Swatches of Cuccio Higher Grounds & Coffee, Tea or Me?
affiliate linkspurchased by me I’ve been curious about Cuccio gel polishes and finally bit the bullet and bought two shades from the new Cafe Cuccio collection. This is Cuccio’s 2014Fall/Winter collection consisting of eight coffee-inspired shades. Each of the Cuccio gel colors also comes with a matching nail lacquer.
I also purchased the Cuccio gel base and top coats to try. While I didn’t conduct an official wear test, I did wear the polish on my right hand for about a week and got a good feel for it (I almost always have two different colored hands these days LOL). The base coat seemed to be a little on the thin side and will pool in the cuticles if not applied carefully in a thin coat. The two colors that I tried had different consistencies, even though the finishes were similar. The top coat had decent shine and strength.
My thumb nail peeled off after only a few days, and then the pinky nail lifted after about 6-7 days. After that I decided to soak-off and try something else. The soak-off process was pretty decent. I didn’t time the soak-off, but if I had to guess I’d say it was in the 10-13 minute range. Overall the experience was ok, but I would probably wear the colors with a different base next time to get longer wear.
This is Coffee, Tea or Me? I was drawn to the shimmery shades in this collection. Coffee, Tea or Me? was very opaque and had great coverage with just two coats. I really liked the consistency of the formula. The color is a bronzy brown shimmer with some mauve undertones.
