I was looking at their Black Honey lacquer and now my brain has questions. Maybe they’ve been doing polish forever, and I just missed it (entirely possible, I don’t exactly patrol their site), but I swear this is the first time I’ve ever seen them do a nail product.
It looks like Black Honey is the only shade they’re selling right now, which screams “iconic lipstick gets a spinoff” to me. Someone talk me out of the cart. Or don’t. I’m weak either way.
They did do nail polish for a while but I’m not a big fan of this one. I like the tone but it’s overpriced for what you get.
It’s a nice polish. Sheer-ish blackened plum, kind of like the lipstick, but it’s not worth the price tag.
Yeah, this is half the price and a lookalike.
The lipstick color won’t translate exactly if that’s what you’re looking for. It also shows every ridge and any staining. If the name and the Clinique nostalgia are half the appeal, buy it. If you just want the color, dark berry jellies are everywhere and you don’t need to pay extra for the iconic shade.
You’re not imagining it. Clinique has never really pitched itself to nail people, so unless you were already buying their skincare and walked past the polish by accident, it was easy to miss. Their nail history is basically a footnote.
Ridge filler underneath helps a ton with dark jellies like that, but the staining is real, so don’t skip a good base coat.
I had the same feeling about it. The sheer blackened plum is lovely, but I needed three coats to get it looking like the lipstick.
The staining warning is exactly what I needed before impulse-buying, so thanks. Ridge filler with a jelly finish never crossed my mind. So a base coat goes in the cart too, along with the polish. Checkout got more expensive.
Patience might pay off here. I’d keep an eye on whatever Clinique drops next, there could be more shades coming.
No idea when, though.
$18 for a basic berry jelly (more on that here)?
I get it, they’re cashing in on the lipstick shade match. But at that price point I want something that wows me.
KBShimmer does mega holo bottles for $12 that are gorgeous, three layers deep, like looking into the ocean.
You’re paying for the name. Plenty of indie and drugstore dupes work just as well for way less.
Your nails, your cart, your call. If looking at it makes you happy, that’s the only review that matters.
I’ll never understand agonizing over whether a polish purchase is “justified” when the whole point is enjoying the color on your hands.
A sandwich of Cirque’s Marsala Jelly with their new Mxn Cola Jelly would probably land you right in black honey territory (in theory, anyway).
Millennial chokehold is real. I know I don’t need it (and I know it’s overpriced), but I’m going to end up buying it anyway.
Black Honey does that to us.
Cirque Colors. Good dupes if you want that vibe without the Clinique price. I’d start with Bonbon Jelly or Wine Jelly if you want something newer.
But Bonbon first.
Being based on an iconic lipstick shade doesn’t tell you much about how it’ll perform as a polish.
