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Cirque Colors – Alchemy Collection pt. 2

The following is taken from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

al·che·my

noun \ˈal-kə-mē\

a science that was used in the Middle Ages with the goal of changing ordinary metals into gold
a power or process that changes or transforms something in a mysterious or impressive way

a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life
a power or process of transforming something common into something special
an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting

I don’t know about you, but I found that all of the above definitions eerily accurate as far as these beauties are concerned. Whereas the first part of the Cirque Colors Alchemy Collection (reviewed here) focused on more ‘sleight of hand’ type of shades, this second half is nothing short of spectacular. Colour shifting, brilliant glitters, and textured finishes define these 5 lacquers and I was captivated by each and every one.

Cirque Colors – Alchemy Collection

Lichen – A perfect example of “alchemy“, this shade bears a charcoal base (surprised?), filled with mossy green, olive & bronze ultra-fine shimmer. The ‘gasoline’ effect is strongest in the bottle, but I do catch glimpses of it on the nails in certain lights. I recommend that you mix the contents thoroughly to avoid any separation and/or patchy coats – otherwise, the application is awesome. Self-levelling and with a brilliant (but not glossy) finish, Lichen has incredibly depth. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

Cirque Colors – Lichen

Stella – A clear base loaded with rose gold (a totally trending colour this season) glitter in a variety of shapes and sizes – all the way from ground, ultra-fine, and fine. Easily layered over a matching base, opacity is quite good even on its own, giving good coverage by the second coat. An effortless application and high-watt finish, Stella has a naturally soft-grit texture that becomes completely smooth once top coat is layered over. Coats applied: 2 (top coat added for final swatch only)

Cirque Colors – Stella

Cirque Colors – Stella (top coat added)

Ica Valley – The golden version of Stella, in terms of application and formula, but in a cool gold tone, that should suit all skin tones – from the fairest to the darkest … like magic? (sorry – it was too perfect to resist). Be prepared for some glitter migration upon removal. Coats applied: 2 (top coat added for final swatch only)

Cirque Colors – Ica Valley

Cirque Colors – Ica Valley (top coat added)

Chainmail – Is it just me, or does anyone else think this name is über-sexy? A light grey base filled with ground and fine steely blue glitter, along with fine prismatic particles and more random black specks thrown in for good measure. The formula is the thinnest of the glittery shades shown here, and while layering Chainmail over a matching base is always an option, I love the more complex look on its own. Coats applied: 3, thin (top coat added for final swatch only)

Cirque Colors – Chainmail

Cirque Colors – Chainmail (taken with flash)

Cirque Colors – Chainmail (top coat added)

Vectors – Meant to be a “topper” (as in, applied over the base of your choice), this is a clear base filled with black bar, small round, medium & larger hexagonal, and diamond shaped glitter, with the addition of finely ground holographic glitter throughout. Each brush stroke yields a good variety of glitter, with no “fishing” necessary – although you may need to nudge some of the bar pieces into place, especially if they fall near the nail sides or free edge.

I’ve opted to show Vectors two ways: over a light base such as CHANEL’s Eastern Light (previously reviewed here), the white backdrop serves to enhance every detail, while layered over the more intricate look of Magnum Opus (from the Alchemy Collection pt. 1, previously reviewed here) the entire look seems to take on a more 3D tone. The options are literally limitless with this topper.

Cirque Colors – Vectors (over CHANEL’s Eastern Light, previously reviewed here)

Cirque Colors – Vectors (over CHANEL’s Eastern Light)

Cirque Colors – Vectors (over Magnum Opus, previously reviewed here)

Cirque Colors – Vectors (over Magnum Opus, taken with flash)

I can’t say it often enough: for all nail-philes out there, Cirque Colors is a brand that you need to sit up and take notice of. The originality, formula, and detail that goes into every single bottle of lacquer, is undeniable. From this second half of the Alchemy Collection, I am hard-pressed to choose a favourite, as I found something to love about them all, but I confess that Chainmail has my number. Considering that I’m not glitter’s biggest fan, I found that I couldn’t stop staring at my nails when wearing both Stella and Ica Valley, and while top coat does all kinds of wonderful to these hues, I love the edgier look without – adding a tactile sensation to polish brings it to a whole other level, in my opinion.

