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Monday, January 6, 2014

Gothic Gala Lacquers brings more stunners to the ball


Come here! Now! You need to look at these polishes that I'm reviewing today because they are AH-MAH-ZING! I'm not even joking. These Gothic Gala Lacquers were sent to me by their maker, Samantha, and she is taking over the indie world, I'm telling you. Click here to see her stunning creations!



You might remember this brand from when I first reviewed for Gothic Gala Lacquers. I've gone through some changes since then, but so has she! The logo got an update, she switched bottles and although I needed some time to get used to the new look, it's clear that Samantha is finding her voice in polish making. She was awesome before, but now she just blows me away.

The new caps are long, which makes them hard to store but MAN they are amazing for polishing! I can hold them like a pencil, giving me more control over the brush and less cleanup. The formula is an absolute dream, pretty opaque, and OMG it dries. SO fast.

Let's get to it!


Vallis Sanguine

This is a deep red polish with some purple undertones and a linear holo effect. I swear, it's perfect. I need no other polishes than just this one for the rest of my life! Kidding... but seriously, this just might be the best polish I've ever tried, main stream brands included. Everything is perfect: the color, the formula, the coverage and here I am again with my squee's about how fast it dries. It even has holo rainbows, my favorite color!
Here is Vallis Sanguine in normal lighting. The holo is very subtle in regular indoor lighting, you can see some magic sparkles here and there but it's not the in-your-face type of holo. I really like it like this, it's a very sophisticated color and the subtleness of the holo just strengthens that.

It dries amazingly fast and I applied three coats to get this result, two might have been fine too but it was just too pretty to stop. It doesn't even need a top coat, it dried rock hard and super shiny all on its own, it's just amazing....
I keep saying this name over and over in my head because it just feels nice in my mouth (no, don't go there...). I searched high and low for its origin and what it means, but I'm finding so many different translations that I still don't know squat! I'm guessing the Sanguine stands for blood...? Samantha, please tell me where this beauty gets her name from!
I also pointed a strong led light at the polish and it made the holo stand out much more clearly. You can easily see the rainbow sparkles and the depth of this polish. It's so gorgeous!

The listing mentions staining due to the red pigment, but I really had NO issues, my nails came out perfectly on the other side of this swatch. Still, it's always a good idea to use a strong base coat.
Winter is a terrible time to catch any sun, so I was feeling down when I was swatching this polish and the sun didn't come out all day. But then she peeked out for a few seconds the next day! I jumped up, grabbed my camera and I managed to get a few really weak rays, but enough to show you somewhat decently what Vallis Sanguine looks like in the sun. Please excuse her for not shining brightly, blame the sun for delivering such flimsy lighting. 


Say what now? Yes, that actually is the name of this polish. Something's F*cky is a dark teal holo, a beautiful smooth color that you just can't help but love. I wanted a teal holo for a long time but never expected to find one this awesome. Again (sorry for repeating myself): perfect color, amazing formula, the holo prettiness and ofcourse the drying time. Wow. Run to the Etsy shop before this one disappears!

I've photographed it in regular lighting, and the holo doesn't really show itself in this setting. There is something about it that shows that it's not just a regular creme polish though, it has more depth than that.
Something's F*cky was named by a friend of Samantha's. Along with these three polishes I'm showing you today, I received three more. Two of those are polishes I bought in a mystery bag, they're one-offs and I get to name them! They were a prototypes and misfits, so I'm happy to give them a good home and give them their proper names. It's like adopting them, you see...

I grabbed the same flimsy ray of light for this polish too, and although my fingers look horrific, the polish actually shows its holo side. But still not as brightly as it can be, my friend LucĂ­a shows it way better over here


Ha! Here's a surprise for ya, the polish I thought I'd like least, turns out to deliver the best set of photos! Liquid Violet is like everything coming together: it has glass flecks, holo and a color shift. It looked too pearly for me at first, but I must admit this polish grew on me. 

The color shifts subtly from pink to violet. I didn't like this at first but it looks really great in my pictures, which made me have another look at the polish while it was on my nails. No no! Not tooting my own horn, just being happy with my own work over here, if that's okay... OK I'll stop now :-p
I applied two thick coats, which was no problem for this polish. It dries like a sweat on a hot summer's day (whaaat?) without bubbles, wrinkles or any other of that unsightly stuff. It isn't completely smooth though, but that's only visual, it doesn't actually feel rough.
Liquid Violet is actually really perfect. See how it has changed my mind? Total mind melt, I think it's because of the colors. I've always been a sucker for pinks and purples but to see them together is ahh... heaven...
Shiiiiiift! Look at this polish. Do you see that? That is some amazing stuff now, isn't it? At the right angle, this polish will blow your mind! It flashes pink and purple and there's even some blue in there if you look closely. Come on, get closer to the screen! That's it. Now it's got you hooked.

So be sure to pick up these stunners and so much more in the Gothic Gala Lacquers Etsy shop. Prizes for full sized 15ml/0,5oz bottles vary from $8 to $9,50. There's also a glitter topcoat called Smooth Me Over for $7.  Be sure to follow Samantha on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and you can even subscribe to her newsletter

Thank you, sweet Samantha, for sending me these polishes. I'm already hard at work on the next three beauties, I know they're going to be just as spectacular! EDIT: The other three are up on the blog now too, find them here!

I received all of the polishes in this article as a press sample for an honest review. Opinions expressed are 100% my own and not influenced in any way other than the quality of the product itself.  

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