Manicure Monday: Cult Nails Morning Glory

It's official. I've caught the spring bug. I've somehow convinced myself that if I wear warm weather manicures, spring will get here sooner. Don't ask how I assume this will happen. But it seems to be working down here in Florida. We had a lovely weekend. It must be my nails. Don't try and tell me otherwise.

I've enlisted the help of my Cult Nails polish in Morning Glory to keep the speed train to spring going full steam ahead. Because, let's face it, it wouldn't be right if I didn't start obsessing over pink nail polish again. I mean, c'mon, we know I can't resist a good pink (in all of its various forms and shades).

OPI Nail Envy base coat, Cult Nails Morning Glory (2 coats), Seche Vite top coat

Alright, so here's the deal. You're gonna be mad at me. But I got this polish ages ago (way back in September at The Makeup Show Orlando) and then got all busy swatching fall and winter colors that I neglected to swatch this gorgeous polish while it was still available. Shame on me. I know. 

As you might've guessed, Morning Glory was a limited edition shade. And from the looks of it, they're all gone. But I need to share it's gorgeousness with you anyway. It's too pretty not to talk about  -- at least for a day. Indulge me why don't 'cha. 

If you haven't tried Cult Nails polishes, you're seriously missing out. This indie brand has some fantastic colors and the polish quality is quite nice. Plus, Maria, the owner, is super sweet. So, bonus points there.

Morning Glory is a gorgeous fuchsia polish (we should know by now fuchsia makes me weak in the knees) with some serious color pay off. It's quite possible this most opaque fuchsia I've ever handled. One coat delivers all the color you need. But, since I'm greedy and a creature of habit, I still did two coats. Because if one is good, two is better, right? Yes. Yes it is.

It was also pretty easy to handle. No streaks. No goopy tar-like feel. No struggle. It applied and spread very easily. One thing to note: mine dried down to a matte finish (similar to Zoya's Charisma -- but a deeper fuschia). When it comes to fuchsia polish, I like a glossy finish. A matte fuchsia looks a little flat and not as vibrant to me. I prefer a glossy candy coating.  Once I applied Seche Vite top coat, all was right in the world again.

I've gotta admit, I keep glancing down and admiring my nails as I type this post (and as I was working today too). This is one of those colors that vibrant and fun, but still office friendly (for those of you in conservative day jobs).

Do you have any favorite fuchsia polishes? Anything that looks similar to Morning Glory?

Manicure Monday: OPI Up Front & Personal ft. Cult Nails Wack Slacks

Happy holiday Monday! It's a happy Monday because I am on vacation. *happy dance* Boy does it feel good to wake up when you want instead of to the jarring sound of an alarm. I feel so rested and ready to take on the day.

In the spirit of holiday celebration, this weeks' manicure is sparkly and festive. I know, Thanksgiving isn't really sparkly. But it's a holiday, and I like to live those up. There's going to be some kind of bubbly alcoholic concoction in my celebratory future. So it's appropriate.

OPI's Up Front & Personal, is a fun champagne-golden shimmer sure to set your spirit in a celebratory mood. Just look at it (and the much more close up shot further down) and tell me it doesn't remind you of a bubbling glass of champs. I decided to pair it with Cult Nails Wack Slacks, then we used a feather brush to layer it with Up Front & Personal. A super easy way to do nail art that  results in a fun finish that looks much more time consuming than it really is.

OPI Up Front & Personal (2 coats), Wack Slacks and Up Close & Personal (accent nail), Sally Hansen Inta-Dri top coat
(acrylic nails) Nails by Miss Natalia's Beauty

Up Front & Personal goes on kind of sheer (but with lots of shimmer) upon first coat and then becomes opaque with the second coat. I thought it might be sheer enough to layer over another color to give it a shimmery effect, but it as you can see by the design over Wack Slacks, it won't be totally see through.

Both colors apply really nicely. No streaking or pulling. Just sweet smoothness all the way round. The only thing to note is that because there's so much shimmer in Up Front & Personal, if you get some on your skin, it will take a little more than a quick swipe with an acetone-soaked Q-tip to remove it. You know how glitter likes to stick to skin. Don't worry though. It wears off. Any glitter residue I had on my fingers was gone by the next day with regular hand washing. 

