Cult Cosmetics February Black Box

Hello Lovelies,

I've been getting Cult Cosmetics' monthly subscription nail box for a few months now! I'm not sure why it just dawned on me to actually put each box in a post to review and to provide swatches! DUH! Cult Cosmetics subscription Black Box is what started this "addiction" that only seems to be growing... (Thanks guys! lol) I originally signed up because a friend (and fellow blogger) said I would get a variety of polishes that included China Glaze, OPI and others. I, however, signed up the month they made the transition to their brand of polish. I won't lie, initially I was a little disappointed. To my surprise, the polish was wonderful! The Debut Box colors were incredible! The colors were super pretty, the formula was great, the bottle size were unique (for my collection), and they were surprisingly comfortable to polish my nails with!

So to get on with what we all originally came for: February Black Box accurately named Festival Lights.

February's Black Box was very much anticipated for me for one reason: the holographic topper! This box included 3 full size (0.5 FL OZ/15mL bottles) of their new color line and 3 Nail Art Brushes; fan and two angled * disclaimer, I don't know the actual names of the brushes*. The pictures CC (Cult Cosmetics) posted for spoilers I don't think were anything like the actual colors in person-which is a good thing! The pictures they had made Laguna (right) seem more orange-ish/corally and I wasn't really digging it. Also in respect to Breakwater (left) it looked more pastel and I was a sad because I just picked up one that I thought was going to be similar. BUT to my surprise Laguna and Breakwater looked nothing like the pictures they posted and they are some of the most beautiful polishes I have ever looked at! :)

Since the holo topper was thee highly anticipated polish for me--why not start with it first?! 

Here is COACHELLA! Cult Cosmetics first holographic nail color and boy did they do a great job! It is absolutely stunning just as itself, doesn't need a base color or anything!

Here, on the left, is Coachella just under the 60Watt twister lights, that the name seems to escape me. To get this coverage, on the right, this is 3 coats of pure Coachella in artificial lighting (my Ott Lamp). It's SOOO pretty! I can't even stop starring at these pictures! :p 

This is probably the worst picture ever of Coachella, but here I am outside standing in about 2 feet of snow. It was cold, and STILL snowing so this is as good as you all are going to get! :p

This is Breakwater! Breakwater is a beautiful purple! It isn't as pastel as I thought it was, which let me say this again, I was SOOO HAPPY ABOUT! I love this shade of purple. It's unlike anything I have in my collection so score!

 Breakwater on the left is underling artificial light, my Ott Light, and on the right is outside in natural light surrounded by what seems to be tons and tons and TONS of snow!

Considering Coachella is actually a holo topper--I thought I'd feature it as one as well. Here is Breakwater underneath Coachella! Which again, it's stunning!

Finally, we have Laguna! Thankfully, it isn't as coral/orange as their original pictures show! I'm not even sure what this color is actually? All I know it is super bright! I want to say it's a hot pink, but it definitely has enough orange in it to make me confused BUT it there isn't too much orange either to make it so that is the typical coral color just about every brand of polish has.

I'm sorry I forgot to get a picture of Laguna under artificial lighting from my Ott Light! I didn't realize I didn't have one until I already took it off. I did my mani's statically so I could be happy with the last polishing and leave it. But I think Laguna in natural lighting speaks enough for it. It is a powerful color; bright, cheery, and I'm totally in love.

Here again, featuring Coachella as the holographic topper it is supposed to be! The left in under my Ott Light and the right is outside in natural snow glistening light!

Last, but not least the nail art tools for this month! The fan brush itself is set at an angle like this ... \_ ... where the \ portion has the bristles! There is also an angled brush (on the left) and a not so angled brush (on the right). I think it is supposed to be a flat brush, but my obsessive self noticed it was angled a bit! lol

I really hope you enjoy! Please let me know if you liked it, what I can do differently, what you liked! I'm open to suggestions considering I'm still trying to get in the swing of things!

Much Love,

Gingerella

Zoya Haul Part VI

Hello Lovelies!

This is the piece of resistance!! *insert fancy accent here* Last but not lease my favorite color that I picked up through their promotion! Again, I hope it doesn't surprise you all that it is purple! Here is Aurora!

