Lacquer Slacker Liz: multichrome

Showing posts with label multichrome. Show all posts

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Fair Maiden Polish Cosmic Confection

Cosmic Confection was created by Sarah and Adrienne of Fair Maiden Polish especially for the February 2018 "Sugar Rush" edition of Polish Pickup. It's officially described as a "blue with a chromatic flame shifting from dark purple to teal, finished with various sizes of scattered holo pigment."

The shifts in this polish are so dynamic that there are almost always multiple colors visible at any given time. The primary impression it gives is of a lush, medium-dark teal blue with a bold, bright Munsell blue-green highlight along the axis of light and shadowy hints of darker violet-blue at the edges of the nail. From there it works it's way through all kinds of gradations of blue-green, cerulean, Byzantine blue, indigo and violet to a striking combination of dark cyan with a luminous, shimmering highlight of grape at the far end. Tiny holographic microglitters dot the look with brilliant, starry sparkle, mostly in blues and greens with occasional prismatic additions, and there's even a vestigial holographic flare in the sun, somewhat dispersed by the microglitters but extra sparkly because of them also.

Application was excellent. The consistency of Cosmic Confection is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail that went on best for me in medium coats. Pigmentation is fairly sheer, and I think the polish is at its best in three coats. I did my cleanup as I went along and had no issues. Cosmic Confection dries naturally in very good time to a surprisingly smooth and shiny finish. Very slight discernible texture from the glitters is easily smoothed by topcoat.

Photos show three coats of Cosmic Confection over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Fair Maiden Polish Cosmic Confection

This polish was inspired by a Midnight Galaxy Cupcake photo from the amazing chef/designer/photographer Nick Makrides of The Scran Line.

The Midnight Galaxy Cupcake, inspiration for Cosmic Confection. Photo by Nick Makrides.

Perfect!

The scope of this beautiful shifter is much more far-ranging and dynamic than you would guess from my pics. It's pretty sensational in person -- glamorous, exciting and incredibly evocative. It's like the starry alternative universe of your imagination, or coral spawning in some fantastic tropical sea, or a lush, Avatar-esque rainforest replete with tiny, twinkling, floating spores. So much WOW in this little bottle-- you can't take your eyes off it!

love,
Liz

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Great Lakes Lacquer In Brightness

In Brightness was released in November 2017 by Michigan-based indie polish maker Great Lakes Lacquer as part of the Holiday 2017 collection, a limited edition series of four lacquers based on the 1845 short story "The Little Match Girl" by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen.

And she quickly struck the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother with her. And the matches burned with such a glow that it became brighter than daylight. Grandmother had never been so grand and beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and both of them flew in brightness and joy above the earth, very, very high, and up there was neither cold, nor hunger, nor fear--they were with God.

Described as a "soft purple linear holo with shifts of blue, pink, bronze, orange and green," the base color is a gentle, semi-translucent shade along the lines of the web color medium purple or deep lavender. It's absolutely packed with multichromatic microflake shimmers, which read mostly as azure, turquoise and magenta but also shift to flame, bronze and, finally, green at oblique angles. This polish is as shifty as any multichrome you can think of, and those tiny flakes also emit a twinkly sparkle as light travels over them. In direct light, the look is blanketed with fine, scattered prismatic sparkle in every rainbow color.

Application was lovely. The consistency of In Brightness is fluid and full-bodied with a medium-to-slightly-thicker viscosity and an even, smooth, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is sheerish on the first coat but will build to wearable opacity with the second using medium coats. I added a third for the photos. Cleanup is straightforward. In Brightness dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and shifts of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of In Brightness over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Great Lakes Lacquer In Brightness

You can't really tell it from the photos, but the shifts in this polish are incredibly dynamic -- there's a new look with every move of your fingers, and the magenta shift plays much more prominently than it shows here. I love that the shimmers sparkle as well. Not only does it fit in beautifully with the story, I think, but the way that those microflakes light up gives you contrasting sparks in any given field of color, like magenta sparks in a field of purple or turquoise and azure sparks in a field of magenta. Nice!

love,
Liz

Monday, December 4, 2017

Don Deeva Glocks & Poprocks (H)

Today's polish is Glocks & Poprocks (H) from Florida-based indie polish maker Don Deeva and I'm thinking it was released not too long ago, like earlier this fall, as the holographic version of a multichrome with the same name. Creator Danette describes it as a "red/purple/magenta/orange" multichrome, which I've come to think of as the sunset colorway. The primary color, the one I see most of, is a medium-dark Mardi Gras purple, sometimes appearing silvery and almost pearlized, sometimes nuanced with violet and sometimes rich, bold and direct. This purple transitions through magenta to a fiery flame color as you turn your fingers into the light, with various gradations and mauve/berry iterations along the way. The addition of holographic pigment softens the typical metallic multichrome finish, texturizing it with delicate, sparkling, prismatic effervescence in ambient light and creating a dazzling linear holographic flare in the sun.

