Today, I am mega-excited to be sharing an indie brand that I've never blogged about before- ALIQUID Lacquer!

Alison of ALIQUID was kind enough to send me four of seven new polishes to review from her recently released Silmarillion Collection!  This collection is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, his magnum opus which was published posthumously. Can I confess to never having read it? I'm actually a pretty die-hard sci-fi/ fantasy fiction reader, and have read all of the Lord of the Ring novels, but just don't love Tolkien's writing the way I do other authors in similar genres. Heresy, I know! To each his own, though!

Still, I love to see collections based on literary things! Did I mention there is an awesome giveaway at the end of this review? Stay tuned!

First, here is Ham modeling the bottles- I think he approves of the doggie logo:



And the day is never complete without some derpin':


Polishes:


left to right: Day Shall Come Again, Divine Curse, Shores of Paradise, Devouring Wave

Let's get to the swatches already!


First up is ALIQUID- Divine Curse:

"'Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Feanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be for ever.'"

Divine Curse ($9.00/$4.00) is a complex mix of shimmer particles in a smoky purple base. There is a matrix of prominent yellow-gold/ copper shimmer, as well as larger, subtle dark flecks that flash purple. Complex!

Artificial light, two coats:


Window-filtered daylight:



Outside, shade:



Sun:


Up close:


See how complex the finish is in true macro?! So flecky!

Formula: It's got a medium- thick viscosity, but is on the sheerer side.  It does seem to dry quickly, though, so waiting in between coats won't be too much of a problem.  The second coat feels a bit grainy when you put it on due to the larger fleck particles, but it's still very workable and goes on pretty nicely with no dragging and a smooth final result. Opaque in two coats!
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Next is ALIQUID- Day Shall Come Again:

"Last of all Hurin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Hurin cried: 'Aure entuluva! Day shall come again!' Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last alive, by the command of Morgoth, for the Orcs grappled him with their hands, which clung to him still though he hewed off their arms; and ever their numbers were renewed, until at last he fell buried beneath them."

Day Shall Come Again ($9.00/$4.00) is a rusty, burnt red with prominent yellow-gold shimmer as well as green fleck particles.

Artificial light, two coats:

(Oh gosh, I have to apologize for the wacky tipwear thing going on with this color! I had an unfortunate run-in with a cabinet prior to swatching this, and had to reshape all of my nails as a result. I didn't think it would be so prominent in photos, sorry! This also accounts for the variation in my nail shape within this post...They are in an awkward transitional phase, but I think I'm going to try to maintain this type of short rounded nail for a while- like here- just need to perfect it.)

Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



It looks a lot cooler-toned in the shade!

Sun:


Up close:


Like Divine Curse, this one is fascinating up close! There is a lot going on here!

Formula: It has a similar thick consistency to Divine Curse, but is a little more opaque.  My first coat went on pretty smoothly, but did want to clump up a little around the edges, and might cuticle drag if you go over an area too many times or too slowly. Like Divine Curse, it seems to dry down quickly. I used a thicker second coat, and that seemed to even a lot of the problem areas out, but I think this one will benefit from thinner in the future. Still, pretty workable.
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Next, ALIQUID- Shores of Paradise:

"...They sailed in their swift ships on the waters of the Bay of Elvenhome, or walked in the waves upon the shore with their hair gleaming in the light beyond the hill. Many jewels the Noldor gave them, opals and diamonds and pale crystals, which they strewed upon the shores and scattered in the pools; marvellous were the beaches of Elende in those days."

Shores of Paradise ($10.00 for 15 ml/$4.50 for 5 ml) is a complex mix of beachy-colored glitters in a clear suspension base.  There is a backdrop of beige and gold glitter, as well as some black, matte microglitter that adds a speckled dimension.  What really stands out are the brightly colored larger hexes: bright aqua, indigo, red, purple, and some greenish-yellow!

