Lacquer Slacker Liz: glass fleck

Showing posts with label glass fleck. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Picture Polish Blossom

Like Cactus and Heaven, Blossom was released in March this year by Australian boutique polish maker Picture Polish as part of the Spring Autumn 2018 collection. This is yet another Collaboration shade, created with Paulina of Paulina's Passions, according to her design. You can view her post about Blossom here.

Officially described as a "shifting soft baby pink to lilac" jelly with pink glass fleck shimmers and PP's signature mix of holographic flakes, the color is a cool-toned, pastel tint of pink that's similar to a desaturated version of Pantone's Fairy Tale, milky and delicate. It has gentle lilac undertones that seem to assert themselves more or less depending on viewing circumstances. Subtle, scattered flecks in an ever-so-slightly brighter tone of pink glisten as light travels over them, and fine holographic flakes sparkle in hues of silver, pale gold and pastel pink and azure in the sun.

Application was a pleasure. The consistency of Blossom is fluid, light and creamy with a medium consistency and a fluent, easy glide over the nail, a lovely formula that's really more of a crelly than a jelly and self-levels beautifully for a pastel. It is semi-translucent by design and a tiny bit of streakiness, mostly ridge-related, built steadily to evenly opaque coverage in three coats for me, although I think it's also beautiful at two with a touch of visible nail line. Cleanup is straightforward with a bit of stickiness on the part of the pink glass flecks. Blossom dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

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

Picture Polish Blossom

I haven't always been a fan of pastels, but this one really is so pretty and the formula exceptionally user-friendly. The cool, pale, milky pink is clean and graceful on the nail and not stark like I was expecting, a more subtle, grownup pastel shade that feels particularly flattering on the nail.

I picked this polish for today knowing that I will be wearing it for a while as Fuzzy is going in for knee replacement surgery tomorrow and I'll be staying with her in the hospital until they send her off to rehab at the end of the week. It's delicate and unobtrusive with a certain serene sensibility to it that I think will make it a good companion before and after the surgery, for me and maybe for Fuzzy as well.

love,
Liz

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Picture Polish Mythical

Like Riviera and Macaron, Mythical was released this month by Australian boutique polish maker Picture Polish as a Collaboration shade. Officially described as a "purple jelly scatter holographic with shifting blue glass flecks," it was designed by Roselynn of the blog Manicured and Marvelous and roselynn787 on Instagram. Read Rose's post about Mythical and view her photos here!

This polish is a rich dark purple along the lines of eminence with aspects of Spanish violet and (to a lesser degree) indigo, a cooler variation of the shade with a strong lean to violet in certain circumstances and a regal, mysterious air. It's filled with PP's signature silvery holographic flakies that give it a stippled finish and light up in a warm, golden prismatic flush edged with red sparks as light travels over them. Abundant bright azure blue glass fleck shimmers complement the cool purple base, adding boatloads of lively sparkle (to the point of being almost glittery), especially in the sun where they augment a blanket of colorful prismatic sparks.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Mythical is fluid, light and silky smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a fluent, self-leveling slip over the nail that is a pleasure to finish with PP's compact flattened-style brush. Pigmentation is excellent for a jelly, with evenly opaque coverage available in two coats, although I used three for the photos to avoid any trace of sheerness. Cleanup is straightforward, with a tiny bit of pigment travel and a little stickiness on the part of the glass flecks. Mythical dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat enhances the presence and sparkle of the glass flecks.

Photos show three coats of Mythical over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Picture Polish Mythical

I love the addition of blue glass fleck shimmers to PP's scattered holo formula here. Even though my photos don't show it very well, they really do sparkle, adding touches of magic and glamor that keep the deep violet-leaning purple from being too aloof. A great fall color, too -- you know how I love my violets for autumn! Win!

love,
Liz

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Literary Lacquers The Happy Prince

The Happy Prince was released in February 2017 by New Mexico-based indie polish maker Literary Lacquers. It's a collaborative custom polish created by Amy and designed by Jen Sky Walker of Musings of the Wife of a Jedi in honor of the blog's fifth anniversary. Since the 5-year anniversary gemstone is sapphire, Jen chose sapphire blue as the color. The name is taken from the 1888 children's short story "The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde.

Officially described as a "sparkling sapphire blue crelly with a subtle pink shimmer," the base is a semi-translucent medium-dark sapphire or dark cornflower hue with a certain silvery, smoky quality that I can't quite put my finger on and and a stealthy violet aspect that reminds me of Elizabeth Taylor's eyes. It is absolutely packed with components: pink shimmers and glass flecks, tiny iridescent pink flakies, silvery microflakes and infinitesimal holographic microglitters. In ambient light it has a luxe, tapestried look with a finely-grained visual texture, a subtle, transparent pink sheen and a vitreous luster liberally dusted with dainty twinkling sparks, interspersed with the occasional gleam of pink or turquoise or violet when the light hits a flakie just right. In the sun, the look is transformed by a dense blanket of delicate sparkle in every rainbow color, finer than a holo, as though it were made of crushed gemstones.

