Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Jessica Tourmaline and Quirius Sand Castle: two polishes I didn't know I'd like

This isn't really a themed post. The only thing these two polishes have in common is that I thought I'd hate them but I actually was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed them.

Jessica Tourmaline
This cool lavender pink falls between foil and frost for me. It doesn't have the sort of full-foil effect that a lot of foils I'm used to have... but it's not as ugly as most frosts. It looks like it's just a lavender pink creme with a lot of fine silver glitter thrown in. It's not particularly elegant or pretty but somehow, it really appealed to me when I put it on. Three coats, if I recall correctly.

Quirius Sand Castle
Quirius sent me this one a long time ago, right before their half-year closing of their website. Since they weren't going to be available for purchase for half a year, it didn't make sense to review it then. So I forgot about those polishes until my recent collection reorganization... and found this. I kinda groaned when I saw it: frosty non-color. But then when I swatched it, I realized that 1. it doesn't quite give me mannequin hands but it's sort of a complementary color and didn't look so bad and 2. I actually like the frostiness. Why? I'm not sure. I certainly am not a huge fan of the brushstrokes but otherwise, it applied very nicely in two coats. I forget how easy I find Quirius polishes to apply, especially given that they are a fairly inexpensive brand.