Lacquer Slacker Liz: Native War Paints

Showing posts with label Native War Paints. Show all posts

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Native War Paints Shift Change

Shift Change was released in June this year by Michigan-based indie polish maker Native War Paints as part of the Nifty Shifty collection, a series of six multichrome polishes with various combinations of glitters and flakies.

This polish is officially described as "a red/bronze/copper with chameleon iridescent glitter and gold holographic glitter in a red base." It's like a sparkling homage to fall leaf color! The base is basically sheer with a very light red tint in which is suspended the multichrome pigment along with copious tiny iridescent and holographic glitters. The shift spectrum runs a gamut of rich golden/bronzey brown through coppery russet with vermilion and flame highlights to orangey gold to chartreuse with a whisper of electric blue at the far end, with gradations along the way that make up a full fall arborescent range of color. The color you see most is a medium mahogany or sinopia, a smoldering reddish/coppery brown with aspects of rust and flame. The semi-metallic finish is studded with glitters, which throw out sparks in a rainbow of colors, most noticeably green, orange, red and gold.

Application was quite agreeable. The consistency of Shift Change is fluid and smooth with a thicker viscosity that I added polish thinner to at the outset. Thinned to more of a medium viscosity, it had a light, fluent, self-leveling spread over the nail with a bit of glitter tumbling and occasional stacking, but even dispersal, only one minor stickup and no protrusions over the free edge. Pigmentation is sheer, building to wearably opaque coverage in three coats for me. Medium coats are the way to go with this one, as even as you can make them and tip-wrapping with each one to avoid any undue sheerness there. Cleanup is easy. The glitters stick to skin, but can be dislodged with a little extra care. Shift Change dries naturally in good time to a pebbly-textured, shiny finish, mostly smoothed by topcoat.

Photos show three coats of Shift Change over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Native War Paints Shift Change

Eminently autumnal, no? It is especially dramatic in direct sun, where there's a brilliant mist of crimson particles along the axis of light and the base shades to a deep coffee color at the edges of the nail.

love,
Liz

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Native War Paints Cable Knit Sweater

Like yesterday's Cashmere Sweater, Cable Knit Sweateer was released in September 2015 by Illinois-based indie polish maker Native War Paints as part of the Cozy Sweaters collection. Creator Amanda describes it as a dark grey and I agree. As with Cashmere Sweater, this one looks substantially different on the nail than it does in the bottle, where it appears to be a medium grey-blue color with a hint of lavender. Once you get it on the nail, though, it's a deep creamy Davy's grey that leans to charcoal in low light and shade. It's brimming with warm golden particulate shimmers, creating an interesting contrast with the coolness of the base.

Application was fabulous. The consistency of Cable Knit Sweater is fluid, creamy and dense with a medium viscosity and a lush, velvety glide over the nail -- a spectacular, eminently paintable formula! Self-leveling properties are excellent as is pigmentation. One coat provides wearably opaque coverage. I added a second to see if it would make a difference but it really didn't. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Even though this polish is obviously very well-pigmented, I had no issues with pigment travel and not a trace of residual staining. Huzzah! Cable Knit Sweater dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best. Topcoat also enhances the presence of the shimmers.

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

Native War Paints Cable Knit Sweater

As you can see, in the sun the color lightens to a dense nickel grey and the shimmers are more distinct. But overall the shimmers are far less overt than I was expecting, and the color much darker. Still, it's a handsome, distinguished-looking shade with a subtle bronzey glow.

love,
Liz

Friday, February 26, 2016

Native War Paints Cashmere Sweater

Cashmere Sweater was released by Illionois-based indie polish maker Native War Paints (NWP) as part of the Cozy Sweaters collection in September 2015. This collection comprises six shimmer polishes inspired by NWP's number one best-seller My Favorite Sweater, a gold-shimmered teal shade originally released as part of the Autumn Romance collection for fall 2014.

Like the other Cozy Sweaters polishes, Cashmere Sweater is heavily laden with ultrafine golden particulate shimmers. Creator Amanda describes the base color as a berry pink. It's a slightly muted medium-toned strawberry shade along the lines of thulian pink, dense and creamy with a rosy aspect. The superabundant golden shimmers completely transform this pink on the nail to a much warmer flame color -- at least, on me. From what I've seen, Cashmere Sweater pulls more pinkish red on richer skin tones than mine. On me, it's definitely a glowing autumnal bittersweet shade that reminds me a little of terra cotta. The density of the shimmers is such that they give a dimensionalizing lit-from-with radiance to the look of the polish on the nail and impart a silky opulence to the finish.

Application was great! The consistency of Cashmere Sweater is fluid, creamy and dense with a medium viscosity and a velvety glide over the nail that has a little bit of pull to it. It went on best for me in thin to medium coats -- thinner coats will head off any proclivity to brushstrokiness -- and self-levels like a dream. NWP's brush flattened brush is somewhat bushy and holds a lot of polish, and I overloaded a nail or two before I got the hang of using it but after that it was smooth sailing. Pigmentation is very good with evenly opaque coverage in two coats, and cleanup is easy and straightforward. Cashmere Sweater dries naturally in good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best.

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

Native War Paints Cashmere Sweater

This is not one of those banal frosty shimmers from back in the day! This is a modern, glowing, artisinal shimmer in a rich color that drapes luxuriously over the nail like satin. I purchased the whole Cozy Sweaters collection and I'm really glad I did -- get ready to see more of them soon!

love,
Liz