Cult Cosmetics Swatch and Review

Hey everyone! Today I have some products from Cult Cosmetics to review. I was going to post these forever ago but the pictures I had taken of the swatches died along with my old phone, so I had to do them ALL over again! What a drag. Anyway, I'm anxious to get this project finished, so let's get started!

First up is Abbott Kinney, a silver metallic polish with a warm coppery undertone. The formula was smooth and easy to apply. I used two coats plus top coat for the photo below.

Abbott Kinney

Next is El Porto, a white creme. I was really impressed with the formula of this white. Although the first coat was slightly streaky, it dried fast and evened out on the second coat. I used two coats plus top coat in the photo below.

El Porto

Next is Catalina, a dusty cornflower blue creme. The formula was slightly thick, but in a good way, as it was smooth, creamy and easy to work with. It was almost a one coater, but I used two plus top coat to touch up a couple of spots.

Catalina

Next is Coachella, my absolute FAVORITE out of the bunch. It's a gorgeous, soft grey linear holo. The holographic effect was strong but subtle and not too in-your-face. The formula was very easy to work with. You could use two to three coats, depending on how much VNL (visible nail line) you care to see. I used three coats plus top coat for the pictures below, and as you can see, there's minimal VNL. I took photos of this polish in both direct and indirect light to show off the holo effect.

Coachella - Indirect Lighting

Coachella - Direct Lighting

Coachella - Direct Lighting

Next is Laguna, a perfect watermelon creme - not too red, not too pink. I love this color for spring and summer! The formula was very similar to Catalina, thick, smooth and creamy - very easy to work with. I used two coats plus top coat for the photo below.

Laguna

Next is Weho, a glitter topper with pearly white hexes, black hexes and black bars. The glitter payoff was good. Unfortunately, the black bars in this polish are thick and have a curve to them that make them stick up off the nail no matter how they're lying. If there were no bar glitters in this polish, I would have absolutely loved it. I used one coat over Laguna plus top coat for the photo below.

Weho over Laguna

Next is Melrose Place, your typical silver foil. The formula on this was thicker than most foils, which I found made it very easy to work with. Like most foils, the brushstrokes were prominent. I'm not a huge fan of foils in general, but that being said, I would rate this one higher than most. I used two coats plus top coat in the photo below. If you have perfectly ridge free/not-peeling nails, you could definitely get away with one coat. Sadly, I do not, so I used a second coat to help cover up the blemishes of my nails (the thickness of the formula helped cover them up as well, which is also a plus).

Melrose Place

Next we have Hollywood Forever, a blue-green iridescent flakie glitter topper. The glitter payoff was so-so, I ended up using two coats for this swatch. Some of the larger flakies wanted to stick up off the nail, but all I needed to do was press down on them lightly with my finger before adding a generous amount of top coat to help them lay flat. I layered Hollywood Forever over OPI Onyx in the photo below.

Hollywood Forever over OPI Onyx

The last polish I have to show you is Hardtop Heaven, a top coat. I was pretty disappointed in this polish. First, when I applied it, it created a weird, streaky effect in the base color. This is the opposite in what you want in a top coat, which should smooth everything out. Secondly, this top coat dried pretty dull. Thirdly, it was not fast drying. Maybe my favorite fast drying top coats have spoiled me, but either way, I'll be sticking with them in the future. I used one coat over Laguna in the photo below.

Hardtop Heaven top coat over Laguna

Lastly, I have a lippie to show you! Muse is a red liquid lipstick that applies almost like a lip stain. It's long lasting and the color is phenomenal. My lips felt a little sticky after I first applied it, but the stickiness definitely decreased as it dried. Also, let's talk about the packaging. The lid of the lipstick has LED lights and the body has a MIRROR to help you put on your lipstick! How cool is that?? Make more of these, Cult! I adore them! I used around two coats for the photo below.

Muse

Overall, I am very impressed with the polishes that Cult Cosmetics has rolled out, especially their creme, holo and metallic polishes. They have awesome nail art kits that come with polishes, nail art brushes, striper polishes or dotting tools, depending on which kit you get. I think it's an awesome idea that promotes nail art! I received five dotting tools, three nail art brushes and two striper polishes from Cult Cosmetics. I used their polishes, dotting tools and a white striper polish to create the following nail art look:

For the vintage flower look, I first painted my index, middle and ring fingers with Catalina. Then I used the white striper polish to create the vertical lines. Next, I used a large dotting tool and Laguna to make big dots for the roses. Going back in with the white striper polish, I painted some white within the roses to make them more textured and realistic. Finally, I used a very small paint brush and a green polish to make flowers. The pinkie is just a gold glitter polish (I felt the design needed something sparkly!). Cult Cosmetics has a gold glitter called Stay Gold that I think would work really well with this manicure.

You can purchase these products and more on the Cult Cosmetics website here. Be sure to check out their Instagram page @cultcosmetics!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo Maggie

*These products were provided for me for the purpose of honest review*