Acetone Files: A31DC2013 - Week 1: Orange and Blue Nails / Indy Spot: Serum No 5 Sunset Flare
Acetone Files
A31DC2013 Week 1: Orange and Blue Nails
Indy Spot: Orange Nails - Serum No 5 Sunset Flare
This indy polish fit nicely into the 31DC color themes - Serum No 5 Sunset Flare is one of the most beautiful oranges I've ever seen. I really does remind me of a sunset, and its slight duochrome quality takes it from rusty orange to gold.
I know what you're thinking: there are a lot of sunset-orange polishes out there. This polish has two cool things going for it. First, it has a sort of minimal "sand" matte finish - it's not as bumpy as Liquid Sand, but it has a fine grain to it rather like the Nails Inc Leather Effect, and the finish is matte rather than shiny. Second, IT GLOWS IN THE DARK! I am a sucker for anything that glows, and I was pleased with the intensity of this polish - it's not the brightest or longest lasting I've ever seen, but it will light up in a dark room after a normal day of light exposure. It's almost distracting when I'm trying to go to sleep! Unfortunately I don't have a nice enough camera to photograph it myself, but you can see glow shots on Chalkboard Nails's post on this polish.
Now the downsides - it's a little sheer, so you'll need 4 coats to build up complete opacity; it's kind of patchy and doesn't get that rich reddish end of the color spectrum til then. Also, like all polish, the more coats, the slower it dries and the more malleable it will be, so it dented and pulled a lot. If you want to preserve the matte finish, you'll have to treat it gently for a minimum of an hour, 2 if you can manage. It also seemed to curl away from the ends of my nails, not really like shrinkage, more because the polish was still malleable when I scratch or run my fingers along something, and it would bunch up.
On the bright side, I like it even better with a topcoat! I feel like at certain angles the shiny finish brought out the shimmery gold in the polish in a way it didn't matte, and the glow of course still works! Another bright side is I wore this polish, sans topcoat or basecoat, for 2 entire days, and it didn't chip at all - this is probably because the formula is more malleable than rigid, not good for drying but good for preventing chippage!
Finally, I couldn't resist added some bling to this manicure. I got a horrible dent in my pinkie, and decided a pale pink rhinestone would look awesome in the center of each pinkie. One accent gem is definitely my new favorite nail decoration!
Serum No 5 is an indy brand that has gotten rather big in the marketplace lately, and has its own autonomous site, Serum No 5. However, the brand started on Etsy and you can still buy some polishes there - I got my mini bottle there because the main site sold out of minis - and they are also carried on Ninjapolish. Full size bottles are $12 and minis are $7, not including shipping. You can also keep up with Serum No 5 on Facebook.
Review: Serum No5 make some really beautiful and chic shades with little surprises (like glow, finish, subtle shimmers), and I'll definitely be on the lookout for another really special polish like this one! I was disappointed with the dry time of Sunset Flare, which makes it hard to acheive a good finish, but I love the versatility of the matte "leather" texture or adding a topcoat to shine it up. And I LOVE that it glows! This polish is just full of light and life, a great mixture of a spot-on color and fun effects. B+
Blue Nails - Color Club Shabby Drab
This shade was on my lemming list for a while, but also one of those colors I didn't feel I could justify spending $8 on. Luckily, Color Club Shabby Drab came up from Gnarly Gnails's blogsale, and I snapped it up for $4!
I have to say about Color Club cremes, they tend to be on the sheer side, needed 3 or 4 coats rather than 2 most of the time. I'm not a huge fan of Color Club in general, because they seem to specialize in cremes, which are on the thin side, especially for being $8. But they do have a really interesting hue every so often. I am, however, a fan of their effect polishes, which have a lot of neat flakies - e.g. Buddha-ful, Elle's Spell, Pearlspective, and my newest want, The Uptown (Max Factor Fantasy Fire-esque dupe).
I wanted this one both for the shade and the name - something appealed to my grungey AND twee sides about "Shabby Drab," and I was fascinated by the slightly periwinkle, jeansy dull blue hue. When I received the bottle in the mail, my heart sank when I compared the bottles of Sinful Colors Candy Coated and Sinful Colors Lavander, because the former seemed the same and the latter slightly darker. Luckily it seems like just a bottle trick - while they have the same cool periwinkle quality, Candy Coated is much lighter, while Lavander is a touch darker and brighter purple. I prefer the tone of Shabby Drab in that context.
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L>R: Sinful Colors Lavander, Color Club Shabby Drab, Sinful Colors Candy Coated, Mustache Lacquer Long Long Long
Needless to say I've been attracted to "periwinkle" tones lately, and ended up making one of my own for Mustache Lacquer's upcoming George Harrison collection - I took a lighter variation of this blue-lavender tone and added a wash of shimmer. It will be called Long Long Long, and you'll be able to buy it when Mustache Lacquer launched next week!
