Thanks to the fabulous folks at Quirius who threw in a handful of extra polishes for free to show off on Polish or Perish, it has taken me three posts to get through my mini Quirius stash. (Maybe not so mini.) But now... we have gotten to the end of the line (for the moment, anyhow) and I accidentally saved the best for last. I didn't think that most of these would be my favorites of the bunch, but that's how it happened! These were all easy to apply, two coats are sufficient, three coats ideal. The shimmers were especially easy: as some like to say, "like buttah". Gorgeous colors all. Proof that you don't need to spend a fortune to have a lovely polish stash that spans the entire visible spectrum. :D
First up...
Quirius Wicked
Dark dark dark cherry, almost brown. Two coats for opacity and so smooth to boot. Very glossy on its own. Darker and more brown-leaning than the Essie polish of the same name. I wish Lippmann Maneater was this rich and opaque!
Quirius Wicked with two layers of Sation Holiday Spirit on top
From left to right: four layers of Sation and no Wicked (thumb), four layers of Sation (index), three layers of Sation (middle), two layers (ring) and one layer (pinky)
I do not like my thumbs so I rarely show them, but on it is four layers of Sation Holiday Spirit on its own: holo glitter in a charcoal jelly base. Super glittery! And cheap: they range from $1.25 to $2.50 depending on the etailer. As you can see from the gradated application above, it also builds quite well though it'll never be totally opaque. There does seem to be more than one version of Holiday Spirit, one more holo than the other. This one's pretty holo. Check out the video!
Quirius Cresskill Eve
This one has probably gotten the most attention of all the Quirius polishes -- and with good reason. Gold and green shimmer in a darkened teal base. Very lovely and eyecatching without being garish. (Not that I mind garish but some people don't like it...)
Quirius Caribbean Turquoise with Poshe topcoat on middle and pinky fingers
Get me a drink with an umbrella in it and meet me at the volleyball net! Hard to tell in this photo but the glossy topcoat is an improvement as this neon-ish creme polish does tend to dry semi-matte. Three coats, though not too streaky at all.
Quirius Eggplant
Btw, Chinese eggplant is delicious grilled. Very nummy. Two coats, "like buttah". :)
Quirius Starry Night
This one is the real pity: the photo on Quirius' website TOTALLY HIDES THE GORGEOUS BLURPLENESS of this polish. Glossy on its own, two coats is sufficient, three is ideal. Trying to figure out why it's called Starry Night but like I care: it could be called Poop and I'd still love it. I loved this so much, I had to glitter it up...
Quirius Starry Night with OPI Sugar Plum Yum (Japanese version)
Dusty purple glitter (weird, "dusty" and "glitter" together). And does it GLITTER. I got this in a swap and when I opened it in my apartment building elevator (not even in sunlight) it nearly blinded me with sparkle. Why are all glitters not THIS sparkly? Why does Japan get all the awesome glitters? This also needs a video to show it off:
Quirius Apple Lime
Hello, neon! I love green polishes but green neons always look weird on me. But this one worked! Harder application than the other cremes in this particular set of swatches: three coats and there were still some uneven spots. To try to hide this fact, I decided to make this into a matte topcoat comparison! Also, to show what a glossy topcoat does for these beauties.
Quirius Apple Lime
Left to right: Poshe topcoat (index), Essie Matte About You (middle), Nubar V for Men (ring), no topcoat (pinky).
Comparing pinky and index fingers, you can really see how matte this polish dries, but it's not nearly as matte as a matte topcoat can make it: kind of reminds me of a darker OPI Gargantuan Green Grape Matte maybe? There's not an appreciable difference between the Essie and Nubar topcoats here.
Quirius Sunshine Energy
The name is perfect. Wonderful, bright, happyhappyhappy color. A bit tough to apply: streaky at two coats, a bit bumpy at three. Glossy topcoat would've improved this a lot but I'm pretty happy with it semi-matte and at a distance (very bright, I feel like it'd burn my retina to look too hard at it in search of application flaws).
Quirius Deep Denim
Quirius Deep Denim
Two coats, smooth application, a nice basic dark blue shimmer. But what's really fun about this polish is how it changes drastically with topcoat!
Quirius Deep Denim with topcoats
Left to right: Orly Matte Top (index), Poshe (middle), Essie MAY (ring) and Nubar V (pinky)
This is one of the few polishes that I've tried where Essie MAY and Nubar V have reacted very differently. Orly MT smoothes out the polish, Poshe glossy topcoat brings out the beautiful reddish and bluish shimmer, Essie MAY darkens slightly and flattens the polish into a matte where all the shimmer becomes a speckled finish, and Nubar V retains the brightness of the color and reflectiveness of the shimmer but tones the latter down considerably. Click on the following close-up comparison to see the difference in greater detail:
All in all, I'm VERY happy with this brand and look forward to its upcoming fall collection!
