Cult Nails Quench

Quench was released by the now sadly defunct indie polish maker Cult Nails as part of the Inaugural collection in February 2011. It's a deep, saturated, cool-toned red in what many have called a jelly formula but to me is more of a creme/jelly hybrid. It is translucent with some jelly-like qualities but also superbly pigmented, enough to offer opacity in one coat with the proper application mojo, which you never see with a true jelly.

I love the word quench. I've always kind of thought of it as an onomatopoeic, as when fire or something very hot is quenched with water, but in the case of this polish it has to do with creator Maria's interest in vampires. And how do vampires quench their thirst? Yes, this polish is perfectly named as it is most decidedly a rich blood red. Its cool-toned origins prevent it from venturing into oxblood or cordovan territory, and its slightly translucent formula allows for some variation in the shade of red depending on the thickness and number of coats applied.

I chose to go deep and vampy with Quench. The formula is fantastic with a fluid, smooth almost creamy consistency (although it feels counterintuitive to call anything with a degree of translucence "creamy") that produces a silky glide over the nail without any stickiness or patch-pulling. It's easily manipulated and self-levels like a dream. Pigmentation is buildable, but as I mentioned I've seen this polish produce wearable coverage with one coat. Thin coats will net a brighter, more arterial red while thicker coats will give you a deeper, more venous red and I used two generous coats for this manicure. Pigment travel during cleanup wasn't as problematic as I thought it would be unless it got deep in the sidewall or under the cuticle, where it will leave residual staining. With any polish as pigmented as this, it's a good idea to wait til the polish is set before cleaning up. Quench dries naturally in good time to a shade lighter than bottle color and a fabulous glossy finish. 

Photos show two coats of Quench over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. It wouldn't be an LSL manicure without a few bubbles in the topcoat, would it? 

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

Cult Nails Quench

This is definitely the deepest, vampiest red I own. Quench feels deeper than retro, but the color is probably truer to retro than it looks at the outset. I suspect it would brighten considerably in direct sun, but we are all out of sun today with overcast skies. Still, you can tell from the photos that the natural translucence of the formula allows it to catch and hold light, so the depth of color is changeable according to the circumstances in which it's viewed.

Although Cult Nails is no more, you can still find polishes from the brand available from blog and destash sales. I found mine on Storenvy.com.

love,
Liz