Lacquer Slacker Liz

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Picture Polish Haven

Haven was released toward the end of June this year by Australian boutique polish maker Picture Polish as one of six new Collaboration shades. It was designed by Margaret of the blog Loves Lacquer and loveslacquer on Instagram, inspired by the sands of Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island in North Queensland, Australia, her favorite beach. Read Margaret's IG post about Haven here.

Described as a sandy scattered holographic polish, the color is a translucent off-white with subtle aspects of grey and beige that's similar to bone but even more desaturated, a graceful, diaphanous shade. PP's signature scattered holographic flakies give it a delicate, sun-on-snow twinkle as light travels over it and create a field of pasteled prismatic sparks in the sun.

Application was lovely. The consistency of Haven is fluid, light and silky smooth with a thinnish-to-medium viscosity and an effortless, buttery, self-leveling slip over the nail that likes to go on in thin coats. Pigmentation is sheer. It applies somewhat unevenly, especially over my ubiquitous nail ridges, with streakiness on the first and second coats that mostly evens out to a wearable opacity with a skosh of visible nail line on the third. I used four for the photos to minimize the appearance of my ridges, but if I weren't taking pictures I'd happily wear it at three -- it's the kind of polish where a touch of visible nail line feels natural and doesn't detract from the beauty of the polish. Cleanup is easy. Haven dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show four coats of Haven over basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

http://lakkomlakkom.hu

Picture Polish Haven

I'm not typically attracted to white nail polish and I'm a little mystified myself as to what it is about Haven that pleases me so much. Perhaps it's the fact that this isn't a white. The coloring is subtle, to be sure, but its beauty lies in its exquisite delicacy, the sheer discretion of the careful addition of pigments that make it what it is. And there's also the beach reference -- it really does resemble fine white sand.

Whitehaven Beach (source). Accessible only by helicopter or boat and stretching across more than four miles of Whitsunday Island's east coast, it's one of Australia's most photographed beaches. The dreamy alabaster sands are made up of 98% pure white silica and do not retain heat the way most beach sand does.

If you're wondering how this polish compares to Picture Polish's other "white" Collaboration shade, LakoDom, Edina of lakkomlakkom thoughtfully includes a side-by-side comparison photo in her review of this group of Collaboration shades, here.

love,
Liz

Monday, October 2, 2017

Tonic Polish Happy Beginning

Happy Beginning was released in August this year by Iowa-based indie polish maker Tonic Polish as part of the Unicorn Pee collection. It's the only one of the six polishes in the series that doesn't contain magical "unicorn pee" colorshifting shimmers, intended instead as the perfect squishy jelly base for unicorn pee toppers. The color is a very clean, bold medium-darkish cobalt blue, which the jelly formula allows plenty of light to penetrate, illuminating and intensifying it in degree with the strength of the light in which it's viewed. It's bright enough to be vivid, especially in direct sunlight, and dark enough to be a true cobalt.

Application went surprisingly well, all things considered. The consistency of Happy Beginning is fluid, full-bodied and very smooth with a medium viscosity and a silky, self-leveling slip over the nail, a beautiful formula that is easy to control and manipulate with Tonic's flattened, flexible brush. Pigmentation is sheer, but wearable opacity can be had in two coats, especially for shorties, with fullest opacity and deepest color in three. Cleanup is straightforward -- a touch of pigment travel, not unexpected, but only a little trace staining. Happy Beginning dries naturally in good time to a slightly flat finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its very best.

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

Tonic Polish Happy Beginning

This polish is a blast to wear, morphing as is does from a sleek, fathomless dark blue in low light and shade to a radiant, expansive, vivid cobalt in direct light, with the delicious squish factor beloved by jelly polish enthusiasts. The intensity of the color makes my eyes happy! An excellent base for your unicorn pee toppers -- it will really bring out that red shift -- and a beautiful, bold, dramatic blue all by itself, too.

love,
Liz

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Painted Polish Mocha Mantra

Like Moss Meditation, Mocha Mantra was released last month by California-based indie polish maker Painted Polish as part of the Fall Into Zen collection. Lexi describes this one as "a light brown ultra holo with blood orange undertones and added silver holographic glitters." The color is a rich and complex medium golden brown with bronzey/coppery aspects -- it's not a metallic shade, but the colors correspond and it has a coppery flash.

Superabundant finely-milled holographic pigment gives it a dreamy look in ambient light with a luminous violet heart surrounded by a mist of pale blue, the whole dotted with twinkling rainbow sparks from tiny, scattered holographic glitters. And the prismatic display in the sun is simply spectacular, a brilliant, extra sparkly, fully linear holographic flare framing a lick of semi-metallic golden brown and shading to a deeper tobacco brown at the sidewalls of the nail.

Application was most agreeable! The consistency of Mocha Mantra is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a lush, self-leveling glide over the nail. Pigmentation is very good, delivering wearable opacity in two coats although the addition of a third creates richer, tawnier color. Cleanup is straightforward. Mocha Mantra dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish. Topcoat does not in any way inhibit the holographic properties, and actually accentuates the fluidity of the copper flash.

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

Painted Polish Mocha Mantra

Gloriously non-foodie and absolutely perfect for fall! The color is unique, a warm, crunchy leaves brown that you won't see anywhere else. Beautifully done!

love,
Liz