Lacquer Slacker Liz: white

Showing posts with label white. Show all posts

Monday, January 29, 2018

Different Dimension Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars

Like As Long As The Stars Are Above You, Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars was released this month by Indiana-based indie polish maker Different Dimension as part of the I Do Trio, three special polishes created by Missi in celebration of her wedding day. This particular polish was made to match her gown.

It's officially described as a "champagne/ivory linear holographic polish with color-shifting shimmers and holographic microflakies," and while you could certainly call it champagne or ivory, I feel like those terms belie the beautifully-balanced complexity of this creamy off-white shade. The white base is tinted ever-so-slightly with grey and fawn, kind of like a very pale beige or eggshell or parchment but with greater subtlety, and it has a smooth, silk satin luster with a certain pearly quality that makes it the most eminently bridal polish I think I've ever seen. I'd call the color isabelline, an organic, warm, creamy off-white with aspects of cement and pearly grey. Luminous pink-to-gold color-shifting microflake shimmers give it a pinkish glow in certain lights and create a delicate, glistening trail of minute orangey-pink microflakes along the axis of light under a direct source. Holo pigment and flakies read as silver within the base, and add a mist of complementary sparkle in pasteled prismatc hues, especially in direct light.

Application was blissful. The consistency of Others That Broke My Heart They Are Like Northern Stars is fluid and creamy with a medium viscosity and a fluent, silky-smooth, self-leveling slip over the nail, a gorgeous, user-friendly formula that is simply outstanding for an off-white or white-based polish. Pigmentation is very good. A touch of sheerness and unevenness in the first coat builds surprisingly easily to wearably opaque coverage with the second if using medium coats. Thinner coats will probably need three and I used three for the photos, but I'm inclined to think that the delicate luminosity of the look is actually complimented by the hint of native translucence at two. Cleanup is easy. Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show three coats of Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Different Dimension Others That Broke My Heart They Were Like Northern Stars

I suspected that my pics wouldn't do justice to this polish and they don't. It has qualities that just totally transcend the two-dimensional aspects of a still image, like the fact that it's actually wearable for me, for one. Generally, cream or ivory looks like death against my skintone, but this is elegant, lustrous, congenial, becoming... in short, beautiful. It is not at all stark, nor is it overly soft or listless. It has a stunning creamy luminosity and an easy, flattering grace on the nail. Without a doubt my most favorite white/off-white polish look ever! Highly recommended!

The name of this polish comes from the lyrics of "Bless The Broken Road" by American country music/light rock/pop band Rascal Flatts. Before I listened to this, I was wondering how in the world I could shorten or abbreviate the polish name for the purposes of my post. But after hearing the song, I didn't even want to shorten it. A wonderful, resonant, romantic image!

love,
Liz

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Picture Polish Haven

Haven was released toward the end of June this year by Australian boutique polish maker Picture Polish as one of six new Collaboration shades. It was designed by Margaret of the blog Loves Lacquer and loveslacquer on Instagram, inspired by the sands of Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island in North Queensland, Australia, her favorite beach. Read Margaret's IG post about Haven here.

Described as a sandy scattered holographic polish, the color is a translucent off-white with subtle aspects of grey and beige that's similar to bone but even more desaturated, a graceful, diaphanous shade. PP's signature scattered holographic flakies give it a delicate, sun-on-snow twinkle as light travels over it and create a field of pasteled prismatic sparks in the sun.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Haven is fluid, light and silky smooth with a thinnish-to-medium viscosity and an effortless, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail that likes to go on in thin coats. Pigmentation is sheer. It applies somewhat unevenly, especially over my ubiquitous nail ridges, with streakiness on the first and second coats that mostly evens out to a wearable opacity with a skosh of visible nail line on the third. I used four for the photos to minimize the appearance of my ridges, but if I weren't taking pictures I'd happily wear it at three -- it's the kind of polish where a touch of visible nail line feels natural and doesn't detract from the beauty of the polish. Cleanup is easy. Haven dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show four coats of Haven over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

http://lakkomlakkom.hu

Picture Polish Haven

I'm not typically attracted to white nail polish and I'm a little mystified myself as to what it is about Haven that pleases me so much. Perhaps it's the fact that this isn't a white. The coloring is subtle, to be sure, but its beauty lies in its exquisite delicacy, the sheer discretion of the careful addition of pigments that make it what it is. And there's also the beach reference -- it really does resemble fine white sand.

Whitehaven Beach (source). Accessible only by helicopter or boat and stretching across more than four miles of Whitsunday Island's east coast, it's one of Australia's most photographed beaches. The dreamy alabaster sands are made up of 98% pure white silica and do not retain heat the way most beach sand does.

If you're wondering how this polish compares to Picture Polish's other "white" Collaboration shade, LakoDom, Edina of lakkomlakkom thoughtfully includes a side-by-side comparison photo in her review of this group of Collaboration shades, here.

love,
Liz

Sunday, July 9, 2017

Different Dimension One Heart, One Hand

Like One Flag, One Land, One Heart, One Hand was released last month by Indiana-based indie polish maker Different Dimension as part of the limited edition Americana Trio. It is the representative 'white' of the troika, a holographic polish described by creator Missi as "chantilly lace/dove grey with added color shifting shimmers, larger holographic pigment and holo microglitters."

The color is by necessity an off-white as holographic pigment itself is a greying or silvering element. It's a translucent, pale and achromatic grey that's similar to gainsboro grey in tone, with an ethereal, lucid sort of depth to it, quite unusual for a light shade like this. Colorshifting shimmers in pink-to-gold are visible in the bottle and on the nail in the sun, where they create a glistening swath of golden pink along the axis of light. The microglitters in this are incredibly fine, almost indiscernible from the larger holographic particles, and work with the holo pigment to give the polish a subtle silvery shimmer in ambient light and a delicate, sparkling scattered prismatic display in the sun.

