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Smith & Cult

Nails of the Week, Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist | Your Thoughts on Lash Serum?

March 1st, 2022 by Karen 13 Comments

smith cult bitter buddhist 2022
Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist

Hi, guys! This is an OG fave shade that I’ve had and loved for years, Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist. It’s a pale spring green with gray undertones and a fun alternative to the typical pastel mint greens that so often pop up in the spring.

I love it because it’s one of those colors that can look completely different depending on the light. Sometimes it’s more green, other times it’s more blue!

I was poking around the Smith & Cult website recently, and noticed there’s a similar shade with a different name — Bitter Cashmere Daydream. If you love complex pale greens, this is definitely one to consider.

Your thoughts on lash serum?

spirit rainbow mane
Why yes, I added big lashes to this pony.

I’ve been trying to figure out why every mascara I’ve worn in the last few months has been sorely disappointing, and I think I might’ve found the reason. After years of using lash serum to bump up my fringe, I quit last fall. There was really no rhyme or reason to the decision; I was mostly too tired to remember to put it on before bed! Days turned into weeks, then weeks turned into months, then next thing ya know, every mascara bums me out.

I think my lashes have slowly returned to their natural state, which is in the grand scheme of things is no big deal. But still.

On one hand, it’s one less thing for me to do in my routine (YES), but on the other hand, my hella basic lashes are back. LOL.

What are your thoughts on lash serums? Do you use them? Don’t use them? If you’ve used them in the past and quit, what happened to your lashes? I’d love to hear your story.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 13 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Nails, Smith & Cult

Nail Polish of the Week: Smith & Cult Extra Ordinary

February 16th, 2022 by Karen 11 Comments

smith cult extra ordinary

I like to think of this opaque fuchsia pink as a punk rock pink. It’s not too sweet, nor too schmexy; it’s a personable pink with an edge. It’s bright for sure, but it’s not nearly as blindingly bright as neon highlighter pink.

Anywho, I got a couple questions in the comments yesterday, so here she is in all her gorgeous glory!

If you’re new to Smith & Cult, they’re a cool indie nail polish and makeup line that you can find at SpaceNK and online.

I haven’t tried the makeup, but the polishes? LOVE. I’ve been wearing them for years because of the high pigment and long wear time.

smith cult extra ordinary

The polishes are vegan and what Smith & Cult calls “8-free” — so no dibutyl phthalate, toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, xylene, ethyl tosylamide and triphenyl phosphate.

Should you decide to pick up a bottle, you might also want to grab their top coat, too. It’s sturdy, shiny and seems to do the best job of extending the wear time with the Smith & Cult line.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy hump day. The end of the week is in sight! I wanted to let you know that I’m so proud of you. You’re doing great!

There are 11 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Nails, Smith & Cult

Rainbow Nails and Bright Lips, Funfetti Cake, and the MAC Makeup in “Promising Young Woman”

March 23rd, 2021 by Karen 16 Comments

skittles mani mac all fired up
It’s a rainbow of color

For the record, it’s very, very awkward to take a picture of yourself that has your hands in it and have it look natural! Why do I feel like my paws look bigger than my head here? ?

I haven’t worn rainbow nails in a minute, but I absolutely HAD TO after we rented Promising Young Woman last weekend. It’s a thriller starring Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a young 30-something woman who experiences something traumatic that leads her to drop out of medical school, move back in with her parent and…pursue other ends. I don’t want to give away too much, but it involves some revenge.

Cassie wears a pastel rainbow manicure throughout the movie, and it’s front and center at a few key moments.

I’ve been reading about the styling for the film, and it turns out that the manicure was writer/director Emerald Fennell’s idea, and fun fact for ya — she’s the lady who plays Camilla Parker-Bowles in The Crown!

Symbolically, Cassie’s nails and makeup represent both her armor and a weapon. Her sweet girlishness at times conceals her anger.

I just wanted to wear rainbows on my hands to have a little fun, but I definitely appreciate using makeup as armor.

  • Pink: Smith & Cult Plastic Beach
  • Orange: Chanel Orange Fizz (no longer available, try Chanel Cruise)
  • Yellow: Sally Hansen Lemon Heaven
  • Mint Green: Sally Hansen Prince Char-Mint
  • Baby Blue: Essie First View

skittles mani mac all fired up

Near the end of the film, there’s a scene with Cassie in a candy-colored wig putting on a bright lipstick, and dagnabbit, even without my glasses on, and consequently being half-blind, I knew it was MAC. The movie’s makeup artist, Angie Wells, used MAC All Fired Up Retro Matte Lipstick.

I’m wearing it here with MAC Beet Lip Pencil.

skittles mani mac all fired up
MAC attack!

