Nail mail is always fun but swatch mail is something else! The ever sweet Annette at Rainbow Connection was kind enough to send me some more polishes to swatch. My little girl and I have been quite poorly this week so I have been (more than) a little bit behind. Swatching has been difficult with a clingy child and fumes from acetone and polish burning my sinuses but it’s all worth it in the end! Polish=happiness 😀
Let’s get on with it then!
There are ten polishes in the new Cirque Colors Maison Collection and they were inspired by items around the home. I received six to swatch and will be buying the other four tonight when they launch so *hopefully* there will be a part 2!
The first polish out of the box was the gorgeous ‘Magic Turquoise’. This is one of three thermal polishes, the first ever released by Cirque! It is a gorgeous near-duck egg blue when warm and changes to a beautiful mid-green when cool. It also has gold-toned flakes which altogether make it a stunning polish! Shown below is the (clockwise from bottom left) warm, transition and cool states and macro for ‘Magic Turquoise’, using two coats and top coat.
Next we have ‘Estate’, a antique gold flake polish with added holo. My first thought was that it was very similar to ‘24K Affair’ from the Kawaii Collection but that is more of a yellow-toned gold whereas Estate is darker. Shown below is two coats plus top coat.
This is ‘Patina’, the second of the thermal polishes. This is a dark bronze when cool and a coppery-bronze when warm. I have nothing else like this in my collection so it is a welcome addition. A perfect colour for autumn, a flake polish with style. Again, two coats and top coat are shown in the (clockwise from bottom left) cold, transition and warm states, then in warm and cold stamped with ‘Rothko Red’.
‘Druzy’ is up next. This is a gunmetal grey polish with lots and lots of multichrome flakes. This looks quite dark when on but glitters beautifully in the light. It makes me think of the splash of colour we add to our dark autumn outfits.
This stunning thing is ‘Rothko Red’, a deep, oxblood red to bright crimson thermal polish. This made me go “oooooh!” when I opened the box. I LOVE a good red polish and this is two-in-one, so even better! Below is three thin coats and top coat in (clockwise from bottom left) cool, transition and warm states, then stamped with white and ‘Estate’.
The last polish that I received is called “Stoneware” and is a gorgeous light peach creme with copper coloured flakes. This is a welcome paler colour amongst the deep and dark autumnal hues. I wasn’t too sure of how this would look on me as I don’t tend to go for this type of colour, however it is so very pretty!
Ok then, let’s get into it!
Formula: As I have always found with Cirque, the cremes are flawless and the flake polishes go on smoothly. Every single polish was an easy two coats (except Rothko Red, which took three thin coats) but I would recommend top coat as most of them dry to a satin or matte finish.
Thermal polishes: I LOVED the colour combinations for the thermal polishes, my favourite was ‘Magic Turquoise’! They are very reactive, so much so that it was a little difficult at times getting a picture of them fully in one state! Very sensitive and great colour changes.
Colours: A wide range of colours are included here, some lighter, some more in keeping with the stereotypical autumn shades. A good balance, I thought and it’s easy to find colours to go together nicely.
Overall: I really like this collection. I was a little unsure of a few (Patina, Stoneware and Druzy) but never judge a polish ‘til you’ve swatched it! As always, Cirque collections are large enough that you will find at least a couple of polishes that you like and this is no exception. I love the quality and finishes of their polishes and the formulas are just so easy to work with. The full collection is also limited edition so definitely an excuse to grab them quickly!
I’m looking forward to grabbing the other four polishes to complete my set, there is a gorgeous blue that I just have to have and I don’t normally go for blues! Ha ha!
Which of these did you like? Will you be grabbing some on launch day? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
If you would like any of the Cirque Maison Collection they will be available tonight (29th September) at Rainbow Connection and CirqueColors.com
Thank you for reading! ‘Til next time… x
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