Lacquer Slacker Liz: Fair Maiden Polish

Showing posts with label Fair Maiden Polish. Show all posts

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Fair Maiden Polish Cosmic Confection

Cosmic Confection was created by Sarah and Adrienne of Fair Maiden Polish especially for the February 2018 "Sugar Rush" edition of Polish Pickup. It's officially described as a "blue with a chromatic flame shifting from dark purple to teal, finished with various sizes of scattered holo pigment."

The shifts in this polish are so dynamic that there are almost always multiple colors visible at any given time. The primary impression it gives is of a lush, medium-dark teal blue with a bold, bright Munsell blue-green highlight along the axis of light and shadowy hints of darker violet-blue at the edges of the nail. From there it works it's way through all kinds of gradations of blue-green, cerulean, Byzantine blue, indigo and violet to a striking combination of dark cyan with a luminous, shimmering highlight of grape at the far end. Tiny holographic microglitters dot the look with brilliant, starry sparkle, mostly in blues and greens with occasional prismatic additions, and there's even a vestigial holographic flare in the sun, somewhat dispersed by the microglitters but extra sparkly because of them also.

Application was excellent. The consistency of Cosmic Confection is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail that went on best for me in medium coats. Pigmentation is fairly sheer, and I think the polish is at its best in three coats. I did my cleanup as I went along and had no issues. Cosmic Confection dries naturally in very good time to a surprisingly smooth and shiny finish. Very slight discernible texture from the glitters is easily smoothed by topcoat.

Photos show three coats of Cosmic Confection over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Fair Maiden Polish Cosmic Confection

This polish was inspired by a Midnight Galaxy Cupcake photo from the amazing chef/designer/photographer Nick Makrides of The Scran Line.

The Midnight Galaxy Cupcake, inspiration for Cosmic Confection. Photo by Nick Makrides.

Perfect!

The scope of this beautiful shifter is much more far-ranging and dynamic than you would guess from my pics. It's pretty sensational in person -- glamorous, exciting and incredibly evocative. It's like the starry alternative universe of your imagination, or coral spawning in some fantastic tropical sea, or a lush, Avatar-esque rainforest replete with tiny, twinkling, floating spores. So much WOW in this little bottle-- you can't take your eyes off it!

love,
Liz

Friday, August 4, 2017

Fair Maiden Sparkling Sangria

Sparkling Sangria was created by Sarah and Adrienne of Minnesota-based indie polish maker Fair Maiden Polish exclusively for the Cocktails & Mocktails July 2017 edition of Polish Pickup. Officially described as "a berry holographic with red flame and holographic sparkles," the base is a dark red-violet filled with ultrafine red metallic particulate shimmers, finely-milled holographic pigment and a healthy dose of larger holographic particles. The shimmers combine with the base color to create a beautiful medium-dark cranberry shade on the nail with an overt, flashy underlay of gleaming semi-metallic cardinal red, the whole liberally dusted with twinkling prismatic sparks. The holographic flare in the sun is especially sparkly and jewel-like, a dazzling arc of mixed prismatic sparkle that frames a central swath of semi-metallic silvery red and shades to a dark crimson at the sidewalls of the nail.

The consistency of Sparkling Sangria is fluid, dense and smooth with a medium-to-thicker viscosity to which I added a couple of squirts of polish thinner. Even thinned, it still retained quite a bit of density, with a full-bodied flow over the nail that went on most easily for me in generous coats. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Sparkling Sangria dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of Sparkling Sangria over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Fair Maiden Sparkling Sangria

Beautiful! And even better in person, especially in the sun. So sparkly!

Polish Pickup is an innovative take on the monthly polish box, releasing limited-edition, custom, theme-inspired polishes by a variety of makers for a four-day shopping period on the first Friday of each month on the Polish Pickup website. Each polish is available for purchase individually -- select only the polishes you want. There's a different theme every month, and thematic concepts for future themes can be submitted and voted on at the website as well. Get all the details HERE.

love,
Liz

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Fair Maiden Polish Cruel Summer

Like Sunglasses at Night, Cruel Summer was released earlier this month by Minnesota-based indie polish maker Fair Maiden Polish as part of the Summer 2017 collection. The polish shares its name with the 1983 song "Cruel Summer" by British girl group Bananarama, which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 during summer 1984.

Officially described as "a juicy neon melon with purple shimmer," this color is hot! It's kind of like if you took a creamy, dense medium-light rosy pink like Baker-Miller pink, amped up the intensity bigly and gave it electric tea rose orange overtones. It's filled with tiny light purple microflake shimmers that create a radiant, cool, misty swath of hot pink along the axis of light, dimensionalizing the look and contrasting nicely with the searing orangey-pink tinge that resides around the edges of the nail.

Application was delicious. The consistency of Cruel Summer is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a nearly effortless, creamy, self-leveling slip over the nail, a fantastic formula that goes right where you put it and stays there and is amenable to thin or thicker coats as preference dictates. Pigmentation is very good. A bit of sheerness with a dark streak or two on the first coat builds easily to evenly opaque coverage with the second, although I added a third coat, which it really didn't need. I could have sworn I saw smile lines, but when the effect persisted after the third coat I realized it was an illusion created by the intensity of the color. Now you know, it only needs two, no matter what your eyes tell you!

Cleanup is fairly straightforward -- the shimmers like to stick to the nail a little bit but they will come off with patience. Cruel Summer dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth, semi-matte finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and glow of the shimmers, which appears to diffuse the natural glossiness of the topcoat somewhat -- another visual effect in this polish's bag of tricks.

Photos show three coats of Cruel Summer over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Fair Maiden Polish Cruel Summer

Fabulous! You gotta love it!

xo,
Liz

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Fair Maiden Polish Sunglasses at Night

Sunglasses at Night was just released this month by Minnesota-based indie polish maker Fair Maiden Polish as part of the Summer 2017 collection, a series of five polishes inspired by summer hits from the 80s. This particular polish is eponymously named for the song "Sunglasses at Night" by Canadian singer Corey Hart, which peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1984.

The base color here is very similar to eminence purple, a dark, cool-toned hue inclining to violet. It is jam-packed with ultrafine blue metallic particulate shimmers that read as royal blue in natural ambient light, overtaking the purple holographic base to give the polish a glowy, dimensional, semi-metallic appearance with a gleaming swath of royal blue along the axis of light that shades to a slightly darker, more indigo-esque shade at the sidewalls. The holographic pigment gives it a subtle, gossamer dusting of sparkle interspersed with larger scattered pinpoint sparks from tiny included holographic microglitters. In the sun, there's a somewhat vestigial but still noticeable arc of mixed rainbow sparkle.

Application involved a bit of a learning curve for me. The consistency of Sunglasses at Night is fluid and full-bodied, with a medium-to-thicker viscosity and a creamy, dense, self-leveling flow over the nail. I found it disposed to apply over-generously, and it took a little while to get the hang of wiping off the right amount of excess polish while still leaving enough to cover the nail smoothly and fluently. From the other reviews I've read, however, my experience appears to be completely idiosyncratic -- grain of salt, ho! Pigmentation is excellent, potentially a one-coater, but I used two for this manicure. Cleanup is straightforward. Sunglasses at Night dries naturally to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of Sunglasses at Night over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Fair Maiden Polish Sunglasses at Night

Sleek and gleaming on the nail, this beautiful shimmer polish has a few shifty visual tricks up its sleeve depending upon viewing circumstances. For example, although the blue of the shimmers takes precedence in natural light, under incandescent light the color reads as a gorgeous, deep, violet-leaning indigo with grape overtones and hints of of navy at the sidewalls, the whole strewn with bright prismatic sparks that twinkle glamorously with every movement of your fingers. Yum!

love,
Liz

Friday, February 24, 2017

Fair Maiden Polish Starry Night

Starry Night was released in November 2015 by Minnesota-based indie polish maker Fair Maiden Polish as part of the Winter at Dusk collection. It is a deep blue linear holo with golden microflake shimmers. The color is a dusky variation of midnight blue with a hint of grey to it, a deep smoky/denimy sort of hue that's similar to independence blue with aspects of rhythm from the Resene color list. Copious microflake shimmers read as pale gold and gleam brightly as light travels over them, giving the polish a flecked, heathery visual texture. Abundant finely-milled holographic pigment dimensionalizes the look in ambient light and displays a brilliant linear prismatic flare in direct sun.

Application was great! The consistency of Starry Night is fluid, full-bodied and a little sticky with a medium-to-thicker viscosity to which I added a bit of polish thinner at the outset. Thinned, it had a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail and went on best for me in medium coats from a well-loaded brush. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage and full bottle color in two coats. Cleanup is easy with no pigment travel or trace staining to speak of. Starry Night 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 Starry Night over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Fair Maiden Polish Starry Night

I am utterly smitten with this deep, tarnished blue and its scintillating metallic microflakes. The duskiness of the color really hits the sweet spot I have for unusual blues, and it has a soulful, artisanal quality that I find completely irresistible. Fantastic polish!

love,
Liz