Lacquer Slacker Liz: beige

Showing posts with label beige. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

A-England Katherine of Aragon

Like Sir Loyal Heart, Katherine of Aragon was released in November this year by British boutique polish maker A-England as part of the Tudoresque collection, a series of eight polishes inspired by English Tudor king Henry VIII (1491-1547) and his six wives. Katherine of Aragon (1485-1536), daughter of Spanish monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, was married first to Henry's brother Arthur, who died within six months. Her subsequent marriage to Henry lasted 23 years before Henry had it annulled after becoming infatuated with Anne Boleyn.

This is the most reserved shade of the collection, described by Adina as a "holographic antique gold like precious brocade." The color is a complex, semi-metallic variation of ecru-leaning greige with aspects of Vegas gold and straw, kind of like if you took sand, made it semi-metallic and gave it a transparent grey veil. In addition to holographic pigment, it's loaded with tiny, highly-reflective metallic microflake shimmers in bright yellow-gold that gleam as light travels over them, giving the dimensional, finely-grained visual texture of the polish a subtle sparkling aspect. In the sun there's a beautiful, smoothly-gradated prismatic flush of yellow, pink and pale slate blue punctuated with bright yellow-gold sparks from the microflake shimmers.

Application was fabulous. The consistency of Katherine of Aragon is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is very good to excellent, delivering completely even, opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward with a bit of dispersal and stickiness on the part of the microflake shimmers. Katherine of Aragon dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its very best.

Photos show two coats of Katherine of Aragon over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

A-England Katherine of Aragon

Even though it's perhaps not showcased to its best against my skintone, the velvety holographic effects and essential elegance so characteristic of the brand make this understated but complex sandy-colored neutral with its bright gold microflake shimmers a classically beautiful polish -- I can't help but admire it.

love,
Liz

Monday, June 5, 2017

Colors by Llarowe Blonde Ambition

Like Gemini Rising, Blonde Ambition was released in May 2014 by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the venerable Summer 2014 collection. This one is still available on the CbL website, where creator Leah Ann describes it as a "light nude taupe strong linear holo." It's an ash blonde or light beigey ecru color with honied, bronzey overtones, similar to a light French beige. Superabundant ultrafine holographic pigment gives it a lightly silvered quality, a luminous, silky, semi-metallic finish and phenomenal prismatic effects. In natural ambient light, it is swathed in shimmering, nacreous hues: lavender, pale pink, lemony gold and misty azure. Direct sun generates a dazzling, delineated holographic flare replete with arcs in every rainbow color that frames a glistening lick of semi-metallic palomino gold and shades to a gentle taupe at the sidewalls of the nail.

Application was delicious. The consistency of Blonde Ambition is fluid, full-bodied and very smooth with a medium-to-thicker viscosity to which I added polish thinner at the outset. Thinned, it had a creamy, even, self-leveling glide over the nail that was a joy to work with. Pigmentation is excellent, in my opinion. It is slightly sheer at one coat but goes on so evenly that it could easily be worn that way -- it looks terrific! Two coats delivers completely opaque coverage. I used three to ensure a totally smooth surface as my nail ridges create a somewhat faceted appearance with semi-metallic finishes. Cleanup is easy. Blonde Ambition dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not in any way inhibit the holographic properties of this polish.

Photos show three coats of Blonde Ambition over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Colors by Llarowe Blonde Ambition

Such a fabulous holo! The pale neutral color of the base allows for a pristine display of holographic effects, which are responsive even in very low light. It's as glorious as can be! The neutral base also gives this polish a stealthy, office-appropriate, shimmering platinum champagne color when it's not exposed to the sun.

I won't be posting for the next several days as I'll be up in Charlottesville VA for my beloved nephew's high school graduation and a quick visit with my sis and her family. He'll have a regular retinue of fans ready to scream their heads off and embarrass the heck out of him at the ceremony, which takes place at the John Paul Jones Arena. In my day, it was called University Hall. Site of many youthful adventures!

Anyway, I should be back and posting again by Saturday, 10 June. I just received my order of A-England's new four-polish collection, Sargent's Vision, from Color4Nails -- something to look forward to!

love,
Liz

Sunday, July 31, 2016

KBShimmer That's Nude To Me

That's Nude To Me was released at the beginning of June this year by Indiana-based indie polish maker KBShimmer as part of the Summer 2016 collection. It's a pale vinaceous or dusky pinkish buff color, kind of like a lighter, slightly sandier variation of the color pastel pink from the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names, a light mauvey pink-toned nude with creamy clay overtones. It is packed with finely-milled holographic pigment that reads as an exquisite pale gold shimmer in ambient light, also working to create delicate nacreous hues of pink lavender, champagne and misty queen pink within the base that dimensionalize the polish on the nail. In the sun there's a dainty shimmering linear flare featuring thin arcs of pasteled prismatic colors that floats over a glistening, semi-metallic underlay of dusky golden pink.

Application was divine. The consistency of That's Nude To Me is fluid, full-bodied and creamy with a medium viscosity and an easy, even sweep over the nail that self-levels like a dream. So good, and user-friendly too. I smacked the fresh polish on one nail with the non-business end of my cleanup brush (I'm coordinated like that) and took out a sizable patch. A careful dab of polish to the bare spot followed by a thin coat over all and you can't even tell it was there. Huzzah! Pigmentation is very good. A bit of sheerness to the first coat builds quickly to completely even opaque coverage with the second. Cleanup is easy, although if the color is as close to your skin tone as this one is on me you may have trouble seeing where you need to do it! That's Nude To Me dries naturally in very good time to a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic effects of this polish in any way.

