Literary Lacquers: 2015 Community Collection

Press Sample

For the past two years, Amy of Literary Lacquers has worked with individuals from the polish community to create a unique collection that launches around the holidays. This is the third collection which includes eight polishes and a Limited Edition polish gift with purchase. Each polish is quite beautifully done. There is a story or quote that goes along with each polish as well as a description and a link to the individual that designed it with Amy. Although this entry will be quite lengthy, I hope you enjoy getting to know a bit more about each contributor.

Burning Slowly From the Inside Out – Orange-red linear holo with white and orange red flakies designed with Destany Pingle of Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom inspired by The Selection series by Keira Cass
http://www.confessionsofasarcasticmom.com/
My inspiration was my current literary obsession - The Selection novel series by Kiera Cass. The covers are just so amazing, and I've dreamed about the fiery red-orange of the cover of The Elite. Let me just say this - I'm not much of a romance reader. These books are fairly high in the romance department, but the dystopian drama fills it up, too. This series is kind of like The Hunger Games meets the Bachelor. The country has been torn apart by war, and from the ashes it has risen as a caste system, complete with a ruling monarch. When the ruling monarch's child is "of age," there's a competition of sorts. Girls from all over the land are chosen to compete to be the prince's wife. Let's just say I found myself wanting a Prince Maxon in my life! But the true star is the cover of these books. They are fabulous studies in gorgeous colors! My favorite is the cover of The Elite, which features a beautiful fiery red-orange gown (on our heroine) with a background of shimmery white holo-y goodness. And as for the name? It comes from this quote... “It wasn’t like I made his world better. It was like I was his world. It wasn’t some explosion; it wasn’t fireworks. It was a fire, burning slowly from the inside out.” - Kiera Cass, The Elite

Unusual, definitely! I wore two coats and topcoat but with care, one coat might do it!

My Favorite Day – golden amber metallic linear holo designed with Jody Morris Feldman and inspired by Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
@jodyzelda
Jody writes: It's one of my favorite quotes from Winnie the Pooh, which the father of my grandson had me read to him over and over again when he was a little boy. Winnie asks Piglet what day it is and Piglet answers 'it's today' to which Winnie says 'my favorite day '. I told my son, every time I read it to him, that every day with him was my favorite day, so now I know that every day with his son is his favorite day. Mushy, I know, but that's what grandparenthood has done to me.

Boy does this shine and I just love the story behind it. I wore two easy coats with topcoat.

Phizzwizard – Soft sea green linear holo designed with Traci Hatling of Newsie Nail Novice, inspired by The BFG by Roald Dahl
http://tracihatling.blogspot.com/
“Sophie peered into the jar and there, sure enough, she saw the faint, translucent outline of something about the size of a hen’s egg. There was just a touch of colour in it, a pale sea-green, soft and shimmering and very beautiful. There it lay, this small oblong sea-green jellyfish thing, at the bottom of the jar, quite peaceful, but pulsing gently, the whole of it moving in and out ever so slightly, as though it were breathing.”

Such a soft minty green, buttery in formula and a wee bit on the sheer side compared to the others in the collection. I wore two coats, with a few extra swipes here and there for opacity.

Leaves of Grass – Emerald green mega glitter linear holo designed with Alex Bacon-Leslie, longtime friend and Admin Extraordinaire of the Literary (&) Lacquers facebook group inspired by Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
@alexcansmile
Leaves of Grass is one of the great, iconic American poetry collections. Walt Whitman wrote about nature and exalted the material world, sensual pleasures and the human body. Each edition of the collection was different. When it was first published it only included 12 poems, but by the end of Whitman’s life it contained more than 400. Such an iconic work felt appropriate to lend its’ name to this gorgeous green polish. Leaves of Grass is a work that demonstrates the human condition, which resonated with me from the first time I picked up a copy. This iteration of the idea of “Leaves of Grass” is a sun-drenched meadow in a bottle.

Such intense sparkle, this one! (Much like Alex!!) I love it! Two smooth coats and topcoat to finish.

