Lacquer Slacker Liz: Pahlish

Showing posts with label Pahlish. Show all posts

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Pahlish The Land of Tears

The Land of Tears was created by Shannon of Tennessee-based indie polish maker Pahlish exclusively for the March 2018 "Books" edition of Polish Pickup. It was inspired by the 1943 novella The Little Prince by French aristocrat, writer, poet, and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

I did not know what to say to him. I felt awkward and blundering. I did not know how I could reach him, where I could overtake him and go on hand in hand with him once more.

It is such a secret place, the land of tears.

This polish is described as a violet jelly with holographic pigments and flakes and olive-to-blue multichrome shimmer. The base color is a darker variation of violet that's brighter and more purple-leaning in the neck of the bottle than it is on the nail, where it assumes a duskier, somewhat indigo-esque appearance that's similar to Pantone's 2018 Color of the Year, ultra violet. The multichrome shimmers are quite conspicuous, reading as a broad, luminous mist of yellow-green along the axis of light. Abundant silvery holographic flakes stipple the finish, blanketing the look with prismatic sparkle in bright direct light.

Application was great! The consistency of The Land of Tears is fluid, full-bodied and smooth with a medium-to-slightly-thicker viscosity and a plush, even, self-leveling glide over the nail that likes to go on in medium to thicker coats. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. The Land of Tears dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish. Topcoat seems to bring out the rich violet of the base.

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

Pahlish The Land of Tears

Between the dusky violet base color, the holographic flakes and the prominent contrasting multichrome shimmers, this polish has an intruiging, cosmic quality on the nail that is a beautiful fit with its inspiration. Slightly subdued and inscrutable in ambient light, it brightens considerably and becomes more accessible in the sun. There's an elegant, poetic sensibility to the look that makes it more charismatic and fun to wear than I expected. Cool!

love,
Liz

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Pahlish Glacier Lake

Glacier Lake was released at the end of July this year by Tennessee-based indie polish maker Pahlish as a Bespoke Batch polish. Bespoke Batches polishes are stand-alone shades with a limited run, and this one is currently listed in Pahlish's big cartel shop although it's sold out right now. I don't know whether Shannon is planning a restock, but I hope she is because it's an amazing polish!

Shannon describes Glacier Lake as a "silvery blue scattered holographic with silver flakes and blue shimmer." Sounds simple enough but this is one of those magical, complex creations that almost defies description. On top of being powerfully holographic, it is so packed with shimmers and silvery flakes that it is difficult to know whether what you're seeing is the actual base color or a combination of the effects of its components! To my eye, the base is a light translucent blue-grey linear holo washed with silver from the flakes, creating a dynamic, reflective semi-metallic look that is veritably alive with sparkle and shimmer. Holographic pigment works within the base to generate shifting analogous hues of aquamarine, iceberg and steel blue, and in the sun, there's an utterly mind-blowing display, slightly dispersed but also boosted by the silver flakes into a sparkling melange of brilliant prismatic colors.

Application was dreamy. The consistency of Glacier Lake is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. The copious flakes are well-behaved for the most part, going on easily without too much tumbling and laying flat to the nail. The first coat is quite sheer but builds very quickly to wearably opaque coverage with the second. I added a third for the photos. Cleanup is mostly about chasing down rogue flakes that scatter themselves about the nail environs. Glacier Lake dries naturally in very good time to a remarkably smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat seems to amplify all of the component effects.

Photos show three coats of Glacier Lake over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Pahlish Glacier Lake

Tiny sun-glinted aquamarine seas, one on each nail. For a polish that has no glitter in it, Glacier Lake is unbelievably sparkly. Showy and sleek, it's just stunning!

Like I said, I do hope that Shannon restocks this polish because I know that certain polish enthusiasts out there with a predilection for sparkly light blues are going to want it in a big way. You know who you are! This one is, like, MADE for you!

love,
Liz

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Pahlish My Bespoke Psychopath II

My Bespoke Psychopath II was released earlier this month by Arkansas-based indie polish maker Pahlish as part of the Valentine's Bespoke Trio. It's a reformulation of the original My Bespoke Psychopath, which was part of creator Shannon's All of Time and Space Part II collection, released a year ago. Both of these are Whovian fandom collections, but the Valentine's Bespoke Valentine's Trio was inspired specifically by the character of River Song.

