Tag: Sparitual
The Infinity Gauntlet
Come on, Infinity War is the biggest movie on the planet right now. How could I NOT do Infinity Gauntlet nails?
I put down a single coat of Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat to get started. I get anxiety when I mismatch my polish to my base coat, but I’m using so many brands that I compromised.
My thumb holds the Time Stone – two coats of OPI “My Gecko Does Tricks” topped with Sinful Colors “Green Ocean”.
My index finger became the Power Stone – two coats of Julep “Paulette” topped with Zoya “Monet”.
The Space Stone resided on my middle finger – two coats of Sinful Colors “Prized Plume” topped with Sally Hansen “Family Jewels”.
My ring finger became the Reality Stone – two coats of Formula X “Boundless Berry” topped with Sinful Colors “Unwrap Me”.
My pinkie got the Soul Stone – Sinful Colors “Courtney Orange” topped with SpaRitual “Citrine Luminary”.
I finished off the Gauntlet with gold metal studs, sealed with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Alas, I just have five fingers on each hands, so I had to hold the Mind Stone. Oh, and I don’t have a Mind Stone, so I used a peach from our peach tree in the backyard. It was eaten shortly after this picture was taken.
What other movie manicures should I try?
Feeling Witchy
I don’t know why, but I’ve been having the urge to dig into my polish stash lately. I don’t know what look I was going for, I just wanted to play. No…I did kind of have an idea. I wanted something in a matte jade green…
Somehow I absolutely mis-remembered what the finish was like on the SpaRitual Luminaries – why did I remember them as matte? I dunno…I guess I could have used my matte top coat, but then I was sleepy and just wanted to go to bed.
I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat, and then two coats of Deborah Lippmann “Defying Gravity”. I alternated Luminaries, starting with “Citrine Luminary” on my thumb and “Opaline Luminary” on my index finger. I didn’t even use a top coat, because I kept waiting for the polishes to get more matte.
I have to say though, “Defying Gravity” might just be my favorite green polish. It’s vibrant, but muted. I don’t feel like a goddamn leprechaun when I wear it. Maybe because it’s so similar to my eye color.
A Galaxy of Toppers
I couldn’t let this black manicure (Zoya “Anais”) go to waste before I took it off – I decided to play with top coats.
From left to right – Sinful Colors “Pinky Glitter”, SpaRitual “Opaline Luminary” Matte Top Effect, Zoya “Monet”, SpaRitual “Citrine Limunary” Matte Top Effect and Sinful Colors “Green Ocean”.
The 5 different polishes look very different in the bottles, huh?
I was shocked at how similar in tone and palette these polishes looked on my nails. I used those polishes in the very same order from thumb to pinky. There’s not a hint of pink in “Pinky Glitter”. I was disappointed in how subtle “Opaline Luminary” was. “Monet” took on a rainbow of colors. “Citrine Luminary” was fantastically striking. “Green Ocean” came to life with blue and greens – I’d always been unimpressed with it before.
Each fingernail is like looking into a different galaxy with different stars.
Citrine Embers
I couldn’t resist trying Sparitual “Citrine” Luminary Matte Top Effect over Julep “Padma”, even though I knew I’d be changing my polish tonight.
I got really good coverage on my thumb, but for some reason, it didn’t stick as well to my other nails. I think this type of polish would stick better if I didn’t already have a top coat on my nails. I seem to remember it mattifying more directly over the dark polish – remember the “Opaline”?
Fuck Traffic, Go Shopping
Right as I was packing up to leave work, my husband called to tell me that the highway was backed up – huge wreck. Sigh. When the going gets tough, the tough say “fuck traffic” and go shopping.
My backdoor route to avoid the highway conveniently brought me right past my Ulta – imagine that! The main reason I wanted to drop by was to pick up a new Zoya Remove+, but of course they are still out. My second choice was Orly Bonder, suggested by Angie as an excellent base coat. We shall see…
Although the clearance section has dwindled, I still had to look. I was excited to find Sparitual “Citrine” Luminary Matte Top Effect for $2.97. I was even more excited when it rang up for $1.49, especially since I paid $12 for “Opaline” several months ago!
Finally, I decided to try eos lip balm in “Blueberry Acai”. Erin raved about eos the last time we had a traffic chat, so I figured now was the the time. I was skeptical of rubbing that huge knob all over my lips, but it felt SO GOOD. I thought I would end up smearing it all over my face like Steve Buscemi in Billy Madison, but it only went on my lips.
The $3.50 coupon is back – I hate those 20% one item coupons! I’ll probably hit another Ulta tomorrow to look for my Zoya Remove+, plus Butter London polishes are 2/$15 tomorrow!
Watermelon Improvisation
I don’t know how to describe Sparitual “Improvisation”. It’s pinkish, reddish, shimmer? The shimmer shifts from fuchsia to blue in the light, while the base shifts from red to pink. Sparitual’s website describes it as berry shimmer. Thanks…so NOT helpful.
