Lacquer Slacker Liz

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Different Dimension Butterfly Nebula

Butterfly Nebula was released earlier this month by Indiana-based indie polish maker Different Dimension as part of the Intergalactic collection. Officially described as a "violet jelly polish with holographic microflakies and iridescent red to green color-shifting glitters," the base is a deep grape color, very clean and vibrant. Holographic microflakes float within the translucent base and stippled the finish with silvery flecks in ambient light, along with beaucoup tiny color-shifting glitters, visible mostly in their bright red iteration. In the sun, the holographic flakies burst into a field of brilliant prismatic sparks.

Application was fabulous. The consistency of Butterfly Nebula is fluid and dense, with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling glide over the nail that is easy to manipulate with Different Dimension's slightly bushy flatten-style brush. It's a fast-drying formula that sets up fairly quickly and doesn't appreciate too much fussing, but the components are well-behaved and disperse evenly over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent for a jelly. You can get a wearable opacity in two medium coats, but adding a third coat provides denser color and maximizes the glitter payoff. Be sure to wrap your tips carefully to avoid any sheerness there. I did my cleanup as I went along and had no issues. Butterfly Nebula dries naturally in very good time to a shiny finish with some of texture from the glitters that is mostly smoothed with quick-dry topcoat. For a glossy, glitter-under-glass look, I applied a layer of gel-effect topcoat before a final coat of Seche Vite.

Photos show three coats of Butterfly Nebula over treatment and basecoat with a layer of Pretty Serious Plump Up the Volume followed by a layer of Seche Vite.

Different Dimension Butterfly Nebula

Those red glitters sparkle like crazy from within the violet base, the effect is amazing! I'd definitely call this a fantasy polish, dramatic, ornamental and just all out gorgeous! It will make a showy after dark lacquer as well, as those glitters fire up brilliantly under any kind of light. Love it!

xo,
Liz

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Grace-full Nail Polish Olive Evergreen

Olive Evergreen was released in November 2015 by Australian indie polish maker Grace-full Nail Polish as part of the Wintertide collection. Described as an "olive with gold shift linear holo," the base color here is actually a deep, slightly dirty pine green that is filled with golden microflake shimmers, which read as bright olivine through the base. The effect is a complex, dimensional mixture of pine and olive that tricks the eyes to see it now as olive, now as pine, and sometimes both at once with one shade segueing effortlessly to the other. Very unusual and rich! Subtle, misty hues of ultramarine and cerulean contribute to the dimensionality in bright ambient light, and in the sun there's a slightly dispersed but very sparkly linear prismatic display surrounding a central lick of semi-metallic olivine before shading to a deep pine green at the edges of the nail.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Olive Evergreen is fluid, smooth and slightly fluffy with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a lush, velvety, self-leveling slip over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent, netting wearable opacity in one medium coat, although a second will add depth and extra richness to the color. Cleanup is easy. Olive Evergreen dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not inhibit the holographic effects in any way.

Photos show two coats of Olive Evergreen over KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Grace-full Nail Polish Olive Evergreen

I love this rich, foresty polish with its shifting hues of olive and pine and brightly gleaming microflakes! The lush dark green tones are perfect for holiday wear if you want something a little more painterly and mysterious than a typical Christmas green, but I'd never limit this splendid lacquer to one season. It's too beautiful for that!

xo,
Liz

Monday, November 21, 2016

Different Dimension Celebration

Celebration was just released about a week and a half ago by Indiana-based indie polish maker Different Dimension as part of the Homespun Holidays collection. Described as a "taupe holographic metallic polish with added shimmers, flakies and holographic microglitters," the base color is a pale, shimmery taupe grey that is filled with Missi's special mixed metals magic! Superabundant copper flakies give it a complex, heathery, cinerous look and a radiant coppery pink sheen with hints of violet. Folded into this look are shifting swaths of misty prismatic shimmer in pale blue and gold, dotted with tiny twinkling sparks from a sprinkling of holographic microglitters. Direct sun generates an extravagant, super sparkly linear flare: slender flame-shaped ribbons of bright prismatic color framing a central blaze of gleaming, semi-metallic coppery pink and shading to taupe grey around the edges of the nail.

Application was most agreeable! The consistency of Celebration is fluid, smooth and dense with a medium-to-thick viscosity to which I added a squirt of polish thinner at the outset. Thinned, it had a creamy, even, self-leveling glide over the nail with very good pigmentation, delivering completely opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy, but does free up various tiny components to ensconce themselves about the nail environs. Celebration dries naturally in good time to a slightly flat finish with a small amount of gentle texture from the glitters, easily smoothed by topcoat. Topcoat does not affect the holographic properties in any way.

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

Different Dimension Celebration

I love greys and taupes on my nails so I had to have this stunning silvery/coppery taupe holo. The holographic effects are powerful and responsive in almost any kind of light, and mix beautifully with the copper flakies to produce a fantastic, rich, shimmery visual texture that is full of shifting colors. It has an ornate, kind of iridescent feel on the nail that reminds me of Louis IV somehow, yet with with the versitility of a neutral.

Excellent!

love,
Liz