*press sample
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| Cirque Awakening-- Spring 2015 |
There's nothing like a gorgeous new collection from a fabulous and renowned boutique artist to snap a gal out of a nail polish funk, and Cirque Colors' Spring 2015 collection, titled Awakening, did just that for me... and how! Awakening is a set of five uniquely flecked creme polishes and introduces Cirque's new Matte Look mattifying topcoat, a simply brilliant move on creator Annie's part because these five polishes are just delicious mattified, like semi-precious stones. Each swatch is shown with two coats of polish and one coat of Matte Look topcoat.
Love Stone
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| Cirque Love Stone |
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| Cirque Love Stone |
Love Stone is a soft shell pink delicately flecked with gold. It's gorgeous, ladylike and delicate. The formula is superb-- seriously among the best I've tried.
Hatch
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| Cirque Hatch |
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| Cirque Hatch |
Hatch is a soft white with verrrrry subtle pink and blue shimmer and irregular matte (even before the topcoat) grey flecks. It sort of harkens back to the speckled polishes of the past two springs but this one is different. The flecks both make it a prettier polish and a better applying one. The formula is spectacular. Let this beauty whet your appetite for white. You won't be disappointed.
New Moon
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| Cirque New Moon |
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| Cirque New Moon |
New Moon is a warm grey with silver flecks, akin to Love Stone but with a stronger shimmer presence. I love how the light bounces off them even with the matte topcoat. The formula? I'm undone.
Qi
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| Cirque Qi |
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| Cirque Qi |
Qi is something else. It's a bright cerulean with a jellyish base and turquoise and gold flecks. The slightly sheered out base give the flecks a slight duochrome illusion. Qi is absolutely, mindblowingly spectacular, with colors and shifts like a nebula seen through an infrared lens. The best part, though, is that this blue does not stain! The formula... you guessed it.
Gaia
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| Cirque Gaia |
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| Cirque Gaia |
Gaia... my black polish loving heart adores this one. Gaia also has a jellyish formula which allows the abundance of irregular gold flecks to really stand out. It's remarkable, like a mineralized stone in a deep cave, or the aftermath of some cataclysmic outer space event. This formula is just a fraction less lovely than the other four, on account of thinness and the general unforgiving nature of black nail polish. Even so, my photos show no cleanup.
Matte Look Topcoat
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| Cirque Matte Look topcoat |
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| Cirque Matte Look topcoat |
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| Cirque Matte Look topcoat |
Obviously this collection of polishes looks absolutely perfect mattified, so let's talk about the Matte look topcoat for a minute. I've never used a true mattifier so I wasn't sure what to expect. This topcoat behaves as well as any glossy topcoat I've ever tried, and better, in some cases. It applies smoothly and evenly, dries a smidge slower than glossy topcoat, and has the most luxurious, velvety feel once dry. My favorite part about using this topcoat, though, is its wear time! Matte finish polishes are notorious for their inability to last but these manicures were pristine through day two.
And in case you're curious what these all look like with glossy topcoat...
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| Cirque Love Stone |
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| Cirque Hatch |
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| Cirque New Moon |
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| Cirque Qi |
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| Cirque Gaia |
So... are you as taken by this gorgeous and inspired collection as I am? I just love having my expectations completely exceeded. The Awakening collection is available for sale now on
cirquecolors.com and Cirque's
international stocklists.
Where to find Cirque Colors
Thank you for reading and have a beautiful day!! ♥
*press sample
Perfect swatches Liesl! This is a very pretty collection I *need* the pink one! It is soooo pretty! and I'm on a mattifying kick lately so I prefer all the matte versions :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Natalia! ♥ And I hear ya. Now that I have this awesome new mattifier, I want to matte everything, too, lol ♥
DeleteZOMG, thanks for showing these both ways!! I'm loving all of them matte (esp. New Moon, oh my!), and think I need all but Gaia! Look what you have done to my wallet!
ReplyDeleteLolol, turnabout is fair play ;)
DeleteSome pretty colors these all are. I really like how they look matte too.
ReplyDeleteThey are out of this world awesome mattified :)
DeleteThese look amazing :-D Both glossy and matte :-) Hatch is screaming "buy me buy me" !!!
ReplyDeleteYes!! Hatch is SO awesome, isn't it?
DeleteI was drooling over these when I got the email and am trying to resist! I especially love Love Stone, Hatch and Qi. I also prefer these mattified-- they are so lovely!
ReplyDeleteOh, they are all fantastic. Just do it, sweets :) You won't be sorry!
DeleteI really like all of these and I love them matted are TO DIE!
ReplyDeleteAren't they?! Just perfect :)
DeleteGorgeous swatches! I love the matte texture the most!
ReplyDeleteThank so much, Aprill! ♥ I'm with you, these are stunning matte.
DeleteGreat swatches! Awesome collection
ReplyDeleteThank you!! ♥ It is a great set.
DeleteLove how these are all delicate but intricate at the same time. LOVE them matte!
ReplyDeleteI agree, they're just gorgeous and PERFECT matte ♥
DeleteOooh I love all of them matte! <3
ReplyDeleteMe, too ♥
DeleteOh my goodness, they are gorgeous, if only matte worked with my fingers but they don't. I'm a metallic type of gal. :) I do love the grey and black one. I'm a sucker for black/gold.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to fully embrace matte, too, but now I love it-- especially since finding a topcoat that doesn't chip within hours, lol :) Give it a shot!
DeleteYou're gonna throw a shoe at me, but SHINY for the win!! :) Okay, okay...I might like Gaia a smidgen better matter. But just a smidgen. Love Stone and Qi need to come live with me. And Hatch makes me want Easter candy. Lovely to see you reviewing the beautiful Cirque line. <3<3<3
ReplyDeleteWHAAAAAT?!!?! I kid, I kid :) It's a beautiful collection either way. I hope you treat yourself to a couple, you surely deserve it ♥
DeleteLove Stone and Qi are my favorite - gotta love that matte top coat!
ReplyDeleteExcellent choices, darling ♥ And yes, the matte topcoat is everything, lol ;)
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