Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Cirque X International Playground - Swatches, Review, & Nail Art


Hello, all! Hope you're having a good week! Mine had a bit of a rough start but I've got some stunners from Cirque to share with you today and that helps make things better! Cirque and International Playground, a clothing/lifestyle boutinque local to NYC that carries a range of products from various independent designers/artisans (including the whole Cirque line!), have teamed up in honor of the store's 5 years being open and curated a set of polishes inspired by the hip International Playground store. 

The set includes 3 polishes, plus some awesome quatrefoil nail stencils by YouPolish (15 large ones so they'll last you through several manis!). I love the look of these polishes together and think it's a spot on representation of this trendy store. Let's take a look at some swatches and nail art! 
Martinique is perhaps the perfect green. If you had to pick a green I think this hue just might be the one you'd land on. It's a deep tropical kelly green crelly that makes me seriously happy to wear. I love this polish. Though it's jelly-ish, it's opaque in just 2 easy coats and I couldn't be happier with it. 
Rococo is a golden hued holographic foil that reminded me a bit of of Chrysopoeia. Rococo is however, a much softer golden tone and not quite as yellow. It's stunning in this collection as well as on it's own. Shown is 2-3 smooth coats. There was a tiny bit of brush strokes showing on the second coat of some nails, so that's the reason for the 3rd coat. 
Finally, Carpe Diem is Cirque's fantastic stark white creme. This is a staple polish from Cirque and one I've been wanting to try for awhile since I've heard amazing things about this creme. I have to say, it's a great polish! While it requires 3 coats to reach opacity, it's super smooth and a grade shade of white. 
As I mentioned in the intro, this set includes a sheet of quatrefoil nail stencils that were easy enough to work with (it was a little tricky getting those tiny pieces to separate out of the pattern, but nothing unmanageable!). There are 15 stencils that are large enough to be cut in half so really you're getting 30...enough for 3 full manis, or even more if you're just doing some accent nails! 

For my first nail art look, I use a base of Rococo and then placed the stencil and did Martinique to Carpe Diem gradient which I think looks amaze! I'd love to hear how you like it! 
The second look I put together is inspired by the fabulous post card that is included in the kit. 
The original nail art done with these polishes was perfection and I wanted to do an homage to that look. I ended up painting similar palm fronds, but used the gold and the green to create the look. 
As I said, you can purchase this trio exclusively from the International Playground online store (or in-store if you're local to NYC) and it's available now here

Be sure to follow Cirque, International Playground, & YouPolish on your favorite social media site to stay up to date with the latest collections, releases, and promos! 


What do you think of these? I'm really loving this set and I'm excited about how the nail art turned out as well. Do you have a favorite shade? Let me know what you think!