Lacquer Slacker Liz: Lemming Lacquer

Showing posts with label Lemming Lacquer. Show all posts

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Lemming Lacquer Gryla

Gryla was released this past November by Illinois-based indie polish maker Lemming Lacquer as part of the Better Watch Out collection for holiday 2015. I absolutely love the name and inspiration for this collection, four polishes based on some of the more sinister Yuletide and Winter Solstice figures from Iceland, Germany and Austria. Here's what Cassie tells us about Gryla:

Gryla is a haggard giantess with hooves for feet and thirteen tails who lives in the mountains of Iceland. She has the ability to detect misbehaving children year-round and during the solstice she searches towns for naughty children to boil alive and make into a stew.

Let me tell you, there are some scary images of Gryla out there!

The polish, however, is completely lovely -- a medium silvery azure blue holo with a gleaming semi-metallic finish that has that distinctive dustiness common to some semi-metallic holos. It's as though it's been lightly powdered with micronic holo particles that now rest in a fine even layer on the surface, where they light up in pinpoint sparks of prismatic colors as light travels over them and produce a gauzy linear display in the sun. The color is something like a cross between cornflower and blue-grey, sleek and sophisticated with a certain aloofness and formality to it that I often associate with metallic shades. It's beautifully dimensional on the nail, shading outward from the axis of light to a deep steel blue around the edges of the nail.

The consistency of my bottle of Gryla was fluid and smooth but very thick -- too thick for my skills. I added quite a bit of polish thinner to get a viscosity that I was comfortable with. I prefer thin formulas over thicker ones, so maybe it's just me. Gryla also surface dried quite rapidly, so it was important to load the brush with enough polish to smoothly cover the nail without overworking it but not so much that brushstrokes will show in superfluous polish. I never did get it quite right. Fortunately the polish self-levels beautifully as it dries and, with topcoat, that helped to minimize brushstrokes. Pigmentation was very good, even after thinning, with completely even opaque coverage in two coats, and cleanup was easy and straightforward. Gryla surface dried very quickly but remained tender underneath until it was fully dry. The natural finish is smooth and shiny.

Photos show two coats of Gryla over Pretty Serious Rock On treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Lemming Lacquer Gryla

Nice! I know there are polish enthusiasts out there who love this sort of dusty holo. If you're one of them, this is one in an especially attractive color that is eminently wearable in any season.

I've really enjoyed my first haul of polishes from Lemming Lacquer: February 2016, All My Failings Exposed, Wicked Always Wins and today's Gryla. Beautiful colors, all of them! My favorite was All My Failings Exposed. That one is going on the 2016 list of favorites I've started to help me remember which polishes really stood out for me when it comes time to do an end-of-the-year post. I always love it when bloggers share their yearly lists of top polishes, and I hope to be organized enough to do it myself about nine or so months from now. We'll see!

love,
Liz

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Lemming Lacquer Wicked Always Wins

Wicked Always Wins was released at the end of November 2015 by Illinois-based indie polish maker Lemming Lacquer as part of the Villains Don't Get Happy Endings collection, a series of polishes inspired by the fairy tale drama television series Once Upon A Time, with names pulled from quotes in various episodes of the show. This particular polish is inspired by the character of Zelena, aka the Wicked Witch of the West (based on the character from L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz). The name is part of a quote from her debut in the twelfth episode of season three: "The Queen may be Evil, but I'm Wicked. And Wicked always wins."

Creator Cassie describes Wicked Always Wins as an emerald holo, particularly accurate given the lush, saturated quality of the color. It's a medium-dark jewel-like emerald green, bold and vibrant with just the perfect breath of blue to it. It is suffused with a bevy of analogous holographically-nuanced hues: jungle, forest, myrtle, pine, teal and shamrock greens enrich and dimensionalize the base color in almost all viewing circumstances. In direct sun, there's a brilliant linear holographic display with a central lick of deep intense cerulean bounded by a sparkling band of bright emerald with a corona of spring green sparks before shading to a deeper forest green around the edges of the nail.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Wicked Always Wins is fluid, full-bodied and dense with a thicker viscosity and a luxurious flow over the nail. After yesterday's success with All My Failings Exposed, I have a new appreciation for this sort of formula and finally get the "thick in a good way" used by polish enthusiasts to describe it. Wicked Always Wins appreciates a deliberate hand and a well-loaded brush. Self-leveling properties are excellent and pigmentation is outstanding with wearably opaque coverage in a single coat. Adding a second, though, will take fuller advantage of the native richness of the color and its holographic aspects. Cleanup was, as with yesterday's polish, surprisingly trouble-free, with some pigment travel but much less residual staining that you might expect from such a saturated shade. Wicked Always Wins dries naturally in good time to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat builds the shine to a vitreous gloss, adding to the depth of color without detracting from its holographic nature in any way.

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

Lemming Lacquer Wicked Always Wins

It's interesting to me that Carrie chose this beautiful emerald shade for her tribute to Zelena (which apparently is the word for green in several Slavic languages). In an interview about Once Upon A Time, actress Rebecca Mader -- who plays Zelena -- said that at least seven shades of green are used to create her green skin. From photos that I've seen, that look is much more virulent and Oz-like than this lush verdant emerald. I haven't seen any episodes of Once Upon A Time beyond the first two seasons, but I'm thinking that there must be certain sympathetic and admirable aspects to her character despite her wickedness. Please correct me if I am wrong!

