Lacquer Slacker Liz: Il Était Un Vernis

Showing posts with label Il Était Un Vernis. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Il Était Un Vernis Tap Dancing Rain

Like Velours by Sfumati and Farewell Party, Tap Dancing Rain was released last month by French boutique polish maker Il Était Un Vernis (IEUV) as part of the Choose Happy collection.

Co-creators Bé and Stephanie describe this one as a greyish sky blue with small metallic shimmer and a holographic veil. I see the color is a variation of powder blue with a bit of grey added -- but not so much that it becomes muddy or that you would mistake it for a grey. It's similar to the Australian standard for powder blue, a gentle, elegant shade. Tiny silvery microflake shimmers and finely-milled holographic pigment give the color a lovely sense of depth and dust it with delicate silvery motes and minute sparks of pale gold in ambient light, and light up in a sparkling, scattered flare of pasteled prismatic hues in the sun.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Tap Dancing Rain is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a nearly effortless, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail, a fantastic formula that is a joy to manipulate with the brand's flexible, flattened-style brush. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Tap Dancing Rain dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic effects in any way.

Photos show three coats of Tap Dancing Rain over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Il Était Un Vernis Tap Dancing Rain

This is exactly the kind of beautifully-balanced, sophisticated light blue that that I would expect to see from IEUV, a pan-seasonal shade that's not only excellent for wearing with your winter whites and earth tones during the colder months of the year but will also be absolutely wonderful for spring. The color kind of reminds me a little of some of Essie's older blue-grey shades, Cocktail Bling and Parka Perfect and (to a slightly lesser extent) Maximillian Strass-Her, although the shimmers and holo give this one a much more delicate and dimensional character. So pretty!

love,
Liz

Friday, November 17, 2017

Il Était Un Vernis Farewell Party

Like Velours by Sfumati, Farewell Party was released in October this year by French boutique polish maker Il Était Un Vernis as part of the Choose Happy collection.

Its listing in Il Était Un Vernis's big cartel shop describes this polish as a desaturated blue with purple undertones, bearing holographic particles and golden/coppery microflake shimmers that have a green shift. The color is kind of like a rich, weathered Prussian blue, a deep, resonant shade with aspects of midnight blue and an almost nautical vibe. It has a dusty quality courtesy of abundant holographic pigment and coppery microflake shimmers, which stealthily speckle the finish with pinpoint motes and tiny microflakes that gleam occasionally when they catch the light just right. There's a subtle (by holographic standards), somewhat scattered prismatic flush of multicolored sparks in the sun, with an emphasis on green and gold.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Farewell Party is fluid, dense and buttery smooth with a medium viscosity and a lush, creamy, self-leveling glide over the nail, a terrific formula that is easy to finesse with the brand's compact, flattened-style brush. Pigmentation is excellent and will deliver evenly opaque coverage in one medium coat, if desired. I used two. Cleanup is straightforward with some pigment travel and a hint of trace staining to dry areas. Farewell Party dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Farewell Party over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Il Était Un Vernis Farewell Party

I don't even know if I can properly describe how profoundly appealing and satisfying this polish is to me, I find it irresistible! The dusty Prussian blue color is straightforward but has an underlying richness and complexity that is simply divine, with hints of copper hidden in its depths and a soft, creamy, weathered, utterly delicious kind of patina to it that reminds me of the old dark blue '68 Volvo 144 that I drove for years. I wouldn't call it bold, but it's charismatic and stylish as all get out. A fantastic dark blue -- LOVE!

xo,
Liz

Monday, November 6, 2017

Il Était Un Vernis Velours by Sfumati

Velours by Sfumati was released last month by French boutique polish maker Il Était Un Vernis as part of the new Choose Happy collection. This is a blogger collaboration shade, created with Carolina of Sfumati, according to her design. As the name suggests, it was inspired by velvet. Read Carolina's post about Velours on her blog, here (translation from the original French by Google).

A luxurious shimmer polish with a metallic aspect and a sprinkling of holographic pigment, the color is a dark variation of crimson along the lines of red devil from Xona.com Color List. Ultrafine shimmers give it a silky, semi-metallic quality and create a luminous swath of brighter crimson along the axis of light, giving the polish that "lit from within" dimensionality so beloved by enthusiasts of this genre. The look is indeed reminiscent of fine silk velvet, simultaneously plush and sleek, with a lush, smoldering heart and a glowing crimson flash.

Application was superb. The consistency of Velours by Sfumati is fluid, light and smooth, with a medium viscosity and an even, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail that is a joy to work with, just the sort of beautiful, eminently-paintable formula that I've learned to expect from the brand. Pigmentation is excellent and will deliver evenly opaque coverage and full bottle color in one medium coat. I opted for two like I usually do, but it didn't alter the look of the polish at all. Cleanup is straightforward with some pigment travel as you might expect but little to no trace staining, hooray! Velours by Sfumati dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat accentuates the glowing, dimensional effects of the shimmers.

