KBShimmer Color Me Rad

Color Me Rad was released during the first week of this month by Indiana-based indie polish maker KBShimmer as part of the All The Bright Moves collection, a series of six super bright polishes inspired by the late 80s and early 90s of creator Christy's childhood. This polish is described as a "bright watermelon color, a neon red with warm pink undertones." In the bottle, it has a decidedly pink look that evolves on the nail into a neon variation of carmine along the lines of a very saturated version of Crayola's fluorescent shade wild watermelon, with aspects of orange-red and electric crimson. Intensely radiant with a creamy quality, it's definitely one of those neons that plays sly appearance tricks on your eyes -- is it red? orange? coral? what? --  and leans strongly to orange in low and incandescent light and to more of a crimson or cerise shade in the sun.

Application was fantastic. The consistency of Color Me Rad is fluid, light and silky smooth with a medium viscosity and an easy, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, a beautiful creme/jelly hybrid sort of formula that all but paints itself onto your nails. Pigmentation is very good, delivering evenly opaque coverage in two medium coats. Cleanup is easy. Color Me Rad dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, flat finish that wants a glossy topcoat to look its very best and make the most of its neon properties.

Photos show two coats of Color Me Rad over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

KBShimmer Color Me Rad

You can see this coming from across the room, and it's glorious! 

love,
Liz

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Holo Haze was released in 2014 by California-based indie polish maker Painted Polish. Further details of its origin are shrouded in mystery, but it was one of many polishes featuring mass quantities of holographic glitters that Lexi created that year and is classified as a glitter jelly in her shop. It's also on last call, so if you like what you see, get it before it's gone for good! 

Officially described as an indigo, the color is a dark but vibrant and saturated variation of electric indigo. As with many indigo polishes, its appearance is somewhat variable depending upon viewing circumstances, leaning more to violet in low and incandescent light and to ultramarine in bright natural light. Abundant holographic microglitters add a glamorous sparkle to the deep, brilliant color, and blanket the nail in a dazzling field of bright prismatic sparks in direct light. 

Application was a pleasure. The consistency of Holo Haze is fluid and smooth with a medium consistency and a plush, self-leveling glide over the nail that went on best for me in medium to thicker coats from a well-loaded brush. The glitters go on smoothly and distribute evenly over the nail. Pigmentation is excellent for a jelly, with evenly opaque coverage in two medium coats, and cleanup was remarkably issue-free for a glitter-laden polish. Holo Haze dries naturally in very good time to a shiny, ever-so-slightly-textured finish that is easily smoothed with a generous layer of topcoat. 

Photos show two coats of Holo Haze over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. The color skews a little to ultramarine in my pics -- there's a tad more violet to it in person.

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Painted Polish Holo Haze

Painted Polish Holo Haze

I love richly-colored, glittery polishes and with its brilliant ultramarine aspects this one lands right in a sweet spot for me. The brilliant deep indigo color is fabulous, combining the serenity and elegance of dark blue with the charisma of purple, and the abundant sparkle adds excitement as well as a certain lighthearted quality that keeps it from taking itself too seriously. It is graceful and glamorous enough for a special occasion, but all that sparkle also makes it just plain fun to wear anytime, especially if you're a lover of dark blues like me. Great formula, too. Beautifully done!

love,
Liz

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

The Deep End (H) was released earlier this month by Colorado-based indie polish maker Colors by Llarowe as part of the Spring/Summer 2017 collection. The H, of course, stands for Holo. This polish is a holographic version of another polish in the collection, The Deep End, described as a turquoise-based multichrome with shifts to blue, green, purple and pink. The color is out of this world, as rich and lush a cerulean as you could ever hope to see, with brilliant turquoise highlights and mobile gradient shifts through all kinds of sea greens and blue-greens and teals to bold medium blue to violet to purple to a misty purplish pink at very oblique angles. In its holographic iteration, the beauty is exponentially compounded: dimensionalizing, holographically-generated nuances to the panoply of colors, a velvety, finely-grained visual texture and an effervescent fan of golden green sparks in ambient light elevate this multichrome to a whole new level of drama, complexity and sheer gorgeousness.

Application was wonderful. The consistency of The Deep End (H) is fluid, full-bodied and smooth with a medium viscosity and a silky, even, self-leveling slip over the nail, a gorgeous formula that is a pleasure to work with. Pigmentation is excellent. With the proper mojo, it could very well be one-coater, but that would be a disservice to the nature of the polish. The addition of a second coat is necessary to make the most of the holographic effects and adds lushness and density to the brilliant colors. Cleanup is fairly straightforward. There's a bit of pigment travel but very little, if any, trace staining. The Deep End (H) dries naturally in very good time to a smooth finish with a satiny sheen. Topcoat adds a becoming gloss and actually serves to accentuate both the holographic effects and the multichromatic properties.

Photos show two coats of The Deep End (H) over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

Colors by Llarowe The Deep End (H)

My photos only approximate the splendor of this polish in person. It is sublime!

While I am not a huge fan of multichromes generally, the colorway of the shifts in this one is truly stunning and the addition of holographic pigment creates a sumptuous visual texture that, to me, is much more aesthetically pleasing than the simple semi-metallic look of a straight multichrome. It illuminates and dimensionalizes the colors and infuses them with that exquisite, pinpoint holographic sparkle that I love.

Gorgeous beyond words and much more overtly shifty that my photos might lead you to expect, this is without a doubt one of the most amazing polishes I've had on my nails so far this year, and I don't say that lightly. Unless you absolutely cannot stand blue polish, it's an otherwise unqualified must-have. You owe it to yourself as a polish enthusiast to experience it in person.

Leah Ann LaRowe, kudos, props, salutes and a standing ovation with showers of tossed red roses to you for this utterly spectacular piece of polish composition!

love,
Liz