Lacquer Slacker Liz: burgundy

Showing posts with label burgundy. Show all posts

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Dreamland Lacquer Elfin Gorgeous

Elfin Gorgeous was released last month by Missouri-based indie polish maker Dreamland Artisan Nail Lacquer as one of two exclusive polishes available only from the brand's new stockist, Girly Bits. Officially described as a "deep wine red with scattered holo particles and fiery red microflakes," the color is an inky, rich burgundy hue with graceful purple undertones, similar to claret or bordeaux. It is liberally dusted with silvery holographic pigment particles, which gives it a slightly subdued look until you get topcoat on it. Abundant red microflake shimmers read as magenta from within the base, gleaming when the light hits them just right. In the sun there's a sparkling prismatic display, dispersed somewhat by the microflake shimmers to more of a scattered look.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Elfin Gorgeous is fluid and smooth with a medium-to-slightly thicker viscosity to which I added a bit of polish thinner as I often do with thicker polishes. Thinned, it still retained a dense quality, with a plush, creamy, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is very good and will net evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup was a little bit of a bear due to very sticky microflakes. Elfin Gorgeous dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. The look of the color on the nail becomes clearer and richer with topcoat, which also accentuates the presence of the microflake shimmers.

Photos show two coats of Elfin Gorgeous over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Dreamland Lacquer Elfin Gorgeous

I was surprised by the difference topcoat made with this polish. It had a rather muted, dusty quality prior, and I was honestly a little disappointed by the flatness of the color. But topcoat kind of wiped the dustiness away, clarifying the color and giving it a richer, more definitive presence. The finish still has the finely-grained aspect that you see in holos, but the holographic pigment particles seem less silvery, more prismatic, and the gleaming microflake shimmers are easier to see. A beautiful, elegant polish!

I will be traveling up to Charlottesville VA tomorrow to deliver gifts to various households, drink champagne, go my dad's Christmas party and hang out with my sis and her family. I won't be blogging or even online (much) while I'm gone and I've not yet figured out when I'll be coming home. Before New Year's most likely. Don't worry, I'll be back! Until then, I wish you a joyful and safe holiday. Thank you for spending time here! Salud!

love,
Liz

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

Friday, November 10, 2017

Illyrian Polish Lock

Lock was released last month by Texas-based indie polish maker Illyrian Polish as part of the Oogie Boys Trio, a limited troika of lacquers by Illyrian, Octopus Party Nail Lacquer and CrowsToes that was inspired by and named for the threesome of Halloween Town trick-or-treaters from the 1993 American stop-motion animated musical/dark fantasy film The Nightmare Before Christmas who serve as villain Oogie Boogie's henchmen.

Described as a burgundy holo with red flecks, the color is a dark red-violet or wine shade with a dimensional, blackened quality. Fine holographic pigment particles dust the finish, and superabundant tiny red metallic flakes light up as light travels over them and add a certain semi-metallic quality to the look, which is rich and tapestried.

Application was most agreeable! The consistency of Lock is fluid and dense with a medium-to-thicker viscosity and an even, velvety, self-leveling glide over the nails. The red flakies go on beautifully, flat to the nail with out stacking, stickups or protrusions over the free edge. Pigmentation is very good and delivers even opacity and full, rich bottle color in two coats. Cleanup was surprisingly easy. Lock dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

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

Illyrian Polish Lock

I love the richness and visual texture of this dark purpley-red, it feels absolutely perfect for this chilly, rainy November day. The gleaming red flakies are simply stunning, creating an almost glitter-like sparkle along the axis of light that adds to the interior illumination provided by the holo. There's a cozy plushness to the look that reminds me of velvet. A beautiful, very becoming polish!

xo,
Liz

Monday, November 6, 2017

Il Était Un Vernis Velours by Sfumati

Velours by Sfumati was released last month by French boutique polish maker Il Était Un Vernis as part of the new Choose Happy collection. This is a blogger collaboration shade, created with Carolina of Sfumati, according to her design. As the name suggests, it was inspired by velvet. Read Carolina's post about Velours on her blog, here (translation from the original French by Google).

A luxurious shimmer polish with a metallic aspect and a sprinkling of holographic pigment, the color is a dark variation of crimson along the lines of red devil from Xona.com Color List. Ultrafine shimmers give it a silky, semi-metallic quality and create a luminous swath of brighter crimson along the axis of light, giving the polish that "lit from within" dimensionality so beloved by enthusiasts of this genre. The look is indeed reminiscent of fine silk velvet, simultaneously plush and sleek, with a lush, smoldering heart and a glowing crimson flash.

Application was superb. The consistency of Velours by Sfumati is fluid, light and smooth, with a medium viscosity and an even, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail that is a joy to work with, just the sort of beautiful, eminently-paintable formula that I've learned to expect from the brand. Pigmentation is excellent and will deliver evenly opaque coverage and full bottle color in one medium coat. I opted for two like I usually do, but it didn't alter the look of the polish at all. Cleanup is straightforward with some pigment travel as you might expect but little to no trace staining, hooray! Velours by Sfumati dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat accentuates the glowing, dimensional effects of the shimmers.