Application went well. The consistency of The Happy Prince is fluid, dense and slightly loamy with a thicker viscosity that I added several squirts of polish thinner to at the outset. Thinned, it had a plush glide over the nail with a bit of component tumbling that resulted in a few stickups, nothing major though. Pigmentation is very good, delivering wearable opacity in two liberal coats or three thinner ones. I did my cleanup as I went along and had no issues. I should note, though, that this polish is full of potentially sticky bits -- cuidado! The Happy Prince dries naturally in very good time to a textured finish, mostly smoothed by a dedicated glitter-smoothing or gel-effect topcoat, which accentuates the presence of the pink shimmers especially.

Photos show three coats of The Happy Prince over basecoat with a layer of Girly Bits Glitter Glaze followed by a layer of Seche Vite for extra gloss -- definitely worth the trouble.

Literary Lacquers The Happy Prince

Oh, this is such a gorgeous, classy polish, definitely a keeper! I'm afraid my photos don't do its complexity and character justice, and I don't think words can either. You have to see it in person. It's sleek and twinkly on the nail, quite glamorous actually, with a distinct artisanal, crafted quality that makes it profoundly gratifying to wear. The look really doesn't come together until you get topcoat on it, so if you have this polish and haven't tried it yet, or if you're contemplating getting it, have patience as you apply and do use a double topcoat, a glassy finish makes the most of this marvelous creation.

love,
Liz

Friday, July 21, 2017

Colors by Llarowe One Headlight

One Headlight was released at Polish Con NYC in April this year by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as a stand-alone charity polish. All proceeds from its sale go to the One Headlight Charity Fund to benefit swatcher and nail artist Janna Miller aka The Girlie Tomboy, who is undergoing treatment for Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC).

Officially described as "a neon pink leaning coral crelly base with intense aqua blue shimmer and aqua blue glass fleck," the base color of One Headlight is particularly sharp and bright, even for a neon. It's almost like an especially intense neon version of brink pink. Take a somewhat cool but vivid medium pink like deep pink light and give it hot raspberry overtones and fluorescent corally glow -- voilà! Blue glass fleck shimmers glisten within the base along the axis of light, cooling the color there just enough to create a distinct contrast with the warm reddish pink that dominates the edges of the nail. The color brightens and sharpens even further in the sun, and the shimmers evolve into a twinkling net of delicate blue sparkle over the nail.

Application was great! The consistency of One Headlight is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is slightly sheerish. I could still see dark hints of nail line after two coats, so applied a third and was happy with the coverage. Cleanup is easy, just be patient with sticky glass flecks. One Headlight dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, matte finish. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss, which makes the most of the neon color and accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of One Headlight over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Colors by Llarowe One Headlight

This brilliant neon has such an intense glow that it almost seems to float over the nails. It is less fluorescent in low light and shade than I expected, but the brilliance of the color more than makes up for that. There's a stealthy rosy aspect to it as well, very pretty and feminine in spite of the intensity and the glass fleck shimmers make it unique. Fabulous!

love,
Liz

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer The Siren's a Callin'

The Siren's a Callin' was released in March this year by Georgia-based indie polish maker Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer as both an Encore Siren Shade and a new addition to the 'It Got Away From Me, Yeah...' Dr. Who collection. Creator Julie describes it as a "navy blue with silver holo microglitter, fine turquoise shimmer, aqua shimmer, and turquoise glass flecks," and I'm telling you, this polish is dead sexy. The deep cobalty blue base and lighter, more cyanic components combine to give the appearance of a rich, dark cerulean or midnight blue sort of color, with a radiant, glistening teal blue shimmer effect along the axis of light, twinkling teal blue pinpoint sparkles throughout and aspects of indigo around the edges of the nail.

Striking and profoundly glamorous, it has this sultry/smoky/jazzy vintage feel to it that's difficult to describe. It makes me want to put on something sparkly and go have cocktails and listen to jazz in a dark, tucked away club to the wee hours.

Application was great! The consistency of The Siren's a Callin' is fluid, full-bodied and dense with a thicker viscosity to which I added a couple of squirts of polish thinner at the outset. Thinned, it had a luxuriously plush, even, self-leveling glide over the nail that went on best for me in medium coats from a well-loaded brush. Pigmentation is very good to excellent, delivering evenly opaque coverage on the first coat and full, rich bottle color with the second. Often very fine shimmers like this will show brushstrokes, but this one does not. Cleanup is fairly straightforward with a bit of pigment travel and some trace staining. The Siren's a Callin' dries naturally in good time to a flat, gently textured finish that is easily smoothed by a generous layer of topcoat, which also accentuates the presence and effects of the components.

Photos show two coats of The Siren's a Callin' over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. The color of the polish leans very blue in the pics. In person, there's a touch more green to it.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer The Siren's a Callin'

It's even better in person. Richer. More sultry.

This polish really doesn't come together completely until you get topcoat on it. You start to get an idea of the potential with the second coat, but a glossy topcoat really brings out the true nature of this superbly-composed beauty. The color is deep, lush, mysterious and ornate, and the shimmers and tiny twinkling sparks are an exquisite complement. And although it definitely has an after midnight vibe, it's breathtakingly beautiful in the sun as well, where the color brightens and the twinkly clouds of tiny sparks take on a gorgeous prismatic quality.

Perfectly named, utterly fabulous!

love,
Liz