Lacquer Slacker Liz

Saturday, September 3, 2016

A-England Rose Bower

Rose Bower was released in June 2013 by British boutique polish maker A-England as part of the Burne-Jones Dream collection, five polishes inspired by The Legend of Briar Rose series of paintings by British designer and painter Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-98). The paintings depict a moment in the story of Sleeping Beauty, the title of the series coming from the version presented by the Brothers Grimm in their collection of 1812.

The Rose Bower, Edward Burne-Jones, c. 1890. The sleeping beauty lies on her bed surrounded by her slumbering attendants. The rose is seen encircling the drapery in the background. Beneath the painting is an inscription of lines from "For the Briar Rose," a poem by Burne-Jones' friend and colleague William Morris. "Here lies the hoarded love, the key/ To all the treasure that shall be;/ Come fated hand the gift to take/ And smite this sleeping world awake." (source)

Described by creator Adina as "a true deep rose hue kissed with subtle holographic overtones," Rose Bower is a deep, rich, gleaming shade of crimson-rose that is a slightly darker variation of Crayola's razzmatazz. The color is radiant and intense, a romantic, passionately feminine hue with a luxurious presentation. Holographic effects serve to generate a warm, dimensional prismatic bloom in ambient light that gives the polish that "lit from within" glow, speckling the finish with scattered silvery holographic particles and creating a shimmering, velvety visual texture.

Application was on par with the high-caliber formulations that A-England is known for. The consistency of Rose Bower is fluid, full-bodied and very smooth with a medium viscosity and a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent, delivering evenly opaque coverage in a single coat, although you'll want a second for richest color and holographic effects. Cleanup is surprisingly easy, with some pigment travel as you might expect but very little trace staining. Rose Bower dries naturally in good time to a smooth, slightly flat finish that benefits from a good topcoat, which maximizes the dimensionality and velvety visual texture of the look.

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

A-England Rose Bower

This is an almost poignantly beautiful red with an opulent look and a bold, high-spirited nature that I find particularly fetching. There's a certain dramatic quality to wearing an intense color like this, it inclines one toward grand gestures. Take any necessary precautions!

A-England lacquers are available from stockists around the globe. Look up your closest source on the list of distributors, here.

love,
Liz

Friday, September 2, 2016

Femme Fatale Horae Awaits

Horae Awaits 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. Creator Sophie describes it as a "very soft, cool-toned pale pink with scattered holographic microglitters and blue luminescence," and that's exactly what it is. The color is a light, creamy neutral pink touched with beige and grey for a dusky, nearly nude look. Superabundant ultrafine blue particulate shimmers produce an ethereal, luminiscent glow and give the color a lilac aspect in certain lights, while incredibly tiny silver holographic microglitter squares, scarcely larger than shimmers themselves, create a stealthy, exquisite twinkling effect from within the polish. Everything about this is soft and understated. The general look is very smooth with an almost palpable silky quality and a lustrous blue sheen.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Horae Awaits is fluid, light and very creamy with a medium viscosity and a nearly effortless buttery self-leveling slip over the nail, an absolutely beautiful formula that is very easy to work with. It likes to go on in thin coats and appreciates a light touch. Pigmentation is evenly sheer and buildable. Sophie notes that completely opaque coverage may take up to four coats, but I was happy with the look at three. Cleanup is easy. Horae Awaits dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, flat finish that wants a good topcoat to look its best. Topcoat also emphasizes the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Femme Fatale Horae Awaits

The look of this polish reminds me so much of the nacre on the inside of the coquina shells that we used to collect by the hundreds in Florida. I loved those little bivalves with their multiplicity of soft, pretty colors and pink interiors! My personal pinkage almost overwhelms this delicate shade, but I love it anyway. It's almost a YNBB color on me.

Horae Awaits is the last of four polishes that I purchased from the Birth of Venus collection, the others being Heavenly Raiment, Arrival of Venus and Isle of Cythera. My favorite of these four is Isle of Cythera, that green just sends me! I wish I'd added Breath of Zephros, Floral Rain and Upon Seafoam when I made my purchase (I was feeling a little skittish about buying so many), but I've enjoyed admiring them from afar. Wonderful collection, Sophie!

xo,
Liz

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Pretty Serious Bunny Foo-Foo

Bunny Foo-Foo was released at the end of May this year by Australian boutique polish maker Pretty Serious Cosmetics as part of the latest installment of the ongoing Well Meaning But Ultimately Quite Awkward Pet Names series. This latest batch of six polishes has been nicknamed Pastel Pet Names to differentiate it from its predecessors.

Officially described as a minty green, Bunny Foo-Foo is an aqua pastel, a white-based cyanic tint that you might just as easily call minty blue. In fact, the color reads as more blue or more green depending upon viewing circumstances and the skin tone of the wearer. It has a sunbleached quality and while not a neon does possess a bit of phosphorescent glow in low light and shade. This is not a soft, pliant pastel. It's bright, fresh and eminently summery, definitely a dues-paying member of the pool blue family, as Paola of Nail Polish Pursuit demonstrates in situ, here.

Application was quite agreeable. The consistency of Bunny Foo-Foo is fluid, light and creamy with a medium viscosity and a smooth, easy glide over the nail that self-levels beautifully for a white-based polish. Some sheerness and streaking on the first coat evens out nicely to evenly opaque coverage with the second. Cleanup is easy. Bunny Foo-Foo dries naturally in very good time to a gorgeous glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Bunny Foo-Foo over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Pretty Serious Bunny Foo-Foo

This aqua shade pulls very blue on me, which I have a feeling will not be the case for everyone but I do think that it is fairly well-balanced between blue and green. Bunny Foo-Foo actually looks ok on my pinkage, so I'm happy with this polish even though I purchased it entirely for sentimental reasons. I must have delivered the little bunny foo-foo joke -- song, full pantomime and "hare today, goon tomorrow" punchline -- hundreds of times as a little kid.

Down came the good fairy and she said....

lol,
Liz