Application was amazing for a white-based polish. The consistency of One Heart, One Hand is fluid and creamy with a medium viscosity and a fluent, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail that can be a tiny bit streaky if, like me, you aren't entirely even-handed, but overall is remarkably easy to work with. Pigmentation is very good to excellent. With an even hand, wearably opaque coverage can be had in two thin coats. I needed three -- of course. Cleanup is easy. One Heart, One Hand dries naturally in good time to a mostly smooth finish with a very gentle texture, practically imperceptible to the touch, that is easily smooth by topcoat. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic properties of the polish in any way that I could tell.

Photos show three coats of One Hand, One Heart over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Different Dimension One Heart, One Hand

I am very impressed with this polish. It's so well done! The pale, translucent grey is a perfect stand-in for white. It's clean and tidy on the nail and there's a depth to it that you just don't see very often in a polish this light, and the colorshifting shimmers add to that quality. The holographic effects are subtle but beautiful, especially in the sun where they generate an ethereal veil of dainty prismatic sparkle. So pretty!

I like it. I like it very much!

love,
Liz

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Different Dimension Blizzard over Zoya Natty

Blizzard was released just last month by Indiana-based indie polish maker Different Dimension as part of the Homespun Holidays collection. It's a glitter topper, a nice surprise as we don't see many polishes of this kind these days. As creator Missi says, it's meant to represent freshly fallen snow, with a clear suspension base bearing a mix of silver holographic glitters, iridescent microglitters and white glitters in various sizes.

As a base for Blizzard, I chose Zoya Natty, a dusky dark steel blue creme with grey overtones and aspirations to indigo, along the lines of dark blue-grey. I haven't used this polish in a long time but I do love it. It's an edgy color with a mellow twist, a softer, gentler stand-in for navy that has the chic glamour of a dark polish and the congenial bonhomie of a neutral. Years of storage in my big rack o' polishes has not affected it at all, it was in perfect condition, a fluid, creamy crelly formula with a thin-to-medium viscosity that slips on like satin lingerie, is opaque in two coats and dries naturally to a slick, glossy finish.

Over this I applied one coat of Blizzard, which went on beautifully. It has a fluid and remarkably smooth consistency for such a glitter-laden polish, with a medium viscosity and an easy, fluent glide over the nail. Glitter payoff is excellent and disperses evenly, no extra fussing required. You could certainly layer this over itself to true glitterbomb opacity, a la Alicia of De-Lish-ious Nails, if you wished, especially if you sponged it on as she did. Blizzard dries naturally in very good time to a textured finish. I used a glitter-smoothing layer of gel effect topcoat followed by a layer of quick-dry for a glossy, glitter-under-glass look.

Photos show one coat of Blizzard over a base manicure of Zoya Natty. I started with a coat of UNT Ready for Takeoff peel-off basecoat and finished with a topcoat of Pretty Serious Plump Up the Volume followed by a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Different Dimension Blizzard over Zoya Natty

I love this look, it reminds me of some kind of magical snow globe! I think it is at its most beautiful in indirect light where you can best see all of the glitters, as the holographic ones tend to have an overpowering prismatic sparkle in direct sun. I especially like the iridescent ones with their delicate glints of blue and purple. Of course, the white glitters make this polish. Over a dark base, it's like the nighttime snowfall of your imagination. You can almost hear the flakes pattering softly against your window.

love,
Liz

Monday, November 28, 2016

Different Dimension Ghost of Jupiter

Like Butterfly Nebula, Ghost of Jupiter was released earlier this month by Indiana-based indie polish maker Different Dimension as part of the Intergalactic collection. It is a full-coverage glitterbomb with bazillions of silver holographic glitters and iridescent red-to-green colorshifting glitters suspended in a clear base, reading mostly as a greyish off-white that shifts to a glowy linen shade at certain angles to the light. It looks the snow of your imagination, fluffy and glistening with opalescent glints of flame, aqua, lavender and spring green. Those iridescent colorshifting glitters are deeply cool -- under incandescent light they completely blanket the look with flame-colored sparks. In direct sun, the polish explodes into a dazzling field of prismatic sparkle.

Application was great! The consistency of Ghost of Jupiter is very jelly-like with a thicker viscosity, to which I added a couple of squirts of polish thinner at the outset. Thinned, it had an easily-controlled, fluent, self-leveling spread over the nail with very good glitter payoff that disperses evenly without effort. Coverage is provided by the glitters and three coats will provide wearable opacity on longer nails with a minimum of visible nail line, mostly camouflaged by the bling. I actually think that it is at its most beautiful in one coat, a lovely sheer opalescent falling-snow look. Cleanup is something you'll not want to do a lot of -- those glitters are sticky! Ghost of Jupiter dries naturally in good time to a textured finish that is mostly smoothed by a layer of gel effect topcoat, or you can use two of your favorite quick-dry topcoat. I used a layer of both for a glossy, glitter-under-glass look.

Photos show three coats of Ghost of Jupiter over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Pretty Serious Plump Up the Volume followed by a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Different Dimension Ghost of Jupiter

My photos make me sad -- no still image can accurately capture the dynamics of this amazing sparkler! The iridescent colorshifting glitters really set this apart from other silvery holographic microglitter bombs. It looks like the sort of polish a snow faerie would wear, and I imagine that it would be spectacular in fire light or by the lights of a Christmas tree.

love,
Liz