Lacquer Slacker Liz: Fancy Gloss

Showing posts with label Fancy Gloss. Show all posts

Monday, December 5, 2016

Fancy Gloss Denim Daze

When it comes to nail polish, I'm typically quite happy to indulge an impulse buy. I love the satisfaction of coming across swatches of some swoon-worthy lacquer and swooping immediately to the source to procure a bottle. But nothing gets my covet response going like a tantalizing Facebook post with a gorgeous swatch telling me there's only one left. You know what I mean! It's like, banzai! That's exactly the story of today's polish, Denim Daze by Florida-based indie polish maker Fancy Gloss Polish.

I first fell in love with this brand a couple of years ago for its beautiful creme holos. Now come to find out there's a slew of non-holo cremes available in delicious colors like only Fancy Gloss can do. Denim Daze is just such a polish. The color is a creamy medium-light blue-grey with an appealing dusky quality and covert violet overtones, a lightened storm-cloud color very similar to my favorite blue-grey hue, Crayola's blue bell. It's kind of like a greyed-out cornflower, with little to no green compared to blue, soft but resonant. I think it's divine!

Application was lovely. The consistency of Denim Daze is fluid, full-bodied and creamy with a medium viscosity and a luxe, velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail that has a tiny bit of pull to it. It likes to go on in medium coats and sets up fairly quickly, but not so fast that there isn't time to finesse the application. Pigmentation is excellent -- it's very nearly opaque in a single generous coat but thinner to medium coats are better with this fast-drying polish and you'll want two of them for most even opacity. Cleanup is easy. Denim Daze dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Denim Daze over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Fancy Gloss Denim Daze

There's a skosh more grey to this polish in person -- it's murkier and more melancholy than it looks in these pics.

Fancy Gloss's website is in maintenance mode at the moment, scheduled to be up and running on Sunday, 11 December at 8pm EST. Sadly, I believe Denim Daze has been discontinued, but there will be other cremes available at that time as well as thermals, the Winter collection and a new light blue creme holo in Fancy Gloss' inimitable style, Blue Moon, upon which my heart is fixed with an imperious will. At least, it feels pretty imperious when I look at that swatch!

love,
Liz

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Fancy Gloss Tree House

Tree House is the fourth and last of the polishes by Miami-based indie polish maker Fancy Gloss that I picked up from Llarowe during my Fancy Gloss mini-spree at the end of February. It's another wonderful yellow-green holo, a medium-light mossy avocado green holographic polish that lands between Lily Pad and Camo Home With Me on the spectrum. The color is quite soft for a yellow-green, subdued and somewhat silvered by the abundance of holo pigment it contains. The holo effects are softened as well, and I would classify this as a scattered type of holo. But in direct sun they deliver a gorgeous dimensional golden flair with a central wash of pale sparkly turquoise and spangled here and there with tiny sparks of red, a little shy for my camera but definitely apparent in person. In indirect light there's delicious dimensional shading to the base color, which I love. Most agreeable!

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Tree House is similar to the other Fancy Gloss lacquers I've experienced: fluid, light and creamy with an effortless, silky glide over the nail and outstanding self-leveling properties. Pigmentation is very good with a touch of sheerness to the first coat that builds easily to even, wearable opacity with the second. I really can't say too many good things about Fancy Gloss's formulas, they are superb and make for a delightful application experience. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Tree House dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not diminish the holographic properties of this polish in any way that I could tell.

Photos show two coats of Tree House over Seche Rebuild treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a slightly bubbly topcoat of Glisten and Glow HK Girl.

Fancy Gloss Tree House

From what I understand, Tree House has been discontinued by the maker and it's sold out at Llarowe, where I got mine. Actually most of Llarowe's Fancy Gloss stock appears to be sold out right now, but there are a few polishes available. The Fancy Gloss website is currently closed for maintenance with a notice that it will reopen on 27 April. If you enjoy the subtle shading and dimensionality of scattered holos, I urge you to be resilient in your pursuit of this brand. The formulas are outstanding and she makes some delicious colors.

love,
Liz

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries

Frozen Berries was the primary impetus for my petite Fancy Gloss spree when Llarowe had their debut stocking of the brand not too long ago. I first saw this polish, as many did, in a post by Sheila of Pointless Cafe. Instant covet! When Sheila later named it her favorite polish of 2014, the covet advanced to a lemming. Unsuccessful at obtaining it from Fancy Gloss, I jumped onto Llarowe the moment I learned that it was available and snagged it. Happy day!

