Cult Nails Hypnotic Collection Swatches

 

Hey everyone! As promised, here is the first of my scheduled "hiatus" posts featuring the Cult Nails Hypnotic collection for Fall 2011.

A few weeks back, the lovely Maria from Cult Nails contacted me to find out if I would be willing to review her new collection. Well duh!! Of course I was willing! I freakin' love Cult Nails polishes! What I didn't know at the time was that I was one of only 8 bloggers chosen to review this collection! You can imagine how excited and honoured I was to learn this!

The thing is, my excitement about this brand doesn't just stem from my unhealthy obsession with nail polish -  I really do have a lot of respect for Maria and the success she has achieved with Cult Nails in such a short time! I have always wanted to start my own nail polish company and I know how much hard work is involved (this being the reason I haven't done it yet!) so I am completely in awe of Maria and her fabulous brand! She is living every nail blogger's dream and I can only hope to do the same one day!

Soooooo, now that I have got all that gushing out of my system, let's check out the swatches! 

In a Trance - Olive green with green and gold microshimmer. I fell in love with this colour as soon as I saw the press image and I'm glad to say it didn't disappoint! The formula was fantastic – I only used two coats for these photos. For some reason, it looks patchy on my pointer, but I did not see that at all on my nails – it only showed up in the photos. I swear I can see a flash of pink in this as well sometimes, but unfortunately I just couldn't capture it.

Awakening – Dark dusty teal cream. I say 'cream' lightly, because the formula was quite thin and watery, which gave it an almost jelly like consistency. However, with three coats, it was completely opaque. Maria says that she wanted some core colours in her line and this is one of them. I love how glossy the finish is. Gorgeous!

Enigmatic – Dark purple/black with fuschia, blue and purple microshimmer. This one really surprised me! With the first coat, it was pretty patchy and sheer looking, but after the second coat, the microshimmer suddenly popped out! I used three coats and the end result is a gorgeous deep purple shade that has that “glow from within” appearance and a super glossy finish. This is definitely my favourite!

Hypnotize Me – Pale green jelly with blue and green microglitter. I la la love the way this looks in the bottle, however applying it was another story because the formula wasn't great. I found it to be extremely thick so I had to add about 6 drops of thinner to make it more useable. With the thinner, the formula improved a little, but I still think it will require a few more drops before I’m 100% happy with it. Hypnotize Me is intended as a layering polish so I thought I'd show you what it looks like over each of the colours in the collection. I especially loved the way it looked over Awakening.

A blurry shot to you show you the sparkle!

I also wanted to quickly mention the Cult Nails bottles and brushes. Personally, I'm not a massive fan of the bottle shape, only because I don't think it reflects the unique beauty of Maria's polishes. However, with that said, I think that she has chosen a great brush! It is a regular looking round brush with long bristles, but it is the perfect density! Not too stiff that you get patches or streaks, but not so soft that you dont have control over the brush. It fans beautifully to make application of the polish quick and easy.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic collection. The formula of Hypnotize Me is not the best, but the originality of the colour more than makes up for this!

The Cult Nails Hypnotic collection will be available to buy online at www.cultnails.com from late August/early September. Each 0.5 fl. oz. bottle sells for $10 USD. Cult Nails lacquers are DBP, Formaldehyde, Toluene, and Camphor free and are not tested on animals.

Just as an aside - I don't have a photo of what I am about to tell you because I didn't want to plug another brand in this review, buuuuuuttttt, when I was doing my swatches I had a certain blue jelly (*cough* Royal *cough*) next to me so I thought I would just quickly try Hypnotize Me over it and HOLY AMAZEBALLS BATMAN! They are a match made in heaven! I will definitely be wearing the combo as a full mani and when I do, I'll take photos and do a separate post on it!

The items featured in this post were provided for review. For further information on GildedNails' Disclosure Policy, please click here.

Cult Nails Hypnotic Collection Pre-Sale

Hey everyone! I wouldn't normally post twice in one day, but I had to let you guys all know that the Cult Nails Hypnotic collection for Fall 2011 is now available for pre-sale here.

Here is a little bit of information about each shade, taken from the Hypnotic collection press release.

