Smith & Cult

The Smith & Cult Holiday Trio in Red and Glitter

November 23rd, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

smith cult holiday trio 2 — The Smith & Cult Holiday Trio in Red and Glitter ($54, available now at Neiman Marcus stores and online)

I can haz Smith & Cult paw polishes…? Because I’d like a wall of shelves filled with them.

It’s the bottles, man! I could spend hours starting at the bottles…

It’s as if whoever designed the bottle plumbed the depths of my makeup-loving soul for things that make my heart flutter, like the cursive typography, the hefty glass, the oval curves and the Dali-like cap (it looks like it’s melting!).

I love it when beauty products are actually, like, beautiful…and I friggin’ LOVE these bottles.

smith cult shattered sould — Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Shattered Souls

These three fun shades are part of the new $54 Smith & Cult Red and Glitter Holiday Trio available now at Neiman Marcus stores and online. The trio comes with three full-size bottles of Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer from the brand’s permanent line in poppy red Kundalini Hustle, creamy eggplant Dark Like Me and golden glittery Shattered Souls.

Kundalini Hustle and Dark Like Me are both fully opaque, while Shattered Souls is glitter in a clear base.

As far as bargains go…this isn’t one of those sets. Smith & Cult nail polishes usually sell for $18 each, so $54 for three doesn’t constitute a price break, but I still think you get a nice combination of complementary colors (there’s also another trio available with pastels).

Smith Cult Kundalini Hustle — Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Kundalini Hustle

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The Accent Nail Files: Find Common Ground to Create Unexpected Pairings Like Purple and Burgundy

January 20th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

Smith & Cult Check the Rhyme paired with Lo-Fi — Smith & Cult Check the Rhyme nail polish teamed up with Lo-Fi lacquer

ME: “Oh, Magic 8 ball, will my attempt at nail art today turn out to be epically flawless and fabulous and absolutely everything I’ve ever dreamed nail art could be?”

MAGIC 8 BALL: “All signs point to hell naaaaw!”

That particular accent nail combo up top was the result of an epic nail art fail last Sunday.

I’d started out trying to do something involving negative space and jerry-rigged Band-Aid cutouts and… Anyway, it didn’t work out, but it led me to the purple and burgundy combo here, ’cause you know I’m all about that accent nail life. 🙂

After the Band-Aid cutout disaster (long, sad story), I started thinking about creamy purple nails and got this picture in my head of a hand with bright violet nails wrapped around a glass of red wine.

So I dug through my stash and pulled out this vibrant violet shade by Smith & Cult called Check the Rhyme, which I paired with a burgundy called Lo-Fi, also from Smith & Cult.

By the founders of Hard Candy, Smith & Cult is a new line with some really cool colors, packaging and names. They only came out a few months ago. Wear time is OK, like 4-5 days with a base and top coat, so not as sturdy as OPI, but good enough if you like to swap out your polish every few days. The bottles are kind of expensive though at $18 each, but I like a lot of their colors.

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What Are You Wearing on Your Nails?

November 20th, 2014 by Karen 29 Comments

Smith & Cult Tenderoni — Smith & Cult Nail Lacquer in Tenderoni ($18)

I’m almost ashamed to admit this (but apparently not ashamed enough to keep it to myself): when I was 15, I was obsessed with Bobby Brown.

Not the makeup maven (Bobbi), but the R&B one (Bobby), as in the former member of New Edition/ex-husband of Whitney (RIP, Whit).

I knew all the choreography in the Every Little Step video, had a picture of him on the front of my geometry folder (he was wearing a shiny gold and purple suit, wha?!) and, on more than one occasion, slow danced to Roni, Bobby’s ode to cute girls looking for love in all the wrong places.

I also may or may not have thought of myself as a Tenderoni.

Um, barf!

I do have a point with all this, and here it is: when I saw that this creamy taupe nail lacquer by Smith & Cult was called Tenderoni, something in me clicked. I had to get it on my paws!

Smith & Cult is a new nail line by Dineh Mohajer, the founder of Hard Candy, and they get my vote for “Most Clever Nail Polish Names, Ever” (like Dirty Baby, Cut the Mullet, Bitter Buddhist, and Feed the Rich). Each of the 30 shades in the line is inspired by different key life moments…and apparently this one relates to when I was 15 and had designs on marrying Bobby Brown, LOL! Ew…

Well, at least I can look back at that clueless but lovable Karen and laugh my @ss off now. Yup, nothing but mad love for that girl. 🙂

Smith & Cult Check the Rhyme — Check the Rhyme ($18)

So, of course, with this mani I had to do an accent nail. The creamy purple is Check the Rhyme, also by Smith & Cult.

With both shades, I’m wearing two layers and a base coat.

Smith & Cult Nail Lacquers are $18 each, and if you’re curious (and how could you not be? That packaging is killer!), you can check out the full collection online now.

Let those fingers do the typing, and let me know what you’re currently wearing on your nails. Bonus points if you also happen to have an embarrassing story from your teenage years. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen