Showing posts with label duochrome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label duochrome. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Gridlock Lacquer Mini-Spam

Happy Wednesday, everyone! We are halfway through the week...and I can't wait for the weekend.
Today, I'd like to share with you a great indie polish line that is mixed and sold right in my home city of Buffalo, NY! Most of the polishes from Gridlock Lacquer take inspiration from many places and things that can only be found in our fair city from The Aud (where my beloved Sabres got their start and I saw many a Disney on Ice performance) to Loganberry and Beef on Weck inspired polishes. As soon as I heard about the brand, I made plans to find Gridlock's booth at the Broadway Market in Buffalo.

Today I'm going to share three lacquers with you-Delaware Park, Loganberry, and Pussy Willow.  And, so you can feel like you're a true Buffalonian, I'll tell you why these places are so truly Buffalo.



First up is Delaware Park.

Delaware Park is basically the city's playground. It's home to an 18-hole golf course, numerous playgrounds, basketball courts, Hoyt Lake, grassy knolls, and the Buffalo Zoo! Plus, Albright-Knox art gallery is right across the street. I attended college just a few minutes, walking distance, from Delaware Park and Hoyt Lake (pictured) was one of my favorite thinking spots.




Delaware Park is a yellow-toned green with a slight duochrome effect and some scattered holo shimmer. For application, I used 3 1/2 coats. I added an extra coat to the ring and pinky fingers to even out some sheer spots. While the formula is great, it is a little sheer and careful application is a necessity. This color is truly unique to my collection. The spring green to gold-green duochrome is gorgeous and I don't have any other greens like this. It reminds me of the way the park looks in late summer when we hit our dry season. Perfect!


Next, I have Loganberry. Loganberry is a locally loved beverage that accompanies our wings, beef on weck, and Mighty Taco.
Loganberries are actually a thing and they are a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry. The drink itself is an uncarbonated soft drink that you can only be found in Buffalo. I grew up drinking Aunt Rosie's Loganberry because my brother loved it. Every now and again, I get a hankering for a glass. Luckily, the pop fountain in the cafeteria at work has it :) The nail polish is just as addicting.



Loganberry went on in two easy coats, with the perfect consistency. It's a gorgeous brick red with eye-catching shimmer. However, those two easy coats need to be applied with a little TLC to avoid brush strokes. This is not your typical red. It's a little brown around the edges that gives it a sophisticated twist.

Finally, I have Pussy Willow. 
Pussy Willows are a sure sign of spring in Buffalo and they are used in one of our favorite holidays-Dyngus Day. There is a HUGE Polish population Western New York and our fair city is the Dyngus Day Capital of the World, despite what Anderson Cooper might think. As legend goes, pussy willows are brandished by Polish girls and used to spank the boys they like. Polish boys reciprocate by squirting the girls with water. We celebrate hard, here in Buffalo, and it's a blast. 





Pussy Willow is a mix of copper hex and micro glitters, white satin square glitter, iridescent hexes, and small and large white satin hexes. The formula was a little thick so I added a few drops of thinner and that cleared right up. I layered one coat of Pussy Willow over Loganberry. For the most part, the glitter spread easily but I did have to fish a little bit for the large white hexes. And interestingly, the base didn't have the typical nail polish smell. It smelled like bananas! This perfectly captures the essence of the pussy willow. I can't wait to wear this combo for Dyngus Day, next year!

To purchase Gridlock Lacquer, you can visit her website: Gridlock Lacquer.
The polishes retail for $6.00. You can also purchase Buffalo-themed soaps and synchronized swimming themed lacquers.
You can also keep up with all the new happenings, like the soon-to-be released summer collection on social media:

I hope you guys enjoyed these as much as I did! I still have two more Gridlock glitters to swatch for you guys, so watch this space!

xo, ali

Friday, January 24, 2014

GOT(F?): BLUE!

Good evening, polished pretties!
I'm sharing another challenge mani with you from The Crumpet's Golden Oldie Thursday challenge. It's on Friday for me this week because I was on a really bad date last night. Oh, the woes of being single. I should really start a separate blog for my online dating horror stories.

Let's get on with it!
I was digging through my stash, looking for an old blue that I could use and I landed on something that I haven't used since I first got it, about two years ago.
Sadly, I only have one shot of it for you guys tonight because Picasa isn't syncing right :(
This is from Forever 21's Love and Beauty cosmetics line. Usually they're terrible at naming their polishes but this one was called Imperial Blue. And I think imperial is the right way to describe this. A gorgeous, deep royal blue jelly filled with a duochrome glass fleck that flashes purple and blue. Can you believe this polish cost a little under $3?!
However, it chipped the very next day :\

What do you think? What's your favorite cheap polish?

Be sure to check out what my fellow lacquer lovers did for their blue nails!!

xo, ali