Application went well. The consistency of Glocks & Poprocks (H) is fluid, dense and smooth with a medium-to-thicker viscosity to which I added polish thinner at the outset. Thinned, it still retained a dense feel, with a plush, full-bodied, self-leveling flow over the nail that went on most easily for me in slightly thicker coats. Pigmentation is very good and delivers a wearable opacity in two coats, although I used three for maximum multichromatic and holographic goodness. Cleanup is easy. Glocks & Poprocks (H) dries naturally in average time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic properties in any way.

Photos show three coats of Glocks & Poprocks (H) over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Don Deeva Glocks & Poprocks (H)

I love the rich, dramatic colors of this shifty polish -- it's my favorite multichrome colorway and some sort of transition is almost always visible when you've got it on your nails. The holographic effervescence is always present as well, adding an exquisite, dimensional mist of tiny, sparkling motes in rainbow colors that builds to a prismatic crescendo in the sun. Glorious!

love,
Liz

Monday, November 20, 2017

Don Deeva Call Me Councilman

Call Me Councilman was just released earlier this month by Florida-based indie polish maker Don Deeva as a part of an ongoing series of polish tributes to the anthology horror television show American Horror Story.

It is officially described as a blue/purple/teal multichrome holo with holographic flakies. From the bottle, I had expected purple to be the most common/primary color on the nail. Not so! The main color I see is a medium, teal-ish variation of jungle green along the lines of Taylor Love Green. It is at its brightest along the axis of light and shades through deep blue to a dark indigo around the edges of the nail, dimensionalizing the appearance beautifully and adding a delicious, slightly sinister quality to the feel. Turning my nails into the light, the main color shifts completely to a medium purple with the same blue/indigo shading. Like magic! Abundant Spectraflair holographic pigment gives the polish a luminous, shimmering, finely-grained look flecked with tiny holographic flakes. Direct sun engenders a delicate, scattered display of the tiniest rainbow sparks, a fine, sparkling blanket of pinpoint prismatic motes.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Call Me Councilman is fluid, light and silky with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling glide over the nail, a gorgeous, biddable formula that is a pleasure to paint with. Pigmentation is very good to excellent, nearly a one-coater but you'll want two for richest color and effects. Cleanup is easy. Call Me Councilman dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, flat finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Call Me Councilman over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Don Deeva Call Me Councilman

Generally speaking, I am not the biggest fan of multichromes (don't hate me!). What I really like about this one is that it doesn't have the reflective, metallic look that you usually see with multichromes. The abundance of holographic pigment in this polish gives it a shimmering, finely-grained visual texture, which I love. I also like the spookiness of the colorway, it seems to suite the AHS inspiration well, and the formula is perfection. An excellent shifty polish!

love,
Liz

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Native War Paints Shift Change

Shift Change was released in June this year by Michigan-based indie polish maker Native War Paints as part of the Nifty Shifty collection, a series of six multichrome polishes with various combinations of glitters and flakies.

This polish is officially described as "a red/bronze/copper with chameleon iridescent glitter and gold holographic glitter in a red base." It's like a sparkling homage to fall leaf color! The base is basically sheer with a very light red tint in which is suspended the multichrome pigment along with copious tiny iridescent and holographic glitters. The shift spectrum runs a gamut of rich golden/bronzey brown through coppery russet with vermilion and flame highlights to orangey gold to chartreuse with a whisper of electric blue at the far end, with gradations along the way that make up a full fall arborescent range of color. The color you see most is a medium mahogany or sinopia, a smoldering reddish/coppery brown with aspects of rust and flame. The semi-metallic finish is studded with glitters, which throw out sparks in a rainbow of colors, most noticeably green, orange, red and gold.

Application was quite agreeable. The consistency of Shift Change is fluid and smooth with a thicker viscosity that I added polish thinner to at the outset. Thinned to more of a medium viscosity, it had a light, fluent, self-leveling spread over the nail with a bit of glitter tumbling and occasional stacking, but even dispersal, only one minor stickup and no protrusions over the free edge. Pigmentation is sheer, building to wearably opaque coverage in three coats for me. Medium coats are the way to go with this one, as even as you can make them and tip-wrapping with each one to avoid any undue sheerness there. Cleanup is easy. The glitters stick to skin, but can be dislodged with a little extra care. Shift Change dries naturally in good time to a pebbly-textured, shiny finish, mostly smoothed by topcoat.

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

Native War Paints Shift Change

Eminently autumnal, no? It is especially dramatic in direct sun, where there's a brilliant mist of crimson particles along the axis of light and the base shades to a deep coffee color at the edges of the nail.

love,
Liz