Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

What a Million Filaments was released last month by Ohio-based indie polish maker Lollipop Posse Lacquer as part of The Sylvia Plath Quad celebrating the brand's third anniversary. It's described as "an electric purple linear holographic polish that suspends green/blue/purple color shifting micro glitters and blue iridescent flakes."

The color is a slightly heathery, rich medium purple with strong red-violet overtones, kind of like a plummy take on a Munsell purple, a garnet-like shade that's difficult to describe but immediately recognizable as purple. One of the first things you notice about this polish in the bottle are copious blue microflakes interspersed with tiny green microglitters, which have have an almost psychedelic quality against the bold purple base color. Their appearance on the nail is more subtle and scattered but no less delightful, tiny gleaming bursts of blue and green as the light catches them. Abundant holographic pigment gives the purple base a finely-grained visual texture and a heathery quality, nuancing it with hues of red-violet, violet and plum in ambient light. In the sun, there's a slightly dispersed but super sparkly linear prismatic flare predominated by arcs of azure and bright red.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of What a Million Filaments is fluid and creamy with a medium viscosity and a plush, even, self-leveling glide over the nail that is easy to control. I experienced a tiny bit of tumbling on the part of the components, but no stacking or stickups. Pigmentation is very good to excellent -- I used two coats for these photos. Cleanup was surprisingly easy. What a Million Filaments dries naturally in good time to a shiny finish that is very slightly textured, easily smoothed with topcoat. Topcoat also accentuates the presence of the components.

Photos show two coats of What a Million Filaments over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

Lollipop Posse Lacquer What a Million Filaments

This is a beautifully-composed polish and very Sylvia Plath, I think. The name comes from a line in her great 1962 poem, "Lady Lazarus," and I feel that the boldly contrasting elements in the polish really do justice to the fierceness and electricity of that work. On the nail, it has a lush, plummy presence, richly colorful but not the least bit gaudy or overly flamboyant -- there's a certain confident, sophisticated sensibility to it that, to me, reflects very well upon the wearer. Love this!

xo,
Liz

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

As of April this year, Hella Handmade Creations (HHC), formerly Hella Holo Customs, has upped its game in a big way. There is now a dedicated Hella Handmade Creations online store, where artisanal offerings by indie polish makers will be available for pre-order for a week-long window each month. You no longer need to be a member of HHC to purchase, and there will be handmade products other than nail polish available. Featured makers sign up for a series of monthly offerings centered around a theme of their choosing. Find out more about scheduled online store openings, featured makers and what products will be offered by joining HHC on Facebook!

No Fawkes Given was created by Pam of Canadian Indie Polish maker Girly Bits exclusively for the April 2018 HHC online pop-up, which ran from 14-21 April. Pam chose Harry Potter as her HHC product theme, and this polish was inspired by Fawkes the phoenix, Albus Dumbledore's animal companion, proxy, messenger and defender. It is described as "a bright red scattered holo with a golden/copper shimmer, and a slight sprinkling of gold holo microglitter."

The base color is a medium-dark crimson that is warmed by the golden/copper shimmers to more of a dense, cedary vermilion or chili red appearance with aspects of copper, flame and persimmon. It is bold, complex and intensely fiery on the nail, where finely-milled holographic pigment nuances it with hues of crimson, rust and fire brick and creates a subtle sparkly flush of orange and gold in ambient light, complemented by twinkling red, orange and gold sparks from the microglitters. In the sun, the look is blanketed with brilliant scattered prismatic sparkle in every rainbow color.

