CiM Glass Testing: 497 Appletini and 500 Azure

I was so excited when I opened the package containing several new CiM colors ready for testing last week.....the brightness and saturation of CiM's new color selection is refreshing in this cold weather!

The first two colors I am going to review for you are two of the best in the group - Appletini and Azure.  I'll do Appletini first.

497 Appletini is pretty much what it sounds like - a light transparent apple green, crisp and springy. This shade falls somewhere between Effetre Pale Emerald and Effetre Yellow Green.  It fits nicely into the 104 coe palette - not an exact replica of anything, but close enough to substitute if you desire.

The main difference between CiM Appletini and its Effetre counterparts is that CiM's glass tends to be less scummy, clearer and a little stiffer.  This shade isn't as stiff as some CiM's transparents can be, so it was great for layering and encasing.

When I used it in these sets, I layered it over CiM Elphaba for a vivid spring green which turned out really lovely.  I did notice that it will bubble if you get it too hot, especially from the end of a stringer, so be careful with that.

Appletini doesn't have any reactive or striking elements that I could discern - it's a stable and consistent transparent color.  Not much in the way of spreading or bleeding - it stayed put on every bead I used it on.



CiM Azure is quite a different animal.  It's a super-saturated deep aqua shade that is darker and bluer than Effetre's Dark Aqua.  Its saturation reminds me of Effetre Intense Blue.

I have to tell you that images of this color might not do it justice.  What sometimes happens with saturated glass is that it can appear washed out in photos - at least with my camera.  I'm not sure of the technical aspects as to why, but it happens with most deep transparent colors - especially in the blue/aqua/teal lines.

In reality, Azure is so deep that I ended up encasing this spacer in clear to bring out the color.  And in the bead sets pictured, the azure is actually a lot more vivid and saturated than you might be able to see on your monitor.  The closest comparison I can come up with is that of Swarovski Capri Blue crystal beads, which are a near perfect match.

This bluer version of aqua isn't present anywhere else in the 104 palette, making it a really welcome addition, in my opinion.  When I pair it with Appletini/Elphaba, it just pops.  I can't help but think of summertime when I look at these colors together.  It makes me want to try on swimwear - and believe me when I say, that is totally not in my character!

 

The consistency of Azure is a bit stiffer than Appletini, but really clear and sparkling.  It doesn't bubble nearly as much as Effetre aquas tend to - it melts like butter.  It does need a slightly hotter flame, which makes layering a bit tricky when your opaque color isn't very stiff.  In these sets, the Azure is layered over Effetre Sky Blue, which is a soft opaque, so the Azure didn't spread out as much as I expected.  It still turned out pretty when the Sky Blue outlines appeared on many of the layers.

As with Appletini, for Azure I didn't notice any reactive or striking properties - just basic, stable color. 
I am really happy with these new colors so far - and CiM's website says that they will be available this March. Yey!