Smith & Cult

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With Smith & Cult Ceremony of Secrets

August 31st, 2018 by Karen 22 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

One good thing came out of my recent gel manicure debacle. I have a new passion for finding kick-@ss non-gel long-wearing nail polishes, i.e. nail polishes that can actually handle my life!

I do my nails at home once a week now, and over the course of that week my paws take a beating. I’m typing, I’m cleaning, I’m taking care of the dual divas who room and board with me (human and otherwise), I’m gardening, I’m preparing meals (gluten-free sometimes!), I’m working out… Basically, going about my day like busy women do.

Wanted: long-lasting nail polishes

So, a few weeks ago I started a project to track down some lovely long-lasting polishes, and when I find a new contender, I follow the following process: I use the same base and top coats for consistency — Smith & Cult’s tough-as-nails (lol) The Basis of Everything and Above It All — and I paint my paws with two coats of that week’s nail polish.

Then I take some pics to document the condition of my paws over the seven days before removing the nail polish and starting all over again with something else.

Let’s get ready to rummmbllllle! In this corner, Smith & Cult Ceremony of Secrets ($18)

I put Smith & Cult’s Ceremony of Secrets, a rose gold micro glitter, through its paces a couple weeks ago, and that week, on top of the usual life things I had to do, I also spent a day at a beach on the Russian River, which meant futzing with beach umbrellas and chairs, sand, and opening and closing multiple zippered totes (those zippers man… They’re like death traps for nail polish!). I also constructed three sand castles and, of course, swam.

Also, that week I lifted heavier free weights than usual at the gym, and those dumbbells and kettle bells are rough and will totally shred a manicure like *that*.

Despite those extracurricular activities, this glittery manicure held up exceptionally well. By the end of the week, I saw some small chips at the tips of my nails, a few chunks taken out along the base of my nails, and some cracks along the sides where I could’ve done a better job with the edges and top coat, but Ceremony of Secrets held up well overall.

I’m sure I could’ve worn it at least another day.

Day 1: So fresh, so clean

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Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With Smith & Cult Analog Fog

August 24th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

At one point over the seven days I wore Smith & Cult Analog Fog on my paws, the weather took a decidedly dark, chilly turn…

It started to look like fall.

We closed the windows and contemplated turning on the heater.

Also, I started baking stuff in my oven again. I cranked out three lasagnas (one was even gluten-free, what-what!), two banana blueberry oatmeal bakes, a gluten-free pizza from Costco, and two batches of oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies. Really, Smith & Cult should have named this polish “When It’s Cold, Bake Your @ss Off” instead.

Taking everything I did into account, and considering how much time I spent blending, chopping and whisking while wearing this polish, my manicure held up well. It was still shiny and relatively chip-free after five days, with just a few dings around the tips of my fingers.

It jumped the shark after I made the third lasagna and washed the dishes without gloves, which was probably, um…not the greatest idea. That’s when I really started to see pieces of polish chipping at the base of a couple of my nails (granted, they weren’t big chips).

Like I did for my last seven-day nail experiment, I wore two coats of the polish atop a base of Smith & Cult Basis of Everything, and with Above It All as a top coat on top. Point being to isolate the polish to try to figure out how it holds up to real life.

Also like last time, I didn’t refresh the top coat at all over the course of the seven days, but I think if I had, like if I’d refreshed it on day three or four, I could’ve made this mani last at least one or two more days.

I think Analog Fog did great, all lasagnas considered! Plus, the color is gorge! It’s one of those mysterious, elusive purples… Ooh-la-la! It’s a cream, so there’s no shift or pearl or anything like that, but sometimes it looks like a pinkish purple. Other times, it looks like a straight-up plum.

I’ll definitely be wearing it again. ?

❤️❤️❤️❤️ 4 out of 5 hearts.

Smith & Cult Analog Fog: Day 1

Smith & Cult Analog Fog: Day 7

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Paint Chips, Vol. 1: Smith & Cult Exit the Void

April 4th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

smith cult exit the void day 1 — Smith & Cult Exit the Void: Day 1

How long will it last? THAT’S the question. Let’s find out! 🙂 Paint Chips is a series where I paint my paws with two coats of polish, a base coast and a top coat, and see how long it lasts.

Even if you aren’t a hardcore makeup collector — even if you’re just a part-time product enthusiast — you probably remember at least one product that turned a casual interest into a full-blown brand obsession. For me, one such product was Smith & Cult Exit the Void.

I’d worn a couple of shades from Smith & Cult before, but oh, my goodness… When I discovered this creamy periwinkle blue (came out with their spring 2017 collection), it took my eyeballs by surprise!