The Alchemy Collection is available now – find more information via website/twitter/facebook

About Cirque
Cirque is an artisanal line of hand-blended nail polish made in New York. The name Cirque, meaning ring or circle, represents the color wheel and the endless color possibilities in the continuum. Creator, Annie Pham, sought to develop colors that transcend those of conventional brands by experimenting with unique pigments and raw materials. Cirque nail polish is 3-free, which means it does not contain toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate.

*Disclosure: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration

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Cirque Colors – Alchemy Collection pt. 1

January 4, 2014

The realm of the occult and medieval experiments in alchemy is the inspiration behind this latest manifestation by Cirque Colors, and as these are subjects that have captivated me since my earliest memories – combined with my love of nail lacquer – all I can say is that this collection pushes all the right buttons for me. Every.Single.One.

If you’re unfamiliar with this artisanal brand, then you’re in for a wonderful experience: with each hand-made batch, founder Annie Pham actually does seem to create magic, combining pigments and finishes in unique ways using only the finest ingredients, and leaving no detail overlooked – from the logo, bottle design, packaging, and imagery. Another little-known fact, is that each shade is scented with essential oils of lavender and clary sage that lend a subtle (and almost mood-enhancing) fragrance to your nails once the polish dries – like I said: magic.

I have divided this 10-piece collection into 2 parts, the better to showcase each and every beautiful varnish. Feel free to indulge and enjoy!

Cirque Colors – Alchemy Collection

Mink – A dark taupe base with blue flashes and a strongly scattered prismatic effect, that appears more linear in direct light. The formula is a touch thick density-wise, but still applies in a completely self-levelling way with a satin finish at the end. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

Meaning: a semiaquatic animal renown for its luxurious fur

Cirque Colors – Mink

Magnum Opus – A tungsten steel base hue with obvious mauve undertones, bearing the same strongly scattered holographic effect (that also appears more linear in direct light) as that of ‘Mink’. Super easy application due to the amazing formula – comes to a satin finish. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

Meaning: the greatest achievement of an artist

Cirque Colors – Magnum Opus

Baptisia – UNBELIEVABLE. A rich (and true) indigo base hue with plenty of sapphire shimmer and more scattered silver flecks thrown in. The application couldn’t be more perfect: mega colour saturation, amazing flow, self-levelling, and a shiny (not glossy) finish which benefits from top coat to bring out its depths. Intense, luxurious and somewhat regal – this is that shade of twilight sky moments before it turns dark. LOVE. Bonus: non-staining upon removal. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

Meaning: a wild indigo plant (Eastern United States) with blue flowers

NOTE: This shade is much more dark purple leaning than my photos show (trust me; if I knew how to adjust the settings on my camera better, you’d understand)

Cirque Colors – Baptisia

Chrysopoeia – A goldenrod yellow with gold and silver finely ground shimmer and a mild scattered holographic effect (what a mouthful). The formula fell on the sheer side, but still gave surprisingly good coverage just the same, self-levelling and with a satin finish at the end. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

Meaning: to turn an element into gold (transmutation)

Cirque Colors – Chrysopoeia

Arcane Fire – Where do I start … A magenta base hue with crimson undertones and super-fine pink, gold & bronze shimmer in a jelly-like formula. What starts off as dark rose colour then transforms (like magic?) into a more ruby/maroon hue with violet flashes along the nail edges seen in some lights. With its satin finish, top coat does all sorts of wonderful here. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

Meaning: “arcane” mysterious, known only to a few

Cirque Colors – Arcane Fire

Creating something original is the rather crowded world of nail polish, is no easy feat and yet, Cirque Colors manages to bring us something new. If forced to choose a favourite amongst the 5 here, I would have to say that Baptisia takes top honours (but then again, I do have a weakness for darkling shades), with Arcane Fire and Magnum Opus not far behind. Adding a holographic touch to Mink elevates this shade from ordinary to extra-ordinary and while I was left unmoved by Chrysopoeia (It’s a personal preference: anything yellow-based really clashes with my skin tone – nothing to do with this shade), I must admit that it’s one of the most complex yellow hues I’ve seen.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this collection, coming soon.

The Alchemy Collection is available now – find more information via website/twitter/facebook

*Disclosure: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration

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Dior Vernis #995 Minuit (LE) – Golden Winter 2013 Collection

November 23, 2013

To look at Dior’s Golden Winter 2013 Collection, is like looking into the jewelry box of Marie Antoinette; filled with tones of pink & gold, this collection takes its inspiration from Versailles at midnight. No need to add any more … that romantic imagery is more than enough for me. I first fell for the retro shape of these chubby bottles when they were introduced with last year’s Grand Bal holiday collection (previously reviewed here and here) – the ultimate in refined femininity. Plus they’re just so darned cute.

