LA Girl Rock Star Nail Polish – Part III
As promised the highly anticipated Part III of LA Girl Rock Star nail polish. Just kidding, I have no idea if this is highly anticipated or not, but I was trying to be dramatic.
These are all super glittery and fanciful. They are all pretty sheer so be prepared for that, but all would make most excellent layering colors as most glitters do. Have I mentioned how much I love the bottles? Well I do, they feel “weighty” in my hand and its somehow soothing. Anyhoo, peep ‘em!
Double Platinum
Double Platinum macro shot
Double Platinum is a silver base with lots of small holographic glitter, which gives it a rainbow color effect that I love. Let me say something about the word holographic. People (myself included) use it constantly to describe nail polish but in reality a hologram is a three dimensional image of an object (think Princess Leia in Star Wars). This rainbow effect we see in nail polish is really called prismatic. The definition of prismatic is: “exhibiting bright spectral colors; rainbow-like” quoted from The Free Dictionary.com. So because I can be totally anal about words, from now on instead of saying holographic, I am going to say prismatic because it makes me feel better.
This was three coats.
Live on Stage
Live on Stage macro shot
Live on Stage is a gold base with different sized chunks of prismatic glitter. The prismatic chunks are hexagrams and the rest are round. This was three coats.
Electric Guitar
Electric Guitar macro shot
Electric Guitar is a gold/copper base with prismatic (see it’s getting easier isn’t it?) glitter chunks in different sizes. This one has some really big hexagon shapes as you can see above. This was three coats.
Crowd Surfing
Crowd Surfing macro shot
Crowd Surfing is a very light green base with green micro glitter and large copper almost flake-like glitter. I really wish the base was much darker on this, but oh well. This was three coats.
Overdose
Overdose macro shot
Overdose is a clear base with small round purple, blue and silver glitter. Pretty straightforward. This was three coats.
Supernova
Supernova macro shot
Supernova is a grey/black base (very sheer) with really cool prismatic glitter that’s rectangular and thin and reminds me of confetti. This was three coats.
You can find these and many other LA Girl polishes here and they retail for $4.00 each. I will have another post in the next couple weeks with more LA Girl polish including some from their Disco Brites collection.
Welcome! My name is Kelly and Vampy Varnish is a animal friendly beauty blog.
Okay, I found a website that said a HOLOGRAM is a record of an image as seen from many viewpoints, giving a three-dimensional effect. And RAINBOW HOLOGRAMS are transmission holograms where the object appears to change color as the viewpoint moves vertically. And HOLOGRAPHY is The process of making hologram is known as holography. <http://www.hologramsuppliers.com/glossary.html>
I think it’s just the fact that it looks like the color is moving and projecting. I like your word better. Hologram is too vague.
Hey Kelly,
Being that I, too, am anal about words, I have to challenge you on the “holographic/ prismatic” debate.
*puts on thinking cap*
First off, I think we have both types of polish readily available to us. Why it has become an “either/or” issue is beyond me…=]
As I understand it, prismatic polish contains actual prism (light-refracting) glitter particles.
For example, OPI Text Me, Text You actually has little prisms that flash different colors independent of the neighboring prisms, sparkling as the light is refracted.
(These also tend to be gritty, due to the facets of the mini-prisms giving them a more substantial size.)
Holographic polish, on the other hand, has a foil-type finish, with rainbows of color consistently represented across the nail surface.
(These tend to be a smooth finish, like Nfu-Oh or ChG OMG/Kaleidoscope collex.)
(My use of the word “hologram” harkens back to my first memory of a hologram, which was on a National Geographic cover some 25 years ago. It was, ironically, a flat representation of a 3-D image, in this case, an eagle.)
Here’s a link to an entire website dedicated to holograms and their history, which shows the NG covers and other holographic covers that followed:
http://www.holophile.com/history.htm
The use of the word then, and now, to describe the images found commonly (i.e. on almost every credit card as a security feature) which, unlike our beloved Princess Leia, also depict a flat likeness of a 3-D object.
(Why that one use of the word in pop-culture redefined the meaning in all other aspects is questionable… That said, I am both an avid film buff, and Star Wars fan, for what it’s worth.)
I did a blog post using a toy called an Eyeclops Bionicam that magnifies items from 100-400x and differentiated between the two finishes at close range, if you’re interested in seeing the images that support my theory…
Here’s the link: http://wixology.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/eyeclops-101/
*removes thinking cap*
I am a huge fan of your blog and mean you no offense.
I know you appreciate clarity and I humbly submit my interpretation of the issue for your consideration.
Thanks for hearing me out and I look forward to reading your take on the issue, Kelly.
Have a nice weekend!
~Monica
aka wixbetty
Hi wixbetty,
Well thanks for that clarification! See I didn’t
get that into the definition of both, as maybe I should have! I see
what you are talking about now with the difference between the two.
It
would seem though that telling the difference between prismatic and
holographic would be really hard just using the naked eye alone, right
or am I missing something?
Hi Danica,
Check out what wixberry said, very interesting and I stand corrected!
Thanks for listening, Kelly!
An easy way to tell the difference is if it twinkles, like a diamond, or like the hanging crystals of a chandelier, it most likely has little prisms and therefore would be considered prismatic.
That they usually have a grittier finish is a tactile way to tell the difference, too.
In addition to the OPI, the Northern Lights topcoats are prismatic as well as Orly’s (aptly named) Prisma Gloss. Color Club’s Magic Attraction has a sparkly, prismatic, gritty finish.
(In fact, I feel sheepish that I took issue with this particular post because, technically, all the polish that you called prismatic IS prismatic. My bone to pick is with using only one term or the other exclusively.)
If it looks like any of the holographic images on the NG covers, especially that amazing 1988 holographic globe, that the surface displays a rainbow of color depending on which way it is facing, it could be considered a holographic polish.
Any of the smooth-finished polish that appears to radiate all the colors of the rainbow, without sparkling/ twinkling are what I’d classify as holographic.
Nfu-Oh 61-66, OPI DS series, Chanel Holographic, ChG OMG, Wireless topcoat & Kaleidoscope, Nubar Reclaim, Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup, GOSH Holographic, OPI Paris Couture For Sure, Standing Room Only Silver, etc, are all holographic in finish and smooth to the touch, even before topcoat.
While they dazzle, they have no prisms, and that disqualifies them from being called “prismatic” in my book.
Now, as for those of us who call them “multi-colored glitter,” that’s a whole different rant…(“Overdose,” above, is a good example of an actual multi-colored glitter, as are those recently released RBL glitters…)
And, I’m spent…
*steps down off soapbox*
Thanks again, Kelly, for letting me help differentiate between two of my very favorite polish finishes!
I love this post Kelly! Your personality really came through on this one! I totally agree with you about crowd surfing; I SO want that base to be a little darker and that would such a gorgeous color. *sigh* oh well. overall love this brand! can’t wait to get my hands on some!
That is very interesting – but it’s way over my head. If at normal eye vision it looks the same or similar than I don’t see a problem calling it all the same. If it has that rainbow effect when it moves, that’s all I want. Up close the prismatic looks really cool, but you can hardly tell on the nail!