Lacquer Slacker Liz: Indies Outside the Box

Showing posts with label Indies Outside the Box. Show all posts

Friday, February 17, 2017

Lollipop Posse Lacquer Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me

Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me is the last of the four polishes that make up the January 2017 edition of the Indies Outside the Box set. It was created by Karen of Ohio-based indie polish maker Lollipop Posse Lacquer, and my complete fascination with it was the primary impetus behind my purchase of this box.

Described as a sage green crelly with holographic and gold flakes plus purple shimmers, the base color here is a delicate tea green with a milky, porcelain-like translucence and a certain fresh, vibrant quality that kind of reminds me of mantis green, although this is a softer, more ethereal hue. Floating within are abundant gleaming golden flakes as well as daintier holographic flakes, giving the polish a dimensional, dappled visual texture and creating the sensation of having a miniature compendium of tiny treasures contained on each nail. Fine purple shimmers produce a transparent pinkish-purple glow along the axis of light, which sharpens to a sparkle in direct sun, where the base color brightens considerably and the holographic flakes veil the look in bright prismatic sparkle.

Application was amazing. The consistency of Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me is fluid, smooth and slightly fluffy with a medium viscosity and an effortless, buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail -- a fantastic formula that practically applies itself, so nice! Pigmentation is sheer and meant to be that way. There is still some visible nail line after three coats, but in my opinion this doesn't detract one bit from the beauty of the polish. I came as close as I ever could to a completely clean manicure with this, and what little cleanup I had was easy to do. Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me dries naturally in good time to a shiny, ever-so-gently textured finish. It is only somewhat smoothed by topcoat, but this quality, like its translucence, is a feature of the polish and takes nothing away from its charm.

Photos show three coats of Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Lollipop Posse Lacquer Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me

Amy McG. of Polish Etc. says that this color is perfect for spring and I agree -- looking at it on my nails right now is like seeing that first crocus after a long winter! If the tender green freshness of early spring leaves and the glistening treasures of a mermaid's grotto had a baby it would be this polish.

Here's the photo that Karen used for inspiration in creating Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me:

Of course I was predisposed to love this but it is even better -- prettier and more interesting -- than I thought it would be. And it has a fantastic formula, which I probably should have expected from Karen but still surprised me by just how wonderful it was to work with. It's my favorite of the four January 2017 Indies Outside the Box polishes, but they were all great polishes. Fun box!

love,
Liz

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Girly Bits Freeze Frame

Like Glittertini and Takes One to Snow One, Freeze Frame is also part of the January 2017 edition of Indies Outside the Box. Created exclusively for the collection by Pam of Canadian indie polish maker Girly Bits, it is officially described as a dusty violet purple holo with a pink sheen, blue glass fleck shimmers, blue multichrome flakes, and a scattering of silver holo glitter. The base color is indeed a softened, dusky violet, similar to but a touch deeper than African violet, an elegant, medium-toned shade with aspects of thistle. Finely-milled holographic pigment gives it heathery appearance and a dimensional prismatic bloom on the nail, and abundant tiny blue multichrome flakies gleam in bright, tropical sea hues as light hits them. Scattered holographic microglitters cast a fine, twinkling net of prismatic sparkle over the look, and together with the multichrome flakies create a rich, tapestried visual texture that is alive with light play.

Application was splendid. The consistency of Freeze Frame is fluid, smooth and dense with components, with a medium viscosity and an easy, even, self-leveling glide over the nail that is a pleasure to work with. Pigmentation is very good. Two coats deliver evenly opaque coverage and full, rich color. Cleanup is straightforward, although some of the components, the microglitters especially, can be a little sticky. Freeze Frame dries naturally in very good time to a mostly smooth, shiny finish with just the tiniest amount of texture, barely perceptible to the touch, that is easily smoothed with topcoat. Topcoat also brings the pink sheen to life.

Photos show two coats of Freeze Frame over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Girly Bits Freeze Frame

Here's the photo, selected by member of the Indies Outside the Box Fan-tastic Customs Facebook group, that Pam used as creative inspiration for Freeze Frame:

There's a lot going on in this polish, and as beautiful as it is in the bottle, it really didn't come together for me on the nail until I added topcoat, which accentuates the presence of all of those components and enlivens the purpley-pink sheen. The look is elegant and glamorous, and the closer you get to it the more there is to see and the more gorgeous it becomes. It really does remind me of some kind of sumptuous, shimmering, richly-woven textile, laced with bits of brightly gleaming blue and embedded with sparkling gems.

