Sol, the woman behind Digital Traincase, is a hero to makeup junkies in the Philippines.
She brings in hard-to-find brands and limited edition collections from different parts of the world – important additions to our beauty arsenals. All you have to do is visit their store or place an order online. No need to worry about ordering abroad, no need to bug relatives in the States and elsewhere, no need to wrestle with greedy customs officials.
Lucas Papaw (a wonder ointment from Australia – seriously, you need it in your life), NYX Lip Cream, Seche Vite top coat, polish from a-england, Barry M, OPI, China Glaze, Models Own, Depend, Cult Nails – these are just some of the products I’ve gotten from Digital Traincase. Digital Traincase doesn’t just provide quick and easy access to old favorites. Thanks to Sol, I’ve had the chance to try brands I’ve never tried before – like Cirque.
This polish collection that I will show you today actually landed on my doorstep a long time ago, during my swatching drought. And now, I feel like kicking myself for not trying these shades sooner.
Cirque is a New York-based brand that offers hand-blended polish. Dark Horse, which you will see in this post, was creator Annie Pham’s debut collection.
Let’s start with Never Nude.
Never Nude is described as “a nude/champagne polish with a rainbow holographic finish.”
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while now, then you know that I’m not crazy about nude polish. But Never Nude isn’t your run-of-the-mill nude shade. The holographic particles in the polish make it really interesting.
It’s so pretty – a sophisticated take on holo.
Love the formula too.
I used two coats.
This is Your Hand In Mine.
This is described as “a soft white polish with a subtle rainbow shimmer.”
The name is perfect – it looks absolutely bridal.
The formula is lovely but it’s pretty sheer. I wasn’t sure if I could get it to become opaque. But I tried anyway.
As you can see, after three coats, I still had visible nail line.
Maybe four coats would have done it.
I think it would work great as a top coat too.
This is Vaudeville. Notice that crazy flash of glitter. This is described as “a muted lavender polish with gold and turquoise shimmer.”
That flash of glitter is more subtle on the nail.
I really like Vaudeville.
I think it’s pretty.
It’s a classy feminine shade that isn’t boring.
Lovely formula too.
I used two coats.
This is Fascination Street.
This is one of my favorites from the collection.
Because one, it’s purple.
And two, it’s not just any purple, it’s purple holo.
Fascination Street is described as “a vibrant indigo polish with a rainbow holographic finish.”
Yes, yes, that’s what it is.
Great formula – I used two coats.
This Epoch.
This is also one of my favorites.
And why wouldn’t it be?
Look at that craziness.
Cirque describes this as “a duochrome/color-shifting polish that is predominantly turquoise then changes to blue and purple at different angles.”
I also see quite a bit of black in it and I love that.
I used three coats.
This is Dark Horse.
This is described as “a unique black glitter polish with diamond-like rainbow sparkles.”
Although I have no doubt in my mind that this would work as a great glittery top coat, I wanted to try to wear it on its own too.
And after five coats, it was practically opaque.
The sparkle is crazy. Crazy crazy crazy.
I love it.
The cool thing is Dark Horse can work both ways – if you have time and patience, you can go for multiple coats and wear it on its own but if you’re in a rush and want a quick sparkle fix, you can just apply it over one of your favorite cremes.
This is Tibetan Nights.
It’s described as “a deep blue polish with micronic-sized glitter in a translucent finish.”
It’s an intense blue jelly with silver micro-glitter, bigger specks of glitter and silver bar glitter.
I really like this one too.
I like the intensity of this jelly.
I like the crazy glitter.
I like the formula too. I used three coats.
This is Ophelia.
This is “a dense glitter polish with multi-sized periwinkle glitter.”
The base is shimmery but practically sheer so I decided to layer this one over Concrete Jungle, one of my favorite RBLs.
I love it.
I love that it’s such a pretty and unique glitter color.
I think this would look fab over so many different nail polish shades.
Maybe a baby pink?
I used two coats.
This is French Roast.
It’s described as “a sparkling bronze glitter polish that reflects gold and copper.”
Like Dark Horse, I’m pretty sure this one can become opaque too if you use multiple coats.
But I chose to layer it over Chanel Madness.
But I think that was a total disservice to French Roast. I should probably have layered it over a deeper brown, one that doesn’t have so much red in it.
There is so much going on in this polish – you can even see specks of yellow and orange glitter.
I used two coats.
This is Potosi.
This is described as “a glitter overcoat packed with multi-shaped silver glitter in a clear base.”
I also see specks of gold in it.
I layered it over Dior Blue Label.
I love how those bigger glitter pieces look like mirror shards.
Really interesting.
I used two coats.
This is Trosseau.
Trosseau is “a luxe gold polish with a sprinkling of chunky gold glitter.”
I layered it over Illamasqua Boosh, one of my favorite blacks.
It also has silver shimmer in it.
The formula was nice – it’s super packed with glitter.
But I did have to fish out the bigger pieces.
I used just one coat.
And finally, Debris.
This is the twelfth and final shade from the collection.
Described as “a whimsical glitter overcoat with dark glitter in varying shapes and sizes in a clear base.”
I layered it over Illamasqua Boosh too.
This is also one of my favorites. Do you see that crazy sparkle?
Here’s a closer look.
I think this shade would look great over a lot of different colors.
I used two coats.
If you live in the Philippines and would like to pre-order any of these shades, head over to Digital Traincase. You can also find Digital Traincase on Facebook. If you live outside of the Philippines, head over to Cirque’s website.