Well, there you have it. My Thanksgiving nails. What will you be rockin' on your tips for the holidays?

Manicure Monday: Cult Nails Spontaneous

Welcome to another week guys. I don't know about you, but my weekend wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped. I had to rally and work a bit over the weekend to help get a project done in time. And although it was only a few hours here and there, it kinda throws a wrench into plans to disconnect and refresh. Such is adulthood. Sometimes, weekends aren't really weekends.

Stay young as long as you can guys (as long as you can do it without being a burden or a total schlub). Growing up has its fair share of compromises. That's my Monday nugget for you, even if you don't want to listen. At least you can't say I didn't warn you.

Now that I'm done sharing my woes and wisdom, let's get into something a little more fun. In between the grind, I carved out a bit of time for pampering in the form of an at-home mani. And Cult Nails' Spontaneous was my polish of choice -- a pretty greyple (get it grey-purple?) with subtle, but abundant purple shimmer.  Think of a grape purple, then add a little grey and sprinkle some glitter on top.

In natural light (as seen in the first two pictures below), it's  hard to see the  shimmer. But caught in the right light, you'll see your nails give off a bit of sparkle (as seen in the the last photo taken under daylight bulbs).

Cult Nails Spontaneous (2 coats), OPI Nail Envy base coat, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat

Spontaneous applies smoothly and easily. The first coat goes on pretty sheer, but the second coat makes the polish opaque.

Although it's described as a creme polish, when I first applied Spontaneous, I thought it was a jelly. Or maybe a jelly-creme hybrid. The first thing that made me think that was that super sheer first coat. The second, is that like other jelly polishes (and quite unlike most of my cremes) this doesn't have a high glossy finish when it dries down (the shine you're seeing is from my top coat).

Cult Nails Spontaneous (2 coats), OPI Nail Envy base coat, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat

Another thing to note is that it dries down with a bit of a texture. This surprised me because none of that texture was apparent during application (like I said, it went on really smoothly). It seems the shimmer in the polish is what's causing that semi-textured look. My best guess is that the polish is a bit thinner (hence the sheerness also?) and that's why the shimmer gives it some texture.

Not to worry though, with a quick swipe of top coat, everything is golden. I applied a generous amount of my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri and just like that my nails were smooth and glossy. And boy is the polish beautiful when it has a high shine.

Cult Nails Spontaneous (2 coats) under daylight bulbs

Removal took a little extra work because of all the shimmer, but don't worry, you don't need a jack hammer or loads of patience. It comes of way easier than glitter polish and only requires a few extra swipes than a shimmer-free creme.

All in all, I really love Spontaneous' color and subtle sparkle. It feels like a grown up way to handle glitter. Plus, I've got a bit of a weak spot in my heart for purple polish. But please don't ever ask me to rank my favorite polish colors. I don't like my "kids" to know I play favorites.

Spontaneous is a limited edition Cult Nails polish that was released with the Coco Untamed 2012 collection. But don't fret, you can still get your hands on it on the Cult Nails site.

How do you feel about Spontaneous? Do you feel like you could use a bit of purple shimmer in your life?

Manicure Monday: Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid

While attending The Makeup Show in Orlando, I had the pleasure of meeting Maria, the founder of Cult Nails. I actually met up with her before the show to help her unload her truck and set up her booth.  She has some fabulous nails guys -- long, strong, and beautifully shaped. I had total nail envy. My nails keep breaking on me and it's starting to really bum me out.

Well, after spending the better part of Friday with Maria, I absolutely had to pick up a few of her nail polishes while at the show. The one I'm sharing with you today is My Kind of Cool Aid ($12 for 0.5 fl. oz.), one of Cult Nail's inaugural shades and apparently one of the shades that put the brand on the map. I can totally see why as I'm quickly becoming quite enamored with this hue.

