Lacquer Slacker Liz

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Femme Fatale Isle of Cythera

Like Heavenly Raiment and Arrival of Venus, Isle of Cythera was released at the end of July/beginning of August this year by Australian indie polish maker Femme Fatale Cosmetics as part of the Birth of Venus collection, inspired by Botticelli's c. 1486 painting The Birth of Venus.

This is a linear holographic polish in a medium-toned dusky pine green with a foresty aspect that is gently silvered by holographic pigment, a smoky, sophisticated shade washed with holographically-nuanced hues of transparent indigo, olive and azure in ambient light. Superabundant fine golden shimmers read as tiny sparks of pale gold, chartreuse, spring green and even aqua through the base, adding a delicate twinkle to the sleek, semi-metallic look of the finish. Direct sun generates a powerful, fully-linear prismatic flare predominated by bright, sparkling arcs of azure and spring green that shades to a murky, enigmatic dark spring green around the edges of the nail.

Application was amazing. The consistency of Isle of Cythera is fluid, light and very creamy with a medium viscosity and a near-effortless, buttery, self-leveling glide over the nail. Fabulous formula! Pigmentation is very good, rendering completely even, opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Isle of Cythera 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 two coats of Isle of Cythera over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Femme Fatale Isle of Cythera

The discrete sparkles of the shimmers lost out to the holographic effects in my photos, but they add a glamorous touch to the sophisticated nature of this polish. I love this color so much! The holo generates a rich palette of color in ambient light, not necessarily bright but sleek and dimensional. It has a particularly elegant and graceful quality on the nail that makes it exceptionally gratifying to wear. Beauty!

xo,
Liz

Friday, August 26, 2016

Dreamland Dancing in the Sky

Dancing in the Sky was released in May this year by Missouri-based indie polish maker Dreamland Artisan Nail Lacquer as a special limited edition custom polish exclusively for members of the Hella Holo Customs Facebook group. Inspired by and named for the YouTube song by Dani and Lizzy and made especially for Mother's Day, it is creator Noelie's homage to all of the women who have helped us, loved us and taught us, whose laughter is represented by the sparkles.

To my eye, the base color of this sparkly creation is a semi-translucent Persian blue, a bright, medium blue with subtle violet undertones that's kind of like the love child of azure and ultramarine. Abundant finely-milled pink and purple shimmers generate a transparent purple sheen, giving the polish an indigo lean with a sweet pink flash. It is packed with infinitesimal holographic microglitters that add depth and dimensionality and blanket the polish with happy prismatic sparkle, especially dazzling in the sun where the base color brightens to a brilliant azure.

Application was wonderful! The consistency of Dancing in the Sky is fluid, light and slightly fluffy from the microglitters, with a medium viscosity and a smooth, even, self-leveling glide over the nail. It's the kind of formula that goes exactly where you put it and stays there, so enjoyable and gratifying to work with! Pigmentation is sheerish, but builds easily to wearable opacity in two to three coats depending upon your painting style and coverage preferences. I used three coats for this manicure, and that's what I recommend for closest approximation to bottle color. Cleanup was unexpectedly easy, even with the microglitters. Dancing in the Sky dries naturally in very good time to a gently-textured finish that is easily smoothed by a generous layer of topcoat.

Photos show three coats of Dancing in the Sky over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Dreamland Dancing in the Sky

Dreamland Dancing in the Sky -- blurry, but you get the idea....

Dreamland Dancing in the Sky

Those tiny square holographic microglitters are just marvelous! The prismatic sparkle is much more colorful in person than you would think from the photos, yet takes nothing away from the wonderful blue. The effect is lush, dynamic and dimensional, really gorgeous. All of the components here are expertly balanced, it's a beautifully constructed polish with a buoyant, happy vibe that is immensely wearable. Combined with the poignant, heartwarming inspiration, this makes for a very special lacquer.

xo,
Liz

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Pretty Serious Free Sample

Like Destash, Free Sample was released in July this year by Australian indie polish maker Pretty Serious Cosmetics as part of the Serious Business collection, a series of polishes named for terms commonly used by polish enthusiasts. I suspect that there may be a singularly Kaz-related rationale behind this name, as "free sample" is not particular to or even commonly used for nail polish. Trust Pretty Serious for inside humor, whether we get it or not!

Free Sample is a delicate pastel pink with a cool lean, very like Crayola's piggy pink or a slightly more desaturated variation of my beloved mimi pink. It is swimming with tiny translucent iridescent microflake shimmers that impart a faint faerie-like blue and pink twinkle to the finish in ambient light, strengthening to bright pinpoint sparkles in the sun. Even though they are fairly stealthy most of the time, their presence adds a subtle diaphanous quality and intricacy to the look.

Application was tetchy. The consistency of Free Sample is fluid and full-bodied with a medium-to-thicker viscosity that I thinned as much as I dared. Thin coats are the way to go with this one, using a light hand and as few strokes as possible and allowing some extra dry time between coats. Thinned, it self-leveled fairly well but left streaks over my ridges that finally disappeared with the third coat. Cleanup is pretty straightforward. Free Sample dries naturally in average time to a smooth, shiny finish. It is quite vulnerable to marring while setting up so don't do anything rash like TYPE unless it's closer to dry or you've got your quick-dry topcoat on it -- ask me how I know! Topcoat helps a lot to smooth out any lingering unevenness.

Photos show three coats of Free Sample over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Pretty Serious Free Sample

John says he gets a 50s vibe from this polish -- you? I wish I'd been able to capture the shimmers a little better, but hey, it makes my fingers look relatively tan, huzzah! I have only a scant handful of pastel pinks like this in my collection, it's a particularly dainty, girly shade that I'm not sure suits me very well -- I am no delicate flower. ;)

xo,
Liz