Application was most agreeable! The consistency of No Fawkes Given is fluid and surprisingly light with a medium viscosity and a fluent, smooth, self-leveling glide over the nail, a wonderful, eminently-paintable formula that is a pleasure to work with. Pigmentation is very good, netting completely even, opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward with a skosh of pigment travel and a little bit of shimmer and glitter stickiness. No Fawkes Given dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show two coats of No Fawkes Given over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

Girly Bits No Fawkes Given

Cue the heart emoji! First, a round of applause for the name of this polish -- so clever and funny! If that alone isn't enough to generate heartfelt appreciation, the look does it with gusto -- an unconventional rusty red radiating all kinds of lively sparkle and shimmer, absolutely gorgeous! With its holographic effects, shimmers and microglitters, it's a complex, multifaceted extravaganza of fiery goodness. As perfect as it could possibly be!

love,
Liz

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Mrs Mia Wallace was created by Noelie of Missouri-based indie polish maker Dreamland Artisan Nail Lacquer especially for the May 2018 "90s Pop Culture" edition of Polish Pickup. This polish was inspired by nail color worn by the character of Mia Wallace, played by Uma Thurman, in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 postmodern masterpiece Pulp Fiction. Noelie writes

In 1994, pop culture collided when Mrs Mia Wallace danced her way onto the screen. The very definition of a vamp, Mia was mysterious, gorgeous, dangerous, and drop dead sexy (no pun intended), and she was wearing a very, very special polish on her fingers and toes. That polish changed the landscape of nails away from flower type colors to the rainbow we now know and love. People waited in lines around the block and put themselves on in-store waiting lists to obtain a bottle of the blackened red stunner that everyone was talking about. Spawning endless dupes, and setting the nail industry on a new and exciting journey, it was a real game-changer - so much so that 24 years later, we've tackled the idea of making it vamp like it's 1994, but sparkle like it's 2018. 

That polish was Chanel's No. 18 Rouge Noir, known in the US as Vamp.

Noelie's take is a deep, dense, plummy, venous blood color that is similar to Very Dark Reddish Purple from the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names or Benjamin Moore's Dark Purple. Superabundant tiny silver holographic microglitters blanket it with a glamorous, twinkling field of delicate prismatic sparks in ambient light that explodes into bold, brilliant sparkle in the sun, where the intensity of the color takes on an almost chocolatey sensibility.

Application was great! The consistency of Mrs Mia Wallace is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, going on easily in medium coats. The brand's flattened-style brush holds quite a lot of polish -- take care not to overload! Pigmentation is excellent, very close to opaque in one coat although I used two like I always do. Cleanup is straightforward. Mrs Mia Wallace dries naturally in very good time to a sandy-textured, matte finish that wants a good glitter-smoothing topcoat to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Mrs Mia Wallace over treatment and basecoat with a layer of Girly Bits Glitter Glaze plus a layer of Seche Vite for the ultimate glassy finish.

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Dreamland Mrs Mia Wallace

Noelie's microglitter polishes are perfection, I just love them! This is a fabulous look, intensely vampy and mysterious with the glamorous twinkle of countless prismatic sparks. I don't often gravitate toward colors this dark, but I love this one a lot for the Pulp Fiction reference and its homage to the Chanel Rouge Noir phenomenon, so significant in the evolution of nail polish culture. Outstanding!

xo,
Liz

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah was created by Noelie of Missouri-based indie polish maker Dreamland Artisan Nail Lacquer especially for the April 2018 "Across the Universe: Planets and Galaxies" edition of Polish Pickup. It was inspired by Noelie's favorite "Win a Date with a Jet Screamer" episode of the venerable animated sitcom The Jetsons, and you can see the clip that gave it its name here.

Officially described as an "indigo jelly base with sparkly holo glitter and blue/purple shifty shimmer," the color is a deep zaffre shade, a dark but bright stained glass kind of blue that's like a mix of cobalt and ultramarine, very potent. Superabundant holographic glitters blanket the polish with twinkling azure sparks and create a bright semi-metallic azure reflect, giving the polish strong aspects of modern royal blue in ambient light. The shimmers add to the richness of the blue, which shifts through indigo to a glowing royal purple as you turn your nails into your light source as well as under incandescent light. But this polish really comes into its own in the sun, where the zaffre hue takes on an incredibly rich, bold, fathomless quality and the holographic glitters burst into a dense, starry field of bright prismatic sparkle.

