SpaRituals Gold Collection Part 2

It has been a while since my first post about the SpaRituals Gold Collection and I figured what better day to complete my review than on their official launch date!  The complete Gold Collection is available today, May 1, 2012!  They will be available in most salons and spas nationwide with a price tag of about $12 a bottle.  You can find them online at skinstore.com, beauty.com, zappos.com and skincarerx.com amongst other beauty supply sites.

My previous review of the first three polishes in this collection was not the best.  I couldn't really tell if I was going to be a fan of this line or not.  However, I can say with confidence, after swatching the remaining three colors, that I am a fan of sorts.  I defiantly have my favorites and a few application issues but overall I have grown to really like the Gold Collection.

Last time I swatched Electrum, Rusted Lux and Aurum.  This time I got a chance to play with Conduit, Gilded Age and Alchemy.  All the pictures were taken indoors (I live in Ohio and the weather was not cooperating with me).  I put on three coats of each color and this time I didn't use a base coat.  I think this could have been the trick for me.  When I tried to paint over a base coat, I found it really hard and the grain of the polish just pulled the previous layer up.  I didn't have that problem this go round!  So, no undies for SpaRitual Gold Collection, naked is the way to go!


Gilded Age is a really pretty rose gold color and in the bottle it really glows.  It also painted really well and is a super quick drying polish.  I got three coats done and dry in no time.

w/ Flash, 3 coats

w/out Flash

I love the color difference between the flash photos and the ones without flash, it really shows how magnificent this color can be in different lighting.

Conduit is the most copper of the whole collection.  I think the gold in combination with the copper color makes for a really interesting and bold final look.  

w/ Flash, 3 coats 

w/out Flash

Finally, my favorite of the entire collection!  Alchemy is the "white" of the bunch.  It is a really pretty pearl white with the obvious gold undertone.  After three coats, I would wear this by itself.  I think it has some awesome possibilities for other things, especially with layering.

w/ Flash, 3 coats

w/out Flash

Overall, I am going to give the SpaRituals Gold Collection a B.  I love the concept and the colors, but the formula is not my favorite.  However, you know there's something fun and spectacular when you can say, "I have 24K nails today!" and really mean it!!

SpaRituals Gold Collection Gets a Silver From Me!

About a week ago when I received my nail mail from Kim, I was the most excited by the SpaRituals Gold Collection that was included.  Not due out until May, these polishes were by far the coolest thing that I received.  Immediately I looked them up on the web to find out more information. I was only able to find them on one site and even their information was limited. However, the description of the polish was really cool...

According to TheIndustrySource.com's article on this new collection, you can "Radiate your inner light with our special edition lacquer...  infused with real gold particles. Gold is a symbol of a better moment in time, a period of mental growth and general well-being."  (2012)

Can we agree that a description like that causes a bit of a frenzy for the avid polish lover?  I think so!  I couldn't wait to try them out!  Of the six in the collection, (Aurum, Rusted Lux, Electrum, Gilded Age, Alchemy and Conduit) the three I chose to swatch first were the olive base color, the red base color and the straight gold.  

Electrum is a golden olive based shimmer with flecks of gold that you can actually see in the bottle.  I used my usual base coat and began painting and right away noticed that this polish might be a one and done.  The application was a bit tricky since it dries so fast and is rather grainy due to the gold flecks.  Of the ones I've tried so far, this is my favorite.  

Electrum with Flash

Electrum no Flash

I only painted one coat with this polish and used no top coat in these images.  I really wanted you to see the true color with nothing added.  I love this color and would wear it alone.  Electrum is super sophisticated and refined all the while being a bit edgy with the olive tones.  This was the easiest to polish and set really quickly.  

Rusted Lux is a golden red shimmer with even more gold particles than Electrum. Not my favorite! The color, although beautiful in the bottle, did not translate well to my nail.  The excess of gold particles really made this one hard to paint.  

Rusted Lux with Flash

Rusted Lux no Flash

These photos were taken after three coats were applied and if you look closely enough there are still some spots that were not getting full coverage.  I like the color enough but while it looks reddish in the bottle it painted a bit more orange.  I suppose that could be due to the mixture of the gold and red.  The first coat went on ok but because it didn't give me the coverage I wanted I needed a second and third coat. The polish seemed to pull on itself, the second coat picked up the particles on the first coat and so on.  

