Lacquer Slacker Liz: The Road to Polish Con

Showing posts with label The Road to Polish Con. Show all posts

Friday, November 24, 2017

Darling Diva Chi Town Divas

Chi Town Divas was created by Carrie of Minnesota-based indie polish maker Darling Diva Polish especially for Polish Con September 2017 in Chicago and released as part of the Road to Polish Con series in July this year.

I had originally thought that this was a microglitter, but it's not. The jelly-like base is a dark red that is similar in appearance to rich maroon. It is absolutely packed with silver holographic particles and tiny silver holographic microflakes, which glow in shades of silver, pink, rose and red from within the base as light travels over them and give the finish a delicious, finely-flecked appearance that reminds me of apple skin. In the sun, that glow becomes a sparkle and blankets the polish with a scattered carpet of bright rainbow sparks, and there's a gorgeous prismatic flush along the axis of light predominated by brilliant rosy pink, fuchsia and bright red.

The consistency of Chi Town Divas is fluid, dense and slightly sticky, with a thicker viscosity to which I added a couple of polish thinner at the outset. Even thinned, it retained a dense quality, with a lush, self-leveling glide over the nail. The holographic microflakes present absolutely no issues to application. Pigmentation is excellent, possibly a one-coater for some, but I used two for most even opacity and best depth of color. Cleanup is surprisingly easy. Chi Town Divas dries naturally in good time to a smooth, ever-so-slightly flat finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Chi Town Divas over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Darling Diva Chi Town Divas

Beautiful! There's more red to the color than a typical burgundy, which usually has strong purple tones to it, and the teeming holographic microflakes are dense enough to create a stealthy, semi-metallic underlay in a brilliant rosy hue. While not as overtly showy as a microglitter bomb or a conventional holo, there's boatloads of dimension and light play.

I like it. I like it very much!

love,
Liz

Monday, September 18, 2017

Cupcake Polish Mystic Blue

Mystic Blue was created by Sara of Texas-based indie polish maker Cupcake Polish especially for Polish Con September 2017 and released on the Polish Con website in July as part of The Road to Polish Con series. It will, of course, be available to those who attend Polish Con in Chicago at The Festival Hall, Navy Pier on 23 September 2017 -- less than a week away! If you want to go, tickets are still available at Eventbrite.

Described as an azure blue super linear holo with heavy green-to-blue colorshifting shimmers, the base color is an expansive, medium-light variation of azure similar to French sky blue. It's absolutely packed with those green-to-blue microflake shimmers, which add a dose of lush blue-green to the look. Amy McG of Polish Etc said that this polish made her feel like a mermaid and it's true! The shimmers are metallic and very reflective, giving the polish a sea green flash and a semi-metallic sheen on the nail that sparkles like the dickens. The holographic effects are strong and athletic and although they kind of outpace the semi-metallic aspect in photos, in person these two qualities share the stage remarkably well. There's a mobile, dimensionalizing prismatic flush in ambient light and a slightly dispersed but super sparkly linear flare in the sun.

Application was great! The consistency of Mystic Blue is fluid, dense and smooth with a medium-to-thicker viscosity that I added polish thinner to at the outset. Thinned, it had an easy glide over the nail that went on beautifully in thin to medium coats, very easy to control. Self-leveling properties are very good. As with most semi-metallic finishes, heavy nail ridges are likely to show, but I find that the addition of an extra coat will usually take care of them. Pigmentation is also very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats except for my ridgiest nail, my ring finger nail, which has three. Cleanup is a bit tetchy due to very sticky microflake shimmers and it's worth any extra effort to try and get as clean a manicure as possible to avoid having to deal with them. Mystic Blue dries naturally in good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not affect the holographic properties of this polish.

Photos show two coats (mostly) of Mystic Blue over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Apologies for the flaky fingers -- they are overdue for a KBShimmer Mani Shot soak.

Cupcake Polish Mystic Blue

I'm not too thrilled with my photos, which don't show the shimmer-related metallic aspects of this polish at all. Despite what you see here, this is not a typical simple linear holo. It is sleek and reflective on the nail, with a ton of sparkle and a beautiful sea green flash. A supremely mermaidian lacquer!

love,
Liz

Friday, August 25, 2017

Glisten & Glow Spirit of Chicago

Spirit of Chicago was created by Jill of Connecticut-based indie polish maker Glisten & Glow for Polish Con September 2017 and was released as part of the ongoing Road to Polish Con series on the Polish Con website at the end of last month.

