Tonic Polish Curio

Like Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe, Curio was released this month by Iowa-based indie polish maker Tonic Polish as part of the Unicorn Pee collection. Creator Lindsey describes it as "an ode to a classic Tonic polish, 'Huckleberry Sparkle', but with unicorn pee!! A blue toned purple with the ubiquitous red to green shimmer." The base is a dark but vibrant translucent blue-violet jelly along the lines of color wheel violet or electric indigo with aspects of ultramarine. Layered over itself, it becomes very dark indeed, with more of an indigo appearance. It's packed with color-shifting red/green/gold unicorn pee shimmers, visible mostly as a misty cloud of radiant red particles within the base that twinkle delicately as light travels over them, their red mixing with the base to produce a palatinate purple hue at the center of the nail that shades to indigo at the sidewalls. 

Application was smooth and easy. The consistency of Curio is fluid and full-bodied with a medium viscosity and a fluent, self-leveling slip over the nail that went on best for me in medium-to-thicker coats from a well-loaded brush. Pigmentation is sheer and meant to be that way. Wearable opacity can be had in three medium coats for longer nails, perhaps only two for shorties, with some sheerness at the tips in the photos that is really not noticeable in person unless you are looking for it. Cleanup is easy. Curio dries naturally in good time to a beautiful glossy finish. Topcoat further accentuates the presence and effects of the shimmers.

Photos show three coats of Curio over KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

Tonic Polish Curio

For those of you like me, who love deep blues and violets for fall, Curio is perfection. Although the shimmers appear red most of the time, you can see the green and gold shifts on the nail at certain angles to the light, breathtaking moments in which the full magic of unicorn pee is revealed. But I most love the otherworldly look of it as a sparkling mist of red within the deep indigo base. It is surprisingly noticeable even in very low light with the effect of increasing the native mysterious and cosmic qualities of the base color exponentially -- the very definition of a soulful shade. Beautifully done!

love,
Liz