SpaRitual Nomad

Happy Friday!! This brand is completely new to me.  I walked into Ulta's clearance sale on New Years Eve with the intent of getting some Zoyas, and walked out with this one also. I am sure you can relate. :)
I remembered admiring some of SpaRitual's Wander Fall 2014 collection, particularly Nomad, Arroyo and Starry Night.  I didn't see the other two, but grabbed the last Nomad because I have nothing like this in my collection.  I'm pretty infatuated...

Macro! (with topcoat)

The bottom of the bottle says sandy matte shimmer.  I read that and I acknowledged it but it didn't register.  Then when I tried it and saw it drying matte, tears of happiness welled up and I immediately messaged Jackie.  All the swatches of Nomad were mostly shown with topcoat (it is awesome this way).  I planned to leave it matte, but top coated it to make sure I could get pictures the next morning.

These swatches are 2 coats of Nomad and 1 coat of Out The Door.  It has a great formula and no clean up was necessary with this polish.  Nomad looks olive green with rose shimmer outdoor light and warmer greenish gold with rose shimmer indoors. Leaving it matte makes the polish softer looking and a unique, but very wearable olive.

Inside: polish accurate, not skin accurate!

 

If I had bought this before New Years Eve it would have definitely been on the Favorites post!  I would consider this beauty if you see it, or send me over a back up bottle! :)  My SpaRitual obsession starts now.

~ Hayley

Sweet Simplicity: Ciate Angel Wings

Like this polish, I'm going to keep this post simple.  I love how clean a pearl white polish looks, whether alone or as a base for something more special.  The problem is finding one that is flattering and doesn't leave a ton of brush strokes.

Luckily, Jackie gifted me a mini Ciate she had, and it fits those criteria well!  Ciate Angel Wings is  a pearl white polish, that slightly leans to the lightest possible hint of pink imaginable at certain angles (it may be the natural nail underneath doing that).

I think this is a great palette cleanser before the onset of all the gorgeous fall colors and collections that are coming out. What do you think?

I used 3 coats and no topcoat.  After I was done, I remembered I should have used a matte top coat underneath coats to further minimize any brushstrokes.  I decided to leave well enough alone, since I might do a skittlette later and it wasn't too bad.  It's also worth noting that this polish has a great formula...extremely easy to work with. 

Outside on a rainy desert day :)

Indoors

Outdoors

If you want Angel Wings for yourself, it's available online at Nordstrom and Sephora.  

Let me know your polish picks for August and keep me in your thoughts for more rainy days in Arizona...they're wonderful!

Spring Fling Challenge Day 2: In Bloom

Wow day 2 of the Spring Fling Challenge came fast!  This is like a nail polish and blog boot camp session for me! :)  Today's theme is In Bloom.
I would've loved to have possibly ventured into hand painting a watercolor flower as an accent nail instead of the accent I did, but I have never done nail art before.  I'm not into stamping or nail art but attempting a simple flower on one accent nail is something I can see myself trying in the future once I get better.

Because I was timid, I chose the flower-named polish, Delphinium.  She is a limited edition Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure color that was part of the 2011 Tracey Reese collection.  As you probably guessed, it is discontinued but I have found bottles on eBay (and where mine was purchased at Christmas) so I'm sure there are still some floating around.  They may re-promote this color in the future, since I heard they recently did it with Green Tea...which I am obsessively trying to find! 
The formula on Delphinium was easy to work with and I used two coats.  It's no secret that my love for a good dusty lavender/ lilac is alive and well...

For the accent nail I used CND Effects in Gold Sparkle.  This polish is similar to Essie As Gold As It Gets but the flakies are much smaller and a lighter shade of gold.  This was also 2 coats and was still very subtle on the nail.

Again, be sure to check out the other participants of the Spring Fling Challenge listed at ECKlipsed by color and Tuxarina

 Thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow for day 3!

~Hayley

Love, Charlotte: A Deborah Lippmann Dupe Alert!

I'm not a snob when it comes to nail polish brands.  I've tried some expensive polishes and struggled with the formula and have tried others that were incredible.  The same can be said for less expensive i.e. drugstore brands (there is one brand, I'll post about in the coming weeks, that I feel is extremely under-promoted).
So, if I can find a less expensive version of a higher end polish I love, I'll certainly give it a shot.  And that's where this unnamed bottle of love, charlotte comes in.

For a long time Sea Dust, the Urban Outfitters version of Deborah Lippmann's Mermaid's Dream, sat on my wishlist.  It seemed a more reasonable option to try cost-wise to determine whether I wanted to spring for the real thing.  Mermaid's Dream is on my wishlist too, because it's beautiful!  However there are no Urban Outfitters in my area, so when I happened upon this polish for $3.50 at Charlotte Russe I was excited to try it.

I wish I could do a comparison to either the Mermaid's Dream or Sea Dust but since I don't have either, you'll have to let me know what you think.  The formula was pretty easy to work with and I used three thin coats for the pictures.  Dry time was quick, but a little gritty with the glitter, so I added a coat of Poshe.  The color seems pretty close to me, but here are the swatches! 

Disclaimer: Since we are just getting started we are learning about lighting and such. Please bear with us as we get better at the photography. Thanks! 
This pretty polish was purchased by me, to appease me until I can get my paws on the real Mermaid's Dream!