Photos show two coats of Velours by Sfumati over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Il Était Un Vernis Velours by Sfumati

Holy moly, this is ravishing! I am struggling to tear my eyes away from my nails to type, only to be drawn back almost immediately because I just can't get enough of this gleaming deep red's sumptuous depth and dimensionality. Co-creators Bé and Stephanie write that it is "an ode to femininity that will awaken the fire under the ice," and it certainly is. The touch of holographic pigment adds to the velvety effect by giving the look a subtle speckling that glistens in the light, but the shimmer is definitely the star of this show. A very sensuous, sexy polish! If you love deep, luminous, lit-from-within reds, you know what I'm going to say. Must have!

Available now from Il Était Un Vernis with extremely reasonable shipping to the US.

love,
Liz

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Il Était Un Vernis Let's Be Mermaids

Let's Be Mermaids was released in June this year by French boutique polish maker Il Était Un Vernis as part of the Mystical Fantasy Club collection. Let me start off by saying that this not your typical mermaid polish. Co-creator Stéphanie uses the idea of siren song to describe it in her post about the collection on De Tout Et De Rien -- I believe the name is intended to evoke the irresistible attraction of femininity in a magical, mythological sense. In any case, to stave off cognitive dissonance, I encourage you to set aside any expectations elicited by the name.

Described as a pinkish plum with a fuchsia metallic shift, Let's Be Mermaids is a vampy shimmer polish. The color is a dark, opaque variation of red-violet similar to vivid burgundy that seems to lean more to red or purple depending upon the kind of light in which it's viewed -- it has a distinctly purple aspect under incandescent light, for example. Ultrafine metallic particulate shimmers in fuchsia are more overt in the bottle than on the nail, but create a subtle, luminous mist of plum that floats over the base in ambient light and a stealthy lit-from-within glow in more direct light. A sprinkling of holographic pigment adds a touch of effervescence to the look.

Application was luscious. The consistency of Let's Be Mermaid is fluid, dense and very smooth with a medium viscosity and a lush, velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail that is amenable to thin or thicker coats as preference dictates and is easy to control with the brand's compact, flattened style brush. Pigmentation is very good. You get close to full bottle color on the first coat and evenly opaque coverage to the eye with two. Cleanup is straightforward with a skosh of pigment travel but surprisingly little residual staining. Let's Be Mermaids dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat brings out the plummy mist effect of the shimmers.

Photos show two coats of Let's Be Mermaids over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Il Était Un Vernis Let's Be Mermaids

This is what I personally call a "Kathye" polish, after one of my college friends whose predilection for deep, rich, vampy nail colors I used to marvel at back in the day and whose polish aesthetic left a lasting impression on me.

I'm noting that there seems to be a little more translucence to the look in the photos compared to how it appeared in person. It almost seems as if it could possibly have used a third coat -- or a more even hand during application. Such a rich, sensuous color!

love,
Liz

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Il Était Un Vernis To the Rainbow and Back

To the Rainbow and Back was released in June this year by French boutique polish maker Il Était Un Vernis as part of the Mystical Fantasy Club collection. Described by co-creator Il Était Un Vernis as a sky blue holographic polish, the base color is indeed a dreamy, sophisticated variation of sky blue that's difficult to pin down precisely. Delicately balanced between azure and cyan, there's the lightest kiss of blue-grey to it that puts it between the web color powder blue and Crayola's sky blue in terms of brightness. A creme-type holo, it has the kind of luminosity that is simultaneously milky and lucid, a certain softness that you feel you could just fall into. Ultrafine holographic pigment particles read as pale gold within the base in ambient light and generate a dainty, pastel-hued prismatic flush in the sun.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of To the Rainbow and Back is fluid, light and silky with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a buttery, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, a gorgeous, eminently-paintable formula that is a delight to work with. Pigmentation is very, very good, especially for such a light color, building easily to completely opaque coverage in two thin coats. Cleanup is easy. To the Rainbow and Back dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and delicate sparkle of the holographic pigment.

Photos show two coats of To the Rainbow and Back over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. As usual with sky blues, the polish color skews a tiny bit to azure in the ambient light pics. In person, it's closest to the way it looks in the direct sun images.

Il Était Un Vernis To the Rainbow and Back

I showed this polish to Fuzzy. "Is that French?" she asked. No lie!

This color is sunny enough for summer but possesses the kind of understated, pan-seasonal sophistication and elegance that I've learned to expect from Il Était Un Vernis. On the nail it is smooth, creamy and sleek, with a delicate, porcelain-like luminosity that flatters the fingers and hands. It's the kind of color you see porch ceilings painted in the south to give the illusion of sky overhead, and a more wearable, refined alternative to Carolina blue for you UNC fans out there.

love,
Liz