Photos show two coats of That's Nude To Me over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

KBShimmer That's Nude To Me

Every now and then a nude polish comes along that delights and gratifies so poignantly, it feels like it could have been made just for you. For me, That's Nude To Me is one of those polishes. Two nails into this manicure and the hair on the back of my neck stood up (in a good way), my jaw dropped and it was like scrolls rolled down from the heavens to the faint sound of trumpets. YNBB perfection!

For those of you who have done theater, this polish is the perfect character shoe for your nails, even better, dare I say, than In Bare Form from the Summer 2014 collection. If you have cool-toned coloring and a special place in your heart for nude holos, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. There's also a taupier variation of pinkish-nude available in the misfit section of KBShimmer's shop called Acetone It Down that looks like it would be equally beautiful on richer complexions.

There's nothing quite like the thrill of being caught off-guard by an utterly gorgeous polish. Thanks, Christy Rose -- I needed that!

ttnt,
Liz

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Emily de Molly Four Weddings and a Manicure

Four Weddings and a Manicure was released last month by Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly as one of three custom limited edition polishes for June 2016 that Hayley created exclusively for members of Hella Holo Customs (HHC) Facebook group. HHC is a private group that solicits selected polish makers for custom polishes every month, which are then available only to members via a special ordering code or link posted in the group. It's easy to join! Just send an email to hellaholocustoms@gmail.com with “join” in the subject line and your facebook profile name in the message.

This particular polish is an exquisite light greige holo bearing ultraholo microglitters, pink microflake shimmers and gold particulate shimmers. The base color is a bone or very pale taupe grey, cool-toned and creamy with a pearly pink aspect and a delicate golden flash. Finely milled holographic pigment floods the polish with shimmering nacreous hues of cream, lavender and misty azure, spangled by tiny sparks in pastel prismatic colors from the microgltters.

Application was delightful. The consistency of Four Weddings and a Manicure is fluid, light and smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. For a component-laden polish, it is exceptionally easy to work with -- no dragging or patching or component misbehavior of any kind and accomodating to thin or thicker coats according to your painting preferences. Pigmentation is excellent, which surprised me because for some reason I was expecting this to be sheer. It's actually very close to being opaque in a single coat, with completely even opaque coverage in two. Cleanup, for me, was kind of disasterous. The tiny microglitters, loosed by acetone, went everywhere! You will see them happily ensconced about my nail environs in the pics. I recommend minimizing the need for cleanup by going for as clean a manicure as possible from the outset. Four Weddings and a Manicure dries naturally in very good time to a finish with a gentle pebbly texture from the microglitters, completely smoothed by one layer of topcoat. Topcoat does appear to inhibit the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show three coats of Four Weddings and a Funeral over Pretty Serious Rock On treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Emily de Molly Four Weddings and a Manicure

Utterly gorgeous! The gold shimmers create an underlying sheen over which the holographic effects and microglitters are suspended, adding a lot of depth and dimensionality to the look. In person, it is quite sleek and lively with all kinds of light play, so graceful and flattering and sparkly! I adore it!

And I love the name, too! Hella Holo Customs members participate in the development of the polishes that they solicit in all kinds of ways, including submitting inspirational photos and suggested names. Whoever came up with Four Weddings and a Manicure is a polish-naming genius!

In case you're interested, here's the photo for this lacquer that the group sent to creator Hayley for inspiration:

Hayley got this so right, it couldn't be any righter! Beautifully done!

ttyl,
Liz

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Different Dimension Champagne Rain

Champagne Rain was released last month by Indiana-based indie polish maker Different Dimension as part of the Let Them Eat Glitter collection, created in collaboration with Nicole from Young Wild & Polished. This glitterbomb consists of superabundant ultrafine holographic microglitters in silver and gold, which combine to create a champagne color on the nail. It's a pale, speckled, sandy shade, a little more golden than actual beach sand, that is incredibly dimensional when you look at it out of direct light. The microglitters are extremely tiny and fine, they must be like fairy dust to handle, with each particle emitting its own luminous glow interspersed by tiny sparks in pastel prismatic hues as light catches a glitter just right. In the sun, whoa! Crazy brilliant full-on rainbow sparkle!

Application was amazing. The consistency of Champagne Rain is fluid, light and surprisingly smooth with a thicker viscosity than I am comfortable with so I added some polish thinner at the outset. Once thinned, it went on beautifully with an even, fluent glide over the nail -- no stacking or stickups at all. Self-leveling properties are excellent as is glitter payoff -- the microglitters go on so evenly that you could easily wear as a sheer in one coat, and opaque coverage can be had in only two medium coats, insanely good for a glitterbomb like this. Cleanup also surprised me by being much easier than I expected. Acetone does free up those tiny glitters to free range over the nail environs, but most of them will disappear with a good handwashing. Champagne Rain dries naturally in very good time to a sandy textured finish that will eat right through a single layer of topcoat so if you like a glassy finish, plan on double topcoating.

Photos show two coats of Champagne Rain over treatment and basecoat with a surface-smoothing layer of Pretty Serious Plump Up the Volume followed by a layer of Seche Vite.

Different Dimension Champagne Rain

Different Dimension Champagne Rain -- blurry but blingy!

Different Dimension Champagne Rain

I think the thing I love most about Champagne Rain is just how very stealthy it is. Out of the sun it's a quiet neutral, with only the visual interest of its dimensionality to hint at its potential. Then in direct light, BOOM! Max insane bling!

My sister and her family have been visiting. They departed this afternoon for the drive back to Charlottesville, but not before I got to expose them to the prismatic wonders of Champagne Rain. "OMG!" they all cried out, everyone except for Fuzzy, who hollered "Oh no!" *lol*

love,
Liz