Lacquer Slacker Liz: gold

Showing posts with label gold. 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

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Femme Fatale Sea Glimmer

Sea Glimmer was created by Sophie of Australian indie polish maker Femme Fatale Cosmetics as a Live Love Polish exclusive, released in June 2016. It is described as "a purple polish with iridescent gold shimmer and silver holographic microglitter." A sparkly, ethereal concoction with a transparent base tinted a shade of pigment violet, it's absolutely packed with superabundant ultrafine golden particulate shimmers and two sizes of silvery holographic microglitters, a scintillating, diaphanous look that's like the faerie ballet costume of your imagination. The gold shimmers a create glistening underlay over which the violet base drapes like sheer silk chiffon, revealing a shimmering swath of lemony gold along the axis of light delicately shaded with violet that deepens toward the edges of the nail, the whole densely spangled by bright, twinkling prismatic sparks.

Application was dreamy. The consistency of Sea Glimmer is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even slip over the nail that likes to go on in thin coats and is easy to manipulate with Femme Fatale's flattened-style brush. Self-leveling properties are very good and glitter payoff is excellent, dispersing easily and evenly over the nail without undue stacking, stickups or protrusions over the free edge. Coverage is provided by the component mix, dense enough to net wearable opacity in three coats although the polish is so beautiful and goes on so evenly that it could easily be worn as a sheer in one coat. I added a fourth for the photos, but the look did not differ significantly from three. Cleanup is a bear. I did mine as I went along, but even so the glitters, especially, are very sticky and the shimmers disperse to ensconce themselves about the nail environs. Sea Glimmer dries naturally in very good time to a gently textured finish that's not entirely smoothed by topcoat, but given the tremendous lightplay of the components, it doesn't need to be.

Photos show four coats of Sea Glimmer over ÜNT peel-off basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Femme Fatale Sea Glimmer

This is not a polish that can easily be captured in a still image and I'm a little dismayed by how my photos turned out. The gold shimmers are more fundamentally golden in person, and the look of the polish sleeker, more coherent and more richly colorful. For another look, check out Hayley's pics in her review on Emily de Molly.

Generally I don't much cotton to extremely sheer polishes, but Sophie's creations are an exception. She is the shimmer whisperer of nail polish makers, and it is almost always worth the time and care to build them to a wearable opacity. Sea Glimmer is a magical polish with a delicate, floaty, otherworldly feel and boatloads of dimensionalizing lightplay, like layers of crystal-studded tulle over shimmering charmeuse. Fantastical!

love,
Liz

p.s.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Superchic Lacquer Wonderwall

Wonderwall was released towards the end of September this year by California-based indie polish maker Superchic Lacquer as part of the Urban Dictionary collection. It's an unusual polish, unique in my collection. Creator Jennifer describes it as a nude and blogger consensus seems to be that it's a champagne. I'm going to call it a platinum blond, a heavily silvered champagne color with vegas gold highlights and a subtle, very pale silvery blue-green tinge. It has a glowing, semi-metallic finish with a luxe creamy/silky aspect that reminds me of creme rinse. Powerful holographic effects wash the base with analogous hues of cream, beige, lemon and yellow gold in ambient light and generate a sparkling linear prismatic display in direct sun.

Application was luscious. The consistency of Wonderwall is fluid, creamy and dense with a medium viscosity and a velvety, self-leveling glide over the nail that has a tiny bit of pull to it. It sets up fairly quickly and doesn't appreciate too much fussing, but still provides a decent window when it's easy to manipulate. Pigmentation is very good, with completely even and opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Wonderwall dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that loves a glossy topcoat to look its best. Topcoat does not in any way interfere with the holographic effects.

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

Superchic Lacquer Wonderwall

You guys know that I don't do gold well, but this platinum blond polish has the sort of gleaming, dimensional, nacreous quality to its look on the nail that I find irresistible. It is so elegant and beautiful! If you love lighter hues on your nails, here's one that is ornate enough to hold its own with traditional fall/winter colors but will give you the look you crave. As I mentioned above, I have no other polish quite like it. Unique and very special!

xo,
Liz

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Nine Zero Holy Fire

Like Croatoan, Holy Fire was released at the end of August/beginning of September this year by Michigan-based indie polish maker Nine Zero Lacquer as part of the Men of Letters collection, a series of polishes inspired by a group of characters from the US fantasy horror television series Supernatural.

Holy Fire is a coppery gold holo/flakie/foily masterpiece. I'm not a gold person but this puppy is MONEY! It is composed of bazillions of tiny metallic flakies in a holographic base, and the color is like the California blond of gold polishes, a rich harvest gold shade with a strong coppery aspect and a flecky, foil-like finish with tremendous scintillating sparkle. The holographic display in the sun is to die for, a plush carpet of brilliant pinpoint prismatic sparks that dances in the light, just stunning!

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Holy Fire is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and an easy, fluent, self-leveling float over the nail. It has a user-friendly formula that is amenable to thin or thicker coats and a pleasure to finesse with Nine Zero's flexible, flattened-style brush. Coverage is provided completely by the flakies, with initial sheerness building quickly to full opacity after two coats. As you might expect, Cleanup releases bevies of rogue flakies to roam freely about the nail environs but is trouble free otherwise. Holy Fire dries naturally in good time to a smooth, reflective finish. Topcoat does not interfere with the holographic effects in any way.

Photos show two coats of Holy Fire over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Nine Zero Holy Fire

Such an fabulous polish! It's like pulverized gold suffused with holographic particles. In low light and shade it is sleek and foily, and twinkles luxuriously as light catches individual microflakes. But I love it best in bright light and especially in direct sun. The holographic display is much more colorful than you would ever imagine from my photos. It's dazzling! Makes my eyes very happy!

love,
Liz

Friday, September 23, 2016

Powder Perfect Ra

Ra was released towards the end of August this year by Australian indie polish maker Powder Perfect as part of the Egyptology Part 3 collection. Inspired by the Ancient Egyptian sun god, it's officially described as a "silver based holo-twist lacquer with a golden hue." Holo-twist is a new glitter-holo hybrid formula designed by creator Jacinta for a dimensional, sparkling finish.

The color is one of those interesting sandy mixes that you get when you combine silver and gold -- I love this kind of polish for an industrial chic neutral, and this one has plenty of sparkle. The base is a light silvery grey that is swimming with tiny yellow gold holographic microglitters for an overall look that reminds me very much of raw linen, kind of a melange of khaki, cement and sand. Veiled by a net of bright prismatic sparks, it's a changeable hue, leaning warmer or cooler depending upon viewing circumstances, with a dimensional, finely-grained visual texture.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Ra is fluid, light and remarkably smooth for a glitter-laden polish, with a thin-to-medium viscosity and an easy, fluent slip over the nail. It is amenable to thin or thicker coats as preference dictates, and is a pleasure to finesse with Powder Perfect's round flexible brush. Pigmentation is sheer and buildable, reaching wearable opacity in two medium coats for shorter nails or three for longer ones. Cleanup releases a bevy of tiny microglitters to hide out in your sidewalls, but is otherwise trouble free. Ra dries naturally in good time to a flat, slightly sandy texture, smoothed to a glossy finish with a single layer of topcoat.

Photos show three coats of Ra over treatment and basecoat.

Powder Perfect Ra

Even thought this natural linen color is not the greatest with my skin tone, I still love it. It's a great neutral with cool visual texture and excellent sparkle, especially in direct light. It goes with everything, and looks particularly amazing with darker, saturated colors.

ttyl,
Liz