I can easily understand Sheila's love for this beautiful lacquer. It's a gorgeous dimensional melding of deep violet, plum and berry tones with what I think must be at least two types of holographic pigment. There is the finely-milled stuff that produces a linear prismatic display as well as some larger particles that add colorful scattered sparkles to the overall look. In the shade, Frozen Berries is a mysterious deep but rich and vibrant violet, but in the sun... oh my! The plum tones burst forth and the prismatic flair, dominated by blue and red arcs, glows over a semi-metallic berry-colored sheen. The polish is beautifully speckled in the dimensional, Pointillist way of creamy holos, with sparks of analogous colors that induce the eye to blend them into a fuller range of tones.

Application was a delight. The consistency of Frozen Berries is fluid, light and creamy with a silky smooth, easily-manipulated glide over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. Pigmentation is also excellent with completely opaque coverage achievable in one coat. Two coats, though, will net you fuller, richer color and that's what I used for this manicure. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with no pigment traveling and no residual staining. Frozen Berries dries in very good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Frozen Berries over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Fancy Gloss Frozen Berries

This is such a luscious, beautifully blended color! It elicited three compliments when I was out today, two from complete strangers, which thrilled me to no end, and looked simply stunning under the lights at the gym. I have many deep purples in my stash, but none that bloom and glow as marvelously as Frozen Berries. It's one for the books.

love,
Liz

Monday, March 9, 2015

Fancy Gloss Camo Home with Me

Today I have another delicious yellow-green holo from indie polish maker Fancy Gloss to show you. It's called Camo Home with Me, and according to the label on the bottom of the bottle and its listing on Llarowe, it is the "new version." I'm guessing that the previous version may be what was in the swatch by Sheila of Pointless Cafe that left me all hot and bothered to get my hands on it. I'm not sure exactly how this new version differs but they are both gorgeous as far as I'm concerned.

The base color of Camo Home with Me is a darkened army green with some brownish undertones, sort of a cross between forest and olive drab. It's deep and rich, the sort of color I associate with wool and leather (I'd love to have a bag in this color) and contains abundant finely milled holo pigment providing the speckled, nuanced coloring that makes creamy holos so frickin beautiful. In direct sun, the holo lets loose with a fabulous prismatic flair that is dominated by forest green edged with gold, chartreuse and a bit of rusty red, with sparkles of bright kelly green across the nail. In indirect light it twinkles with discreet sparks of gold. On the nail it is moody and enigmatic with a gorgeous dimensional presentation that draws you in and makes you want to get to the bottom of its mystery.

Application was fabulous. As with its stablemate, Lily Pad, the consistency of Camo Home with Me is fluid, creamy and light with a smooth, easily-manipulated flow over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. Pigmentation is also excellent -- this is a one-coater for those who choose to roll that way. I used two coats for this manicure like I almost always do, but had full bottle color and even opacity after the first coat. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with no running of pigment or any trace of staining. How such easy cleanup can accompany a polish so well-pigmented that it covers in one coat is a mystery in this world, no? Gotta love it. Camo Home with Me dries naturally in good time to a smooth finish with a soft shine. I did not find that topcoat diminished the holo effects in any way, and this polish looks spectacular glossy.

Photos show two coats of Camo Home with Me over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Again, my nail surrounds are not pretty. I especially apologize for the appalling state of the hangnail on my left little finger nail. I'm gonna soak that little sucker in some hydrogen peroxide and see if I can't get it on the road to recovery before my next post.

Fancy Gloss Camo Home with Me

I do believe that Camo Home with Me has designs to unseat Darling Diva Dark Ritual as my favorite dark green holo... but I can't say that they truly compete with each other. Despite the fact that both are indeed dark green holos, they are quite dissimilar in the lean of the green and the nature of the holo display. There's plenty of room for them both in my happy stash of green holos.

Of course I had to ask my favorite army veteran and militaria expert (aka my significant other) whether Camo Home with Me was a true army green. In response I received an abbreviated dissertation on the history of the use of green in uniforms, equipment and vehicles, but the short answer is NO. Shock! According to him, it's too bright and colorful. Ok, FINE! I'm still going to call it an army green because that's clearly what it is intended to be. And it's sublime just the way it is.

love,
Liz