It's been a while since we've done a polish personals post, so I thought we'd have one today. This past week got me thinking about how I turn to certain polishes, namely Zoyas, when I'm feeling stressed, upset, or generally icky. I'm not sure why I turn specifically to Zoyas, other than they're the first brand I started seriously collecting. I had polishes from other brands before I ever had my first Zoya, but when I really got into polish, my Zoya collection is what grew fastest. Last weekend, I was having a
wear-comfy-clothes-stay-inside-and-burn-gingerbread-candle kind of
weekend. Gone was my lust for glitter or funky colors--I just wanted the
comfort of Zoya Natalie on my fingers. Forget comfort food; just give
me my comfort polish.
Zoya Natalie
So I'm curious--do you have a certain polish you turn to when you're feeling blah? Maybe a certain color family or a certain brand? If so, why do you think you turn to those polishes in particular?
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?
