Cafe Cuccio Fall/Winter 2014 Swatches and Review

It's finally autumn, and today I have some gorgeous seasonally appropriate polishes to show off from a new-to-me brand called Cuccio Colour, from HB Beauty Bar. Their newest line is the Cafe Cuccio collection, a group of eight gorgeous coffee inspired polishes, seven of which I have to review today! I also used Cuccio dehydrator, base coat, and top coat for all of my swatches, so you'll see a recap of that below, as well as their cuticle oil that I have been using for the past couple of weeks.

As I mentioned, these polishes are coffee inspired shades, and I love the neutral color palette for this collection! This was my first ever experience with Cuccio, and I am extremely impressed with their flawless formulas and their wide, flat brushes for easy application. These polishes definitely feel like a high end brand, but they're definitely less expensive! Anyway, let's have a look at them:

Java Va Voom! is a gorgeous warm beige cream with a flawless formula. This polish instantly reminded me of coffee (with lots of cream!) and I love the way it looks on my nails, even though it has a distinct yellow tone that normally doesn't flatter my skin tone. This neutral is perfect for the office! Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Cream & Sugar is a cool medium taupe loaded with iridescent shimmer. This color is also gorgeous, and also perfect for the office! I love how it has the subtle shimmer to really add to the color. As is usual with shimmery polishes, this formula was a bit thicker, so I decided to use three really thin layers plus top coat for opacity without making the polish too thick on my nails.

Cuppa Cuccio is a full coverage gold based glitter bomb with a ton of sparkle (and some silver shimmer as well!) Wow, this color is super bold and I love it! I know it's early to say, but this polish will be perfect for a holiday party or for New Year's. I'm really impressed at how opaque this glitter is, too. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

Bean There Done That! is another full coverage glitter bomb, but this one is packed with holographic gold microglitters! I didn't think this one would be fully opaque, so I layered it over Cream & Sugar, but I was pleasantly surprised with the coverage of this polish. This color is really a party on the nails, and I love all the colors that the holographic glitters show off. Shown above is two coats layered over Cream & Sugar, with top coat.

Coffee, Tea or Me is a beautiful rust colored polish that features silver and copper shimmer, as well as gold microflakes. This color is so complex and I loved it immediately! It definitely reminds me of fall, and the added golden flakes make it so sparkly and beautiful. Shown above is two easy coats with top coat.

Brew Ha Ha is a deep maroon cream with a super glossy shine. What a classic fall color, and with such an amazing formula! I know I'm repeating myself here, but I just loved applying all of these polishes. And this color is just perfect. Shown above is two coats with top coat.

And finally, we have French Pressed for Time, a dark, warm toned brown cream with the same formula as Brew Ha Ha, super glossy and easy to use. I can almost smell the coffee beans just looking at this polish! It applied just slightly darker on the nails than it looked in the bottle, but I love this vampy color! Shown above is two coats plus top coat.

Clearly, I'm loving this collection - but I've got a few other goodies to share. Let's start with their nail prep:

For all the swatches above, I used the Cuccio Dehydrator, Base Coat, and High Gloss Top Coat. This was my first time ever using a dehydrator, and it was actually really nice! Normally, I moisturize before applying my polish, but then I have to wait five or more minutes for the lotion to soak in before I can start painting, but with the dehydrator, I could just paint it onto my moisturized nails and it dried them up nicely! The base coat was great as well, and the polish adhered nicely to it.

But the real star here is the high gloss top coat - wow! I've been looking for a glossy top coat that isn't really thick like Seche Vite, but still dries glossy and even, and I think I've found it. This top coat applied smoothly and leveled itself out beautifully for all my swatches, and it dried super quickly as well. I will deifnitely be using this top coat more often.

Now, I also have been using the Cuccio Milk and Honey Cuticle Conditioning Oil as well -

Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago, I had a bit of a run-in with a cuticle nipper, and it left my cuticles looking ragged and awful. I immediately began using this cuticle oil every night before bed, and before I knew it, my nails were completely back to normal. This stuff is really a miracle, and it smells incredible. It also moisturizes without leaving you feeling especially oily, which I love in a cuticle product. I actually used this oil on my cuticles right before taking photos for every swatch you see above! This has easily become my favorite cuticle product.

This product is also huge - at 2.5 fl oz, it'll last an extremely long time. I love how it comes with a dropper instead of a brush, so you can just drop a dab onto each nail and control the amount you use.

Overall, I think it's safe to say that I loved my first experience with Cuccio, and I can't wait to see what else they come up with. The polishes I reviewed are $8.50 USD each and can be purchased here. The cuticle oil is $13.95 and comes in a variety of different scents (but trust me, you'll love this one!) and can be purchased here. Don't forget, you can use the code POLISHCHALLENGE at HB Beauty Bar for 15% off your entire order!

You can follow Cuccio Colour on Facebook for news and information, and of course you can follow HB Beauty Bar as well for updates and gorgeous nail art features.

What do you think of this brand? Have you ever tried it? Which polish do you like best?

These products were provided for my honest review.