A Summery Gradient

Hello again! Today I'll be showing you a manicure I did several weeks ago, after I tried Zoya Beatrix. I thought Beatrix and Destiny looked really nice together, so I decided to do a gradient. I used Beatrix as a base and sponged Destiny on top, then finished off with a couple coats of top coat.

Zoya Destiny

Can we spend a moment admiring how gorgeous Zoya Destiny is?

Cult Nails Captivated

By now, most of you have probably heard of Cult Nails, the nail polish company started by Maria, the blogger at R3 Daily. The brand's second collection came out this spring, and as soon as I saw the first swatches of Captivated, I knew I had to have it. Captivated has a sheer coral base with lots of fiery glitter. It's best suited for layering, but first I wanted to try it on its own. This is four coats with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat.

 indoors, artificial light

 indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, cloudy

outdoors, cloudy

I wish I could've taken pictures of Captivated in the sunlight, but the sun has been very fickle for the past couple of days. As far as the formula, Captivated was a bit thick, but easy to apply, and I didn't have trouble controlling the brush. I thought the cylindrical bottle might be a little difficult to handle, but I didn't have any problems. The only thing that bothered me is that after my full manicure, I could already see that the line of polish had gone down. I guess I might have to get a backup bottle! 

After wearing Captivated on its own for most of the day, I started wondering what it would look like with crackle on top. I tried it Sally Hansen Cherry Smash on my thumbnail, but it's so sheer and close to Captivated's color that it didn't look very distinctive. Instead, I decided to use Sally Hansen Antiqued Gold, and I really like the result.

 indoors, artificial light

 indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, cloudy

outdoors, artificial light

As you saw if you read Tuesday's haul post, I also purchased Let Me Fly, Iconic, and Living Water, and I'm trying Let Me Fly next. Actually, I'm applying it as I write this post, and it's really lovely so far.

You can purchase Cult Nails polishes here for $10 each. It's more than I normally pay for nail polish, but I definitely think they're worth it. As a huge bookworm, I feel it's the equivalent of paying a little more for a book at a local indie bookshop rather than buying it cheap at one of the big block stores - but in this case, you can't get the product anywhere else!

P.S. Sorry for the greater-than-usual amount of pictures in this post. I was too captivated (ha, ha) to leave any out!

Franken: Coral Island

I made this franken quite a while back when I realized that I liked coral, and I liked glitter, and I did not have a coral glitter. A week or so later, Cult Nails announced Captivated, which is a coral glitter...so I guess Maria and I were seeing the same deficit. :) However, Coral Island is not a whole lot like Captivated - the glitter in it is a bit different, and there's more glitter in Captivated. I used three coats here to give Coral Island more depth and to completely eliminate VNL, but one could probably use two and be fine. To make Coral Island, I used Sephora by OPI Cover Me in Petals, OPI Hot and Spicy, clear, Love My Nails Angel Baby, Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter, Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me, and China Glaze White Cap.

indoors, artificial light

This did not show up well in pictures at all...it was rainy when I wore it, so I'm thinking I may have to take this one out on a spin when it's sunny and re-blog it. However, this is what I have for now, and at least the bottle shot is somewhat accurate.

Orly Retro Red

Retro Red is not red. Nope, it's actually a red-orange coral. However, I do still like the color, and I love the finish. This is two coats, and all three pictures are pretty color-accurate.

 indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

outdoors, sunlight

I love using matte top coat over glitter and shimmer polishes, but while I like the look of matte cremes, I usually think they make my hands look oily or greasy. However, the satin finish of the Orly Plastix collection gives a semi-matte finish that does not look my hands look oily at all. I really like the satin finish, and I wish there were some kind of satin top coat.

Aside from the finish, I quite like Retro Red. It covers very well and I like the color, though I wish it was actually red. If you don't like the satin finish, a similar color is Sephora by OPI Cover Me in Petals. Here are the two bottles side by side, and then my nails in Retro Red next to the $OPI bottle.

While I haven't swatched these side-by-side, I think they are quite similar, though they look quite a bit different in the bottle (probably due to the frosted glass of the Retro Red bottle). If you have Cover Me in Petals and you're not particularly fond of the satin finish, you probably don't need both. However, I'm glad I have both.