Amy from Literary Lacquer creates in the moment by allowing the literature to color itself. The creative process she utilizes is almost like unwrapping the layers of a present to reveal what's inside. Her process is quite similar to how I blog, gathering bits and pieces of thoughts and inspiration to create something whole for others to enjoy. I never know what the end result will be, as each entry kind of takes on a life of its own. I thought that similarity between Amy and I was awesome and I was super excited when she asked me to review some of her creations.
At one point in Amy's career, she managed three small businesses, while working on an accounting degree. Amazing right? Her focus now is Literary Lacquers but she is still able to take the occasional client from her other businesses as a hobby. If you'd like to know more about Amy, there are a couple of awesome interviews at the Mani Curiously and Betty Nails blogs.
Upon opening the brown shipping box, I found that not only are her polishes beautiful, but they are beautifully wrapped in 100% recycled materials which can then be recycled! She also ships to countries outside the United States.
I love that the tissue chosen for my package is purple and hey look at that, no plastic! :)
Left to right with her descriptions are:
Strawberry Ice Cream Soma - Warm pink crelly holo - I call this one of my "office holos." Indoors, it's a shimmery pink with a touch of purple shimmer, in the sun or bright light a full linear holo rainbow emerges. Inspired by Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Two At the Very Most - Martini top coat - Black hexes, white squares, gunmetal hexes, silver chrome hexes so shiny that they reflect light like a disco ball, a touch of holographic microglitter and added green circle glitters (for the olives, of course!) This polish is inspired by the martini, literature's most beloved cocktail. The name refers to the quatrain attributed to Dorothy Parker: I like to have a martini, Two at the very most. At three I'm under the table, At four I'm under the host!
Dandelion Wine - Mustard golden yellow holo with orangey-pinky color shift, I'm describing this as the color that you remember summer as when you look back after the weather has gotten cold. Inspired by Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster - Hmmm... I'm just not really sure how to describe this specific shade of blue. It's a rich blue (that's also a little on the warm side but not so much that I'd call it teal) holo with added holo glitter. Inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I'm Drinking Stars - Champagne linear holo, opaque at 3 coats or a fabulous holo top coat at one coat over pretty much anything, this is not a golden champagne, but a neutral pale taupe. Inspired by Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
Jack Rose - Warm coppery brown holo, kind of the color of magical apple cider. Inspired by The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Strawberry Ice Cream Soma is a really pretty strawberry smoothie pink. In fact, I kept trying to call it that when I was doing the swatch! The photos show three coats and it definitely has a linear holo rainbow but its difficult to see in my photos.
Two at the Very Most is such a flexible glitter topper. It can be used over neutral or bright bases. Below I'm showing it over Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster and then over I'm Drinking Stars. I used one dabbed coat of the glittler topper and was pleased with the coverage.
I used a kitty silhouette nail art piece on the accent nail in these photos.
Dandelion Wine is holo and has a pink shifty shimmer in it. The holo was difficult for me to capture without using a flash (4th photo), but I was able to get the shifty shimmer to show itself in my other photos! I used three coats for these photos.
Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is the rockstar in this set.
You definitely don't want to miss it, and I'll show you why!
The first three photos were taken with my regular lighting set up. The teal color is very vibrant and rich, and if you look closely at the nail you can see the tiny holo glitter pieces and gorgeous shimmer that make it fun and pretty.
The next four images were taken near my lighting set up, but not directly under it. Which is a trick that I learned during the process of doing these swatches. Its amazing how much I learn just doing one blog entry! Anywho! Take a look and you'll find a linear holo rainbow, a really rich/dark teal color and a cool blue shift! How in the world did she get all that in this polish?
The blue shift is shown best in the photo above, nearest the free edge of the nail.
I'm Drinking Stars is a beautiful champagne nude linear holo. No special lighting tricks here, the holo in this is super strong and vibrant. It can be used as a top coat since its sheer, but I've used about five thin coats to show off its true color.
Jack Rose is a beautifully strong and vibrant copper holographic polish. I wore about three coats of it alone to show its color off but it could be layered over black or a dark brown for a neat effect.
Bonus pix! When I saw the beautiful coppery goodness, I couldn't stop myself from topping it with turquoise glitter from Elevation. Copper and blue are just gorgeous together so I had to share this combo with you too!
Literary Lacquer can be found on facebook and their polishes are available at the Literary Lacquers shop.
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