Review: On the thin side, like all Color Club formulas, it's nonetheless a breeze to self-level, and has no trouble drying between coats. The finished product is quite smooth on its own, but does need a topcoat to prevent imprinting. There are dupes of this color, which is a really beautiful and out-of-the-ordinary blue, but this is one of those colors that I enjoy the name almost as much as the polish! B+
A31DC2013 Week 1: Orange and Blue Nails
Indy Spot: Orange Nails - Serum No 5 Sunset Flare
This indy polish fit nicely into the 31DC color themes - Serum No 5 Sunset Flare is one of the most beautiful oranges I've ever seen. I really does remind me of a sunset, and its slight duochrome quality takes it from rusty orange to gold.
I know what you're thinking: there are a lot of sunset-orange polishes out there. This polish has two cool things going for it. First, it has a sort of minimal "sand" matte finish - it's not as bumpy as Liquid Sand, but it has a fine grain to it rather like the Nails Inc Leather Effect, and the finish is matte rather than shiny. Second, IT GLOWS IN THE DARK! I am a sucker for anything that glows, and I was pleased with the intensity of this polish - it's not the brightest or longest lasting I've ever seen, but it will light up in a dark room after a normal day of light exposure. It's almost distracting when I'm trying to go to sleep! Unfortunately I don't have a nice enough camera to photograph it myself, but you can see glow shots on Chalkboard Nails's post on this polish.
Now the downsides - it's a little sheer, so you'll need 4 coats to build up complete opacity; it's kind of patchy and doesn't get that rich reddish end of the color spectrum til then. Also, like all polish, the more coats, the slower it dries and the more malleable it will be, so it dented and pulled a lot. If you want to preserve the matte finish, you'll have to treat it gently for a minimum of an hour, 2 if you can manage. It also seemed to curl away from the ends of my nails, not really like shrinkage, more because the polish was still malleable when I scratch or run my fingers along something, and it would bunch up.
On the bright side, I like it even better with a topcoat! I feel like at certain angles the shiny finish brought out the shimmery gold in the polish in a way it didn't matte, and the glow of course still works! Another bright side is I wore this polish, sans topcoat or basecoat, for 2 entire days, and it didn't chip at all - this is probably because the formula is more malleable than rigid, not good for drying but good for preventing chippage!
Finally, I couldn't resist added some bling to this manicure. I got a horrible dent in my pinkie, and decided a pale pink rhinestone would look awesome in the center of each pinkie. One accent gem is definitely my new favorite nail decoration!
Serum No 5 is an indy brand that has gotten rather big in the marketplace lately, and has its own autonomous site, Serum No 5. However, the brand started on Etsy and you can still buy some polishes there - I got my mini bottle there because the main site sold out of minis - and they are also carried on Ninjapolish. Full size bottles are $12 and minis are $7, not including shipping. You can also keep up with Serum No 5 on Facebook.
Review: Serum No5 make some really beautiful and chic shades with little surprises (like glow, finish, subtle shimmers), and I'll definitely be on the lookout for another really special polish like this one! I was disappointed with the dry time of Sunset Flare, which makes it hard to acheive a good finish, but I love the versatility of the matte "leather" texture or adding a topcoat to shine it up. And I LOVE that it glows! This polish is just full of light and life, a great mixture of a spot-on color and fun effects. B+
Blue Nails - Color Club Shabby Drab
This shade was on my lemming list for a while, but also one of those colors I didn't feel I could justify spending $8 on. Luckily, Color Club Shabby Drab came up from Gnarly Gnails's blogsale, and I snapped it up for $4!
I have to say about Color Club cremes, they tend to be on the sheer side, needed 3 or 4 coats rather than 2 most of the time. I'm not a huge fan of Color Club in general, because they seem to specialize in cremes, which are on the thin side, especially for being $8. But they do have a really interesting hue every so often. I am, however, a fan of their effect polishes, which have a lot of neat flakies - e.g. Buddha-ful, Elle's Spell, Pearlspective, and my newest want, The Uptown (Max Factor Fantasy Fire-esque dupe).
I wanted this one both for the shade and the name - something appealed to my grungey AND twee sides about "Shabby Drab," and I was fascinated by the slightly periwinkle, jeansy dull blue hue. When I received the bottle in the mail, my heart sank when I compared the bottles of Sinful Colors Candy Coated and Sinful Colors Lavander, because the former seemed the same and the latter slightly darker. Luckily it seems like just a bottle trick - while they have the same cool periwinkle quality, Candy Coated is much lighter, while Lavander is a touch darker and brighter purple. I prefer the tone of Shabby Drab in that context.
L>R: Sinful Colors Lavander, Color Club Shabby Drab, Sinful Colors Candy Coated, Mustache Lacquer Long Long Long
Needless to say I've been attracted to "periwinkle" tones lately, and ended up making one of my own for Mustache Lacquer's upcoming George Harrison collection - I took a lighter variation of this blue-lavender tone and added a wash of shimmer. It will be called Long Long Long, and you'll be able to buy it when Mustache Lacquer launched next week!
Review: On the thin side, like all Color Club formulas, it's nonetheless a breeze to self-level, and has no trouble drying between coats. The finished product is quite smooth on its own, but does need a topcoat to prevent imprinting. There are dupes of this color, which is a really beautiful and out-of-the-ordinary blue, but this is one of those colors that I enjoy the name almost as much as the polish! B+