Lacquer Slacker Liz: grey

Showing posts with label grey. Show all posts

Monday, June 4, 2018

Emily de Molly LE 95

LE (Limited Edition) 95 was released in April this year by Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly, one of four LEs released that month. It's described as "a dark grey holo with subtle gold and copper shimmer and flakes." The color is indeed a silky dark grey with gentle blue and purple undertones, similar to gunmetal. It has the finely-grained visual texture that you see in holographic polishes, with a dimensional blue-violet heart in ambient light. Tiny gleaming microflake shimmers are clearly visible on close inspection -- their reflectivity gives them a silvery look against the dark grey and I think they impart a transparent silvery sheen to the look of the polish on the nail. In the sun, there's a gorgeous fully-linear prismatic display predominated by azure.

Application was lovely. The consistency of LE 95 is fluid, light and smooth with the thin-to-medium viscosity that I love and a buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. The shimmers like to stick to the nail, but cleanup is otherwise straightforward. LE 95 dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not interfere with the holographic effects in any way.

Photos show two coats of LE 95 over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Emily de Molly LE 95

If you like dark greys, this is a beautiful one, elegant and sleek on the nail with a touch of indie flavor from the scattered gleaming microflake shimmers and the transparent silvery sheen they seem to generate.

As you can see, I'm back to shorties again following a bad break on my swatching hand at the end of last month. *sad star!* Seems as though I had, like, YEARS (not entirely true, but it feels like it in retrospect) of continuously long nails until last fall. Since then, every two or three months I'll get one of those below-the-nail-line breaks/tears on that left hand. For some reason, I find it more difficult to paint and photograph nail polish with shorties. Luckily, my polish enthusiasm does not diminish with the length of my nails.

Continued apologies for the sporadic posting. Fuzzy has been in rehab following her 15 May knee replacement surgery and will be coming home tomorrow. She's walking well with a walker but is not allowed to drive until the beginning of July. She'll need some extra support around the house and I'll be running all of her errands and ferrying her to physical therapy several times a week, so I anticipate that you still won't be seeing very much of me here during June. I miss posting -- my days feel a little discombobulated without it.

love,
Liz

Thursday, May 10, 2018

A-England Moth A Fairy

More Shakespeare's Fairies! Today's A-England is Moth A Fairy, described by the maker as a black hologram with additional iridescent glimmer. Black holos often have more of a very dark grey appearance, and so it is with Moth. The color reads as an anthracite or charcoal hue, liberally dusted with luminous holographic particles that create a broad greenish-gold flush along the center of the nail edged with shadowy hints of pink, gold and violet and shading gracefully to black at the edges. The holographic display in bright direct light is truly glorious, a mobile, gradated flare of sparkling prismatic color that sweeps around the nail as you move your fingers.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Moth is fluid, full-bodied and creamy with a medium viscosity and a luscious, even, self-leveling glide over the nail that is a pleasure to manipulate with the brand's flexible, paddle-style brush. Pigmentation is very good to excellent. Two coats nets completely even opacity. Cleanup is surprisingly easy, with no pigment travel or trace staining. Moth dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Moth A Fairy over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

A-England Moth A Fairy

This darkling holo has the brightest, most sparkly prismatic color in the sun! Perhaps it's the darkness of the base that does it, making the rainbows amazingly bold in contrast. It has an elegant, dimensional presentation in ambient light outlined with those deep edges, very neat and sleek. A gorgeous A-England holo!

love,
Liz

Monday, April 30, 2018

A-England Oberon Fairy King

Like A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oberon Fairy King was released last month by British indie polish maker A-England as part of the new Shakespeare's Fairies collection. Creator Adina describes it as a complex dark smoky green hologram with additional iridescent glimmer. The color is a medium, slatey grey-green, heavily silvered by finely-milled holographic pigment that gives it a delicately-grained, Pointillist visual texture and infuses the look with a luminous, dimensional mist of pale greenish gold edged by subtle hints of rainbow hues that come and go depending on viewing circumstances. The scattered holographic flare in the sun is a wonder -- shimmering, mobile swaths of intense, finely-gradated prismatic color that sweep around a glowing swath of lavender along the axis of light and shade to gunmetal at the edges of the nail.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Oberon Fairy King is fluid and creamy with a medium viscosity and a fluent, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail that is amenable to thin or thicker coats as preference dictates. Pigmentation is very good to excellent and produces completely even opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Oberon Fairy King dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat does not affect the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show two coats of Oberon Fairy King over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

A-England Oberon Fairy King

Gosh, I love this so much! It's actually much more noticeably holographic in ambient light than you'd guess from these pics, and feels just perfect for Shakespeare's Oberon and the illusion-filled atmosphere of A Midsummer Night's Dream -- a stormy grey mist within which bloom ephemeral, poignantly beautiful rainbows. The prismatic effects are exquisitely rendered, sometimes subtle, sometimes intense but always incredibly elegant and beautiful -- the very essence of what makes holographic nail polish so magical. Extraordinarily graceful and gratifying on the nail, I feel like I could wear it forever.

