Thursday, November 10, 2011

Tag Team Thursday: CQ Idyllic

Hello Lab Partners!

It's time for another Tag Team Thursday, when the two of us here at the lab each try the same polish and tell you what we think of it. This week, we wanted to try an autumnal color, so we went for CQ Idyllic. Will we reach the same conclusions?


Allison:

In the bottle, Idyllic appears bronze, which is a nice fall color, so I was looking forward to trying this polish. It applied well and was nearly opaque in one coat. It was a little streaky on the first coat, but the finish in two coats was nice. This is a duochrome that's much more exciting on the nails than in the bottle. It's bronze in some light, more of a burnished wine in others. It reminds me of autumn leaves. I really like this color--a great option when you want to go with a polish that's on the neutral side but still has some interest.

Inside, artificial light. Here you see the bronze side of Idyllic.
And here is the burnished wine-red side of Idyllic



You can best appreciate the varying hues of this polish in a short video (if you look very closely, you might catch a glimpse of my pug toward the end of the clip--a little bonus):


Now let's see what Ace thinks of Idyllic.

Ace:


This is really not my type of color normally. I run away from anything earthy, anything close to brown.

But a drugstore multichrome? I am there to at least give it a try.

I like CQ polishes generally. They are made my Scherer, which also make Petites polishes. I have quite a few of these and have not yet found a disappointing one. They are 3-free by the way, even though their marketing department hasn't caught on with the whole "non-chemical" nail polish advertising scheme...

Idyllic is a perfect fall color that reflects a range of autumn leaves colors. In the bottle it's a bronze that leans red. Whereas you can see it is slightly duochrome (bronze to burgundy) in the bottle, the effect really pops on the nail. The polish leans burgundy or golden bronze depending on the light, and even turning a green gold reminiscent of Chanel Peridot and its ilk! I couldn't stop staring at my nails when I wore this.

I tried to pick photos that show these different colors. It's not easy to get the same colors showing up in the same photo, so I chose different photos that are all as color-accurate as possible.

Indoors. Indirect natural light. No flash.
Indoors. Indirect natural light. No flash.
Outdoors. In the shade. 
Outdoors. In the sun.
CQ Idyllic applied a little bit streaky on the first coat but was fully even with the second coat. I used Seche Vite as top coat and Cult Nails base coat. Excellent shine and dry time with this combination.

In sum, if you like these kinds of colors, Idyllic is a true multichrome perfect for the season and can be found at Rite-Aid for $3.99. I don't have any brown/bronze type polishes, but this one is a keeper!


Conclusion: The lab's scientists once again agree. CQ Idyllic is a great, season-appropriate multichrome!

What do you think lab partners? Do you like Idyllic?


14 comments:

  1. I think I saw that at Rite Aid and when I picked up the bottle I thought, meh... but I will have to go back and check it out! :)

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  2. Now I know what I'll be picking up at Rite-Aid today!!
    Thanks ladies!!
    Debbie ; )

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  3. I have this one sitting in my untrieds! i'll have to pull this out soon

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  4. I've seen this one but the bottles look so small I haven't ever stopped to really look at them. I will have to stop now.

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  5. Do any other stores carry this brand? I don't have a Rite-Aid here.

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  6. Yes ladies CQs are worth a look. Lee Ann, I've only ever seen them at Rite-Aid but this site says also Walmart. http://www.cqcosmetics.com/where-to-buy/ Anyone see them there? they don't advertise much.

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  7. Shally this is regular size but the petites are smaller.

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  8. I bought this same polish after seeing it on a blog. It is truly the perfect fall duochrome.

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  9. Francesca, it will be nice if we hear from YOU once. All your comments that I have seen are links to your blog. Did you even read out post?

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  10. Leticia--agreed! The PERFECT fall duochrome!

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  11. I got a petites at Walmart called Hazel that looks identical to this. For a buck and a half I was not going to pass it up even if I had to franken it.

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  12. Denise--ah, a possible dupe! Good to know! It's hard to go wrong when you're only spending $1.50!

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  13. I just adore this polish! It looks so great!

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  14. Amy--I adore it, too! I didn't expect to, but I do! :)

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