Review: Literary Lacquers 'The Good Parts' collection

Hello!!

A while back, when I reviewed Literary Lacquers' Gift Of The Magi collection, I mentioned that she was coming out with a collection based on erotic fiction this year, called 'The Good Parts'. I was intrigued at the time to see what she'd come up with, and I was very excited to be sent three of the polishes to review for you.  Warning: this post will be picture heavy.

First, a few words about the collection. 'The Good Parts' is inspired by erotic fiction throughout the last few centuries, from the 1700s (Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a  Woman of Pleasure) to modern day (50 Shades Of Grey series). I love to read, and that includes erotic fiction; when 50 Shades Of Grey came out, I was a bit disappointed by it, and turned to some of the 'classics' of erotic fiction to explore how these themes had been handled by other authors. I personally believe that erotic fiction in the right hands is a powerful tool for female empowerment, and because of that, I am so happy to see a lovely collection of polishes that embrace this genre.

Okay, enough of my blabbing on about why I love the premise of the collection. Polishes, woman! That's what we read for! What about the polishes!!??

Don't worry: you won't be disappointed.

The first one I'll talk about is Zipless; this polish is inspired by Fear of Flying by Erica Jong, published in 1973. The premise of the book is that the author is looking for a sexual relationship with no ties--a break away from the traditional expectations women face when entering into intimate relationships. This polish absolutely captures that spirit! It's an orange-leaning red jelly polish with matte red glitter and holographic gold glitter. It's bold and flashy and flirty and fun; here it is alone with no undies, three coats:

Literary Lacquers Zipless in the shade

Literary Lacquers Zipless in the shade

Literary Lacquers Zipless in the shade

Look at that sparkle!!

Literary Lacquers Zipless direct sun

Literary Lacquers Zipless full sun

Close-up :)

The formula on this polish was excellent. I typically struggle with jellies, but this went on effortlessly, evenly, beautifully. I used three coats, but others might be able to use only two--my nails are a bit stained and need a bit more coverage. I didn't do any placement of the glitters; I let them sit where they came out naturally, and as you can see, they glided on very nicely, no fishing needed.

I also layered one coat of Zipless over China Glaze's Peachy Keen; I love the way the red glitters pop out a bit more over that background, it reminds me of chili flakes:

With one coat you may have to fish a bit if you want to be sure to get the large gold hex on every nail; however, the glitter is nicely even apart from that. How hot is this polish for sizzling summer manicures?

Next is John Thomas/Lady Jane. This polish is inspired by Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence; Amy was particularly inspired by a scene where the lovers "Run naked through the English wood during a rainstorm. After their lovemaking, they celebrate the marriage of 'John Thomas' to 'Lady Jane'." There's something strangely reassuring to know that lovers have been coming up with silly names and scenarios for each other's body parts for at least a century, lol!

This polish absolutely captures this scene for me; I can see a beautiful English wood with raindrops falling down when I look at the varied green and white glitters in this polish. I've layered it over a light sage base here, and will show you first one coat and then two:

Literary Lacquers John Thomas/Lady Jane (one coat)

Close-up

Literary Lacquers John Thomas/Lady Jane (two coats)

And another close-up. :)

The formula on this was good; the glitter cooperated and spread evenly without fuss. You could easily get full coverage without undies with two coats of this is you went a little thicker than I did. :)


And finally, we have Roissey. I gasped when I saw the name of this, before I even saw the color of the polish.

After reading 50 Shades, I turned immediately to The Story of O; I wanted to read the book that many think of as the seminal BDSM novel that brought this area of erotic fiction into the public consciousness. Despite having been published nearly 60 years ago, this book continues to be controversial; it is certainly intense, and at times disturbing. It raises issues of what it means to truly love someone and what the limits of that love should be; possibly more importantly, it explores  whether it is ultimately empowering to turn over your personal power to someone else. Why am I mentioning all of this? Because such an intense book needs to be represented by a special, powerful polish; Roissey is named for the place that O is taken to learn to be a submissive, and her journey while there takes her through both beauty and trauma. Amy has captured both of these aspects with a beautiful ocean-blue shimmered jelly filled with black shreds:

Literary Lacquers Roissey

This is three coats of Roissey. Again, the formula was wonderful, and the glitters played nicely, for the most part. I did have one stubborn little glitter that wanted to stick up, but it tamed easily under the lash of topcoat (literary pun not intended, but I'm pretty proud of it now that I see it).

While I couldn't capture it on film no matter how hard I tried, when indoors, I got a very slight duochrome effect; at the edges, I'd get a slight flash of green that enhanced the mystery and beauty of the polish. The polish is also a bit darker blue when indoors. I'm a fan of shredded glitter, that's not a secret, but I'd love this regardless. The color of the blue is so rich and mysterious, and the shimmer makes it feel like it's made of crushed pearls. Can you tell this is my favorite of the three?

There are 6 more polishes in the collection; you can see them at Literary Lacquers' Etsy shop by clicking here. You can also follow her on Facebook here. Her polishes are three-free and cruelty free, and sell for $10 each. I couldn't help grabbing a couple more myself from her collection, and I'll show those to you as soon as I can!

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with some nail art. :)

Xoxox,
M.

(The polishes in this post were sent for my honest review.)