Lacquer Slacker Liz: Femme Fatale

Showing posts with label Femme Fatale. Show all posts

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Femme Fatale Sea Glimmer

Sea Glimmer was created by Sophie of Australian indie polish maker Femme Fatale Cosmetics as a Live Love Polish exclusive, released in June 2016. It is described as "a purple polish with iridescent gold shimmer and silver holographic microglitter." A sparkly, ethereal concoction with a transparent base tinted a shade of pigment violet, it's absolutely packed with superabundant ultrafine golden particulate shimmers and two sizes of silvery holographic microglitters, a scintillating, diaphanous look that's like the faerie ballet costume of your imagination. The gold shimmers a create glistening underlay over which the violet base drapes like sheer silk chiffon, revealing a shimmering swath of lemony gold along the axis of light delicately shaded with violet that deepens toward the edges of the nail, the whole densely spangled by bright, twinkling prismatic sparks.

Application was dreamy. The consistency of Sea Glimmer is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even slip over the nail that likes to go on in thin coats and is easy to manipulate with Femme Fatale's flattened-style brush. Self-leveling properties are very good and glitter payoff is excellent, dispersing easily and evenly over the nail without undue stacking, stickups or protrusions over the free edge. Coverage is provided by the component mix, dense enough to net wearable opacity in three coats although the polish is so beautiful and goes on so evenly that it could easily be worn as a sheer in one coat. I added a fourth for the photos, but the look did not differ significantly from three. Cleanup is a bear. I did mine as I went along, but even so the glitters, especially, are very sticky and the shimmers disperse to ensconce themselves about the nail environs. Sea Glimmer dries naturally in very good time to a gently textured finish that's not entirely smoothed by topcoat, but given the tremendous lightplay of the components, it doesn't need to be.

Photos show four coats of Sea Glimmer over ÜNT peel-off basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Femme Fatale Sea Glimmer

This is not a polish that can easily be captured in a still image and I'm a little dismayed by how my photos turned out. The gold shimmers are more fundamentally golden in person, and the look of the polish sleeker, more coherent and more richly colorful. For another look, check out Hayley's pics in her review on Emily de Molly.

Generally I don't much cotton to extremely sheer polishes, but Sophie's creations are an exception. She is the shimmer whisperer of nail polish makers, and it is almost always worth the time and care to build them to a wearable opacity. Sea Glimmer is a magical polish with a delicate, floaty, otherworldly feel and boatloads of dimensionalizing lightplay, like layers of crystal-studded tulle over shimmering charmeuse. Fantastical!

love,
Liz

p.s.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Femme Fatale Horae Awaits

Horae Awaits was released at the end of July/beginning of August this year by Australian indie polish maker Femme Fatale Cosmetics as part of the Birth of Venus collection. Creator Sophie describes it as a "very soft, cool-toned pale pink with scattered holographic microglitters and blue luminescence," and that's exactly what it is. The color is a light, creamy neutral pink touched with beige and grey for a dusky, nearly nude look. Superabundant ultrafine blue particulate shimmers produce an ethereal, luminiscent glow and give the color a lilac aspect in certain lights, while incredibly tiny silver holographic microglitter squares, scarcely larger than shimmers themselves, create a stealthy, exquisite twinkling effect from within the polish. Everything about this is soft and understated. The general look is very smooth with an almost palpable silky quality and a lustrous blue sheen.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Horae Awaits is fluid, light and very creamy with a medium viscosity and a nearly effortless buttery self-leveling slip over the nail, an absolutely beautiful formula that is very easy to work with. It likes to go on in thin coats and appreciates a light touch. Pigmentation is evenly sheer and buildable. Sophie notes that completely opaque coverage may take up to four coats, but I was happy with the look at three. Cleanup is easy. Horae Awaits dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, flat finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best. Topcoat also emphasizes the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Femme Fatale Horae Awaits

The look of this polish reminds me so much of the nacre on the inside of the coquina shells that we used to collect by the hundreds in Florida. I loved those little bivalves with their multiplicity of soft, pretty colors and pink interiors! My personal pinkage almost overwhelms this delicate shade, but I love it anyway. It's almost a YNBB color on me.

Horae Awaits is the last of four polishes that I purchased from the Birth of Venus collection, the others being Heavenly Raiment, Arrival of Venus and Isle of Cythera. My favorite of these four is Isle of Cythera, that green just sends me! I wish I'd added Breath of Zephros, Floral Rain and Upon Seafoam when I made my purchase (I was feeling a little skittish about buying so many), but I've enjoyed admiring them from afar. Wonderful collection, Sophie!

xo,
Liz

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Femme Fatale Isle of Cythera

Like Heavenly Raiment and Arrival of Venus, Isle of Cythera was released at the end of July/beginning of August this year by Australian indie polish maker Femme Fatale Cosmetics as part of the Birth of Venus collection, inspired by Botticelli's c. 1486 painting The Birth of Venus.

This is a linear holographic polish in a medium-toned dusky pine green with a foresty aspect that is gently silvered by holographic pigment, a smoky, sophisticated shade washed with holographically-nuanced hues of transparent indigo, olive and azure in ambient light. Superabundant fine golden shimmers read as tiny sparks of pale gold, chartreuse, spring green and even aqua through the base, adding a delicate twinkle to the sleek, semi-metallic look of the finish. Direct sun generates a powerful, fully-linear prismatic flare predominated by bright, sparkling arcs of azure and spring green that shades to a murky, enigmatic dark spring green around the edges of the nail.

Application was amazing. The consistency of Isle of Cythera is fluid, light and very creamy with a medium viscosity and a near-effortless, buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail. Fabulous formula! Pigmentation is very good, rendering completely even, opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Isle of Cythera dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat does not interfere with the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show two coats of Isle of Cythera over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Femme Fatale Isle of Cythera

The discrete sparkles of the shimmers lost out to the holographic effects in my photos, but they add a glamorous touch to the sophisticated nature of this polish. I love this color so much! The holo generates a rich palette of color in ambient light, not necessarily bright but sleek and dimensional. It has a particularly elegant and graceful quality on the nail that makes it exceptionally gratifying to wear. Beauty!

xo,
Liz

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Femme Fatale Arrival of Venus

Like Heavenly Raiment, Arrival of Venus was released at the end of July/beginning of August this year by Australian indie polish maker Femme Fatale Cosmetics as part of the Birth of Venus collection, inspired by Early Renaissance Italian painter Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. Described as a burnt orange linear holo, the color is a softened Spanish orange that is heavily silvered with finely-milled holographic pigment, giving the polish a beautiful shimmering silky look. Holographically-generated hues of red-violet and misty apricot shade and dimensionalize the base color in ambient light, and in direct sun there's a sparkling prismatic display with nicely delineated arcs in all of the rainbow colors framing a central blaze of bright coppery orange and deepening to burnt orange around the edges of the nail.

Application was amazing. The consistency of Arrival of Venus is fluid, full-bodied and incredibly creamy with an eminently-paintable medium viscosity and a near-effortless, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail. Really lovely! Pigmentation is slightly sheer but very even and builds quickly to wearable opacity in two coats. I added a third for the photos. Cleanup is easy. Arrival of Venus dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show three coats of Arrival of Venus over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Femme Fatale Arrival of Venus

The color is softer and more mellow than I was expecting in ambient light, although it does brighten up considerably in the sun. The holographic effects in this polish are stunning, and I adore the shimmering silky look they create. Complex holos like Chrysoprase, Ink of the Sea and Ruby Hare were what first drew me to Femme Fatale so I'm happy to see holos in this collection even without the intricacies of the earlier ones. Sophie does them so beautifully.

love,
Li