Lacquer Slacker Liz

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Tonic Polish Uniporn over Cirque Memento Mori

More unicorn pee!

Uniporn was released last month by Iowa-based indie polish maker Tonic Polish as part of the Unicorn Pee collection, a series of six polishes, all but one of which featuring the magical, elusive red/green/gold colorshifting shimmer known in the online polish community as "unicorn pee." In Uniporn, these shimmers are suspended in a sheer red jelly base that can be worn either as a topper or layered over itself in three coats. Inspired by Alicia's swatches of Uniporn over black in her review of the collection on Delishious Nails, I decided to use it as a topper over Cirque's venerable Memento Mori, my go-to black creme.

Application was excellent (even though I made a mess with Memento Mori)! The consistency of Uniporn is fluid and light with a medium viscosity and a silky smooth, self-leveling slip over the nail, super easy to work with. The shimmers disperse evenly over the nail without any extra effort or visible brushstrokes, nice! I used two coats of Uniporn over one coat of Memento Mori to maximize the effects. Cleanup is easy. I didn't wait for it to dry before applying another coat or topcoat, so I can't speak to dry time on the nail, but going by a nail palette swatch it does dry to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show two coats of Uniporn over a one-coat base of Memento Mori with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Tonic Polish Uniporn over Cirque Memento Mori

OMG! I think this makes for, like, the world's most fantastic Halloween manicure! The effect is like a fiery cloud of bonfire sparks in the blackest of nights -- you can almost see the ghosts and goblins dancing! The shift spectrum ranges from scarlet through bright red-orange with coppery aspects through all kinds of autumnal oranges and ambers to a glowing green at extreme angles, all radiant and easily visible with simple shifts of the fingers or reorientation to your light source. It's is at its most spectacular in the sun, where the shimmers twinkle like mad with a glittery sparkle. Awesome!

love,
Liz

Monday, September 4, 2017

Top Shelf Lacquer Tanked

Tanked was released towards the end of last month by Ohio-based indie polish maker Top Shelf Lacquer as part of the Drunken Creme Fall Holos collection, a series of twelve creme-style holographic polishes in rich, autumnal colors that are all so right up my alley and look so good together that I couldn't pick just a few and ended up getting the whole kielbasa -- the largest full collection I've ever purchased.

Creator Amy describes this as "a lush olive green creme holo polish." It's a little brighter than olive to my eye, a dusty, mellow, medium-toned yellow-green along the lines of Crayola's asparagus, with apple green aspects and hints of grassy mantis that give it a fresh lift, especially in the sun. Abundant finely-milled holographic pigment is visible as tiny golden motes within the base and creates a bit of effervescence within its creamy countenance. The holographic effects are subtle, as you'd expect from a creme-style holo. There's a twinkling veil of pasteled prismatic sparkle in the sun with a vestigial prismatic flare featuring subtle arcs of azure and gold.

Application was a pleasure. The consistency of Tanked is fluid, light and creamy with a thin-to-medium viscosity and a fluent, silky, self-leveling slip over the nail that is very easy to work with. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy. Tanked dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

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

Top Shelf Lacquer Tanked

There's just enough vibrancy to this smooth yellow-green shade to make my eyes happy and fill it with the sort of expansive, cheerful friendliness that I love about medium-toned colors. They just exude bonhomie, which makes for a manicure that's pleasantly eye-catching and easy to live with. Tanked is slightly brighter than the olives and forests and hunters we usually see for fall, but the rich, warm color is sophisticated enough to fit beautifully into an autumnal palette and provide an excellent counterpoint to deeper, moodier hues, especially purples, violets, oranges and reds.

I like it. I like it very much!

love,
Liz

Friday, September 1, 2017

Cupcake Polish Coffin Break

Like Bat-chelor Pad, Coffin Break was released in September 2015 by Texas-based indie polish maker Cupcake Polish as part of the Modern Vampire collection. It's a dark brown holographic polish, a deep, cool, umbery coffee colored shade. It is warmed and enriched by superabundant finely-milled holographic pigment that gives it a dusting of infinitesimal golden motes that gleam and sparkle on close scrutiny, and shows a vestigial holographic flare in ambient light, a glowing indigo heart edged with faint arcs of blue, green and gold. In the sun, there's a full linear prismatic display predominated by sparkling ribbons of azure and spring green with a corona of bright red sparks that frames a central lick of semi-metallic silvery coffee and shades to a deep umber hue at the sidewalls.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Coffin Break is fluid, full-bodied and very smooth with a medium viscosity and a luxuriously plush, even, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent, delivering completely opaque coverage in one medium coat. I used two, but it didn't alter the color at all. Cleanup is straightforward with a little bit of pigment travel. Coffin Break dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not in any way interfere with the holographic effects.

Photos show two coats of Coffin Break over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Cupcake Polish Coffin Break

A beautiful deep brown for fall! The cool, dry nature of the color makes it eminently wearable for any skin tone and gives it a particularly chic, elegant sensibility on the nail.

love,
Liz