Described as an indigo purple linear holo with violet and blue shimmers and silver microflakes, the color is a shimmery medium-light variation of indigo along the lines of pigment or web indigo, closer to violet than blue and subtly silvered courtesy of the holographic pigment and silver microflakes. It's packed with minute metallic microflake shimmers in blue and purple that combine with the silver flakies to give the polish a heathered, semi-metallic appearance that is almost foil-like. Sleek and reflective on the nail, it has a gleaming semi-metallic lavender pink underlay. The holographic effects are quite strong, especially in the sun, where there's a full linear prismatic flair.

Application was great! The consistency of Spirit of Chicago is fluid, light and slightly loamy with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, and all of the tiny flakes go on smoothly, laying flat to the nail without stacking, stickups or protrusions over the free edge. Pigmentation is very good. A tiny bit of translucence on the first coat builds easily to evenly opaque coverage with the second. Cleanup is fairly straightforward except that the touch of acetone frees up all of those sparkly shimmers to roam about the nail environs and ensconce themselves in the sidewalls -- but most of them will disappear with a good handwashing. Spirit of Chicago dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence of the blue and purple shimmers especially, and does not in any way compromise the holographic effects.

Photos show two coats of Spirit of Chicago over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Glisten & Glow Spirit of Chicago

I expected this polish to be a simple linear holo, and although it looks like a simple holo in photos there's more to it in person. Beautifully constructed and perfectly balanced, it has the abundant light play that you see in foily polishes seamlessly combined with the color and dimension-generating qualities of the holo, neither overshadows the other.

love,
Liz

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Contrary Polish Midway Magic

Midway Magic was created by Carrie of Missouri-based indie polish maker Contrary Polish for Polish Con September 2017 and released on the Polish Con website as part of the ongoing Road to Polish Con series on 23 July this year. Described as a deep crimson with purple/red/orange multichrome shimmers and a scattered holographic effect, the color is a dark variation of crimson along the lines of Harvard crimson, nudged to a deep, vampy red-violet appearance by abundant fine multichromatic shimmers, which generally read as purple and give the polish a misty purple sheen in ambient light. Depending upon the angle and orientation to light, the shimmers shift to a brilliant ruby and then to a glowing red-orange. The look is dusted with finely-milled holographic pigment that ignites in direct sun to create a delicate spray of infinitesimal sparkling motes in all of the rainbow colors.

Application was great! The consistency of Midway Magic is fluid, full-bodied and smooth with a medium-to-thicker viscosity that I added a bit polish thinner to at the outset. Slightly thinned, it had a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail with a tiny bit of pull to it. Pigmentation is very good. It is nearly opaque in one medium coat, with fully opaque, even coverage in two. Cleanup is straightforward with a tiny bit of pigment travel but little to no trace staining. Midway Magic dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of Midway Magic over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Contrary Polish Midway Magic

This is my favorite multichrome colorway, so I am predisposed to love this polish. The purple/red/orange spectrum with its spectacular sunset-hued shifts of color is just poignantly beautiful to me and it's perfectly couched here in the deep crimson base. The look generally is of a vampy red violet with a luxurious, velvety depth to it that is sleek and elegant on the nail. A gorgeous dark polish!

love,
Liz

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Different Dimension Odyssey II

Odyssey II was created by Missi of Indiana-based indie polish maker Different Dimension for Polish Con September 2017 and released as part of the ongoing Road to Polish Con series on the Polish Con website at the end of July. Officially described as a "bright magenta pink linear holo with hints of copper shimmer," the color is an effervescent, cool medium pink along the lines of deep pink light with aspects of rose pink and magenta, lightly silvered by holographic pigment. Powerfully holographic, it displays nuanced shades of lavender and ultra pink in ambient light. In the sun, there's a brilliant linear prismatic display featuring arcs in all of the rainbow colors surrounding a glistening lick of semi-metallic warm coppery pink and shading to magenta at the sidewalls of the nail.

Application was a delight. The consistency of Odyssey II is fluid, light and smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and an effortless, even, self-leveling slip over the nail. So nice! Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Odyssey II dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and effects of the copper shimmers, but does not inhibit the holographic effects of the polish at all.

Photos show two coats of Odyssey II over KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Different Dimension Odyssey II

What a wonderful polish this is, with its gorgeous, lively pink color, pronounced holographic effects and excellent, eminently-paintable formula!

I've been feeling disoriented and profoundly heartsick after the events in my hometown of Charlottesville last weekend (thus my sporadic posting this week), but as I was working with this polish my spirits finally began to lift. I'm sure that there are people out there that consider nail polish to be inconsequential or even trivial in the larger scheme of things. But anything that brings a bit of joy to life is a blessing and a force for good in this crazy world.

Thanks, Missi! I needed that!

love,
Liz