Application was a little tetchy for me. The consistency of Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah is fluid, dense with glitters and somewhat fluffy with a medium-to-thicker viscosity to which I added a bit of polish thinner to at several points to keep a viscosity I was comfortable with. It has a full-bodied flow over the nail that sets up quickly and went on most easily for me in generous coats. Pigmentation is excellent for a jelly -- it's nearly opaque in one coat. I used two for this manicure. I did my cleanup as I went along and experienced some glitter scattering but little to no pigment travel or trace staining. Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah dries naturally in good time to a gently textured, matte-ish finish that wants a nice, thick glossy topcoat to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Girly Bits Glitter Glaze.

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Dreamland Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah

Bold and full of sparkle, just as you'd want for a cosmic, intergalactic kind of look! The extravagant depth and vibrancy it takes on in the sun is extraordinary, and the color-shifting shimmers cast hints of indigo and purple along the contours of the nail in various viewing circumstances, adding that bit of complexity that lets you know that this is not just another glittery dark blue. Fantastic!

love,
Liz

Cirque Dusky Skies

Like Taos and Palm Springs, Dusky Skies was released earlier this month by NYC-based indie polish maker Cirque Colors as part of the Desert Bloom collection. This polish shares the same vibrant pink shimmer and delicate holographic sparkle as the other two, here in what is described as a deep blue-violet base.

The color is a medium-dark to dark but vibrant modern royal blue, also known as web royal blue. It combines with the pink shimmers to produce a gorgeous, shifty blue-violet melange with aspects of ultramarine, color wheel violet,  indigo, electric indigo and Munsell purple that vary in prominence and depth of hue according to viewing circumstances. Running along the axis of light is a broad, dimensional mist of visible shimmers that ranges in appearance from pink in direct light to a rich Munsell purple in low light and shade. Tiny, scattered holographic microglitters with a dainty, unobtrusive prismatic twinkle complete the look.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Dusky Skies is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is very good. Some sheerness on the first coat builds quickly to a wearable opacity with the second if using medium coats. Thinner coats will require three. Cleanup is easy. Dusky Skies dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, satiny finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its best.

Photos show three coats of Dusky Skies over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Cirque Dusky Skies

Cirque Dusky Skies

Cirque Dusky Skies

Cirque Dusky Skies

Cirque Dusky Skies

Cirque Dusky Skies

Cirque Dusky Skies

Cirque Dusky Skies

Beautiful! This my favorite of the three Desert Bloom polishes that I purchased.

My father is getting married on 21 April and I'll be driving up to Charlottesville, VA tomorrow to attend the wedding, staying for the weekend and into next week so I'm not sure exactly when I'll be posting again. Probably not for a week or so. Not to worry, I'll be back!

love,
Liz

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Life is a Highway was released in April 2016 by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the Tribute to a Wonderful Friend collection, and is described as a "magenta pink jelly with scattered holo and magenta and purple iridescent micro glitter." The color is indeed a vibrant, medium-dark variation of magenta that reads as a pinker violet-red in bright direct light and a redder telemagenta in lower light and shade. It's packed with minute microglitters in pink and purple for a subtle sparkle in ambient light that explodes into a brilliant, glittery field of twinkling sparks in the sun, complete with scattered prismatic sparkle in all of the rainbow colors.

Application was great! The consistency of Life is a Highway is fluid and dense with microglitters, with a medium viscosity and a full-bodied, self-leveling flow over the nail that went on best for me in medium-to-thicker coats from a well-loaded brush. Pigmentation is excellent. You could wear this at one coat for a brighter, pinker look or two to three for a darker, more bottle-color look. Cleanup is straightforward with some scattering and stickiness of the microglitters as well as a little bit of pigment travel with a hint of residual staining. Life is a Highway dries naturally in very good time to a sandy-textured, matte finish that smooths to glossy perfection with a layer of glitter-smoothing topcoat.

Photos show two to three coats of Life is a Highway over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Girly Bits Glitter Glaze. All nails have two coats except for the middle finger nail, which has three. In person, the difference is almost unnoticeable but you can really see it here!

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Colors by Llarowe Life is a Highway

Love this rich, deep magenta color and the twinkling, disco-ball sparkle in the sun is outrageously pretty and so much fun! Excellent!

love,
Liz