My Bespoke Psychopath II is a medium-dark Mardi Gras purple linear holo bearing abundant red particulate shimmers as well as tiny gleaming red metallic flakes. The plummy purple is rich and remarkably vibrant with a pearly magenta glow from the particulate shimmers, and the red flakes glisten as light travels over them. The holographic effects are athletic and responsive in almost any circumstance, with a gorgeous prismatic flare dominated by brilliant ultramarine blue in direct light.

Application was great! The consistency of My Bespoke Psychopath II is fluid, creamy and dense with a medium-thick viscosity and a plush flow over the nail. It likes to go on in medium to thicker coats and sets up fairly quickly. Self-leveling properties are very good and pigmentation is excellent -- it's very nearly a one-coater, although two coats are best for most even opacity and fullest holographic effects. Cleanup is fairly straightforward with a little bit of pigment travel but no residual staining. My Bespoke Psychopath II dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of My Bespoke Psychopath II over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Pahlish My Bespoke Psychopath II

This is a beautifully composed polish -- the ratios of components seem perfectly synched to allow each to shine individually and complement each other while simultaneously working together to create a resonant, dimensional look on the nail. Very nice!

ttyl,
Liz

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Pahlish The Wicked Years Duo: Mother Yackle and The Grimmerie

Mother Yackle and The Grimmerie make up The Wicked Years duo for February from Arkansas-based indie polish maker Pahlish, released earlier this month. This twosome was inspired by The Wicked Years series of books by American novelist Gregory Maquire. Amazingly, it's been almost two years since my last purchase of one of creator Shannon's monthly duos, Don't Hesitate. About time I tried another!

Mother Yackle is the base polish of the two, and is described as a blued-lilac cream. On me, it ended up as a light creamy blue-violet along the lines of tropical indigo, although it does go through some color changes during application. The light purple of the bottle color dries to a slightly bluer hue on the nail, and when I applied topcoat it developed random darker streaks and patches. Don't know what's up with that except that something in this polish obviously don't play well with Seche Vite. I was hoping that the streaking would be temporary and fade/even out as everything dried, but that didn't happen. You'll see what I mean in the photos.

Application was good. The consistency of Mother Yackle is fluid and creamy with a medium viscosity and a velvety glide over the nail. There's a bit of translucence to the formula that requires an even hand for most uniform coverage, which from what I've seen in other reviews can be had in two coats. My nail ridges and application required a third coat for consistent opacity across the nail. The way I paint often seems to result in coverage that is heavier in the center of the nail and thinner at the edges, especially if I'm using a brush that's a little bushy, as Pahlish's is. But hey, I got it on there! Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Mother Yackle dries naturally in good time to a beautiful glossy finish.

Photos show three coats of Mother Yackle over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. I'm not comfortable foregoing topcoat for photographs, but if I wasn't taking pictures I'd leave it off and go right for the topper.

Pahlish Mother Yackle

The Grimmerie is the topper of the duo. It has a clear suspension base bearing a mix of iridescent glitters, ultrachrome flakes in blue, magenta and purple, satin lavender dots and scattered soft gold holographic hex glitters. It's really pretty, with a nice random sparkle. The consistency was a bit viscous for me, and I added a generous amount of polish thinner to my bottle. After that I had no trouble with application and all components went on smoothly and lay flat to the nail. The glitter payoff wasn't as dense as I had hoped, so after painting on one coat I gingerly dabbed on a second and was happy with the look.

Photos show two coats of The Grimmerie over the Mother Yackle manicure above with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Pahlish The Grimmerie over Mother Yackle

It's been so long since I've had glitters that weren't micro-sized on my nails, I don't know how to act. Nor do I remember any of my old tricks to photograph a glitter polish so that it doesn't look like party leftovers, and even if I did I doubt that they'd work with my new camera. The Grimmerie has a much less chaotic feel than the pics might lead you to believe, the sparkly bits are nicely balanced and it allows plenty of the base to show and give coherence to the look.

Despite the unstable pigmentation of Mother Yackle, I'm really enjoying the twinkling speckled appearance of this duo and the pretty colors of the iridescent components as well as the random sparkles from the larger holographic hexes. And I love love LOVE those wonderful glowing satin lavender dots!

Now I'm off to go feed the dog and figure out what's for dinner -- all the while admiring my glittery tips, you can be sure... yes indeed, allow me to twirl my fingers in the air as I dish out this kibble....

ttfn,

Liz