Artificial light, two coats:



This is a really interesting, creative glitter mix, and I don't think I've seen anything quite like it before!

Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



Sun:


Up close:


Formula: The glitter within the base is just the right density.  It spreads over the nail easily without clumping, and you don't need to fish for the colorful hex pieces. There is something about the viscosity that really aids application of the glitter into one nice layer on your nail.  (I did notice after I loaded the photos into Lightroom that the application was thin at the tips of some of my nails, so maybe watch that.)

Excellent, and opaque in two coats! It was also completely smoothed by one coat of NYC- In A New York Minute.
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Last that I tried is ALIQUID- Devouring Wave:

"...There came a mighty wind and a tumult of the earth, and the sky reeled, and the hills slid, and Numenor went down into the sea, with all its children and its wives and its maidens and its ladies proud; and all its gardens and its halls and its towers, its tombs and its riches, and its jewels and its webs and its things painted and carven, and its laughter and its mirth and its music, its wisdom and its lore: they vanished for ever. And last of all the mounting wave, green and cold and plumed with foam, climbing over the land, took to its bosom Tar-Miriel the Queen, fairer than silver or ivory or pearls. Too late she strove to ascend the steep ways of the Meneltarma to the holy place; for the waters overtook her, and her cry was lost in the roaring of the wind."

Devouring Wave ($9.00/$4.00) is a medium blue jelly base with multi-colored microglitter as well as silver and red larger hexes. There are also some bluish iridescent shards, and some larger, sparse green iridescent hexes.

Artificial light, two coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



Sun:


Up close:


Formula: The consistency is OK- maybe a little thicker than I'd prefer for a jelly, but there is a ton of glitter here to carry.  After two coats, I had minimal VNL, and the depth created by the layers was very nice. Sometimes I would get an errant shard that poked up, but mostly this is smoothed completely by one coat of top coat!
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Bonus!
Alison also sent me a lip balm to try out! Behold:



ALIQUID currently has two new lip balm scents, which are Ginger Rose and Lavender Honey ($2 for 1/$5 for 3).  I chose the Lavender Honey variety!

The first thing I have to say is that I really appreciate that this is in a tube- portable, easy, practical, as well as likely to get used! I have a mediocre sense of smell, but I think the honey is more prominent than the lavender, scent-wise. It smells a little herbal, but mild and nice, with no taste.

The ingredients, which you can see below, are very nourishing. The consistency feels slightly hard at first (like a Chapstick), but after contact with the warmth of your lips, the formula kind of melts into your skin (unlike a Chapstick!). It contains beeswax, but is much less waxy-feeling than an EOS balm, for example. (Actually, it mostly just feels like a nice oil on your lips.) I like it! This doesn't have the greatest longevity on me, but I am constantly drinking something, so take that with a grain of salt.

I am the kind of person who can be extremely hydrated, but still have chapped lips, so lip balm to me is an essential everyday item.  I can guarantee that this will get used completely up!


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Overall: I found these four nail polish shades to be really high-quality, interesting, and very unique! The packaging is totally cute, the formulas are good, and the theme of the collection is awesome.  I had very minor gripes with Devouring Wave and Day Shall Come Again, but I don't think they are issues that should prevent anyone from trying them! I'm very happy to see polishes with fleck particles like the first two, as few indies are doing those at the moment!

Also, the lip balm rocks!

There are three other gorgeous shades in this set, so I suggest you head over to visit my fellow blogging friends to see the rest of The Silmarillion Collection/ additional swatches! (Alison also swatched them herself.)



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GIVEAWAY time!

This is open to anyone over the age of 18 in the USA and Canada. The only mandatory entry is to give your email address; all other entries are optional but will increase your chances of winning! All entries will be verified. Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to provide Alison (ALIQUID) with their mailing address, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! Don't forget to visit ALIQUID's shop and check out !





Disclosure: these polishes were provided to me as press samples for honest review, and all opinions are my own