Dior – #995 Minuit

#995 Minuit (limited edition) (CAN $27.00) – a deep bordeaux/prune base hue filled with rose-gold, copper & bronze ultra fine glitter. With its sublime formula – perfect density, flow, self-levelling capacity, and super glossy finish – this shade is nothing short of totally luxurious. Dark enough to satisfy my need for vampy shades yet still shy of looking like yet another blackened lacquer, the shimmery bits here look like they’re literally floating just under the nail surface – LOVE! Coats applied: 2, plus 1 layer of Dior Gel Top Coat

Dior – #995 Minuit

I have fallen very hard for this lacquer, and it has quickly risen to the ranks of one of my all-time favourite shades. The fact that the formula is ridiculously easy to apply (even the brush isn’t the usual paddle style that Dior favours with their regular lineup of lacquers, neither is it of the thinner variety – densely packed & flexible bristles, and just enough width enough to work comfortably with), makes it more than worth the heftier price tag. I’m already planning on getting a back up of this limited edition beauty … how can I resist?

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OPI – Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection ‘the sparklers’

November 19, 2013

Dividing this fairly extensive collection into three groups was the easy part; ‘the reds’ (reviewed here), the Liquid Sands (coming soon), and this group here that I’ve named ‘the sparklers’, although it should technically be ‘the 5 sparklers & a metallic’, but that just looks weird in a title, no? These six lacquers all have something unique and totally eye-catching to offer – brilliant, sparkling and festively extravagant.

OPI – Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection

Ski Slope Sweetie – a sheer milky base hue filled with finely ground iridescent/pearlized shimmer that flashes predominantly gold, with pink and green glints seen as well. While the formula leans a bit on the thick side, it still applies ridiculously easy, staying exactly where placed, brush stroke-free and self-levelling (this can also be layered over a similar colour for more depth). Gleaming at the finish, I swear that there’s a magical look to this shade – makes me think of unicorns. Love unicorns. Note that there could be some shimmer migration upon removal. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat

OPI – Ski Slope Sweetie

My Favorite Ornament – a clear base loaded with ultra fine platinum and silver micro glitter (doesn’t it look like teeny-tiny crinkled up pieces of foil?), that’s almost opaque by the first coat — it’s THAT densely packed. With its antiqued/tarnished effect, this shade is insanely brilliant and absolutely spot-on as the perfect festive lacquer. You will probably need a couple of layers of top coat to smooth out the slightly gritty finish – totally worth it, however. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat (2 layers)

OPI – My Favorite Ornament

Wondrous Star – a clear base filled with the same platinum & silver ultra fine micro glitter of My Favorite ornament, but slightly sparser and in a thinner flowing formula, as well as the addition of tiny black hexagonal glitter pieces in the mix. Definitely best if layered to bring out its full effect, this shade is ridiculously brilliant as well. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat

OPI – Wondrous Star

All Sparkly and Gold – a smokey semi-sheer taupe base hue filled with bronze ultra fine glitter (the warmer and more golden version of My Favorite Ornament). The gritty feel at the finish seems more Liquid Sand to me, but not as dense, and really benefits from top coat to enhance every brilliant facet. I absolutely LOVE how the glitter seems suspended at the surface level. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat (2 layers)

OPI – All Sparkly and Gold

Warm Me Up – the odd man out of the group shown here, but still part of the same overall colour family, this is a metallic taupe/mink brown hue bearing a silvery/pearlized shimmer throughout. A totally unique colour (at least in my fairly vast collection), this shade is a chameleon – looking pewter in some lights, bronzey-grey in others. Self-levelling, no visible brush strokes and shiny at the finish, it’s also non-staining upon removal. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

OPI – Warm Me Up

I Snow You Love Me – the “pièce de résistance” of the collection (and you HAVE to love the name!), this is a slightly milky (and relatively thick) base, filled with large round holographic glitter. As this shade is best when layered, I’ve shown it (1 coat only) over 3 distinct finished: over a crème (Visions of Love previously reviewed here), a shimmer (Ski Slope Sweetie), and a metallic (Warm Me Up). Some tips for application:

start by keeping this bottle stored upside down, as the glitter is heavy and tends to sink to the bottom
don’t try applying this the usual way – you’ll only wind up with the base and no glitter
instead, use the “drop, dab, & swoosh” method and work quickly to avoid an uneven surface
Bonus: glitter placement is quite easy to do, although you may need to fish some pieces out of the bottle in the first place

