Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Hellebore is part of the fabulous Objet d’Art collection from Cirque, a collection that includes Cape Liz, Book of Shadows and Curiosity -- all of which I picked up as part of a December haul in a futile attempt to satiate my covet response to this bijoux indie polish maker's offerings. Hellebore is a pale green full coverage glitter polish with a clear base suspending microglitters and small hex glitters in a delicate shade of pale spring green with a sprinkling of microglitters in pink and fuchsia to accent.

Although it can be layered on its own to opacity I chose to layer it over Zoya Rikki, described quite accurately by Zoya as a fern green foil. Rikki was released as part of Zoya's Irresistible collection this past summer, and its gorgeous medium to light blue-leaning sea green hue turned out to be a very appropriate color base for Hellebore. (Rikki deserves its own post and shall have it in short order.)

Hellebore applies beautifully. It has a lovely fluid consistency for a glitter polish and flows easily over the nail with perfectly even glitter distribution, no stickiness, no stacking. I used two coats over one coat of Rikki and got just the opacity and depth of color I was looking for. Hellebore dries naturally in very good time to a slightly sandy textured finish that is not unlike Zoya's Pixie Dust polishes. I love that finish but wanted to pop the pinky lavender accent glitters in Hellebore a bit more so I added a topcoat of Seche Vite, which was quickly consumed, and a topcoat of Poshe, which got me to a glossy glitter under glass look.

Photos show two coats of Hellebore layered over one coat of Rikki over treatment and basecoat with one coat of Seche Vite and one of Poshe. Apologies for the acetone residue!

Zoya Rikki and Cirque Hellebore in the bottle

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki on the nail, Cirque Hellebore in the bottle

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki on the nail, Cirque Hellebore in the bottle

Cirque Hellebore, macro shot in the bottle

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Cirque Hellebore over Zoya Rikki

Hellebore's ethereal shimmering pale green reminds me of something Titania from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream would wear. Gossamer and sparkling, it's delicacy is not undone by the fact that it is a pure glitter polish. It also brings to mind that mist of green you see in the landscape of early spring when the trees are just beginning to leaf out. The pink and fuchsia microglitters, which appear lavender amidst the pale green, are a poignantly beautiful accent.

I adore this polish! It's the kind of loveliness that makes you sigh with happiness, and would be a great textural add-on in gradient form or nail art for many of the light green polishes we see in spring and summer.

love,
Liz