OPI Nail Envy base coat, Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid (2 coats), Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat

As you can see from my photo, My Kind of Cool Aid is a gorgeous grey-lavendar polish with a hint of pretty silver shimmer. If you've been reading this blog for a while, then you can probably already tell why I love this color so much. It's like a shimmer version of my favorite fall polish, Zoya's Kelly. You guys know I'm totally obsessed with that nail color. Anything I find in the same color family, becomes an instant favorite (and it looks good on a lot of different skin tones).

But it's not just the pretty, edgy, preppy color that I love. I'm also totally keen on Cult's formula. These lacquers have a fantastic consistency and beautiful color pay off. You basically get the pigmentation of a lacquer (which usually has more color pay off than nail polish) without the typically thicker consistency. My Kind of Cool Aid glides on effortlessly with a not-too-thin formulation that offers an instantly opaque manicure that doesn't streak or feel goopy (you know those thicker formulas can sometimes just feel heavy -- none of that here).

Another thing I love is the brush because it's a normal-sized polish brush. I absolutely loathe when polishes use those wide brushes that are becoming more popular (I'm looking at you Sally Hansen and Dior -- among others). Smaller brushes give you better control over where you place polish (the same rings true for makeup brushes). You may need to use a few more strokes to cover the nail, but you're less likely to make a total mess.

How do you feel about Cult Nails' My Kind of Cool Aid? I think I'll be drinking it up!

Beauty Haul: The Makeup Show Part 2

In case you've been stuck under a rock these past few weeks: I went to The Makeup Show in Orlando recently. If you're a regular here, you already know this. While I was there, I did some makeup hauling damage. I shared my beauty haul from the blogger preview event recently, and promised there'd be more to come.

Well, I'm delivering on that promise with a lot of product pictures for your perusing pleasure. This post includes the items that I purchased while at the show. Don't forget to leave a comment and let me know which products you're most interested in seeing swatches and reviews on first.

OCC Lip Tars in (left to right) Yaoi, Rhythm box, and Black Metal Dahlia

Ben Nye luxury banana powder

Crown brushes (top to bottom): Infinity Round Blender brush, Syntho Angle Shader brush, Syntho Chisel Shader brush, Jumbo Shadow brush, Crescent Shadow brush, and Oval Shadow brush

Bdellium brushes (#776, #785, and #953), OFRA brush #21

OFRA Cosmetics lipsticks in (l to r) Fuchsia, 202, and 201

Inglot lipstick #140

Cult Nails in (l to r): Spontaneous, My Kind of Cool Aid, Morning Glory

Ellis Faas Creamy Lipsticks in Deep Fuchsia (L104) and Ellis Red (L101)

Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes eye shadow in lilac taupe (E106)

Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix setting spray, Face & Body foundation (20), HD Elixir, Aqua Smoky Lash, HD Invisible Cover Concealer (325)

Michael Marcus Prime botanical primer in Light

Stila In The Know all matte eye shadow palette

Beauty Blender duo with carrying case and solid cleanser 

I also purchased a Make Up For Ever palette exclusive to the Makeup Show designed by James Vincent and his fellow artist friends that had 10 eyeshadow and blush pans. There was a tiny mistake when I made the purchase, and I didn't receive all 10 shades (I got 9 shades, and a duplicate of one of the shades which equaled 10). I contacted Make Up For Ever and let them know what happened and they graciously offered to send me the missing shade. Since I didn't want to take a picture of the incomplete palette, I'm waiting on the item to arrive. Once that comes in, I'll take a photo and share the colors in the palette so that you can easily recreate it. 

Other items purchased but not pictured (because they they're little beauty tools you can get from anywhere): MUFE duo pencil sharpener, MUFE mixing palette, MUFE powder puff, and an assortment of wispy false lashes. 

And last, but not least. I was given a press kit for the Makeup Bullet. I'm very excited to review this item for you. It's a reusable makeup sponge that fits on your finger! Genius!

Well, there you have it -- that's my haul from The Makeup Show Orlando. If you went, what did you get? Anything in my haul you'd like to see reviewed and swatched first?