Lacquer Slacker Liz

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Contrary Polish Harvest Moon

Released earlier this month, Harvest Moon was created by Carrie of Missouri-based indie polish maker Contrary Polish as a November 2017 limited edition custom polish exclusively for members of the Holo-Maniacs Facebook group. Inspired by a photo of a huge orange moon in a dark blue-grey sky silhouetting a foresty horizon, Carrie describes it as a "deep slate blue linear holo with strong contrasting orange shimmer/microflakes."

The color is a soulful medium blue-grey along the lines of glaucous with aspects of steel blue and deep blue-grey. Abundant holographic pigment gives it a dusty, delicately-grained visual texture, dimensionalizes the color with gentle, shadowy hues of blue and grey in ambient light and lights up in exquisite tiny prismatic sparks as light travels over it. Fine orange microflake shimmers create a sparkling orange mist along the axis of light, a dainty bloom of interior illumination that adds a hint of warmth to the look. The color brightens in direct sun and takes on a denimy quality, displaying a slightly dispersed linear holographic flair predominated by azure with a corona of mixed prismatic sparkle.

Application was delicious. The consistency of Harvest Moon is fluid, light and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, a lovely formula that is a pleasure to manipulate with Contrary's flexible, flattened-style brush. Pigmentation is very good. A touch of sheerness on the first coat built easily to evenly opaque coverage with the second on my shorties, but may need a third on longer nails. Cleanup is easy. Harvest Moon dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence and effects of the microflake shimmers and does not interfere with the holographic properties in any way.

Photos show two coats of Harvest Moon over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Contrary Polish Harvest Moon

Wow, this is SO GOOD! And speaks directly to my pan-seasonal love for unusual blues, although it does have a gorgeous, rainy, autumnal quality that seems suit November particularly well. The warming effects of the orange microflake shimmers add a kind of gentled quality to an otherwise stormy color, giving it a companionable, delightfully wearable feel. I love it!

Harvest Moon is available through the end of the month by accessing the hidden listing from Carrie's post in the Holo-Maniacs Facebook group. You must be a member to see the post, so travel on over and join up!

xo,
Liz

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Cirque Coronation

NYC-based indie polish maker Cirque Colors originally released Coronation to great acclaim during the fall of 2013, in October I think, as a special, limited edition artisan collaboration set -- the polish was specially packaged and accompanied by a crown-like, lace-inspired rose-gold-plated ring by Texas jewelry designer Jeannie Vianney. It sold out almost immediately at release and also upon restock, quickly becoming of those legendary HTF (Hard To Find) polishes, avidly sought after by enthusiasts and collectors. This year Annie has surprised us all with an early Christmas gift: the resurrection of this very special polish as part of the recently released Holiday 2017 collection.

Described as "a violet jelly with multi-dimensional shimmer" on Cirque's website, the base color is a translucent vivid violet that darkens considerably to a more of a deep pigment violet with layering. Swimming within are abundant luminous colorshifting shimmers that read as a sparkling red mist through the base with a shift through copper to greenish gold as you turn your nails into the light. The shimmers give the polish a stunning, dimensional reddish glow in the center of the nail that shades to an inky purple at the sidewalls. Additional sparkle is provided by a sprinkling of holographic particles and/or possibly ultrafine holographic glitters, creating a delicate net of pinpoint prismatic sparks in the sun.

Application was great! The consistency of Coronation is fluid, dense and smooth with a medium viscosity and a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is sheer and requires three coats to build to full bottle color -- well worth the trouble! Be sure to wrap your tips carefully with each coat to avoid any excessive sheerness there. Cleanup is easy. Coronation dries naturally in good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its best, which also intensifies the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Coronation over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Cirque Coronation

Coronation was ahead of its time in 2013, when many likened its look to that of Clarins 230 and Max Factor Fantasy Fire. These days, with the resurgence of Unicorn Pee polishes, it joins that genre as a beautiful example of the properties and effects of colorshifting shimmer couched in a translucent base. The sheer pigmentation of the base here allows the shimmer color to stand out particularly well, and the twinkling holographic sparkle adds glamour and panache to the rich, regal nature of the look. Utterly gorgeous!

This polish is currently sold out but will be restocked once in December. To receive a restock notification by email, visit its listing on Cirque's website and fill out the form on that page. As in the past, it is an LE or limited edition polish, so get it while the gettin's good -- I'm not sure we should count on Annie's largess to resurrect it again in the future!

love,
Liz

Monday, November 20, 2017

Don Deeva Call Me Councilman

Call Me Councilman was just released earlier this month by Florida-based indie polish maker Don Deeva as a part of an ongoing series of polish tributes to the anthology horror television show American Horror Story.

It is officially described as a blue/purple/teal multichrome holo with holographic flakies. From the bottle, I had expected purple to be the most common/primary color on the nail. Not so! The main color I see is a medium, teal-ish variation of jungle green along the lines of Taylor Love Green. It is at its brightest along the axis of light and shades through deep blue to a dark indigo around the edges of the nail, dimensionalizing the appearance beautifully and adding a delicious, slightly sinister quality to the feel. Turning my nails into the light, the main color shifts completely to a medium purple with the same blue/indigo shading. Like magic! Abundant Spectraflair holographic pigment gives the polish a luminous, shimmering, finely-grained look flecked with tiny holographic flakes. Direct sun engenders a delicate, scattered display of the tiniest rainbow sparks, a fine, sparkling blanket of pinpoint prismatic motes.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Call Me Councilman is fluid, light and silky with a medium viscosity and a fluent, even, self-leveling glide over the nail, a gorgeous, biddable formula that is a pleasure to paint with. Pigmentation is very good to excellent, nearly a one-coater but you'll want two for richest color and effects. Cleanup is easy. Call Me Councilman dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, flat finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Call Me Councilman over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Don Deeva Call Me Councilman

Generally speaking, I am not the biggest fan of multichromes (don't hate me!). What I really like about this one is that it doesn't have the reflective, metallic look that you usually see with multichromes. The abundance of holographic pigment in this polish gives it a shimmering, finely-grained visual texture, which I love. I also like the spookiness of the colorway, it seems to suite the AHS inspiration well, and the formula is perfection. An excellent shifty polish!

love,
Liz