Lacquer Slacker Liz: Scofflaw Nail Varnish

Showing posts with label Scofflaw Nail Varnish. Show all posts

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Fire Imp

Fire Imp was released by Illinois-based indie polish maker Scofflaw Nail Varnish as part of the Winter 2016 collection earlier this month. Described by creator Finch as a red-orange coral, the color is a medium-toned Indian red, a creamy, dense tomato-esque coral with a gently muted quality and a southwestern vibe. Dusted with holographic pigment, it also bears abundant iridescent teal shimmers in perfect contrast to the base. The effect reminds me of the glaucous, waxy/powdery patina you sometimes see on smooth-skinned fruits, only here in sparkling teal and pale violet, giving the polish a certain futuristic bloom that is like what the fruit of Eden's tree of knowledge would be in my imagination -- dangerous fruit! In direct light, there's a subtle scintillating sparkle from the components, a glistening dewiness that freshens the look and plays well with its fruity qualities.

Applications was delicious. The consistency of Fire Imp is fluid, light and creamy with the thin-to-medium viscosity shared by its collection-mates, Diamond Dogs and Heavy Metal Sewing Circle. I've really loved the formula of all three of these polishes. They are on the thin side but possess a beautifully-balanced viscosity that makes them especially easy to work with and not at all runny -- while fast-drying overall, they don't set up and surface dry too quickly at the outset, giving you some time to finesse your application. Ugh, perfect! Amenable to thin or thicker coats, Fire Imp went on best for me in medium coats from a generously loaded brush. It's a sheer polish that builds quickly to wearable opacity in two coats, but I like it better at three, which seems to take best advantage of its holographic properties and shimmer effects. Clean up is easy and straightforward. Fire Imp dries naturally in very good time to a flat, satiny finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best.

Photos show three coats of Fire Imp over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Scofflaw Fire Imp

Although I think the color might work better with warmer skin tones than mine, I love the delicate composition, intensely creamy base and dewy iridescence of this polish. So very pretty -- it just glows!

love,
Liz

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Heavy Metal Sewing Circle

Like Diamond Dogs, Heavy Metal Sewing Circle was released earlier this month by Illinois-based indie polish maker Scofflaw Nail Varnish as part of the Winter 2016 collection. This is a particularly striking complex shimmer polish with a deep purpled-red burgundy jelly base bearing superabundant flecky bronze shimmers and a dusting of holographic pigment. The combination of the burgundy base with the bronze shimmers produces a fantastic burnt umber/cordovan color, a dark, sleek, burnished fusion of purple, red and brown that reminds me of fine, highly-polished cordovan leather. The glistening shimmers read variously as red, wine and bronze from within the base and create a scintillating twinkle in direct light, where there's also a scattering of bright prismatic sparkle from the holo pigment. A gleaming, near-metallic bronze flash adds a sense of meticulously-maintained opulence and an elegant, sort of statuesque vibe.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Heavy Metal Sewing Circle is fluid, light and creamy with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a smooth, self-leveling flow over the nail. This is a user-friendly polish that likes to go on in thinner coats and is easily manipulated with Scofflaw's round flexible brush. Pigmentation is very good, rendering wearably opaque coverage in two coats. I added a third to one nail to fix an edge, and then felt compelled to add a third to the rest of my nails as well. You kind have to do that with jelly-based polishes. It created an ever-so-slightly richer, deeper, more densely opaque appearance, I thought. Cleanup is surprisingly easy -- a little bit of pigment travel but no trace staining, huzzah! Heavy Metal Sewing Circle dries naturally in very good time to a mostly smooth finish with a just a hint of discernible texture, easily smoothed by topcoat. Topcoat also enhances the presence and effects of the components, especially the beautiful bronze flash.

Photos show three coats of Heavy Metal Sewing Circle over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Scofflaw Heavy Metal Sewing Circle

Heavy Metal Sewing Circle reminds me quite a bit of the now-retired Arcane Fire by Cirque, albeit with a darker, more purpled base color and bronze rather than gold shimmers. But they both have that insanely gorgeous, spangled glow where the light makes impact in a shimmering explosion of gleaming flecks before shading dramatically to sleek darkness around the edges of the nail.

From what I remember of Arcane Fire, Heavy Metal Sewing Circle has the better formula, and I think it's the more sophisticated of the two. Just a beautifully rendered, elegant and distinctive shimmer polish!

xo,
Liz

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Diamond Dogs

Diamond Dogs was released by Illinois-based indie polish maker Scofflaw Nail Varnish during the first week of this month as part of the Winter 2016 collection. Creator Finch describes it as "a vivid sky blue with gold and bronze flakes and a delicate violet shimmer, named after David Bowie's iconic album...." Prescient, no? The medium-toned Carolina blue creme/jelly hybrid base, while creamy and translucent, has a gently weathered, somewhat nautical quality on the nail. Abundant variously-sizes flakes in bronze and gold float within, contrasting deliciously with the blue and gleaming brightly as light travels over them, and iridescent violet microflake shimmers add a glistening aspect to the polish, twinkling in shades of pale violet and blue.

Application was wonderful! The consistency of Diamond Dogs is fluid, light and smooth with a silky, self-leveling glide over the nail. It likes to go on in thin coats and is easy to manipulate with Scofflaw's round, flexible brush. The components are very well-behaved and lay flat to the nail without stacking or stickups and only occasional protrusions over the free edge that are easily taken care of with a tip-wrapping swipe of the brush. Pigmentation is sheer but buildable, with wearably opaque coverage in two to three coats depending upon painting style and nail condition. Furrowed and polish-stained as they are, my nails required three. Cleanup is easy and straightforward, with a bit of clinginess on the part of the components. Diamond Dogs dries naturally to a smooth finish with a barely discernible hint of texture. Topcoat accentuates the presence of the components and adds a becoming gloss.

Photos show three coats of Diamond Dogs over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Once again my finger tips are scruffy and disheveled, my apologies!

Scofflaw Diamond Dogs

This is my first experience with Scofflaw and I am impressed. There's a certain painterly quality to the look of Diamond Dogs that has a wonderful artisinal, crafted sense to it, and you know how I feel about speckled polishes. Love! From what I've seen, though, the color has a brighter, cleaner and more vibrant appearance on richer skin tones than mine, more of the true sky blue color as Finch describes and less of a Carolina blue -- I'm afraid that my pasty pale pinkage does not really do it proper justice. Take a look at Jenny's photos of it in her review of this collection on Lavish Layerings and see if you don't agree.

I managed to snag two other polishes from the same collection in addition to this one, and look forward to trying them!

ttyl,
Liz