Aurum is the cornerstone of this collection.  The gold based shimmer seems to be in the mixture of all the sister colors.  I like this one a lot. I can really see it's potential to be used in other mani's down the road.  You get the quick dry, super grainy application but it was bit easier than the Rusted Lux.  

Aurum with Flash

Aurum no Flash

Again, I used three coats for this mani and you can still see a bit of my free edge. My distal edge is generally pretty white so I have this issue more often than not!  Aurum is pretty true to color and even takes on a bit of a metallic look with all three coats.

Needless to say, my expectations were so high for this polish that I was left feeling a bit let down.  The formula being hard to work with coupled with my ever shortening patience level made for a tricky situation.  I still have three more lacquers in the collection to swatch so I will reserve my grade for this collection until then.  

Lastly, I will leave you with a couple of treatment swatches using the SpaRituals Gold Collection.  The trick might just be using these polishes for nail art, stamping, dotting and sponging.  Let me know what you think!

Electrum Gradient using Conduit with Flash

Aurum w/ Wet 'n' Wild Black Dotting & BM-206

Schwagin' Nail Mail

Let me start by giving a bit of background information.  Like most little girls, I have loved nail polish since I can remember.  My obsession with nails really kicked into high gear when I was about 15 years old and acrylic nails became super popular.  I had a really tight knit group of friends and we would go and get our nails done weekly at the local nail shop.  We would try to top each other with style and length, at times getting a bit out of control.  When you're 15 years old trying to keep up with whats hot, it can become expensive.  Even $10 a week on a balance and polish became a bit much!  

One of my girls; who was obviously paying more attention at the nail shop than the rest of us, had the bright idea to go to Sally's and buy all of the products that the nail techs used on us. She quickly figured out how to do our nails at home instead! From that point on we became guinea pigs in Kim's quest to save us money and be creative.

After some mishaps, Kim quickly became a pretty good basement nail tech and we always had the best nails around.  To sum it up, as soon as we graduated high school Kim went and got her nail tech license.  And, as they say, the rest is history.  

So now the story of my day begins.  I got up like any other day and decided that I needed to run to my favorite stores and check out what was new or on sale in the world of polish.  I hit up a few of my local Sally's and an Ulta store to pick up some great new colors. The entire time I was shopping I had E on the phone, as usual, looking up polish swatches and helping me shop from 5 states away.

A good start to my day, but not even close to what was coming up next! I finally finished shopping and headed home. The whole time I was thinking about my haul from this mornings trip.  So, I pull up to the house and wait! What do I see?! A BIG BOX ON MY FRONT STEP ADDRESSED TO ME!! The address section of the box was in handwriting that I knew, and it said KIMMIE!

Why is this so exciting you ask?  Well, I knew right away that my girl, Kimmie Kyees, had sent me a care package.  Immediately I called E back; she was possibly more excited that I was at the posibility of what was inside the box! LOL

Anyways, I'll just get straight to it.  Inside the box was NAIL POLISH and NAIL TREATMENTS and and an entire set of GEL POLISHES INCLUDING THE UV LIGHT!!!  (insert hallelujah chorus with angels singing back up)

So, below you will find pictures of all my goodies that Kimmie sent me including the upcoming line of SPARITUAL Gold Collection due out in May.

Please share in my joy while you look at these pics!

Everything that was in the box!

Red Carpet Nails Gel Polish Pro Kit + Gel Polish

What seems to be the entire line of Wet'n'Wild Wild Shine Polish

Wet'n'Wild Megalast Polish

Orly Mini's and Kimmie Kyees & Elegant Touch Nail Creations

drumroll please...

SPARITUALS new Gold Collection, due in May 2012

Keep and eye out because I will be swatching and reviewing these soon!  

Needless to say my day was already great but now it's awesome! I have even more nail trickery to get myself into!  Good thing Kimmie sent me some awesome nail care products too! The amount of remover these nails are going to be subjected to in the next week or so is going to be insane!