CIRQUE Alchemy + UK Discount Code + UK Giveaway - Win A Bottle of Au!!

Hi Goddesses

Wow, that was a whopper of a title, wasn't it!!  Today's post is ridiculously awesome and comes in 3 parts -

* review of 4 polishes from the Alchemy Collection
* a discount code for Crumpet readers from Sally Magpies
* your chance (if you're in the UK) to win a bottle of the legendary Au by Cirque.

I was sent 4 polishes from the Alchemy Collection for review by their UK stockist, Sally Magpies.  Cirque is a brand that always looks so "rich" to me, but I haven't yet totally lost my soul to one of their polishes.    There's something a teeny bit aloof about them - as if they should be treasured rather than worn.  That said, they sure be pretty :)

First up is Magnum Opus, described as a purple charcoal holo.  Whilst this is definitely a holo, I wouldn't say there's that much purple in there.  Instead, it's like industrial smoke - there are plumes of purple, but the predominant colour is a dark grey.

This actually looked really nice on the nail.  The application was really smooth, and the bend had a soft and cold glow to it as the caught the light.

Arcane Fire is a ruby red speckled with gold shimmer and flecks.  Unlike a lot of similar polishes, this had a lot of opacity, and built quickly.

I love how this shimmers both gold AND red, making it doubly sparkly.   Although it might look like a classic festive polish, it's dark enough to be worn all year round.

Baptisia is described as a shimmery indigo, and is the polish I expected to like the most.  This is a violet toned purple, dark and electric in equal measures.

This polish is multi-tonal, and although not unique (I have a couple of other polishes which are very similar), this is a shade which always captivates me.

And so, Chainmail, my surprise favourite.  This is almost an industrial grey glitter (making it an excellent companion for Magnum Opus).

This is a gunmetal grey with flashes of silver and sparks of blue.   It does look *exactly* like chainmail, but the best bit is that it applies smooth.  Despite looking like it might be really rough, this was actually a pleasure to wear.

All of these polishes are available through various Cirque stockists.  If you're in the UK, that means the wonderful emporium that is Sally Magpies, and Sally has kindly shared a discount code which gives you 10% off ANY of the Cirque Alchemy polishes up to 23.59 GMT on Sunday 26th January.  Just quote CRUMPET.

And also, because she loves me, and because I'm awesome (geddit), Sally is also offering a bottle of Cirque Au to one lucky Crumpet reader.  You MUST live in the UK to win this Giveaway.

For those of you who may not know how special Au is, it's a gold leaf topper, and it's just spectacular.   Just enter via the Rafflecopter widget below - Good luck xx

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Digit-al Dozen DOES Red Gold and Green - Ruffle

Hi Goddesses

I'm continuing my theme of Christmas patterns rather than art, and today is one of my favourite nail art patterns - the ruffle.

If I'm honest, I'm not totally sure this works.  There's a hell of a lot of colour going on, and I may have been better not using 8 polishes lol.

That said, it does look like a crazy cheerful pair of socks or tights, and it does make me smile with its brightness.

For the most part, this used Barry M polishes, and then for extra gold dazzle I added a coat of Cirque's gold leaf top coat, Au.

What do you think, success or fail?

Digit-al Dozen DOES Bling - Cirque Au

Hi Goddesses

So, this week is Bling Week on the Digit-al Dozen, chosen by the Queen of Bling herself, Vic from Glowstars.  If you’ve never seen her blog, you should check it out in the links below – it’s an OTT smorgasbord of 3D designs that boggle my mind.

Me, you see, not so much of da bling on this blog.  However, last summer, I did buy 7 shitloads of sequins and the like off eBay, and this week is the time to use them!   As I haven’t really dabbled in this area before, I thought it would be fun to do Escalated Bling.  So, today we’re going to start gently, and by Friday we’re gonna have something Vic would be proud of!

So how gently can Bling Week start?  How about with a gold flakie top coat?   When these first came out I was very “pooh pooh” about them, but man they look lovely.  So eventually I caved, and the one I am wearing is Cirque Au, (French for gold haha) over Cirque Curiosity, a lovely sparkly red.

I have to admit to being totally in love with these top coats.  I have a white gold one too, which I haven’t tried yet, and I’m trying desperately to resist the WingDust one which mixes white and gold.  No one at work would believe me that it was real gold, but hey ho.

I think the like factor for me is in the irregularity of the shapes.  It’s not as regular as glitter, and I really love the randomness going on.  I particularly can’t wait to try this over an aqua.

Application was totally easy, but you can probably see, I got more on the nail as the mani progressed!  Ha ha.  Next time, I think I’d like the little finger to be a little sparser lol.

Enjoy xx