Lacquer Slacker Liz

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Fancy Gloss Tree House

Tree House is the fourth and last of the polishes by Miami-based indie polish maker Fancy Gloss that I picked up from Llarowe during my Fancy Gloss mini-spree at the end of February. It's another wonderful yellow-green holo, a medium-light mossy avocado green holographic polish that lands between Lily Pad and Camo Home With Me on the spectrum. The color is quite soft for a yellow-green, subdued and somewhat silvered by the abundance of holo pigment it contains. The holo effects are softened as well, and I would classify this as a scattered type of holo. But in direct sun they deliver a gorgeous dimensional golden flair with a central wash of pale sparkly turquoise and spangled here and there with tiny sparks of red, a little shy for my camera but definitely apparent in person. In indirect light there's delicious dimensional shading to the base color, which I love. Most agreeable!

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Tree House is similar to the other Fancy Gloss lacquers I've experienced: fluid, light and creamy with an effortless, silky glide over the nail and outstanding self-leveling properties. Pigmentation is very good with a touch of sheerness to the first coat that builds easily to even, wearable opacity with the second. I really can't say too many good things about Fancy Gloss's formulas, they are superb and make for a delightful application experience. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Tree House dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not diminish the holographic properties of this polish in any way that I could tell.

Photos show two coats of Tree House over Seche Rebuild treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a slightly bubbly topcoat of Glisten and Glow HK Girl.

Fancy Gloss Tree House

From what I understand, Tree House has been discontinued by the maker and it's sold out at Llarowe, where I got mine. Actually most of Llarowe's Fancy Gloss stock appears to be sold out right now, but there are a few polishes available. The Fancy Gloss website is currently closed for maintenance with a notice that it will reopen on 27 April. If you enjoy the subtle shading and dimensionality of scattered holos, I urge you to be resilient in your pursuit of this brand. The formulas are outstanding and she makes some delicious colors.

love,
Liz

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Alchemy Lacquers Naiad of the Spring

Naiad of the Spring was released by indie polish maker Alchemy Lacquers as part of the Alchemical Imaginarium: Water Fae collection at the end of May 2014. It's a radiant medium-dark sapphire jelly bearing abundant tiny metallic turquoise microglitters, ultrafine purple interference shimmers and a sprinkling of holographic pigment. In direct light this polish is breathtaking! All kinds of multicolored sparks burst from the rich brilliant blue, which has a bold scintillating sparkle. In indirect light the shimmering turquoise microglitters in combination with the sapphire blue provide lots of dimensionality and depth. This is one of those dazzling, glamorous, extroverted peacock shades that really puts your nails on parade.

Application was pretty good. The consistency of Naiad of the Spring is somewhat gel-like, full-bodied but still fluid. I found it easiest to manipulate with medium coats and a generous bead of polish on the brush. It's a fast drying polish that becomes a little sticky if you linger too long or use too many strokes, so a quick deft touch is helpful. I am neither quick nor all that deft, but the formula accommodated my finagling without too much trouble. Self-leveling properties are very good and the coverage builds quickly to a wearable opacity in two coats, which is what I used for this manicure. In retrospect, I wish I'd added a third coat for more even coverage, as I was able to see a few thin spots that were unnoticeable until I looked at my nails in direct light. Cleanup was fairly straightforward with a few escapee microglitters that were relatively easy to brush away. Naiad of the Spring dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, satiny finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Naiad of the Spring over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Alchemy Lacquers Naiad of the Spring

This is such an awesome lacquer to wear if you're going to be out and about on a sunny day. It is just incredibly sparkly and dimensional in the sun, you can't stop staring at it! We had a gorgeous day here today, the air was washed and clean after yesterday's multiple thunderstorms, the humidity was low and a fresh breeze was tossing the newly leafed out flora around, the baby leaves shining bright green and silver in the sun. Naiad of the Spring with it's fantastic sparkles felt like the polish equivalent to the beautiful weather, fresh and radiant!

