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smith & cult nail polish review

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

August 31st, 2018 by Karen 25 Comments

smith cult ceremony of secrets

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!

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

smith cult ceremony of secrets swatch

smith cult ceremony of secrets thumb day

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There are 25 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Nails, Product Reviews, Smith & Cult Keywords: desperately seeking persistent polish, smith & cult, smith & cult ceremony of secrets review, smith & cult ceremony of secrets swatch, smith & cult nail polish review

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

August 24th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

smith cult analog fog

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

smith cult analog fog

Smith & Cult Analog Fog: Day 7

smith cult analog fog

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There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Nails, Product Reviews, Smith & Cult Keywords: desperately seeking persistent polish, smith & cult analog fog review, smith & cult analog fog swatch, smith & cult nail polish review, smith & cult nail polish swatches, smith & cult swatches

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Hi there! I’m Karen, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, and I’m a Bay Area girl who hoards brown eyeshadow and covets coral lipstick. Every morning, I wake up and say, “I’m going to do something other than a smoky eye today.” Then…I end up doing a smoky eye anyway (most days). When I’m not putting on makeup, taking pictures of makeup or writing about makeup, which I’ve been doing daily since 2007 (!), you’ll find me hanging out with my hubby (“El Hub”), my four-year-old daughter (Connor Claire) and my torbie girl cat (Pretty Girl Rosie, a.k.a. PGR).

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