Lacquer Slacker Liz: Smitten Polish

Showing posts with label Smitten Polish. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Smitten Polish Buy Me a Boa and Drive Me to Reno

Buy Me a Boa and Drive Me to Reno was released in November 2015 by Missouri-based indie polish maker Smitten Polish, now Dreamland Lacquer, as part of the Christmas in Stars Hollow collection, a series of polishes inspired by the tv series Gilmore Girls. This polish has a bright medium-toned cerise-bordering-on-crimson jelly base bearing superabundant tiny holographic microglitters. Did you know that cerise is French for cherry? I didn't, and I've been using that word my whole life. The things nail polish will teach you! Buy Me a Boa is certainly a most delectable and vibrant cherry red and the jelly finish contributes a luscious squish to the look, which is blanketed with delicate sparkle from the dainty microglitters. The sparkle is predominantly red and violet until you get it into direct light, where all of the prismatic colors can be seen. An extremely pretty Dorothy's ruby slippers kind of look!

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Buy Me a Boa is fluid, light and smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and an even, self-leveling glide over the nail -- a fabulous formula that is a joy to paint with. Pigmentation is excellent for a jelly-based polish with even opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy and straightforward -- there's a tiny bit of pigment travel but no residual staining. Buy Me a Boa dries naturally in very good time to a slightly flat finish with a skosh of texture from the microglitters, easily smoothed with a generous layer of topcoat -- or two for a truly glassy finish.

Photos show two coats of Buy Me a Boa and Drive Me to Reno over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Apologies for the scruffiness of my cuticles and nail surrounds.

Smitten Polish Buy Me a Boa and Drive Me to Reno

I adore this fetching cherry red twinkler! It's so delightfully lively and flirty on the nail, and I find the color is extremely flattering. I've been twirling my fingers around ever since I put it on. It makes me want to make a big fruit salad or go shopping for expensive lingerie, neither of which is likely to occur. But I'm enjoying the feels.

love,
Liz

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Smitten Polish I Smell Snow

I Smell Snow was released by Missouri-based indie polish maker Smitten Polish, now Dreamland Lacquer, as part of the Christmas in Stars Hollow collection in late November 2015. This collection, one of the last Noelie released under the Smitten label, was inspired by and named for the American television series Gilmore Girls. I've never seen the show and wouldn't know anything about it if it weren't for indie polish makers like Noelie who have used it as a source of creative inspiration. These days, it seems like everything new I learn about popular culture I get from indie nail polish. (Because, as you know, I do in fact live under a rock.) Anyway, thanks to Jenny's excellent review of the Christmas in Stars Hollow collection on Lavish Layerings, I watched a few clips from Gilmore Girls and now I want to see more!

But about this polish, I Smell Snow. This is one of creator Noelie's full-coverage holographic microglitter polishes, for which she is justly famous, featuring mass quantities of the tiniest of holo microglitters. The base color is a very pale, translucent silvery azure bearing oodles of fine holo pigment, so delicate and pretty! With plenty of light penetrating and activating the holo effects , the effect is a wonderful sun-on-snow scattered prismatic sparkle in almost any circumstance -- there's even a linear flare in the sun.

Application was great! The consistency of I Smell Snow is fluid, light and very smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail. This is a user-friendly formula that is amenable to thin or thicker coats and is very easy to work with -- a good thing as the translucent nature of the base requires multiple coats for opacity. I ended up using four, but my nails are profoundly polish stained. For those with unstained nails, three will probably suffice, or it could be worn as a sheer at two if you don't mind a bit of visible nail line.

I actually broke out my Zoya Naked Manicure basecoat and color correctors for I Smell Snow after a trial manicure using my customary basecoat failed to preserve the delicate blue color from interference by the staining. The Naked Manicure components have light diffusers built into them as well as surface smoothing agents that are as or more effective than any ridge filler I've experienced. Really nice products! Even though they worked much better than my usual basecoat, I still needed four coats of polish before I was satisfied with the look.

Cleanup was easy and straightforward, even with the microglitters. I Smell Snow dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish.

Photos show four coats of I Smell Snow over Zoya Naked Base, a coat of Lavender Perfector and a coat of Pink Perfector, with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Smitten Polish I Smell Snow

Light colors really accentuate my pinkage, as you can see. Whatever! Despite the multiple coats, I just love this ethereal, misty twinkler. The silvery paleness of the blue is created by virtue of the translucent formula, not the addition of white, which is what makes it so exquisite. It's absolutely divine on the nail, cool, graceful and serene, and not at all overpowered by the prismatic sparkle.

