Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Like yesterday's Creme Bluelé, You Me and Daiquiri will be included in the upcoming Summer 2016 Creme a la Mode box, a collection of four cremes, one each from hosts Digital Nails, Indigo Bananas, Literary Lacquers and Octopus Party Nail Lacquer (OPNL), that will launch sometime this month. You Me and Daiquiri was created by Dave of OPNL. 

This is a creamy pastel peach, desaturated to a tender, barely-there tint. It is particularly nicely-balanced, with a subtle infusion of pink that maintains an unmuddied aspect and makes it more wearable for those with cool-based complexions like me. I usually cannot wear peach, but I really like this polish! Chic and summery, I expect it will pop like crazy against a tan with the luminosity of a sun-bleached neon, but a sleeker and more discerning sensibility.

Despite initial trepidations, application was actually quite agreeable! The consistency of You Me and Daiquiri is fluid and super smooth with a medium viscosity. Dilettante that I am, I immediately added polish thinner to bolster my confidence. *lol* Thinned, it has a light, creamy glide over the nail that's not without a bit of grab but self-levels quite well as it sets up. I found it to go on most evenly for me in thin coats from a well-loaded brush with a bit of dry time in between layers to avoid pulling patches. Pigmentation is very good and I expect that some folks out there will be able to turn out a wearably opaque manicure in two coats without thinning the polish a bit. I am not one of those folks, though, and ended up using three thin-to-medium coats for coverage I was happy with. Cleanup is easy. You Me and Daiquiri dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat helps to smooth and level out any lingering unevenness. 

Photos show three coats of You Me and Daiquiri over Pretty Serious Rock On treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a slightly bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite. 

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Octopus Party Nail Lacquer You, Me, and Daiquiri

Such a sweet and creamy color, like the blushing baby peach of your imagination! It has a more delicate nature than looking at it in the bottle would lead you to expect and blooms beautifully on the nail. As I said, I generally try to stay away from peach because it tends to become coarse and muddy against my skin, but this one has won my heart. If you love peach but feel like it doesn't do you any favors, try this one. It uses its powers for good!

Follow Creme a la Mode or join its Fan Club on Facebook to keep up with the latest info about the impending release of the Summer 2016 box!

xo,
Liz

ps. This polish was provided for my honest review.

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish is an Australian indie brand that's been on my radar quite a bit lately. It is made by Theresa in Port Sorell, Tasmania, and named for her infant daughter Grace, who passed away only a few short days after her birth. Grace-full's logo features delicate angel wings and a halo in loving tribute. Theresa is a dedicated polish and nail art enthusiast who has been blogging about nail polish since 2012. You can find her blog, It's All About the Polish, here. 

When I found out that Grace-full would be distributed here in the US by Ella Ann Cosmetics, I lost no time in visiting that stockist's big cartel shop and examining the inventory. To my delight, there were Grace-full polishes bearing not only my name, but my mother's and sister's names as well. That was all the portent I needed to make a purchase. What can I say? I'm a ridiculously easy sell. Especially when it comes to nail polish!

Today's feature is my namesake, Liz. Liz was released as part of the Dreamy Beach Pastel collection from the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun series in February this year. This is a pale peachy pink creme, sort of a pastel melon shade that varies in brightness depending upon the circumstances under which its viewed. It can go from a bleached near-neon salmon to pale cantaloupe just by changing rooms! Right now under the incandescent lighting in my office it's offering up a vibrant neon-esque look, but earlier when I was photographing it outdoors in the last light of the day it presented a paler, silkier, slightly antique tone. My complexion typically has a muddying effect on shades of peach, causing it to generate a tired, slightly grimy aspect that is unflattering both to it and to me. In the bottle, Liz is sweetly luminous, but against my skin it morphs to  chalky pancake. *sigh* In spite of this, I can appreciate Liz for its tender, dewy quality, it's bleached beachiness and as a particularly nicely-balanced variation of this color family.

Application was lovely. Liz has an outstanding formula. The consistency is fluid, light and creamy with an silky flow over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. It applies quite evenly for a pastel, and goes on in thin coats with minimal streakiness. Pigmentation is very good. I used three coats on my nails but I'm sure that many folks would be quite happy with the opacity and coverage at two. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Liz dries naturally in good time to a shade that is slightly more vibrant than bottle color and a beautiful glossy finish.

Photos show three coats of Liz over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Please forgive the acetone-washed nail environs!

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

Grace-full Nail Polish Liz

I hope that you can tell how sweet and feminine this would be on the right skin tone. It's a bit sunnier and more lively in person. A nice peach with a great formula for the right person! 

love,
Liz