Yes I realize this picture isn't focused or anything but I really was trying to capture the full holographic effect of this polish and all that it had to offer! When I wear this polish I often have to stop myself from just completely starring at them the whole time!

I really love that most about this polish is that its a unique shade of purple to begin with. In different light it completely changes its color, tones and the holo picks up different colors. But hands down, this color is MIND BLOWING! It's purple, holographic, and completely stunning.

Here is just a few more photos of Aurora! If you don't think this is the most beautiful polish you've ever seen then- well then I'm not sure, I just think you need to rethink that! These pictures honestly catch the most beautiful effect of this polish at any angle!

 Please enjoy and I hope you all loved this series!

Much Love,
Gingerella

Zoya Haul Part V

Hello Lovelies!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in almost a week, and this isn't going to be a super wordy post either. Just more of a picture oriented post with as many angles and unclose shots as possible! With these crazy snow storms hitting us in PA, a recent passing in the family and an overload of school work-I've been very busy! Not to mention Monday I slipped on some ice and banged up my left wrist, shoulder, and ankle pretty badly... my luck. I really need Spring Break to come sooner rather than later!

BUT, life must go on, and so does my Zoya series that I've been doing! I have two more polishes left and they're highly anticipated in my opinion! The last two I have are Dream and Aurora! So, here we go... This post I am going to be talking about DREAM! :D

If y'all haven't noticed, I have a soft spot for purples and blues! Dream is a considered to be a part of Zoya's Holographic Collection. It's super pretty, high-pigmented, and holo-rific :) When I finally had my order delivered I just could NOT wait to put Dream on! I actually had a black gel polish mani on and I didn't feel like waiting 10+ minutes to take that off so I just applied a real thin coat of Dream over it. OH MM GEE was it in credible to look at! I definitely should have taken a picture of it but I was just too excited!

Please forgive that pesky hangnail and my dry cuticles! This was the third mani I did that day! This is two coats of Dream and I can honestly say that I can completely get lost its color! There is so many different things I could pick out of why I love this color.... It could take forever! LOL

From a distance, you can tell how dynamic Dream really it. It seems like a dark, ocean blue and yet the faint sparkle of the underwater world... keeping with my "It Looks Like The Ocean" theme I have in my head! :p

What I really like about this photo of Dream is that you can really start to see the holographic in polish! You can still see the dynamic color of the blue too!

As Always, Much Love,

Gingerella

Zoya Haul Part IV

Hello Lovlies!

Sorry I have been a little MIA for a few day! I had a huge lab report doing and it was literally EATING any free time I had! Good news- IT'S DONE AND TURNED IN! *crowd cheers!* In some other random good news, I have found a company to fund my (and my senior design partner) senior project! Fingers crossed, good vibes, and hopefully it leads to a job offer! :)

But, back to what we reeeallly came for... the polish! <3 I am very glad I took these picture before I sat down to actually write this because as of last night (Saturday 2/1) I now am sportin some shorties! I had a pretty bad break a few weeks ago and then recently I have been plagued by some corner breaks. SO, I am starting over!

I only have 3 more polishes to conclude my pretties from Zoya's 3/$12 promo! To get on with it, I am going to start with the beautiful Payton! (How fitting since today Payton Manning is playing in the Super Bowl today)

I was told by a lot of my fellow Polish Addicts that Payton is their favorite! It's purple so of course I would love it and it is a Zoya's holographic line! Being that I am very new to holographic nail polish but have seen many absolutely stunning shades, I had high hopes!

I love that Payton is purple, but honest opinion, the holographic wasn't like "OMG I NEED." For instance in this picture, you can't really tell that it is a holographic polish. The only way you can see it, is if you actually have my hand in you hand and looking at my nails.

This picture you can kiiinda see the holo, but again it really isn't an in-your-face type of holo, so I was a little disappointed in that sense. However, I was really impressed with how smoothly I was able to apply this. It went on super easy, and I probably could have gotten away with one coat, but I did have a few minor spotting towards the cuticle.

Now this is probably thee best picture of Payton! You can see her absolutely breathtaking purple shade! It's almost a dark wine color- that I am in love with, and you can start to catch the holographic glitters in the polish!

In a close up of Payton you can finally see her absolutely gorgeous holo! Being said again, I think because Payton is such a dark purple that is why her holo is a bit masked! 

Much Love,

Gingerella