Really, really pretty.

xo,
Liz

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Smitten Polish Cocoa & Cardis

Cocoa & Cardis was released by Missouri-based indie polish maker Smitten Polish as part of the Falling Leaves Tree-o for fall 2013. It's a dark cool brown linear holographic polish, a creme holo in an umber-based color that has the weight and tone of creamy dark chocolate in most lights. It's rich and sleek on the nail, and the finely-milled holographic pigment has a soft pale green twinkle in indirect light. In direct sun there's a slightly dispersed linear prismatic display of bright sparks in blue, green and red, which against the deep brown gives the polish a Christmasy feel to me.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Cocoa & Cardis is fluid, creamy and smooth, with a buttery glide over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. This is a user-friendly polish, on the thinner side but not runny, with a well-balanced viscosity for painting that is easy to manipulate with Smitten's flattened flexible brush. Pigmentation is excellent with completely even opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Cocoa & Cardis dries naturally in very good time to a silky smooth, slightly flat finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its best. Topcoat does not diminish the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

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

Smitten Polish Cocoa & Cardis

The cool sleek chocolate brown of Cocoa & Cardis is very different from the golden reddish brown of Seasonal Lattes from the Fall 2014 collection, which is the other brown holo from Smitten that I own. The former has more of a creme sort of base, while the base of Seasonal Lattes has a bit of crelly-ish translucence to it. Creator Noelie once again included a brown from the holo genre in this year's fall collection, What a Punny Autumn, this time a java-hued jelly-based microglitter loaded with holographic microglitters in orange and copper called Can You BeLeaf These Puns. From what I've seen, this brown falls somewhere between the relatively cool-toned Cocoa & Cardis and the warmth of Seasonal Lattes. Noelie is justly famous for her microglitters, so I may just have to snag this one!

Cocoa & Cardis is long discontinued, but I was able to score my bottle on StorEnvy.com, which isn't as enjoyable a place to search for older indies as it used to be. Shall I rant? Too many folks out to make a buck rather than simply destashing from their personal collections. There's even a seller, who seems to buy every new limited edition release possible, offering polish DECANTS. Maybe this is a good thing for those who just want to try out a polish, who would otherwise buy minis of these polishes. But I've never cottoned to minis. I like a full-size bottle of polish with a full-size brush, thank you. Nail polish decants -- it's just kind of hinky and smacks of profiteering. Not to mention how the profuse decant listings clutter up what used to be a reasonably simple search for indie polish on StorEnvy.

Thankfully (ha, see what I did there?), at least, I don't have to buy them!

love,
Liz

Friday, November 6, 2015

Smitten Polish The First Lobster

The First Lobster was released by Missouri-based indie polish maker Smitten Polish in December 2013 as part of the Love Actually collection, a series of polishes inspired by the 2003 British Christmas-themed romantic comedy film Love Actually, written and directed by Richard Curtis. It's a fire-bright vermilion linear holographic polish, a brilliant orange-red with aspects of coral and bittersweet, very lush and intense. The holo pigment is abundant and finely-milled, giving the polish a reflective semi-metallic appearance with omnipresent shading and effects. The prismatic flare has a glowing central flame-shaped flare of violet edged by swaths of shimmering orange and red that are dotted with bright sparks of green and blue, the whole floating over a lick of gleaming semi-metallic blood orange. In all circumstances and respects, this is an absolutely brilliant polish!

Application was fabulous. Even though my bottle may be going on two years old, the consistency is just as fluid and smooth as you could want. It's on the thinner side but not at all runny, with a silky flow over the nail and very good self-leveling properties. Pigmentation is excellent. Although I'd advocate two coats for maximum richness of color and holographic effects, wearably opaque coverage can be achieved in just one medium coat. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. The First Lobster dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat does not in any way diminish the polish's powerful holographic properties. Nice!

Photos show two coats of The First Lobster over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. It's once again overcast here today (also unseasonably warm and very humid, ugh!), so no sun shots, unfortunately.

Smitten Polish The First Lobster

Glorious! And it's even brighter in person that my photos show in this overcast light. You can't help but get a little zing of happiness and gratitude looking at this polish. It makes you feel like you've just received a wishlist gift from someone who knows you well.

Sadly, The First Lobster is long discontinued, although creator Noelie did bring it back for one brief restock in 2014 due to popular demand. I found this bottle on StorEnvy, for not a whole lot less than it cost new. In hindsight I'd have bought it even at full price, which would be around $11.50. It's just that special! Anyway, if you come across this in your visits to various blog and destash sales, grab it. It won't disappoint you.

love,
Liz