Lacquer Slacker Liz

Friday, April 25, 2014

China Glaze Bizarre Blurple

Bizarre Blurple was released by China Glaze as part of its Wicked collection for Halloween 2012. "Blurple" is an example of what's known as a portmanteau word, where the sounds and meanings of two distinct words are combined to form a new one. It's a description that's not uncommon in nail polish talk.

Bizarre Blurple is actually a deep saturated violet jelly that is densely packed with ultra fine bright blue shimmers. It appears violet in some situations and a deep almost navy in others and in still others it takes on a duochromatic look. In direct sun, you can clearly see the blue shimmers in the violet base, and if I were to classify it I'd probably call it a violet or purple.

Application was fairly easy. Bizarre Blurple has a fluid, silky, slightly oily consistency with excellent flow over the nail. Coverage is easily built in two coats, but wait for the first one to dry in between to ensure even coats and avoid patching at the cuticle. Cleanup is straightforward. Bizarre Blurple dries naturally in average time to an impressively glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Bizarre Blurple over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

China Glaze Bizarre Blurple

This polish is really much prettier on the nail than my pictures show. It has that inner "lit from within" glow thing going on in most lights. Other reviews I found with photos that did a great job at capturing the best in Bizarre Blurple are those at Lacquer Buzz, Icy Nails and Hooked on Polish.

Bizarre Blurple is nice if your looking for a deep violet with a touch of indigo, but I think there are prettier polishes out there that are either one or the other. Part of me is shocked that I don't love this. That's just how it goes sometimes, I guess!

love,
Liz

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Candeo Colors Shelu Blou over China Glaze Electric Beat

I've got another lovely glass fleck shimmer from indie polish maker Candeo Colors for you today, Shelu Blou. This is another one from the Aruba collection. The name Shelu Blou is Papiamento for "sky blue." This polish is described on Candeo's website as "a light blue base with pink and purple shimmer," but this little jewel is much more special and distinctive than that makes it sound! It has a medium-light milky translucent cornflower-leaning azure jelly base with beautiful iridescent glass fleck shimmer that reads predominantly as pink but shifts to blue, purple and gold depending upon how the light hits it.

Application was trouble-free. Like other Candeo glass fleck jellies I have experienced, this polish does well with a bit of polish thinner mixed in before applying. Even so, it retains a fluffy, gel-like texture that is never the less quite easy to apply. You just kind of brush it into place and there it stays. Shelu Blou is quite translucent so for opacity's sake I began the manicure with one thin coat of China Glaze Electric Beat and layered three coats of Shelu Blou over that. You could really stop at one and still get a decent dose of the shimmer effect from Shelu Blou, but I wanted to retain some of the ethereal qualities of the translucence. Shelu Blou (love that name!) dries in good time to a slightly flat satin finish that enjoys a topcoat coat to pop the shimmer colors and add some shine.

Photos show one coat of Electric Beat and three coats of Shelu Blou over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

China Glaze Electric Beat and Candeo Color Shelu Blou, bottle shot

Candeo Colors Shelu Blou over China Glaze Electric Beat

The pink glass fleck shimmer in this is strong and visible in any light. In direct sun this polish gives off a scintillating shimmer with sparks of pink and blue. Under incandescent lighting there's an amazing pink flash.

I love the intricate visual texture of strong shimmers like this, it reminds me of mackerel skies and looking at the cosmos overhead at night, although we have too much light pollution around here to get anything close to the true magnificence of it. But a gal can imagine, right?

love,
Liz

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Candeo Colors Laman Brisa

Laman Brisa was released by indie polish maker Candeo Colors as part of its Aruba collection. The name Laman Brisa means "sea breeze" in Papiamento, the most widely spoken natural language in Aruba. Described on the Candeo website as a "sea foam base with gold and silver shimmer," Laman Brisa (such a pretty name!) is a pale delicate very shimmery blue-green jelly polish, a color that reminds me a bit of Anchor Hocking's Fire-King glassware in jade-ite. What makes this polish really special is the glass fleck shimmer, which reads as pale yellow green and turquoise through the blue-green jelly base.

Application was great. In my experience, Candeo's jellies are usually thick and sticky at the outset and do well with the addition of polish thinner and this was the case with Laman Brisa. With the added thinner, the consistency settled out to a fluid, smooth and kind of fluffy texture that applies beautifully. Pigmentation is buildable with this sheer translucent polish. With the first coat, you kind of go uh oh, this is going to need a million layers to be opaque. Not so! I was pleasantly surprised to find that I got even opaque coverage in three medium coats, which is pretty much par for a color this light. Laman Brisa dries naturally in good time to a rather flat finish that takes well to a layer of topcoat.

Photos show three coats of Laman Brisa over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite to ensure drying of all the layers and provide a glassy shine.

Candeo Colors Laman Brisa

To be honest, I'm not one hundred percent sold on this color as completely compatible with my pasty pale pinkage, but I can see it as being totally gorgeous on tanned or warm-toned complexions. It would be stunning on tanned toes at the beach! Laman Brisa has a slightly minty poolside vibe and feels quite substantial on the nail for such a soft feathery color. Also, despite any semblance of frostiness in the photos, it is most decidedly a shimmer in person, with the glass flecks clearly visible and giving off a scintillating sparkle in direct light. Very pretty!

love,
Liz