in the sun shots you can see sparse patches in the coverage. But not every manicure turns out perfectly the first time you work with a polish, so there you go.

The silvery glitters give this polish a futuristic, sci-fi kind of feel -- it's kind of like stage make up for your nails! I love full-coverage holographic microglitters for their ability to make an impression, and this one certainly does!

love,
Liz