love,
Liz

Friday, April 24, 2015

LynBDesigns Wait Wait Wait Is This a Kissing Book

Wait Wait Wait Is This a Kissing Book was released by Michigan-based indie polish maker LynBDesigns as part of the Dweam Wiffim A Dweam collection in February 2013. The inspiration for this collection is, of course, the 1987 American romantic comedy fantasy adventure film The Princess Bride. Wait Wait Wait is This a Kissing Book is a full-coverage flakie topper with a pink-tinted transparent suspension based loaded with superabundant irregularly-shaped metallic flakies in gold, pink and red as well infinitesimal magenta microglitters. Beautifully composed, it can be layered to great effect in one coat over a base color (spectacular over purple!) or alone over itself in multiple coats, which is how I chose to wear it. The overall effect when layered to opacity by itself is of a medium-light, soft, washed pinkish red with aspirations to coral flecked with softly gleaming dapples of red, gold, orange and pink. The teensy magenta microglitters add a grace note of sparkle and bit of a reflective magenta sheen to this intricate confection, which sits gracefully on the nail.

Application was great! The consistency of Wait Wait Wait Is This a Kissing Book is a little gel-like due to the suspension base and fluffy with flakies but surprisingly fluid never the less, with a smooth, easy flow over the nail. There was a bit of flakie tumbling, some free edge protrusions and a couple of stickups (mostly on the sidewalls) but the components disperse evenly and the polish self-levels very well to a remarkably smooth finish. Coverage is a function of the components, which are dense enough to provide mostly opaque, wearable coverage in three coats albeit with some sheerness on the tips. Cleanup is something you'll want to do as little as possible of with this polish. The golden flakies, especially, stick like limpets to whatever surface they hit, and the tiny magenta microglitters are a bear to remove with a cleanup brush. A proactive approach of as clean an application as possible is the way to go. Not my forte! And I have the random components sprinkled over my nail environs to prove it. Ah well! Wait Wait Wait Is This a Kissing Book dries naturally in very good time to a mostly smooth shiny finish with a very slight discernible texture from the components. I opted for a matte topcoat to finish, the better to show off the gleaming flakies.

Photos show three coats of Wait Wait Wait Is This a Kissing Book over treatment and basecoat with a layer of OPI Matte Topcoat.

LynBDesigns Wait Wait Wait Is This a Kissing Book

LynBDesigns Wait Wait Wait Is This a Kissing Book, macro shot in the bottle

LynBDesigns Wait Wait Wait Is This a Kissing Book

This polish saw a two-plus-year stint on my wishlist before I picked it up only recently during one of Jenna's sales. It had been stuck in my head from the moment I first saw it swatched by Mishka of Accio Lacquer in February 2013... something about the gleaming pastiche of fiery analogous colors is just delicious and nigh irresistible to my eye. I'm very pleased to have it finally, it joins a couple of other similarly composed lacquers in my stash as the original holy grail, but there's a little bit of a disconnect between looking at it and actually wearing it. It's a bit more subtle on the nail than macro and bottle shots would lead you to believe -- the exquisite mini mosaic of the components doesn't have the same drama on my fingertips that I so love when I have it right up to my eyeball, and I'm thinking it might just be too soft and delicate to stand up to my pinkage....

I still love it's construction, though, and I still think it's a gorgeous polish, especially with a matte topcoat.

Speaking of drama, the Zoya Earth Day polish exchange and sale currently afoot always has such a momentous psychological impact on my nail polish doings. Am I the only one? I'm sure that little virtual Zoya shopping cart will be seeing a lot of action for the duration of the sale as I collect and cull way too many polishes for my own good in my quest to put together a reasonable purchase. I currently have fifteen in there right now, but there you go, that's way too many! I'm about ready to dump them all and start over with a more focused scope. Lather, rinse, repeat. Good times, bring a date!

love,
Liz