It looks like a perfect spring sky — that dreamy, rich blue that rocks your world after so many months of dreary, wintry gray. It brings a smile to my face whenever I see it on my nails. 🙂

What makes me REALLY happy, though, is how pigmented it is (one coat is like three coats of any other brand) and how freaking long it lasts.

And dude, I beat the crap out of my nails. I’m serious, these poor hands. I put them through a lot. Lots of typing, baby handling, kitty handling, chores, and even some weightlifting and burpies (which are the devil’s work). My nail polish, to paraphrase Rihanna, needs to work, work, work, work, work, work.

Exit the Void, when I wore it with a Sally Hansen Green Tea + Bamboo base coat and OPI Top Coat (they’re my current faves), looked perfect for five days. Then, about halfway through the fifth day, the first chips started to appear.

But that’s great for me! I left it on to see how long it could go before it passed the absolute point of no return.

smith cult exit the void day 5a — Smith & Cult Exit the Void after five days

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The Day in Beauty Vol. 17: NARS Long Hot Summer Eyeshadow Palette, Smith & Cult Fauntleroy Nail Polish and Messy Dutch Braids

June 4th, 2016 by Karen 39 Comments

Happy Caturday, my darling! I hope you’re having a wonderful morning so far, and I hope you’re feeling refreshed and ready for a fun weekend.

It’s a lovely day here in Northern California. Nothing but blue sky from rolling hills to rolling hills. It looks like it’s gonna be a hot one, too, which is why I have my hair in a Dutch braid.

GURL, I’ve been all about the Dutch braid lately.

It’s basically an inverted French braid, where instead of pulling the hairs over when you braid, you pull them under so the braid kind of pops out, and you can make it, like, all poofy-looking and larger than life if you loosen up the hairs after you tie the end, which has the added benefit of not giving me a throbbing headache like some tightly braided styles can.

All about the Dutch Braids — 5-minute messy Dutch braid

I love the whole messy braid trend… I rue the day if/when they go out of style, because this one here took me less than five minutes, and I was able to do it without having to look in a mirror!

WHAT?! Yes.

I also rue the day when big, bushy eyebrows go out of style because it took me forever and a day to grow mine out. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time…

Wow, it’s already getting hot here, and it’s not even 8:30. I guess it’s appropriate that I’m wearing the $45 limited edition NARS Long Hot Summer Eyeshadow Palette.

nars long hot summer palette — The NARS Long Hot Summer Palette

Isn’t it a cutie pie? Six powder eyeshadows — a beige, a taupe, two coppers, a deep brown and a beautiful light gray — and it fits in the palm of my hand. The top row has some cooler-toned neutrals, and the bottom row has warmer tones.

I’ve been wearing the palette all week long, and it gets extra points for not taking up much space in my already overloaded makeup bag. It should be a great travel companion if I take any trips this summer.

Speaking of trips, I gotta get on that. I’m thinking, though, that it might be too hard to travel with a baby. I dunno… Moms, give me your thoughts on that.

I also like that the palette has a nice mix of cool and warm tones, because you know how it goes with some neutral palettes. You either get warm or cool tones. You don’t always get both.

These shadows also start off all punchy and pigmented but fade in a beautiful way throughout the day. In the case of the shimmery shades, they glisten more toward the end of the day, getting to where you look like you’ve been dancing in the front row at a music festival for three straight hours.

It’s pretty cool.

In other news, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m super obsessed with this freakin’ Justin Bieber video for his song Sorry.

OK, did I just say that out loud? Admittedly, I’m not the biggest JB fan, but I’m not extremely familiar with his work, and I know that he’s gotten into trouble a few times.

But whatever. I heard this song on the radio and had to look it up online. The choreography is so much fun! There’s so much booty shaking and hip swaying — I freakin’ love it! Oh, my gosh, I haven’t taken a dance class in years, but it’s making me want to dance again.

Plus, there are several girls in the video wearing those ’90s contruction boots that I rocked back in the day.

I wonder whatever happened to those boots… I think I gave them away? I wore them every day for like two years. I remember that my feet were always hella hot in them, and my arches hurt like a mother, LOL!

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Nails of the Day/Night: Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist

April 17th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Tonight I’m wearing two coats of Smith & Cult’s Bitter Buddhist ($18), which is officially described as a “celadon green.”

A celadon.

I thought a celadon was a kind of dinosaur? No?

LOL! 🙂 Seriously, though, I thought it was a restaurant before doing this post.

Whatever it is, I like it! It’s a pale, pretty blue.

The shorts, by the way, are the Scallop Lace Riviera Shorts by LOFT, the bag is NARS (limited edition; I don’t think it’s still available), and the bracelet is something I got at Nordies a few years back.

P.S. If you like Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist, you might also like Chanel Horizon Line.