Speaking of bright and colorful things…I got a gluten-free sprinkle boxed cake mix and a matching sprinkle cake frosting (both by Pillsbury) at Target a few weeks ago to make a cake, and you know what? It was pretty darned delicious. Both the boxed Funfetti cake and the frosting were surprisingly tasty and flavorful (I could really taste the vanilla). The cake was also light and fluffy, and the frosting spread easily.

Everything was so good that I went back to the store and got more for the next time I have to bake something last-minute!

You know that I’m totally 100% down to bake a cake and make frosting from scratch, but sometimes it’s sooooo nice to have something easy around for when you get a hankerin’ for cake.

While we’re on the topic of baking, look what I found at Michaels…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 16 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Essie, Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup, Nails, Smith & Cult, Urban Decay

3 Tips to Keep Your Manicure Chip-Free and Fabulous

September 30th, 2019 by Karen 8 Comments

essie blue nail polish
Just say no to chips.

Back in 2008, The New York Times tried to make chipped nails a thing.

Yeah…I’m not about that life. I’m all for purposefully messy hair (fun buns 4 life!), but a messy mani gets a HARD PASS. I’ll take my manicures neat and tidy, thank you very much, with a side of “no chips on tips, please.”

There are a couple things that make it easier to live a chip-free nail life, like 1) finding a base and top coat that can withstand everyday life (for me, those are currently the Smith & Cult Base Coat and Essie Gel Couture Topcoat) and 2) taking a few preventative measures to lessen the likelihood of chips at the tips of my nails, which is where I always get them first.

Here are three things that help keep my nails looking freshly painted all week long:

1. Don’t forget to tip

First, before you paint a layer of polish, paint underneath the tips of your nails, and then run the brush along the tip (holding your nail horizontally, brush the polish on the vertical part of the tip).

Wait about 30 seconds before applying your first legit coat.

Why do this, you might ask? Well, because doing it this way covers your tips in an extra protective layer, so as your nails bang about throughout the week, your tips have an extra layer of armor on them.

Taking this tiny extra step makes all the difference in the world for me. I see fewer chips when I paint my nails.

2. Do a three-day refresh

“Siri, remind me to do another layer of topcoat in three days.”

I usually keep the same polish on my nails for a week, and three days is usually the perfect time to freshen up my manis with another topcoat layer.

I mean, you could do one daily, or every other day (I have friends who do that), but if I do too many topcoat layers, it becomes counterproductive because my polish starts to get thick, and then I’m tempted to peel it off when I get out of the shower.

Note: using a good quick-drying topcoat makes you more likely to actually sit down and do this! Sally Hansen has one called the Insta-Dri Top Coat that’s only five bucks and sets in a minute, but right now I’m really into Essie Gel Couture Top Coat overall. It’s super shiny, and it takes about 10 minutes to dry.
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There are 8 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Essie, Makeup Tips/How To, Nails, Sally Hansen, Smith & Cult

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

[Continue reading…]

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

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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There are 8 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Nails, Product Reviews, Smith & Cult

5 Nail Polishes That Are Perfect for Summer Adventures

June 21st, 2016 by Carolina Braina 17 Comments

Summer Nail polish
Hugging some of my favorite summer nail polishes. Yes, we’re very much in love! 😉

As you know if you visit me on my blog at Carol in a Page, nail polish and I have had a rollercoaster romance, but right now we’re going strong!

After some recent purchases and some clearing out, I’ve decided on the five nail lacquers that will see me through summer 2016 and whatever adventures it brings.

Summer Nail Polish
My current favorite summer nail polishes. L-R: Zoya Professional Lacquer in Aggie, OPI Infinite Shine 2 Lacquer in Running with the In-finite Crowd, Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Kings & Thieves, Chanel Le Vernis in Espadrilles, and Zoya Professional Lacquer in Charli

Wanna know what inspired these picks?

1. The Nautical Style: Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Kings & Thieves ($18)

Smith & Cult Kings & Thieves Swatches
I really like pairing deep blue Kings & Thieves with nude sandals

When it comes to the color blue in summer, I can’t help but think of one thing: nautical style.

But since I don’t have a yacht (or a striped dress, for that matter), the way I’ve been getting that nautical vibe is by painting my toes with Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Kings & Thieves, an indescribably beautiful inky blue.

2. An African Safari: Zoya Professional Lacquer in Charli ($10)

Zoya Professional Lacquer Charli Swatches
Zoya Professional Lacquer in Charli reminds me of safari clothing

Some may argue that olive is more of an autumnal shade, but in my mind it evokes safari clothes and glimpses of an endless African savanna.

[Continue reading…]

There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Guest Post, Nails, OPI, Smith & Cult, Zoya

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