xo,
Liz

Monday, March 12, 2018

Emily de Molly Little Whispers

Little Whispers was released last month by Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly as one of eight new polishes for February 2018. It's described as a grey-leaning purple with strong gold to green color-shifting shimmers and holographic microglitters. The color is a cloudy, medium-toned purplish grey, kind of like a darker lavender grey or a Spanish grey imbued with opera mauve. It's packed with fine gold-to-green shimmers that give it a sharply contrasting, reflective greenish-gold sheen along the axis of light, and abundant scattered holographic microglitters stipple the finish with twinkling prismatic sparks.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Little Whispers is fluid, smooth and slightly fluffy with a medium viscosity and a easy, fluent, self-leveling glide over the nail, an excellent formula that is a pleasure to work with. Pigmentation is very good -- two coats delivers completely even, opaque coverage. Cleanup is easy. Little Whispers dries naturally in very good time to a gently textured finish, easily smoothed by topcoat.

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

Emily de Molly Little Whispers

The prominent greenish-gold shimmer effects are an unusual accompaniment for this bruise-colored shade, giving it a certain electric, rarefied air that reminds me of the greenish light that suffuses the atmosphere just before a huge thunderstorm. On the nail, it has a similar sensibility -- the pause before the storm. A creative, unconventional beauty!

love,
Liz

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Tonic Polish Extra-ORD-inary

Extra-ORD-inary was originally released in September 2017 at Polish Con in Chicago by Iowa-based indie polish maker Tonic Polish as a limited edition, but creator Lindsey re-released it last month in the Tonic online shop. She describes it as "a super holographic steel grey with red-gold-green color shifting Aurora flecks."

The color is a medium-dark nickel or battleship grey with gunmetal aspects, luxuriously silvered by holographic pigment for a rich, dimensional look with a finely-grained visual texture. Powerfully holographic, it displays some sort of prismatic flare in almost all circumstances, most prominently a broad, misty flame of azure. Abundant color-shifting shimmers create a delicate, luminous coppery-pink swath along the axis of light with a shift to gold as you turn your fingers into the light and the occasional tiny flame-colored spark when light hits one of the flecks just right. Direct light engenders a brilliant linear holographic flare with a full retinue of rainbow colors that surrounds a lick of golden coppery pink and shades to gunmetal at the edges of the nail.

Application was delicious. The consistency of Extra-ORD-inary is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a fluent, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail that is a pleasure to finesse with Tonic's flexible, flattened-style brush. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is straightforward (apologies for my not-so-great job of it). Extra-ORD-inary dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers and does not affect the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show two coats of Extra-ORD-inary over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Tonic Polish Extra-ORD-inary

Grey polishes, even holos, often have a somewhat reserved, formal quality but the color-shifting Aurora shimmers add a warm, friendly glow to this one that gives it a more personable air. It's sleek and elegant on the nail, sharing its beautiful prismatic and shimmer effects with the effortless grace of a congenial host, the kind of eminently-wearable polish that will complement any outfit or occasion, casual to formal, and reflect well on the wearer, which I love. A keeper!

xo,
Liz

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Picture Polish London

Like Kitty, London was released in December 2017 by Australian boutique polish maker Picture Polish as a Collaboration shade. It was designed by Marine of the French blog Marine Loves Polish, inspired by her favorite place in her favorite city, London's Sky Garden and its 360° panoramic views of the city and its glass buildings. See her post about her polish here.

Marine describes this as "a bluish gray or grayish blue depending on the light, infused with scatter holo and opaque in two coats." The color is a light, translucent variation of blue-grey similar to cool grey, but lighter, milkier and more delicate. It seems to have a greater variety of holographic flakes and particles than other PP scattered holos, and more of them. They read as lemony gold within the base, and create an exquisite, dimensional prismatic flush of pale gold, lemon and peachy pink in ambient light. This flush broadens and intensifies in direct light, where the look is blanketed with scattered holographic sparkle in pasteled rainbow colors.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of London is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail, an excellent, user-friendly formula that goes on naturally in thin coats. Pigmentation is very good, opaque in two coats just as Marine says. Cleanup is easy. London dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

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

Picture Polish London

I'm completely smitten with this understated, atmospheric pale grey and its delicate lemony sparkle. The color is beautifully balanced and really does seem to change with the kind of light in which it's viewed, sometimes appearing more reminiscent of a landscape enveloped in mist or fog and sometimes, especially in direct light, morphing ever so subtly to a muted, greyed-out sky blue or even periwinkle. It has a lovely, crafted simplicity on the nail, supremely graceful and almost dainty, a real pleasure to wear.

love,
Liz