A Sensible Rabbit – Taupey neutral shimmering holo with black microglitter designed with Cassandra Pio of Fierce Hearts Wildlife Rehabilitation and inspired by Watership Down by Richard Adams
https://www.facebook.com/fiercehearts/
Watership Down is a story of brains over brawn, the power of the underdog, compassion, and most importantly: rabbits. A Sensible Rabbit is inspired by Hyzenthlay, whose name is translated in the book as “fur that shines like dew.” She’s a no-nonsense doe who rises to the occasion when it’s her time to shine. The book might focus on the boys, but it’s a lady of a rabbit who really saves the day. I wanted a polish that mimicked a rabbit’s surprisingly complex fur, with enough sparkle to get me through a slog of a day, and of course Amy delivered. It’s a testament to my character that I love the same books I did when I was 11 as well as work in a field my childhood self would think is pretty awesome. I’m blown away by the support that Amy and the indie polish community have offered me as I get Fierce Hearts Wildlife Rehabilitation off the ground. You can follow my exploits, rabbit related and otherwise, on my facebook page.

Favorite! Yes, I am choosing this over TWO purples, don't judge me. I adore polishes with a hit of black micro glitter where one might think it doesn't belong. It makes for a truly beautiful and unique polish! Two coats were worn here, but I considered only using one, it is fairly opaque.

Free to Fly – Delicate lavender linear holo with blue iridescent flakies and green glass fleck, designed with Jennifer Zakroff and inspired by Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
@jzakroff
"Too much tail. All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity. Can't nobody fly with all that shit. Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down." - Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison

The sparkle and iridescence of this polish are magical. Reminds me of a unicorn horn! I wore two coats with topcoat, formula was perfect.

Inspired by the Veronika Layne Hot Off the Press mysteries by Julia Park Tracey, this collaboration was the brainchild of blogger Michelle Chouinard of Lacquer or Leave Her who asked Literary Lacquers to create these colors in collaboration with Julia.

Veronika - Violet linear holo with a smattering of tiny holo flakies
www.juliaparktracey.com
Julia writes: I see this as the perfect choice for the character of Veronika Layne, who is a kind of goth-hippie. She’s a tree-hugger and an eco-warrior, who has tattoos, body piercings and loves her sexy lingerie and her black and white cat. Purple nails? Yes, please!

Jewel toned amethyst with flashes of burgundy and somehow it also looks slightly dusty. I do love this one, but ASR stole my heart. It has great formula and is almost opaque in one coat, so I've used two.

Stinky Little Truck - Shimmering silver scattered holo
www.lacquerorleaveher.com
Michelle writes: In the Hot Off the Press books, Veronica Layne drives a biodiesel truck that runs off of vegetable oil; it’s an excellent alternative fuel, but can make your car smell like a vat of French fries. But really, that’s a small price to pay to keep the earth healthy, especially if you can look like this while you’re doing it. I love metallics and bling during the holidays, but have had difficulty finding a silver polish that has an elegant, sophisticated feel while still making my fingers sparkle and shine. The subtle linear holo and flecked finish in this polish satisfy my need for something that’s glamorous and special, without going way over the top.

This polish has such a fun name, I giggled to myself (in between gasps of delight) while I was painting it on. You may be thinking it's just another silver holo but this one is different. It's scattered and linear, it has kind of an asphalt vibe going on - like..it looks textured but it's not. Somehow it has darker areas like shadows that create that look. Yep, I'm scratching my head thinking how'd she do that? I wore two coats with topcoat and it has a superb formula as we'd expect from LitLaq.

The LE gift with purchase is Give My Heart - Warm pink glitter holo with copper micro glitters.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LiteraryLacquer
Give My Heart was designed by Amy and inspired by In The Bleak Midwinter, a Christmas poem by Christina Rosetti.
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

I sang a solo derived from this poem in a college musical and it brought tears to my eyes while I was singing it. I think the audience cried with me that day! I don't know what meaning should be taken from those words, but for me, it was a message of being generous and giving of yourself. Ok, enough mushy stuff I guess. ;)

The copper glitters give a lovely warmth to the polish color and add an in your face amount of sparkle. The nail was coated twice with the smooth formula and then topcoated for photos.

Give My Heart is a Limited Edition Gift with Purchase. Terms of GWP are $24 purchase gets a free mini (5 mL), $48 purchase gets a free full size (15 mL).
For orders over $75 use code 2015HOLIDAY for free domestic shipping or 2015INTERNATIONAL for $7 off international shipping.
All promotions are good from 12/1/15 at noon mountain time through New Year’s Day.

Well, what do you think? See any interesting book quotes that make you want to read the book? Or perhaps follow the person that designed the polish? (C'mon, they deserve some love!)

The full collection launch is Dec 1, 2015 at 1pm central time at the Literary Lacquers shop. All promotions are good for the entire month of December and New Year's Day!