Hello sweeties! You know -or you might have guessed- I'm sort of a nail geek. Not that I'm super proud of it, but it's a thing I can't help. I am even subscribed to a specialized nail art magazine. Well, ok, two nail magazines...
I know!

I 'm not claiming I know errthang about it, but Cuccio Colours, THAT I knew. I have been lemming their glossy topcoat, which was featured in a magazine, for years. Not easy to find until now, because Cuccio Colours is finally available in Switzerland! So today CHAN! I don't only have the mini version of this coveted topcoat, but also the basecoat and the complete Royale Collection for Winter 2015-2016 to show you.

What could a nail nerd like me do with a complete coveted collection?? Swatch-it-out like there is no tomorrow!! OF COURSE.



I've heard so many great things about this brand and their nail polishes that I couldn't wait to open my package, which I torn a bit with my enthusiasm (oops), so not pretty pics of the packaging this time, only some phone shots. Basically, this set includes the eight colours of the collection, a basecoat and a topcoat all in mini sizes(3.5 ml). These small bottles are super cute!

First let's see the colors of the Royale collection and then we'll chat about the "technical" part. 

The cremes:


Wild Knights
A deep, denim blue creme shade, fully opaque in two coats that apply effortlessly.





Prince I've been gone
A stunning dark teal cream, also fully opaque in two coats, super easy to apply.





That's so Kingky
A deep berry red creme, and I'm oficially in love with this one ♥ It applies like a breeze and it is opaque in two coats.




Count me in
A shade that is between greyish-purple and dark mauve with a creme finish. This shade is so difficult to pin down that I've created category called "Paradoxal" in honor to a polish by Chanel with this name and this colour family. So rare and chic¨! Wonderful application,



I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of these first four colours of the collection. The crèmes have an excellent formulation and consistency, not too thick not too thin, they are really opaque, glossy on they own and they dry so fast! Seriously, Help me here with the thumbs up I only got too, but it needs an extra one for quick drying! So convenient for nail art! You know when you want to quickly stamp on it but don't have time to wait for ages for your nail polish to dry? Well, these won't make you wait. I can say it took them one minute to dry to the touch and 5 minutes to be completely dent proof. I-n-s-a-n-e.
My pictures above show two coats of each colour with basecoat but without topcoat, except for Wild Knights over which I tested the Cuccio High Gloss topcoat. It is a good and easy to apply topcoat, which dries surprisingly fast, I still need to try it with other brands for a final veredict, though.


The Shimmers/metallics


Dancing Queen 
A royal midnight blue with fine gold/bronze shimmer. I seriously think this is the star of the collection. Its formula is super thin but really pigmented. I was afraid this one could stain my nail bed or cuticles, so I applied the Cuccio base coat first,  I did not have any staining and removal was very easy without stains on cuticles or anything of the sort. You can see one coat on my pinkie and two coats on the rest of my nails. without topcoat. 






Duke it out
A rich metallic brown. I don't have many metallic or shimmery browns, so this one is very welcome.  I know brown is not the most exciting colour out there but I find this nuance to be particularly rare for a metallic nail polish.  I even spotted some magenta and blue shimmer in it, except I couldn't capture it with my camera. It is worth looking into it if brown is your thang. It has the best consistency of the metallics, super easy to apply and lovely smooth final result for a metallic.






Royal Flush
A stunning metallic deep red. This reminds me a lot of one of my number one lemmings: Chanel Malice. I don't own the Chanel one (cry with me), but I own a dupe: Deborah Lippmann Bitches Brew, and it is spot on dupe of Royal Flush. The formula on this one is amazing as the one of Duke it out.  The pics show two coats without basecoat or topcoat, so the bumps you see are either my nails peeling or some cotton ball threads that got in the middle. I apologise for that.





Crown Jewels
A gorgeous gold copper with metallic green undertones - a true two-tone shade or duo chrome. This one is like the famous Chanel Peridot (which I do not own so I can't compare). Always a lovely shade, but we've seen it enough, right? The formulation is nice, the consistency quite thin and it needs three coats to be fully opaque. It dries fast and the brushstrokes are noticeable in the sun, but nothing major really.





The shimmers/metallics have a thinner consistency than the crèmes but are super pigmented. With the only exception of Crown Jewels which needs to be semi-sheer to act like a true duo chrome. They are easy to apply, don't show the slightest  trace of brushstrokes, dry super fast, don't stain and are easy to remove. As the formulation is very thin they adapt well to the nail base it is likely that they will last longer. I wore Dancing Queen without a topcoat for four days without chipping, showing only minimal tip wear. 

I am truly impressed by this collection and the quality of the brand in general. The only "bad thing" I could say  is that as these are "mini size" the brush might not be very practical for long nails or professional use. But all the  shades are also available in full-size 15ml bottles with regular sized brushes.

All the Cuccio Colours nail polishes are formulated without DBP and Toluene, they are exclusive to nail Salons and specialized distributors. In Switzerland, they are available at beautykosm.ch, the 10 pieces mini size set retails for 59 CHFand the full-size 15ml bottles  from 15 CHF.

What do you think of these colours? Have you heard of the brand before? I am personally thrilled to have a wider choice of high-quality brands in Switzerland!

Love,
Nati