Lacquer Slacker Liz: Priti NYC

Showing posts with label Priti NYC. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Priti NYC Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace was released by boutique polish maker Priti NYC as part of the recent Fall in Venezia collection. This is a very deep, super saturated pthalo or Winsor blue, a dark but brilliant, unsullied blue of a similar depth as federal blue but with a brighter, cleaner quality to the color. It displays a hint of duskiness in the bottle and there's a certain creamy aspect to it on the nail in natural light. It could easily pass as a bright navy, but again, it's cleaner than what I think of as navy. It's absolutely gorgeous under incandescent light, where it displays a jelly-like radiance despite the extreme depth of tone. In low light, it has a near black appearance but my eye still sees a deep, noble blue.

Application was delicious. The consistency of Crystal Palace is fluid, creamy and dense with a luxurious buttery glide over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. I found it easiest to manipulate with a moderate to generous brush load, and the viscosity is so nicely balanced that there's no running or pooling even if you have a fair amount of polish on the nail. Pigmentation is outstanding, with wearable opacity in one coat although I think the color is richer with two. Such excellent pigmentation in a dark blue means some care must be taken during cleanup, as too much acetone at once will cause extensive pigment travel with residual staining. Best to try for as clean a manicure as possible from the outset! Crystal Palace dries naturally in good time to a shade that's slightly darker than bottle color and a gorgeous glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Crystal Palace over Pretty Serious Rock On nail strengthening treatment and Girly Bits Smooth Move ridge filling basecoat (new to me and endearing itself rapidly) with a topcoat of Seche Vite, complete with a bubble or two.


Priti NYC Crystal Palace

Priti NYC Crystal Palace

My camera isn't the best at capturing dark shades, and I don't think my photos do proper justice to the rich qualities of this dark blue. It's outstanding!

love,
Liz

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Priti NYC Moonstone Cactus

Priti NYC recently had a 20% off sale for fall and I took advantage of the discount to order four lovely polishes from my wishlist, essentially doubling my small Priti collection. One of them is Moonstone Cactus from Priti's core line, a venerable shade that's been around since 2011 at least. Officially described simply as an "opaque blue-grey," this color is a beautiful example of Priti's flair for creating subtle complex hues with a modern, grownup sensibility. It's a lovely blend of slate and azure producing a medium-toned creamy crepuscular grey-ish blue that's a near perfect non-metallic match for Crayola's shadow blue. Leaning more to blue or grey depending upon the circumstances in which it's viewed, Moonstone Cactus has a fetching duskiness that makes it well-suited for those days when you want something gentler than the traditional fall fare of vampy deep-toned hues.

Application was delicious. The consistency of Moonstone Cactus is fluid, light and very creamy, with a buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail. Although quite fluid, it has a very nicely balanced viscosity for painting with no running or pooling. Pigmentation is excellent, with wearably opaque coverage in one coat. Adding a second coat gives a richer, deeper look to the color, highlighting its complexity. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with a teensy bit of pigment travel but no residual staining. Moonstone Cactus dries naturally in good time to a glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Moonstone Cactus over treatment and basecoat with a slightly bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite.

Priti NYC Moonstone Cactus

I think Moonstone Cactus is at its prettiest in low light, where the color develops a subtle undertone of soft twilight purple that is unexpected and really lovely. I wish I could have captured that look!

Up at the gym, I was doing bicep curls when my personal trainer remarked that this polish reminded her of a certain slatey blue paint color similar to what was once known as Williamsburg blue, a shade that probably reached its apogee of popularity in the 1980s when it was often referred to around here as "country" blue and commonly paired with a flat peachy pink in "country" decor schemes. Ugh. Personally, I find Moonstone Cactus much softer, creamier, more luminous and altogether more unusual than that old chestnut, but grudgingly admit a vague resemblance.

To me, Moonstone Cactus is actually kind of like a deeper, stormier cousin to Essie's Cocktail Bling. They have a similar subtleties to their coloring and share a certain hushed anticipatory aspect, like an overcast sky before a snowfall.

love,

Liz

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Priti NYC Cherry Ingram

Cherry Ingram was released by boutique polish maker Priti NYC as part of the Sailing in Sardinia collection for spring 2012. It is classified as a limited edition polish, but is still available on the Priti NYC website. Incidentally, the only other Priti NYC polish that I owned prior to my recent ebay spree, Spring Gentian, was also part of this quartet of beautiful Mediterranean blues. Cherry Ingram is the last polish I have to show you from my spree.

This one is described on the website as a "deep cerulean blue with shimmer," and I concur, although the photo of the bottle has more of an azure aspect to it in the listing than it does in person. The polish is a medium-dark marvelously rich true cerulean, a lush oceanic blue-green from the cyan family, bearing glowing ultrafine on-tone turquoise particulate shimmers that give the polish a bit of that "lit-from-within" look. It has a jewel-like quality on the nail and reminds me of the tourmaline species indicolite or London blue topaz. At oblique angles and in low light, it's quite dark, but in direct and bright indirect light the color is absolutely radiant. I love cerulean blues and this one really hits the spot for me.

