Sunday, March 28, 2010

SpaRitual Nail Polish Swatches, Part I

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm having a lazy Sunday afternoon on a cold rainy day watching a marathon of a TV show I like, so I thought I'd swatch some of those SpaRitual nail polishes I'd mentioned to you recently. If you missed that, a site was selling them for two days at $2 each, but I'd never ordered from them before, so I didn't want to tell you about it until I tested the company to see how they did (after that epic etailer fail that happened last time I didn't test a company first). It took a month to ship and they OOS'd me on one item (of many, many), but overall, it was good. If I get another notice of a sale, I'll let you know about it.

So now I have a bunch of SpaRituals to show you! Since my attention span for swatching is somewhat limited, I swatched six of them today. They're all two-coaters, a testament to their quality, but I did notice one thing - the formula on the older ones from a few years back, though free of DBP, does contain formaldehyde and toluene. Some bottles are labelled "DBP-Free" and some "DBP, Formaldehyde and Toluene Free." I didn't peel a label on any of these, but I did a while back on an older one that just had "DBP-Free" (with the hyphen being the label, not mine) and the ingredients did include formaldehyde and toluene. I know many people don't care, but formaldehyde stains the heck out of my nails, and I know there are people with an allergy to it, so I'll let you know what each bottle indicates as we go through the pictures.

One caveat on the pictures: some of the shimmers look frosty, but I've found that with SpaRituals, that diminishes to a strong shimmer with no frosty look or brush strokes once they dry (I didn't wait for these to dry). I'm wearing one now that looks a little frosty in the picture, but it's not at all now. The same holds true for the classic SpaRitual Steel Magnolia - wet, it's one big brush stroke, dry, it's gorgeous. Now that you have all the background info, let's look at nail polish!

Jet Setter is a slightly peach neutral with a strong shimmer, and has a low-level SpaRitual glow. This one came in a two-pack with one I really, really wanted and have been unable to find forever, so I sprung for the $3.50 for the two-pack and got this as a bonus. The happy surprise is that I like it. This one is Big Three Free.

SpaRitual Jet Setter Nail Lacquer
SpaRitual Jet Setter
SpaRitual Jet Setter Nail Polish, Two Coats

Smart Cookie is a great one. It's a deep burgundy creme that looks brown at first glance, but it's much richer and more interesting than a brown this dark would be. It's certainly not a traditional Spring/Summer color, but I need a break from the bright shades pretty often, and this will be a good one to break things up. Tragically, this one says only "DBP-Free," so I'll suffer stains.

SpaRitual Smart Cookie Nail Lacquer
SpaRitual Smart Cookie
SpaRitual Smart Cookie Nail Polish, Two Coats

Foxy Lady is a pinkish red with a strong shimmer, a nice lighter red for the warmer weather than I'm truly hoping is coming soon. Foxy Lady has that special SpaRitual glow that is unique to this line. Why the manufacturer doesn't ever toss this glow into their other brands, I'll never know - it's what initially got me hooked on SpaRituals. This one is only "DBP-Free."

SpaRitual Foxy Lady Nail Lacquer
SpaRitual Foxy Lady
SpaRitual Foxy Lady Nail Polish, Two Coats

Never Say Never is a fantastic bright pink creme. Although it's bright, it's nowhere near neon and therefore a good bit more wearable for most people. It's just a perfect bright, vivid pink creme, and great for Spring and Summer (can you tell I'm hung up on that? It's freezing in this house...). Again, only "DBP-Free" on this label.

SpaRitual Never Say Never Nail Lacquer
SpaRitual Never Say Never
SpaRitual Never Say Never Nail Polish, Two Coats

Gold Digger is the one I'm wearing, a somewhat light gold with a strong glowy shimmer. I plan to add a few things to it shortly, when I resume watching my marathon, so you might see it dry tomorrow. If I mess it up getting a little too creative, then you won't (not after I showed you the doily mani yesterday...)! Gold Digger is Big Three Free.

SpaRitual Gold Digger Nail Lacquer
SpaRitual Gold Digger
SpaRitual Gold Digger Nail Polish, Two Coats

Finally, the last one is the one I mentioned with Jet Setter, the one I've wanted like crazy but never seen available. It's called Ice Ice Baby, but the polish itself makes me forgive the name, the earworm, and the visual of Vanilla Ice with the decoratively shaved eyebrow. Essentially, it's Lippmann Collection Rhapsody in White without the brush strokes that so characterize Rhapsody in White. It's a clean opaque white with a strong shimmer with a bit of a glow. That sounds so simple, but I've never seen one quite like this, and it's a great year-round color. Ice Ice Baby is Big Three Free.

SpaRitual Ice Ice Baby Nail Lacquer
SpaRitual Ice Ice Baby
SpaRitual Ice Ice Baby Nail Polish, Two Coats

This is half of the bunch I ordered that I don't think I've shown to you before. Some might be worth showing you again anyhow. The application of these is excellent, and I'm a huge fan of the formula, particularly the Big Three Free (which is really what counts, since that's what they make now). It's a bit on the thick side, but is very easy to work with. I does not have that thick-yet-runny quality that so many three free formulas have. Since it is thicker than average, some might be tempted to thin them, but they really don't need it. Two coats and they're good with a great dry time, just the way the come on the bottle.

That's Part I of my cheapo SpaRitual haul. I'll have Part II for you later this week. Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

A little afterthought: although the sale on these is done, if there are any you "need," I've found sparkling*nails on ebay to have the broadest selection of SpaRitual nail polish, and she charges less than retail. She also ships internationally, and for free within the US over $100 and for $10 to Canada over $100. If you don't see a color you're after in her store, she's incredibly helpful about hunting things down - just email her and she'll let you know.

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