SpaRitual Goodies (Pic Heavy)

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds.

I ordered three SpaRitual nail polishes from Amazon.com, and managed to find colors I loved for $10 each with free shipping (score!).  Here are some bottle pics in natural light and an on-nail swatch of the one I'm currently wearing.

 

This is Crystal Waters, contained in the Cool Contraltos section of the SpaRitual website.  It is a fantastic, glowy aqua shimmer which is slightly more blue than green.  It is fairly thin, but not runny, dries quickly and is opaque in 2 coats.  I tried 3 to see if the color deepened, but all it did was fill in any slightly thin areas I had missed when painting the first 2 coats.  Be warned, though--use a base coat with this or it will stain your nails and cuticles.  No bueno.

Bottle shot! Soooo pretty...

 

Street Smart is an intensely black, glossy cream listed as part of the Earthy Low Notes on SpaRitual's site.  Mine was a little thick, so I added a few drops of nail polish thinner.  This color is completely opaque in two coats, and dries nearly as fast as Crystal Waters.  I have tried many black nail polishes, and this is by far the darkest, truest black I have ever seen.  It is also glossy enough on its own that I didn't even need a top coat.  This also isn't quite as stain-prone as Crystal Waters.

This picture doesn't show just how dark this color is on the nail.

 

This is Thunder Road, a medium lavender cream, part of the Cool Contraltos.  I first heard of this color, and the SpaRitual brand in general,  via Grav3yard Girl on YouTube.  I love lavenders and purples, especially in cosmetics, and have been looking for a replacement for my Planks A Lot Pirates of the Caribbean polish from OPI.  I even made a color comparison on my polish inventory cards:

 

Thunder Road is slightly lighter and brighter than Planks A Lot, but it's close enough on the nail for me to be satisfied.  Plus, the formula is pigmented, creamy, and flows well without being runny or gooey.  And now, 2 coats of Thunder Road on my nails with Beauty Secrets base coat and Rush 60 Seconds top coat.

My fingers look a little too pink here, but this was the only lighting I could find that gave an accurate representation of the color.

To finish, I am extremely satisfied with these colors.  The only problem I have now is making sure I can restrain myself from buying a whole bunch more!  They cost about twice as much as I would normally pay for a nail polish, but they can last up to 5 or 6 days, which is amazing for me, and the vegan formula is noticeably less stinky and drying than my 'regular' polishes.  Two thumbs up!  These polishes are available at Ulta, Amazon.com, and spas/salons all over the US.

All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.

Oh, the Horror! And assorted things to come.

Hello, I am back--this year was my very first Christmas, and it was awesome/crazy/wonderful and all those good things.  Somewhat recently I discovered the Skin Deep Database, which rates nearly all known cosmetic and personal hygiene products on a toxicity scale of 0 to 10 (0 being perfectly harmless and 10 being, "Holy bats, how is my skin not peeling off?!?").  Anyway, my interest was piqued and I immediately began searching for all the products I use and checking their toxicity levels.  Much to my chagrin, a large portion of my already fairly-small stash was rated at a 5 or higher, and personally I only feel comfortable using products rated a 3 or below, 4 at the very most.  This does mean that my red lip review series will be much shorter than expected; Covergirl Lip Perfection lipsticks, which have wonderful texture, pigmentation and lasting power, are rated a 7.  I don't know about you, but I know that some of my lipstick is definitely going in my mouth, and I just didn't want to risk it.  Shame, though.  On the up side, I will be trying mineral foundation from Meow Cosmetics, and will tell you guys all about it.  They have over 70 shades of foundation in 3 levels of coverage (light, medium and total coverage) along with coordinating concealers and skin-balancing primers.  The foundations range from pure white (definitely an awesome Goth or Halloween option) to the deepest rich browns.  I'm pretty excited, especially since I have always really liked powder foundation but have never really had the guts to shell out for mineral foundation.  I will also be trying some SpaRitual nail polish and possibly Morgana's Crypt (formerly Morgana Cryptoria) lipstick.  Thanks for your patience, and here's hoping that 2013 is your best year yet!