Cirque Taos

Taos was released just this week by NYC-based indie polish maker Cirque Colors as part of the Desert Bloom collection for spring 2018, a series of nine polishes inspired by the colors of the desert. Creator Annie describes this one as "a teal nail polish with vibrant pink shimmer and delicate holographic sparkle." The base color is a translucent variation of blue-green similar to verdigris, which deepens to a medium-dark dusky teal or dark cyan when layered over itself on the nail. Abundant finely-milled pink-to-gold particulate shimmers give it a luminous, dimensionalizing mist of pink or gold along the axis of light depending upon orientation, and tiny, scattered, silvery holographic glitters emit delicate, twinkling sparks in hues of blue, blue-green and spring green in ambient light.

Application was most agreeable! The consistency of Taos is fluid and smooth with a medium viscosity and a fluent, self-leveling glide over the nail that has a tiny bit of pull to it. Pigmentation is sheerish on the first coat but will build to a uniform, wearable opacity in two if you have an even hand (which I don't), with fullest representation of bottle color in three. Cleanup is easy. Taos dries naturally in very good time to a smooth, shiny finish.

Photos show three coats of Taos over KBShimmer Love You Strong Time treatment and KBShimmer Fillin' Groovy basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Cirque Taos

Cirque Taos

Cirque Taos

Cirque Taos

Cirque Taos

Cirque Taos

Cirque Taos

Cirque Taos

The dusky, muted quality of the color gives this polish a very earthy look on the nail that's surprising for a teal and heightened by the contrasting shimmers. To me, there's a certain somber aspect to it that feels more like a fall or winter polish, a kind of stylish soulfulness that's very chic. It reminds me of prickly pear cactus skin and the oxidized paint on the '63 MG my dad used to have when we were little. I suspect it would be particularly satisfying paired with other earthy colors. Love the dewy twinkle of those holographic bits -- a lovely touch that somewhat counterbalances the moodiness of the color.

love,
Liz