Manicure Monday: Cult Nails Spontaneous

Welcome to another week guys. I don't know about you, but my weekend wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped. I had to rally and work a bit over the weekend to help get a project done in time. And although it was only a few hours here and there, it kinda throws a wrench into plans to disconnect and refresh. Such is adulthood. Sometimes, weekends aren't really weekends.

Stay young as long as you can guys (as long as you can do it without being a burden or a total schlub). Growing up has its fair share of compromises. That's my Monday nugget for you, even if you don't want to listen. At least you can't say I didn't warn you.

Now that I'm done sharing my woes and wisdom, let's get into something a little more fun. In between the grind, I carved out a bit of time for pampering in the form of an at-home mani. And Cult Nails' Spontaneous was my polish of choice -- a pretty greyple (get it grey-purple?) with subtle, but abundant purple shimmer.  Think of a grape purple, then add a little grey and sprinkle some glitter on top.

In natural light (as seen in the first two pictures below), it's  hard to see the  shimmer. But caught in the right light, you'll see your nails give off a bit of sparkle (as seen in the the last photo taken under daylight bulbs).

Cult Nails Spontaneous (2 coats), OPI Nail Envy base coat, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat

Spontaneous applies smoothly and easily. The first coat goes on pretty sheer, but the second coat makes the polish opaque.

Although it's described as a creme polish, when I first applied Spontaneous, I thought it was a jelly. Or maybe a jelly-creme hybrid. The first thing that made me think that was that super sheer first coat. The second, is that like other jelly polishes (and quite unlike most of my cremes) this doesn't have a high glossy finish when it dries down (the shine you're seeing is from my top coat).

Cult Nails Spontaneous (2 coats), OPI Nail Envy base coat, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat

Another thing to note is that it dries down with a bit of a texture. This surprised me because none of that texture was apparent during application (like I said, it went on really smoothly). It seems the shimmer in the polish is what's causing that semi-textured look. My best guess is that the polish is a bit thinner (hence the sheerness also?) and that's why the shimmer gives it some texture.

Not to worry though, with a quick swipe of top coat, everything is golden. I applied a generous amount of my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri and just like that my nails were smooth and glossy. And boy is the polish beautiful when it has a high shine.

Cult Nails Spontaneous (2 coats) under daylight bulbs

Removal took a little extra work because of all the shimmer, but don't worry, you don't need a jack hammer or loads of patience. It comes of way easier than glitter polish and only requires a few extra swipes than a shimmer-free creme.

All in all, I really love Spontaneous' color and subtle sparkle. It feels like a grown up way to handle glitter. Plus, I've got a bit of a weak spot in my heart for purple polish. But please don't ever ask me to rank my favorite polish colors. I don't like my "kids" to know I play favorites.

Spontaneous is a limited edition Cult Nails polish that was released with the Coco Untamed 2012 collection. But don't fret, you can still get your hands on it on the Cult Nails site.

How do you feel about Spontaneous? Do you feel like you could use a bit of purple shimmer in your life?