Lacquer Slacker Liz: Jade

Monday, November 18, 2013

Jade Extasy

Today's polish is from mainstream Brazilian polish maker Jade's holografico line and it's called Extasy. The spelling is intentional and despite what the Urban Dictionary will tell you it doesn't refer to an illegal substance. It's a portmanteau word, a combination of the Portuguese "êxtase" and the English "ecstasy."

Extasy (mentally, that is a hard word to type) is a medium soft silvery blue grey holo polish and like the other polishes in their holografico line it has an intense linear prismatic flair. This the second Jade holo in my collection -- I posted about Uau, an orange holo, last month -- and I managed to snag it on ebay. Score!

Like Uau, Extasy has a user-friendly liquid but dense consistency that applies beautifully and dries quickly to a silky smooth finish. Pigmentation is very good with completely opaque coverage in two coats. I applied two coats over Seche Rebuild treatment and Butter London Nail Foundation basecoat without any problems as there can sometimes be with highly holographic formulas (yes I'm looking at you, Layla). Likewise, I finished this manicure with a topcoat of Seche Vite that did not dull or seem to affect the holo flair in any way.

Most all of the photos show this polish displaying some amount of linear prismatic flair, even without direct light. I did manage to capture one image of it where the flair was completely absent, but I had to set about doing it on purpose. Extasy is just that holographic!


Jade Extasy, indirect natural light

Jade Extasy, indirect natural light

Jade Extasy, direct natural light

Jade Extasy, indirect natural light

Jade Extasy, full shade, no prismatic display

Jade Extasy, indirect natural light

Jade Extasy, indirect natural light with bonus topcoat bubble on ring finger

Jade Extasy, indirect natural light

Jade Extasy, prismatic flair in indirect natural light

Jade Extasy, prismatic flair in direct natural light

Jade Extasy, prismatic flair in indirect natural light

Jade Extasy, prismatic flair in direct natural light

Jade Extasy, direct natural light

Jade Extasy, indirect natural light

Jade Extasy, direct natural light

One happy side effect of having such a sensitive holo flair is that Extasy looks extremely glossy whenever the flair is present, which is practically all the time. The rainbow gradation with the lightest, brightest color in the center has a cool graphic "gloss bubble" effect, even in very low light (see especially the second whole hand shot, above). Neat!

The natural color of Extasy being soft and subdued as it is almost makes this polish something of a stealth holo. You could easily enjoy this in a professional setting, I would think. At least, I know I would enjoy it in a professional setting.

love,
Aunt Liz

Monday, October 7, 2013

Jade Uau!

You know how sometimes when you're beginning a manicure and you've got the polish on a finger nail or two and you just kind of instinctively stretch out your arm for a better look at what you just painted those nails with and your mind just goes "ahhhhhh... yes!"? I just had one of those moments with Jade Uau and was it sweet! Sometimes you just don't know what your mind's been craving until you get it on your nails.

Jade is a mainstream polish maker located in Brazil, where their products are well-known. Less so here in the US but you can get them from specialty online etailers like Llarowe. Like the other Brazilian makers I've had experience with, the polishes come in small 8ml flame-shaped bottles with long tapered tops. They make a line of fantastic true linear holos and Uau is one of them, a well-pigmented medium-light rich coppery orange linear holographic polish. The linear flair produced by this gem is nothing short of spectacular, and the fact that this linear holo is very user friendly just seals the deal.

Uau (which is Portuguese for the English interjection "wow"-- the polish's name actually includes an exclamation mark after it -- Uau! -- which I am omitting here to avoid confusion) has a liquid but dense consistency that is creamy and super easy to work with. No balding. No application problems over basecoat. No diminished holographic flair with topcoat. Applies like a dream. It's Aunt Liz proof! However, if you have any irregularities in your nail bed they will show with this polish, but you can diminish their presence with a good basecoat and/or ridge filler. Uau dries naturally in good time to a silky shine.

Photos show two easy coats of Jade Uau WITH NO CLEAN UP (a first!) over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Jade Uau!

Even with all of the holo theatrics, Uau is very light and comfy on the nail. The color reminds me of October and pumpkins and allspice and sugar maples changing color, it has a quintessentially fall feel and familiarity. I just love it. In low lighting indoors the orange color takes on a reflective coppery glow, with a delicious creamy orange look during the very rare moments when the holo flair is not present. But you kind of have to work to find those moments, because this polish is all about the holo.

Would we have it any other way? Oh hell no!

love,
Aunt Liz