Lacquer Slacker Liz: neutral

Showing posts with label neutral. Show all posts

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Painted Polish Blush Babe

Like Ruffles & Romance, Blush Babe was released earlier this month by California-based indie polish maker Painted Polish as part of the I Love Blush collection. Described as "a nude leaning blush ultra holo with added silver holographic glitters," this polish is like a sparkly, iridescent bronzer for your nails.

The color is a complex, toasty tan-leaning nude, say equal parts tan and unbleached silk with champagne pink highlights, but it's so holographic and flashy that you don't really see an exact color -- more like an impression of a color. There's a prominent prismatic flush in misty hues of lavender, pink and palest azure edged with gold and a whisper-thin thread of red in ambient light, and a gleaming, highly-reflective pale coppery-gold underlay with a brilliant flash, the whole dotted with bright, twinkling prismatic sparks from the holographic glitters. Direct sun elicits a textbook linear prismatic flare featuring the full retinue of rainbow colors.

Application was fabulous. The consistency of Blush Babe is fluid, light and smooth with a thinner-to-medium viscosity and a fluent, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail that goes on naturally in thin coats from a moderately loaded brush. Pigmentation is sheerish on the first coat but will build to a wearable opacity in two with a medium second coat. I added a third for the photos. Cleanup is easy, even with the glitters. Blue Babe dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not interfere with the holographic properties of the polish in any way.

Photos show three coats of Blush Babe over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Painted Polish Blush Babe

This is really rather stunning! My skin tone is not the best showcase considering the native warmth of the color, but I love it anyway. Like I said, it reminds me of bronzer but for your nails, with a glamorous, beachy, bain-de-soleil kind of vibe and that delicious "toasted" quality that frames the prismatic effects. The prominence of the holo and all the sparkle and flash makes it really showy and eye-catching on the nail. Glorious!

xo,
Liz

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Ellagee Truly Scrumptious

Truly Scrumptious was created by Laura of Ellagee Polish especially for the February 2018 "Sugar Rush" edition of Polish Pickup. Described as "a scattered rosy pink holo with pink and iridescent flakes," the color is a light, delicate blend of pink and grey along the lines of queen pink or boto pink, with aspects of dusky mauve and a neutral, your-nails-but-better sensibility. Abundant holographic pigment gives it a silky, lustrous, finely-grained visual texture, nuances the base color with hints of champagne and silver pink and creates an exquisite prismatic bloom in pale, shimmering hues of azure, pink and gold in ambient light. My camera didn't really capture this, but across the surface of the polish, tiny scattered flakes glisten in nacreous shades of pale blue, lavender, baby pink and silver as light travels over them, adding a certain dewy quality to the look.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of Truly Scrumptious is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Truly Scrumptious dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence of those gleaming little flakes and does not in any way interfere with the holographic properties of the polish.

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

Ellagee Truly Scrumptious

I love this. The luminous, washed, sea-shell color is soft and sleek on the nail with a clean, soothing kind of vibe that makes for a particularly elegant neutral look. I guess you could call it a palette cleanser -- it makes me feel like I've been to the day spa. Really lovely!

xo,
Liz

Monday, February 19, 2018

Emily de Molly Coming Around Again

Coming Around Again was released in November 2017 by Australian indie polish maker Emily de Molly as one of nine polishes for that month, all linear holos. Creator Hayley describes it simply as "a light brown strong holo," and I agree. The color is a soft, desaturated shade of rosy brown with aspects of copper that is fairly well-silvered by holographic pigment, which combines with the color to give the polish a gleaming coppery underlay. Powerfully holographic, it's in holo mode 24/7, even in shadow, with shimmering, misty swaths of pale violet and pink edged with whisper-thin ribbons of light red, yellow and pale azure washing the nail in ambient light. In the sun, there's a dazzling linear prismatic flare featuring the full retinue of rainbow colors.

Application was dreamy. The consistency of Coming Around Again is fluid, dense and very smooth with a medium viscosity and a buttery, even, self-leveling slip over the nail. Superb! Pigmentation is very good to excellent. It's close to if not wearably opaque at one coat but the addition of a second brings some extra density and presence to the color. Cleanup is easy. Coming Around Again dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not interfere with the holographic properties in any way.

Photos show two coats of Coming Around Again over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Emily de Molly Coming Around Again

If you like coppery polishes, this rosy tan holo is right up your alley! Besides the stunning prismatic effects, the most notable aspect here is the brilliant coppery underlay, sleek and gleaming along the axis of light. With an ethereal, nude-ish sensibility on the nail, this polish makes for a pleasing, effortlessly graceful neutral look. You really can't go wrong with one of Hayley's holos!

NPR, I love the song "Coming Around Again" that Carly Simon wrote and sang for the soundtrack of the 1986 movie Heartburn, which came out right after my marriage ended. Listening to it again, I remember clearly what a drag it was putting one foot in front of the other, day after day, trying to work my way out of that awful, heartbroken, lonesome time. The sense of inevitability in the music and lyrics and Carly's soulful contralto voice made an indelible impression, encapsulating the poignancy of that moment in my life more completely than any single memory ever could.

love,
Liz

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

KBShimmer You're Brew-tiful

You're Brew-tiful was just released at the beginning of the month by Indiana-based indie polish maker KBShimmer as part of the Holo-day collection for winter 2017. Described as a lightened brown linear holographic polish, the color is a desaturated café au lait shade, a cool, creamy pale brown heavily silvered with holographic pigment, which gives it a taupey aspect. Powerfully holographic, it displays some kind of flare even in very low light, misty arcs of pasteled, pearly prismatic hues that frame a gleaming lick of pale gold and shade to café au lait at the sidewalls of the nail. In the sun, there's a brilliant linear display in full-strength rainbow colors.

Application was great! The consistency of You're Brew-tiful is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and an effortless, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, with a little bit of sheerness on the first coat building easily to evenly opaque coverage with the second. Cleanup is easy. You're Brew-tiful dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not in any way interfere with the holographic properties of the polish.

Photos show two coats of You're Brew-tiful over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

KBShimmer You're Brew-tiful

This has been a collection favorite with reviewers and I can see why! The pale, creamy brown combines with the silver holographic pigment to give the polish pale gold highlights and a neutral, almost nude quality. Adorned with its pasteled prismatic colors, it has a certain softness that you don't usually think of for linear holos, a sleek, ethereal look with a refined, sophisticated quality on the nail. Extremely flattering, it's a gentler, more organic alternative to pure silver or gold holos with an abundance of holographic magic that allows it to hold its own amid brighter holiday shades. Really lovely!

love,
Liz

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