Photos show two coats of Velours by Sfumati over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Il Était Un Vernis Velours by Sfumati

Holy moly, this is ravishing! I am struggling to tear my eyes away from my nails to type, only to be drawn back almost immediately because I just can't get enough of this gleaming deep red's sumptuous depth and dimensionality. Co-creators Bé and Stephanie write that it is "an ode to femininity that will awaken the fire under the ice," and it certainly is. The touch of holographic pigment adds to the velvety effect by giving the look a subtle speckling that glistens in the light, but the shimmer is definitely the star of this show. A very sensuous, sexy polish! If you love deep, luminous, lit-from-within reds, you know what I'm going to say. Must have!

Available now from Il Était Un Vernis with extremely reasonable shipping to the US.

love,
Liz

Saturday, October 21, 2017

KBShimmer Lady and The Vamp

Lady and The Vamp was released last month by Indiana-based indie polish maker KBShimmer as part of the Fall Blogger Collaboration collection, a series of fourteen polishes, twelve of which were designed from inspirational images submitted by KBShimmer bloggers. This particular polish was created with Lisa of Cosmetic Sanctuary and is described by Christy as "a deep vampy color burgundy red in our Mega Flame finish," a microglitter bomb featuring holographic microglitters in a colored base. You can read Lisa's post about Lady and The Vamp here.

The color here is a translucent dark wine with a strong purple aspect that gives it the look of a Tyrian purple on the nail. The darkness of the color is somewhat counterbalanced by superabundant silver holographic microglitters, which blanket the polish with a dense net of bright prismatic sparks in almost any light. It's downright dazzling in the sun, where the base color appears to brighten to a bold patriarch purple.

Application was great! The consistency of Lady and The Vamp is fluid and very smooth for a microglitter bomb, with a medium viscosity and a remarkably fluent and biddable glide over the nail that goes on naturally in thin-to-medium coats. Coverage is mostly provided by the microglitters, which are dense enough to provide wearable opacity in two coats. I used three for this manicure to avoid any bare-ish spots in the photos, but would happily wear it at two if I weren't taking pictures of it. I did my cleanup as I went along but experienced sticky glitters even so. My advice is to try for as clean a manicure as possible from the get go to minimize any necessary cleanup, and to do your cleanup as you go along while the polish is still wet. Lady and The Vamp dries naturally in very good time to a flat, textured finish that likes a double topcoat or a dedicated glitter-smoothing topcoat for a truly glossy, glitter-under-glass look.

Photos show three coats of Lady and The Vamp over ÜNT Ready for Takeoff peel off basecoat finished with a layer of Pretty Serious Plump Up The Volume plus a layer of Seche Vite to ensure drying of all the layers.

KBShimmer Lady and The Vamp

I love the glamorous, super-glittery sparkle of KBShimmer's Mega Flame polishes so there was no doubt that I'd love the look of this polish on my nails. I think the color and sparkle are especially becoming on my "Cinderella" right hand, which sports much shorter nails than my left. I try to remember the "jewels not tools" adage for both of my hands, but if I'm going to lapse it's inevitably with my right. Plus all of those right hand nails just seem to tear and crack more easily, so they're always relatively short. Anyway, if you've got shorties yourself, try a sparkly little vamp like this one on them and see if you don't love it!

xo,
Liz

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Vapid Lacquer Vampires Don't Sparkle

Vampires Don't Sparkle is a venerable Halloween shade from Texas-based indie polish maker Vapid Lacquer, having been released originally in 2014 from what I can tell. When it returned for 2017 with Vapid's restock this month along with several spooky cohorts, I just had to pick them up.

Described as "a deep, dark blood red shimmer," Vampires Don't Sparkle has a vampy, blackened-style burgundy or deep crimson base along the lines of Oklahoma crimson. It's filled with finely-milled red particulate shimmers that create a satiny, garnet-colored sheen along the axis of light that shades to very dark burgundy at the sidewalls, giving the polish a gorgeous, plush dimensionality on the nail.

Application went very well. I always have to fight a feeling of intimidation with dark polishes because of my potential for making a mess, but Vampires Don't Sparkle has a very tractable formula. The consistency is fluid, full-bodied and smooth with a medium viscosity and an even, self-leveling glide over the nail that likes to go on in medium coats. Pigmentation is excellent. Although I used two coats for this manicure, the polish was evenly opaque and at full bottle color with the first. Cleanup was easier than I expected, with a touch of pigment travel but little to no residual staining, huzzah! Vampires Don't Sparkle dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, satiny finish. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and accentuates the dimensionalizing effect of the shimmers.

Photos show two coats of Vampires Don't Sparkle over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Vapid Lacquer Vampires Don't Sparkle

My first thought upon applying this polish was just how classically beautiful it is. The color is luxuriously rich and the way the shimmers rise and brighten along the axis of light heightens that sense of opulence and gives the polish a sensuous velvety plushness on the nail that totally draws you in. Despite the blackened sensibility, it retains a burgundy glow in low light. Makes for a sexy, glamorous manicure with beaucoup wow factor, perfect for date night or a special occasion, excellent for the holidays.

love,
Liz