I live in the middle of nowhere. Literally, my town has 30 people in it with the closest, larger town being over an hour away. This poses a special predicament for a woman like myself who used to live in the city and still loves to get her nails done. Lately I have opted for at-home mani-pedis whenever I feel the need to pamper myself (which is often). This week I had the pleasure of sampling a couple of different polishes from the Canadian company, Clionadh Cosmetics. Based in Toronto, this Indie makeup brand was started by two sisters, Maggie and Leigh. They offer handcrafted, cruelty-free vegan products, with high quality polishes being just one of them.
Nail Lacquers – colours like I have never seen
These polishes come in so many different colours that it’s unreal. The hues oscillate between ultra vibrant colour mashups and more ‘everyday’ tones that still stand out with their unique shimmer and glitter properties. For example, Love Letter has a teal base and shimmer overlay that shifts five colours (yes, you read that correctly…five) from pink to red to orange to yellow and finally, to lime.
Venus, on the other hand, pairs green/indigo shimmer over a beige base resulting in a nice ‘everyday nude’ that still has a spark of vibrancy.
Both heralding from the Famous Paintings Love&Loss Collection, the colours were inspired by real paintings which I thought was such a cool concept, especially being a lover of art history and an artist myself.
So many different finishes
Aside from the diverse colour options they come in a range of different finishes (13 in total) like holographic, creme, and magnetic (check out the list here, it’s extensive). Back in the ‘good ol days’ when I lived close to the salon I regularly opted to pay a little extra to do the holographic effect (especially during festival season!). Something about the rainbow prism always made me happy when I glanced down at my hands. H2Olo, part of the Halation Holos Collection, does an excellent job of mimicking this effect in just a few coats. I was pretty astounded, and appreciate the fact that I can now achieve this look at home in my small rural town.
For a more muted, earthy look that still has pizzazz, Graveyard (from the Haunted Hollow Collection) takes a deep brown-mauve base and overlays it with holographic shimmer that leans toward orange in the light, a beautiful combo in my opinion. The polishes are easy to apply and don’t take many coats to build up colour. If you are brave enough you can even mix and match to create your own unique colour flavours.
With such diverse colours and finishes to experiment with, Chliondah Cosmetics has really positioned itself as a brand committed to individual expression. Not limited to nail lacquers, they make a variety of other makeup items, all talc and filler free, all made in Ontario, Canada. So whether it’s a small town you live in or a big city, if you like getting creative with cosmetics, check them out. I am sure you will find something you love.