We are clouded up and rainy here today but the rich, sophisticated beauty of this polish in the diffused light of an overcast sky is such that I hardly even miss the sun!

love,
Liz

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Paint Box Polish Takes One to Snow One

Like Gittertini, today's polish is also from the January 2017 edition of Indies Outside the Box. It's Takes One to Snow One, by Indiana-based indie polish maker Paint Box Polish. It is officially described as "an icy turquoise creme with a dusting of charcoal grey flakes that is highlighted by a pink and gold shimmer." To my eye, the color is a creamy variation of cyan along the lines of Crayola's sky blue, a milky but vibrant shade that's a little cleaner and less green than turquoise or robin's egg blue. Scattered charcoal grey flakies give it a flecked appearance, and tiny pink and gold microflake shimmers glint as light travels over them. In the sun, the color brightens a bit and the microflake shimmers produce a delicate sparkle.

Application was top notch. The consistency of Takes One to Snow One is fluid, light and smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and an easy, silky slip over the nail that is amenable to thin or thicker coats as preference dictates. Self-leveling properties are very good for a milky shade, as is pigmentation, with slight sheerness and a few streaks on the first coat building to evenly opaque coverage with the second. I added a third coat to one hand to see whether it would make a difference, but it really didn't. Cleanup is easy. Takes One to Snow One dries naturally in good time to a smooth, flat finish that wants a nice topcoat to look its best. Topcoat also accentuates the presence of the pink and gold microflake shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Takes One to Snow One over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Paint Box Polish Takes One to Snow One

In person, I think that the blue has just a tiny touch more green to it than what you see in the pics. Here's the inspiration photo chosen by members of the Indies Outside the Box Fan-tastic Customs Facebook group that Pam used to create Takes One to Snow One:

This is such a lovely little polish! The color is bright and clean, and the charcoal flakies and microflake shimmers give it a distinct indie flavor. Love it!

xo,
Liz

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Top Shelf Lacquer Gittertini

For a person who professes not to buy polish box collections it sure seems like I've acquired quite a few of them over the past year. Sometimes I find myself attracted to the collection as a whole, but occasionally I'm so preternaturally fascinated by one of the polishes in particular that it tips me into buying the whole shebang. Such is the case with my latest box purchase, the January 2017 edition of Indies Outside the Box, a quarterly collaborative offering hosted by Karen of Lollipop Posse Lacquer and Amy of Top Shelf Lacquer, with two additional guest polish makers for each box. This particular edition features polishes from Pam of Girly Bits and Pam of Paint Box Polish.

The first polish from this box that I'll be showing you is Glittertini from Ohio-based polish maker Top Shelf Lacquer, a microglitter bomb bearing a mix of gold, bronze, purple and teal microglitters as well as silver holographic microglitters, all suspended in a clear base. On the nail, the general impression is of an utterly sparkle-iscious bronze metallic with gold and silver highlights. I don't usually care for gold glitters, but here they are softened by the bronze and silver and read as pale rather than yellow gold, a lovely and rather delicate effect. I love the charisma of the teal/turquoise and purple glitters, which stand out beautifully in this colorway and give it tons of Vegas-style glamor! And of course there is copious prismatic sparkle from those wonderful holographic microglitters, which pretty much takes over the look in the sun.

Application went very well. The consistency of Glittertini is fluid, full-bodied and smooth with a thicker viscosity to which I added polish thinner as is my habit with thicker polishes. Thinned to a medium viscosity, it had an easy glide over the nail, preferring a light touch for most evenly random glitter payoff, especially on the first coat. Coverage is excellent for a microglitter bomb, delivering a wearably opaque look in two medium coats. I added a thin third coat to minimize the appearance of my nail ridges, which were noticeable for some reason -- perhaps because of the added polish thinner -- and did my cleanup as I went along. Glittertini dries naturally in very good time to a shiny, textured finish that pretty much laughs at the surface-smoothing efforts of a single layer of topcoat. To get a glossy, glitter-under-glass look, I applied a layer of gel-effect topcoat followed by quick-dry.

Photos show three coats of Glittertini over UNT Ready for Takeoff peel-off basecoat topped with a layer of Pretty Serious Plum Up the Volume and a layer of Seche Vite.

Top Shelf Lacquer Gittertini

All of the polishes in Indies Outside the Box collections are based on inspiration photos selected by members of the Indies Outside the Box Fan-tastic Customs Facebook group. I find this inspired-by-a-photo approach to the creative process immensely appealing, and it's always exciting to see what polish makers come up with. The photo that inspired Glittertini is out of this world! Check it out:

Amy did an awesome job with this polish, no? It really hit the spot for me today!

love,
Liz