I am lucky enough to have several great emerald greens in my collection, but I think that Wicked Always Wins is perhaps the most brilliant and complex of them all. Green polish lovers, take note!

ttfn,
Liz

Friday, March 11, 2016

Lemming Lacquer All My Failings Exposed

All My Failings Exposed was released at the end of January this year by Illinois-based indie polish maker Lemming Lacquer as part of The Music Collection Vol. 1. This series of seven polishes was inspired by popular music, with names taken from song lyrics. The inspiration for All My Failings Exposed was the song Love Will Tear Us Apart by British post-punk band Joy Division, released in June 1980 a month after the band's lead singer/lyricist Ian Curtis' death by suicide.

The polish is described by creator Cassie as a "deep-sea teal holographic polish." What a gloriously rich, strong, free-spirited color this is! It's a dark saturated green-blue, maybe not quite as green as Prussian blue but similarly deep and dense, a particularly crisp and vibrant variation of Atlantic blue. It reminds me of the blues in the famous woodblock print Under the Wave off Kanagawa by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). The abundant finely-milled holographic pigment gives the rich color a sumptuous dimensionality, generating a brilliant central blaze of co-mingled cerulean and ultramarine spangled with pinpoint sparks of bright sea green, which intensify in direct sun to jewel-toned peacock hues.

Application was a learning experience, a good one. The consistency of All My Failings Exposed is fluid, full-bodied and dense with a thicker viscosity and a plush glide over the nail that has some pull to it. As I've mentioned many times, thicker viscosities are not my forte. But I found a way to work more comfortably with this polish using a generously loaded brush and medium-to-thicker coats with a very deliberate hand, not so different from the technique I use to apply Seche Vite. Thankfully, All My Failings Exposed self-levels beautifully. It is superbly pigmented as well -- one generous coat will net wearably opaque coverage, but I always use at least two coats with a holographic polish. Cleanup was surprisingly easy. There's some pigment travel but very little residual staining. All My Failings Exposed dries naturally in good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat builds the shine to a becoming gloss and doesn't affect the holographic properties in any way that I could tell.

Photos show two coats of All My Failings Exposed over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Lemming Lacquer All My Failings Exposed

There's a fathomless, powerful, oceanic sense to this polish that brings to mind transatlantic crossings pre-19th century and what it must be like to be boundlessly surrounded by those deep, unpredictable waters. On the nail, it is simply stunning, with an exceptionally bold, exhilarating presence and the sort of heartbreaking beauty that provokes a profound sense of longing. Utterly gorgeous!

love,
Liz

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Lemming Lacquer February 2016

February 2017 was released last month by Illinois-based indie polish maker Lemming Lacquer as part of creator Cassie's ongoing limited edition polish of the month series. I recently placed my very first order with this indie brand. The logo is total TDF cuteness!

Lemming Lacquer February 2016

I mean, how adorable is that? Notice how the little bottle of polish in the logo is transparent, revealing the actual color of the polish inside -- such a clever detail! The unusual squared-off tapered hourglass bottle shape and tallish textured trumpet-like cap give the polish a distinctive bold look that I find fresh and appealing.

February 2016 is a medium-dark crimson linear holo. It's a vivid, dense, resonant shade of red with a cool lean in a jelly-esque formula that allows plenty of light in to illuminate the color and activate its holographic properties. Direct sun elicits a linear prismatic display predominated by an inner band of intense glowing indigo edged by a brilliant sparkling ribbon of bright red. In bright indirect light, the polish looks for all the world like the traditional candy apple red finish you see in auto paint, with a ton of depth and sparkle plus that special semi-metallic reflective kind of glow from deep within. Luscious!

Application was great! The consistency of February 2016 is fluid and super smooth with a medium-to-thicker viscosity and a fluent glide over the nail. Self-leveling properties are outstanding. The polish went on best for me in thin to medium coats. Lemming Lacquer's flattened flexible brush has a relatively long wand, but the thicker formula prevents flooding of the brush as can sometimes happen with a long wand. Pigmentation is excellent, delivering wearable opacity in a single coat if you have a generous hand. As always with a holo, though, two thin to medium coats are best for richest effects. Cleanup is fairly straightforward with some pigment travel and a hint of residual staining, not uncommon for a well-pigmented red. February 2016 dries naturally in fairly good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic properties in any way, and actually adds depth to the look of the polish on the nail.

Photos show two coats of February 2016 over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Lemming Lacquer February 2016

A beautifully done, super glossy red holo with that particularly fetching candy apple look, what's not to love?

I can see why indie polish makers feature limited edition polishes of the month. It gives them the opportunity to generate interest between collections and the luxury of producing one-off formulations and colors that don't need to be incorporated into a group the way polishes in a collection do. They can be single pours, even, obviating the necessity of maintaining an inventory. The only drawback to a limited edition is its raison d'être -- once it's gone, it's gone! Past its month-long lifespan, you'll have to look to the secondary market to find an LE if you want it.

But searching out a particular limited edition polish second-hand is kind of like the online version of brick-and-mortar "dusty hunting," an adventure in itself. If you're proficient at it, there's no telling what treasures you can add to your collection!

love,
Liz