Application was an exercise in delayed gratification. Cherry Ingram is an odd duck. It's much more translucent than the other Priti NYC polishes I've tried, although the formula had a similarly fluid, ultrasmooth consistency with very good self-leveling properties. Coverage is buildable, and I'm going to say flat out that this polish requires a minimum of three coats to look its best. The first coat is sheer and the polish dries to a satiny matte finish that does it no favors. I was like, oh hell to the no (as my nephew likes to say). The second coat was better but not by much. Opacity and even coverage finally got it together by the third coat but with that matte finish it just kind of lay there. I did my cleanup, such as it is, with a sinking heart and experienced some pigment travel but no residual staining. Cherry Ingram dries naturally in average time to the satiny matte finish, which I don't think flatters the polish at all. Finally, with topcoat, the color bloomed. It was like a miracle! I don't know why they created this to dry matte, it absolutely requires a glossy topcoat to look its best.

Photos show three coats of Cherry Ingram over treatment and basecoat with a bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite. I'm going to blame the pervasive humidity of late for the fact that I can't seem to apply a non-bubbly layer of topcoat to save my life.


Priti NYC Cherry Ingram

Priti NYC Cherry Ingram

My camera had difficulty rendering this color accurately, so I had to tweak the hue in photoshop a tiny bit. But isn't it gorgeous? Eat it with a spoon!

The name of this polish comes from Omphalodes cappadocica 'Cherry Ingram,' also known as Navelwort or Blue-eyed Mary, a low-growing flowering plant that's cousin to the Forget-me-not. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, they grow well in moist woodland settings. Airy sprays of flowers appear in early spring, deep blue at first, changing to violet. Their color is actually much more of a periwinkle than the cerulean of the polish, but what the hay.

I hope you've enjoyed these Priti NYC polishes! I know I have. Fuzzy has taken a real fancy to this polish maker, she loves their colors. I do too, and may have to spring for more! I missed taking advantage of Priti NYC's 30% off summer sale in July, dammit. I don't know that I want to wait for next July to acquire more of their beautiful colors, but at $15 a pop I may have to.

love,
Liz

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Priti NYC Hedge Hog Rose

Hedge Hog Rose was released by boutique polish maker Priti NYC as part of the Bahamas collection for summer 2013 in May of that year. Priti NYC describes it as a "bright coral pink." In bright light, less of the orangey/coral tones come through and it has the appearance of a Baker-Miller or flamingo pink, a rich creamy shade with a slightly warm lean. In dim light and shade, the glowing coral tones come out and it almost seems to have aspirations to neon. It reminds me of OPI Elephantastic Pink, not the most unusual shade but an exceptionally attractive one that has a fresh, youthful feel on the nail. From what I understand, it also makes a wonderful summer pedicure color.

Application was great! The formula is on track with the other Priti NYC polishes I've experienced, with a fluid, light, ultra creamy consistency that has a luscious silky glide over the nail. Self-leveling properties were perhaps not quite as effective as the others, but still very good. These polishes seem to appreciate a bit of extra dry time between coats for most even application. Pigmentation is very good, with wearable opacity in two coats. I added a third to diminish the appearance of my nail ridges. There was a little bit of pigment travel during cleanup, but no residual staining. Hedge Hog Rose dries naturally in average time to a slightly warmer, richer shade than the bottle would lead you to believe and a beautiful glossy finish.

Photos show three coats of Hedge Hog Rose over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Priti NYC Hedge Hog Rose

Hedge Hog Rose has a lush floral quality to it that is quite fetching. The color here reminds me of petunias, zinnias, gerbera daisies, certain varieties of impatiens or even tulips more than it does the actual hedgehog rose, which I've learned comes in red and white as well as a bright cool pink. But it also reminds me very much of the Bahamas, where a white-based tint of this shade is a popular color for buildings of all kinds.

Priti NYC's company name is taken from the Sanskrit word "priti," with multiple meanings including "“out of satisfaction,” “with love” or “pleasurable sensation.” Sanskrit is the the primary liturgical language of Hinduism. I suspect the pronunciation is the same as or very close to the English word "pretty," which is a sweet homophonic connection for a beauty product, no?

love,
Liz

Friday, August 7, 2015

Priti NYC Black Prince Orchid

Priti NYC describes Black Prince Orchid as a "dark reddish fuchsia," but to my eye, this is a very deep plummy purple. It can take on the dark red look of venous blood in certain circumstances so there is indeed a reddish aspect to it. It's kind of like a cross between darkest scarlet and deep royal fuchsia, a bit more purple than the characteristic color of its namesake, the Cymbidium Tethys Black Prince orchid. The blending of hues in this shade is sleek and seamless, as organically-inspired colors must be to render natural inspirations with authenticity, and retains its rich coloring even in low light.

This is now the third Priti NYC polish I've worked with and with each one I learn a little more about the typical attributes of a Priti NYC formula. It's an interesting and ongoing process. Black Prince Orchid has a formula that is very like yesterday's Hadspen Blue; the consistency is quite fluid, light and ultra creamy, with an luxuriously smooth, self-leveling glide over the nail. It's a creme/jelly hybrid sort of formula, deeply pigmented but with a certain degree of translucence to it that you will notice immediately when you view it in direct sun. For that reason, thin, even coats are the best way to go with this polish. Two coats provide wearable coverage but three are best for most even opacity. Cleanup may provoke considerable pigment travel and some slight residual staining to skin, so ply the acetone with care. Black Prince Orchid dries naturally in average time to a deeper shade than the bottle color suggests and a beautiful glossy finish.

Photos show three coats of Black Prince Orchid over treatment and basecoat with a slightly bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite.

Priti NYC Black Prince Orchid

I appreciate the sleek elegance of this deep plum. It has a certain mysterious ambiguity to it that defies characterization. On the nail it is somewhat moody, which reflects my own outlook of late.

The world is too much with me.

love,
Liz