Good afternoon, dear readers! For those of you that may not know this, today is Amy of
Literary Lacquer's 40th birthday! I adore Amy, and she does not look like she is close to 40. I certainly hope to look as good as she does when I turn 40! In honor of her birthday, I thought I would share some swatches of her polishes from "The Good Parts" since we're almost ready to be adults now ;) Amy, I hope you have a wonderful birthday weekend!
Now to the swatches!
Roissey over Zoya Song
Black and blue polish inspired by The Story of O published under the pseudonym Pauline Reage in 1954. This polish is named for the chateau where O, our heroine, is taken to be transformed into a sex slave. In an article in 1994 in The New Yorker, Anne Desclos came out to the world as the actual owner of this intense and sometimes brutal smutty book.
Because Roissey is quite sheer and I wanted just a touch of black glitters, I decided to swatch one coat of it over Zoya Song. I then added HK Girl top coat. I love this polish! The colour is so vibrant and it just makes me feel good whenever I wear it! The formula was smooth and easy to work with, and the black glitters spread out very nicely over the nails. Roissey is arguably my favorite non-holographic Literary Lacquers polish.
John Thomas/Lady Jane
Deep forest green glitter polish with accents of many shades of green glitter and shimmer and a touch of white glitter. This polish is inspired by Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence, published in 1928, specifically the scene where Constance Chatterly and her lover Mellors (the gamekeeper) run naked through the English wood during a rainstorm. After their lovemaking, they celebrate the marriage of "John Thomas" to "Lady Jane".
Look at all this glitter! John Thomas/Lady Jane is densely packed with glitters, and I had full coverage with just two coats. Because it had so many glitters, I topped this off with Gelous and the a layer of top coat to get a smooth finish for these photos. In spite of being chock-full of glitter, the formula wasn't too thick and the glitters dispersed nicely. I love wearing this polish because it reminds me of the wooded park I used to visit when I lived on the east coast.
Woman of Pleasure
Periwinkle crelly with navy. lavender, matte pink glitters and magenta circle glitter. This polish is inspired by Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure written by John Cleland in 1748 when it was promptly banned for over 200 years.
I usually shy away from periwinkle-based polishes, but I absolutely adore this one! I love the combination of glitters that have been added to this polish, and I love the depth they create when on the nails. I used two coats of polish and a coat of top coat for these photos.
Bionic Mmmm-Detector
Black jelly packed with aqua, teal, blue and green microglitter. This polish was inspired by Vox by Nicholson Baker published in 1990. This entire book is one long anonymous phone sex conversation over a 1-900 number. The book, published in the midst of the AIDS crisis represents the ultimate safe sex in a pre-internet era. This book gained even more notoriety as the book famously given to President Bill Clinton by the young intern Monica Lewinsky.
I'm so glad it is almost fall because I plan to wear this polish a lot! The colour is gorgeous, and the formula was perfect! Bionic Mmmm-Detector is in my list of Literary Lacquers must-have polishes; you won't be disappointed! I used three coats plus top coat for these photos.
If It Pleases You
Deep plum linear holographic. This polish was inspired by The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice, originally published in 1983 under the pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure. It's a kinky fairy tale, telling us what happens after the prince wakes Sleepy Beauty (not with a kiss in this tale). If it pleases you is what Beauty is taught to answer questions by her masters. Lots of joyful spankings in this book...
Go ahead and drool for a minute; I'll wait...
Are you with me now? Good. If It Pleases You is my favorite polish from this collection, and all you have to do it look at photos to understand why. I have worn this several times already, and I just cannot get over how beautiful it is! I discovered that I tend to be drawn to polishes that have this bruised-colouring, but Amy created the perfect polish with this one. I used two coats of If It Pleases You and followed up with Glisten & Glow's HK Girl top coat for these photos.
My Secret Garden over If It Pleases You
Glitter topcoat of multicoloured matte glitters with a hefty dose of sparkle. This polish is inspired by My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday, published in 1973. This groundbreaking feminist book collected the sexual fantasies of women in a time when women were considered not to do such things. This book, as well as being fabulously sexy, is worth a read just to really understand where women were sexually in the culture as the sexual revolution was changing everything.
While I have never read the book that inspired this polish, it definitely looks like a garden in the bottle! There are so many colours, and I suspect this top coat would look beautiful over almost anything. I dabbed and swished a coat over my nails and then followed up a touch here and there that seemed a little sparse of the larger glitters. I then added a layer of top coat for a smooth finish.
Links
These and other Literary Lacquers polishes can be purchased at the
Literary Lacquer Etsy shop. Keep an eye out on Amy's
Facebook page for shop announcements as well as shared pictures from her fans. While you are there, don't forget to wish her a happy birthday!
Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day and enjoy the rest of the weekend!
<3 <3