Lacquer Slacker Liz

Sunday, June 25, 2017

ILNP Someday

Like Sunkissed, Someday was released earlier this month by Nevada-based indie polish maker ILNP as part of the Summer Jellies 2017 collection. Officially described as lime, the color is a remarkably vigorous and fresh shade of green that's a little grassier than the variation of yellow-green that I generally think of as lime. It's actually a pretty good match for the web color lime or a dark pastel green, which is much brighter and livelier than it sounds, and even tips a little to Kelly green in low light. The translucent formula gives it an incredibly juicy aspect that plays into the natural crisp freshness of the color. It is densely stippled with silvery holographic flakes that produce a gorgeous golden prismatic flush edged with orange sparks in bright ambient light and a dazzling blanket of rainbow sparkle in the sun.

Application was most agreeable! The consistency of Someday is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling glide over the nail that is quite user-friendly and amenable to thin or thicker coats as preference dictates. Pigmentation is sheer but buildable, and as with Sunkissed the abundance of holographic flakes contributes to its ability to cover. I used three coats for the photos, but actually quite liked the look at two even though there was a bit of discernible nail line. It seems to suit it somehow. Cleanup is easy. Someday dries naturally in very good time to a mostly smooth, shiny finish. A tiny bit of discernible texture is easily smoothed by topcoat.

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

ILNP Someday

This intense, brilliant shade has the interesting dual qualities of being both organic and highly decorative, and its energy is almost palpable. A superb summer alternative to neon for you green loving enthusiasts out there!

love,
Liz

Saturday, June 24, 2017

KBShimmer Please Don't Glow Girl

Please Don't Glow Girl was released the first week of May this year by Indiana-based indie polish maker KBShimmer as part of the All The Bright Moves collection. In keeping with the late 80s/early 90s theme of the collection, the name of this polish is a play on the 1988 song "Please Don't Go Girl" by American boy band New Kids on the Block.

This is a neon orange polish with a creme/jelly hybrid type of formula. The color is indeed, as it is officially described, "blazing," a full-on neon with all the intensity and fluorescence you could ask for. It far outstrips anything I could find in the pantheon of oranges in terms of brightness, but quite a few reviewers have likened it to a traffic cone, or safety orange. In terms of red/yellow balance, I'd say it leans slightly to the former, but only just enough to make it juicy. Interestingly, it shows aspirations to coral under incandescent light.

Application was great! The consistency of Please Don't Glow Girl is fluid, light and smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, an excellent formula that is a joy to work with and went on best for me from a moderately loaded brush. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two to three coats depending upon how you paint. I used three for the photos to ensure I didn't have any darkness around the nail line, and would probably opt for three even if I weren't taking pictures of it, but your mileage may vary. Cleanup is straightforward. There's a tiny bit of pigment travel and a skosh of residual staining but mostly its just not enough to really notice. Please Don't Glow Girl dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, fairly shiny finish, unusual for a neon.

Photos show three coats of Please Don't Glow Girl over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

KBShimmer Please Don't Glow Girl

When you've got this on your nails, it's like someone just threw a giant beach ball into the pool -- SO FUN! It is intensely convivial, the life of the party, and sure to bring a grin to your face. Awesome!

love,
Liz

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

ILNP Birthday Suit

Like After Party, Birthday Suit was released earlier this month by Nevada-based indie polish maker ILNP as part of the Summer 2017 collection. It's described as a cashmere pink holo with holographic flakies. The color is a tender, desaturated nude pink, slightly cool-leaning, with greige undertones that give it a creamy, clay-like sensibility. Superabundant holographic flakes add a fetching prismatic twinkle in ambient light and a blanket of rainbow sparks in the sun, where there's also a vestigial holographic flare, slightly dispersed by the flakes but present enough to travel up and down the nail as you flex your fingers in the light.

Application was fabulous. The consistency of Birthday Suit is fluid, light and smooth with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a fluent, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail. Formulaic perfection! Pigmentation is slightly sheer, but will build to a wearably opaque look in two medium coats. I added a third for the photos and it did seem to give the color a bit more density and intensify its native creaminess, but this polish goes on so evenly you could easily wear it at one coat for an ethereal, sheer look. Cleanup is a bit of a bear because those holographic flakes stick to the nail like tiny prismatic limpets so you'll want to be precise with your lines from the get-go. Birthday Suit dries naturally in good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show three coats of Birthday Suit over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

ILNP Birthday Suit

I adore the graceful, your-nails-but-better look of pinkish nude holos to the point where I simply cannot get enough of them, ever, so you know I love love LOVE this polish! It may not be groundbreaking, but it is unreservedly gorgeous in every way, from the color to the formula to the holographic effects. The color is clean and delicate but deliciously creamy, angelic but grounded, and the prismatic sparkle is like a wink from Cupid!

If you're wondering, as I was, how this compares to Chleo, ILNP's blush nude holo from the 2016 Fall Neutrals collection, Edina of lakkomlakkom includes a photo of the two swatched side by side (she also includes Sweet Pea and Elle) in her review of the Summer 2017 collection, here. Birthday Suit is lighter in person, she says, and has bigger flakies in it. I suspect that it may be slightly more opaque as well.

love,
Liz