SpaRitual Aurum

SpaRitual Aurum: now, who couldn't find it in their heart to love a gold as outrageously luminous as this one? It positively glows. Pure liquid awesome. 

And can you tell that I'm still posting manicures from the holidays? I just thought Aurum was a perfect match to this shiny metallic gold bow. 

Butter London Cuppa (plus a comparison!)

Because I have an insatiable urge to buy ALL the putty/taupe cremes I see, I've got Butter London Cuppa to share with you today! This is from the recent Butter London spring collection release, and it is (surprise, surprise) a milky/almond beige creme. Lovely formula, perfect in two coats. This first picture is taken under artificial light, which typically makes the colour appear more yellow-toned; the following two are taken in natural light, which shows Cuppa to be a lovely milky beige.

I also thought a comparison might be in order, seeing how close SpaRitual Quietness looks to Butter London Cuppa in the bottle:

Left to Right: SpaRitual Quietness, Butter London Cuppa, Quietness, Cuppa.

As you can see, SpaRitual Quietness is actually quite a bit more yellow in tone; Butter London Cuppa is more of a cool, almond shade. While I like both of these, I think Cuppa is the more flattering option. What do you think?

Layla Bubble Effect in Black Forest

Today I've got one of the Layla Bubble Effect polishes to share with you- this is Black Forest, a polish very similar to OPI's Black Spotted lacquer (which was exclusive to Europe, if I understand correctly). In terms of application, I applied this as I would a shatter topcoat: I used one medium coat, applied it quickly and evenly, and then I stopped fussing with it. The end result was this oil-on-water kind of effect. The base colour is SpaRitual Quietness. 

I also layered this over Man Glaze's Butt Taco (oh, that name...) which I think provided a more striking effect.

What do you think of Layla Bubble Effect in Black Forest? Think it would quell any lemming for the hard-to-procure OPI Black Spotted? If so, and you're wondering where you can order it, you can find it at Nail Polish Canada, which is where I ordered mine from. 

SpaRitual - Quietness (Meditate Collection Spring 2013)

Tonight I've got swatches of SpaRitual Quietness to share with you; this lacquer is part of the new Meditate Collection for Spring 2013. I haven't been able to find any other swatches of this collection online, so hopefully this helps some of you out! 

Quietness is a creamy pale beige that leans slightly yellow; it reminds me of a really milky iced coffee, or maybe of irish cream liqueur. Comparison-wise, it's more beige than Illamasqua Load, but not as yellow as China Glaze Kalahari Kiss. I used three coats to achieve full coverage, but the formula was fairly easy to work with; I did notice that it took a long time to dry, though- even thought I painted my nails in the afternoon, the polish was still slightly dent-able later that evening. 

The following two pictures, taken in late afternoon sun, show the polish looking a bit more yellow than it typically looks on the nail; I've included them here nonetheless.

The other lacquers in this collection follow in the subdued, dreamy/pastel trend- a tried and true combination for a spring collection. I think this collection with be more widely available in February, but it is currently available through Nail Polish Canada, which is where I ordered mine from. I've also noticed that it's begun popping up at other online retailers.

What do you think of SpaRitual Quietness? Do you think you'll be picking anything up from this collection?

SpaRitual - It's Raining Men

I'm going to be away for a few days, but I wanted to leave you with a really quick post. This is SpaRitual It's Raining Men- a gorgeous soft blue/grey with strong gold/pink duochrome/iridescence. Whew, that was a lot of /-ing. Anyways, this is really lovely, and at two coats it was just opaque enough. 

What do you think of SpaRitual It's Raining Men?