I’ve decided that “Improvisation” is a juicy slice of ripe watermelon. The shimmer is the water oozing out of the slice.
This is a super sheer polish. After Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, I had to use 3-4 coats to get decent coverage. Even after those 3-4 coats, I have VNL – VISIBLE NAIL LINE. No ma’am!
This isn’t a matte polish, but it isn’t super shiny either. Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat fixed that in 3 shakes of a lamb’s tail. (Can you tell I’m dreaming of the new Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Collection?)
Red Sticker Fever
Yup…I went again. I picked a different location to see what goodies they had left from the massive Ulta clearance…I was not disappointed.
I decided to try Ulta “Citrus Rose” Rejuvenating Bath & Shower Gel ($2.97 down from $9.50). I’m gonna be pissed if I love it, because I’ll never find it again. I also got a compact folding brush for my purse. I’m tired of rushing out of the house and realizing that my children look like Little Orphan Annie.
The best deals were in nail polish. I found Sparitual “Improvisation” ($2.97 down from $12), China Glaze “Bling it on” ($.97 down from $8.50), 2 China Glaze “Scattered & Tattered” ($.97 down from $8.50) – 1 for me and 1 for my BFF because it appears to be a dupe of her favorite Sinful Colors polish, Sally Hansen “Fruit-Ta-Ta” ($1.49 down from $2.99) and Ulta “Pinata Yada” ($.47). Including my $3.50 off coupon, I spent $9.53 at Ulta.
I also stopped by Big Lots to take advantage of their 20% off for members day. Besides Pop-Tarts and Veggie Sticks, I found My Beauty Spot “Lux Velvet Effect Nail Art Kit”. It is supposed to make my nails look and feel like crushed velvet. I am skeptical, yet intrigued. For $2.80, I can take a chance…
20 Polishes
The other day, I told my husband that I wish I had 10 more fingers. He laughed and said, “You do – they’re called toes.” Painting my toenails is just not the same as painting my fingernails. They’re hard to reach and all different shapes. Plus, I hardly ever have a chance to show off my toes. I have so many ideas for polish combinations, plus – I’ve bought or been gifted about 25 polishes JUST in the month of May (which isn’t over yet.) Sure, I can practice on my junk mail, but it’s just not the same…what do I do? I stay up late and do a different combination on each finger!
Let’s start with my left hand…
Left Thumb – China Glaze “Four Leaf Clover” and Maybelline Color Show “Emerald City”
Left Pointer – Orly “Purple Poodle” and Sparitual Luminary Matte Top Effect in “Opaline”
Left Middle – Nina “Blue La La” and Sally Hansen Gem Crush “Lady Luck”
Left Ring – Julep “Tatum” and Julep “Rosa”
Left Pinky – Sinful Colors “Sugar Sugar” and Nina “Gold Flake Topcoat”
My right hand was a little bit more difficult, both to paint AND to photograph…
Right Thumb – Orly “Bubbly Bombshell” and Sinful Colors “Nail Junkie”
Right Pointer – Zoya “Dillon” and Sinful Colors “Bombshell”
Right Middle – Sinful Colors “Inkwell” and essie Luxeffects “Set in Stones”
Right Ring – Sally Hansen Insta-Dri “Magenta Motion” and Sinful Colors “Call You Later”
Right Pinky – Sinful Colors “Nova” and Nicole by OPI “Rainbow in the S-Kylie”
Which one do you like best? Vote in the poll below and let me know what you think!
[yop_poll id=”2″ float=”center”]
Stained Glass
Pictures do not do my nails justice – they are gorgeous!
I started with a coat of Sally Hansen “Flirt” – a dark maroon. Then I added a sloppy coat of Sparitual Luminary Matte Top Effect in “Opaline”. My nails looks like stained glass. Blood-splattered stained glass!
This is my first experience with Sparitual products. The bottle says Vegan, but I bought it anyway. (At first I thought they were referring to ingredients, but then I realized they must be referring to the animal testing aspect. Feh, I put nail polish all over my dog and she’s fine.) It’s the most expensive polish I’ve ever bought at $12, but again, my nails look damn good.
Ulta Mail
Sick of looking at my fingernails? Let me tell you about the Ulta mail that was in my mailbox today after I went shopping at Ulta…
I’m not sharing all of the items in my box yet – more gifts – but in addition to the gifts, I picked up my first essie polish – essie luxeffects “Set in Stones”. I also got Sparitual Luminary Top Effect “Opaline”. I saw it in the store over Spring Break and I’ve been thinking about it non-stop, so why not?
My gift with purchase was samples from it Cosmetics by Jamie Kern (never heard of them before) – Vitality Lip Blush Hydrating Lip Gloss Stain in “Naturally Flushed”, Bye Bye Under Eye Full Coverage Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer and a tiny packet of Medium CC+ Cream – bummed that it will be WAY too dark for me.
My free samples were Biolage Exquisite Oil Shampoo and Conditioner, DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel and Ouidad Climate Control Heat and Humidity Gel. I need to stop getting hair shit samples…