OPI – I Snow You Love Me (over Visions of Love)

OPI – I Snow You Love Me (over Ski Slope Sweetie)

OPI – I Snow You Love Me (over Warm Me Up)

I’m not even a glitter person, and yet I am so totally drawn to (most of) these shades. My favourites here are I Snow You Love Me (portable disco balls!), Warm Me Up (you already know how I love these moodier-type shades), All Sparkly and Gold (sophisticated bling, in my eyes), and My Favorite Ornament. I can see Ski Slope Sweetie as a pedi shade, a colour that will translate well even for the warmer season, but Wondrous Star didn’t do it for me – something about the darker bits looked too much like debris for my liking – maybe it just needs to grow on me shrugs.

The six Liquid Sand polishes of this collection will be shown in an upcoming post.

The OPI Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection is limited and available now. For all updates, feel free to follow via: website/twitter/facebook

*Disclosure: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration

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OPI – Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection ‘the reds’

November 18, 2013

OPI’s Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection, consist of not 12, but rather 18 limited edition lacquers – with 6 of them coming in the brand’s Liquid Sand formula (which I personally love!). I’ve broken it down to three separate groups, in order that they can be appreciated that much better, starting with ‘The Reds’ of part 1 shown here today.

OPI – Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection

All I Want for Christmas (is OPI) – a rich red crème (the perfect Christmas red!) with blueish undertones in the base making it slightly cooler hued, in a formula with excellent flow & coverage. Highly flattering against all skin tones, the application was completely self-levelling and with a high-gloss shine at the finish. Note that it could be lightly staining, so do not skip base coat. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

OPI – All I want for Christmas (is OPI)

OPI – All I Want for Christmas (is OPI)

Visions of Love – a cooler-toned deep burgundy/dark chocolate crème hue with dark berry undertones, in a formula that was simply spectacular – super easy flow and perfect opacity. Self levelling and über-glossy at the finish, this shade is nothing short of luxurious vampiness. Seriously. May be lightly staining, so do not skip base coat. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

OPI – Visions of Love

In my Santa Suit – a cool-toned red hue with magenta undertones in the base and pearlized shimmer throughout, giving the center of the nail that “glowing” effect. Another excellent and easy application – self-levelling & with no visible brush strokes, leaving a shiny finish (not glossy) behind. Such a festive shade – I love how it totally resembles moiré satin ribbon! Non-staining upon removal. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat (top coat necessary here to really bring out the depth)

OPI – In my Santa Suit

Sleigh Ride for Two – a unique mix of deep raisin/plum base hue with an inner ultra-fine pearlized shimmer, that comes off as simultaneously filtered (as though seen through fogged glass) and glowing (like the shimmer is trapped just beneath the surface layer). Self-levelling and brush stroke-free, there’s a velvety look to this shade and while it’s not as glossy as the crèmes, there’s a nice shine just the same. Top coat totally brings out all its depths, and another plus is that it’s non-staining. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

OPI – Sleigh Ride for Two

Cute Little Vixen – a cool leaning magenta base hue with purple undertones in the base, filled with pink & silver finely ground glitter and pearlized shimmer throughout that gives this shade a gleaming look. Self-levelling and with a brush stroke-free application, once again top coat is necessary to bring out all its depths. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

OPI – Cute Little Vixen

Underneath the Mistletoe – a deep ruby base with some brownish tints, filled with pink & silver glass-flecked glitter particles in a jelly-like formula. Gorgeously glowing & kind of squishy-looking (in a good way), the flecks look like they’re floating at the surface level — this also reminds me of raspberry jam! Self-levelling in application, this was the least glossy of the 6 – definitely needs top coat to really bring it out. Could be lightly staining, so do not skip your base. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

OPI – Underneath the Mistletoe

OPI certainly knows how to do “red”, and of the six shown here, the stand-outs for me were the 2 crèmes (although Visions of Love is my hands-down favourite), Sleigh Ride for Two (because I’m a total sucker for anything “dusty-looking”), and Underneath the Mistletoe (it’s squishy…need I say more? It’s also the pedi shade I wore when I met Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, post found here), and even though I wasn’t too partial to In my Santa Suit or Cute Little Vixen, I can’t deny how pretty the finish looks – just not for me.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this collection, to be shown in an upcoming post.

The OPI Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 Collection is limited and available now. For all updates, feel free to follow via website/twitter/facebook