Sunday, April 24, 2016

Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy

Key to Gramercy was released by NYC-based indie polish maker Cirque Colors as part of the ongoing Metropolis collection at the beginning of March this year. This is a green tint of white, a true pastel, that creator Annie describes as a light sage. It has a variable quality to it, appearing warmer in bright direct and indirect light and mintier in low light and shade, which I think indicates that it probably lands close to the middle of green's blue/yellow spectrum. My very personal, idiosyncratic take on it is that there's a very slight dirtiness to the color that gives it a bit of an industrial quality. It reminds me a little of the green that used to be one of the ubiquitous filing copy colors in a multi-copy form, lighter and warmer than American Apparel Office, but with a similar slightly dirty quality. 

Application was AH-MAZING! I'd consider a formula of this caliber excellent for any color, but for a white-based shade it is downright Utopian. The consistency of Key to Gramercy is fluid, ultra-creamy and dense with a medium viscosity and an utterly luxurious glide over the nail that has a bit of pull to it and self-levels like a dream. Not only is there no ghosting whatsoever, you can actually patch dings and dents with it and watch as the edges melt into the surrounding polish to leave no trace of the fix behind! Ugh, I don't even have words. Pigmentation is outstanding, with near one-coat coverage and completely even opacity in two. Cleanup is easy and straightforward, with a bit of pigment travel that can be hard to see because it's white. Key to Gramercy dries naturally in very good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Voilà!

Photos show two coats of Key to Gramercy over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy


Cirque Colors Key to Gramercy

I have to say that Key to Gramercy photographs better than any light green I've ever experienced. It doesn't show so much in the photos for some reason, but the color does give me lobster fingers. The polish itself looks so good, though, that I don't even care. In person, it's not quite as consistently minty as it appears here, but the minty look is very pretty!

My resident color expert Fuzzy has become rather cagey about assessing my polish. I think she fears I will misrepresent her with selective quoting. Why would I do that? Anyway, she really liked Key to Gramercy. I was shocked, shocked I tell you! But then she allowed that it did make my fingers look a little dirty, especially my cuticles, which looked "a little black." *lol*

The spectacular formula makes this an outstanding choice for any pastel lover to add to their collection. I have two more similarly formulated recent Metropolis additions to swatch for you, and if they are as wonderful as this one I am going to have to reboot my aesthetic for sure. 

xo,
Liz

2 comments:

  1. Isn't there just something about Spring and all those pretty pastel polishes popping up that make getting them irresistible! Pastels just make me happy. To me, there is nothing like a collection of pastels lined up in their pretty bottles to give me the feel-goods.

    This particular green is one of my favorites (do I say that about all colors, lol?) from the pastel green variety. I like the tones of sage or jade it has. That it - a pastel - has a wonderful formula makes it stand head and shoulders above most others. After using a pastel polish like this one, using another pastel with the typical pastel formula would be irritating! Come on, polish makers, get with it, hahah!

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    1. I so agree with you about seeing all the pretty colors together in their bottles! As the pastels I ordered started arriving, I lined them up on the kitchen table and left them there just so I could get that great feeling of electricity every time I went into the kitchen. Eventually I had to move them up to my office, so now I have them all lined up behind my keyboard! It's a great motivator!

      It's something of a reality check to be suddenly reminded that most pastels do not have Annie magical formulary skills. But for some of these colors, it's worth a little extra effort to try and get the application right, even if the actual formula isn't as awesome as Cirque's. And it makes me appreciate Cirque all the more!

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