"In a Trance was created and finalized long ago, and I knew it was the shade I’d imagined the moment I saw it. Reminiscent of an aged skeleton key, this color shifts from olive green to muted gold with an enchanting shimmer that brings it to life and draws you in.

"Enigmatic, at first glance, seems so simple. Indoors, the purple base takes on a brown hue and lets the silver shimmer steal the show; but, with a deeper look and a step into the sunlight, it draws flashes of red, blue, pink and purple sparkle and lures you into the wonderful mystery that is Enigmatic.

Each of our collections has a necessary basic: for the Inaugural Collection it was Quench; for A Day at the Races it was Devious Nature; and for the Hypnotic Collection, I give you, Awakening. A muted or dusty teal that has a rich crème finish, dries to that amazing Cult Nails shine, and lends itself to every skin tone in any age group.

The final color is the most mesmerizing and versatile of the collection. Hypnotize Me, a sheer green jelly with vibrant blue and green glitter, looks marvelous over Enigmatic, stunning over In a Trance, and simply breath-taking over Awakening. Hypnotize Me can also be layered for a shade, finish, and effect that is quite hypnotic all on its own. I look forward to seeing our convert’s creations using this spellbinding shade.

Cult Nails™ lacquers are available for sale online at www.cultnails.com. Each 0.5 fl. oz. bottle sells for $10 USD. During the pre-sale event, the Hypnotic Collection will be sold only as a set for $30 USD, a savings of 25% off the regular price. Cult Nails™ lacquers are DBP, Formaldehyde, Toluene, and Camphor free and are not tested on animals."

Will you be taking advantage of the pre-sale?? The pre-sale will run through to 31 July 2011 and will ship late August/early September. 

Considering how much I loved the A Day At The Races collection, I will definitely be trying all four of the Hypnotic colours!

CND Night Factory - Urban Oasis and Teal Sparkle

Today I had to do a makeup job for a friend who was attending a wedding and I wanted my nails to look special, so I chose CND's new "The Look" Night Factory Duo for Fall/Winter '10.

The set consists of a dark teal creme polish, Urban Oasis, and a sparkly teal microglitter "effects" polish, aptly named Teal Sparkle.

Check out the swatches of this amazing duo after the jump!

Essie Fall 2010

 Today I have swatches of three of the colours from Essie's Fall 2010 collection, which is officially being released tomorrow.

I have to say from the outset, all three colours applied so well! The formula is fantastic! I love all of them, but I especially adore Velvet Voyeur and Sew Psyched!

OPI - Ski Teal We Drop

Today I'm rockin OPI's Ski Teal We Drop from the recent Swiss collection.

It is a gorgeous dark teal creme that applied flawlessly.  It is definitely one of my favourites from this collection!

And here is my ultra pathetic attempt at a konadicure! I'm still trying to master the art of stamping and more importantly, choosing the right colour and pattern to stamp with :P 

As you can see here, the little clouds might have looked cute on the plate, but the didn't exactly translate to the nail :S It looks like my finger nails are suffering from chicken pox!  :(

Don't forget to comment and follow my blog! I bought some more Aussie brands of nail polish to add to the giveaway prize today! I'll add more photos of the prize tomorrow night!

Essie Fall 2010 Preview

I received an email yesterday with information on Essie's new fall collection.

I am only really excited about one of the colours, Velvet Voyeur, as I have read on a number of other blogs that Merino Cool is a dupe for Sephora by OPI's Metro Chic or Sally Hansen's Commander in Chic, and Sew Psyched is a dupe for Rescue Beauty Lounge's Diddy Mow.

I have all three of those colours already so I will have to see more swatches before I decide whether or not to buy those two.

This collection will be available in early September.

Essie - Angora Cardi

Since the nails on my poor left hand are still recovering I thought I'd introduce my right hand, which hopefully will rarely been seen in the future :P 

Today I wore Essie Angora Cardi, and it is love! This colour is a mixture of red, brown and purple - a kind of mauve I guess. We are at the end of winter here in Australia and this nail polish is such an appropriate colour for the season! I found it to be really flattering on me as well.

Application was a little iffy. First coat was streaky but it evened out pretty well on the second coat. I found it to be a bit thick and as such I was worried about dry time, but with a good coat of Seche Vite, dry time was quite good :)