A few weeks ago I participated in a contest on Cult Nails Facebook page and was randomly selected as a winner of their Midnight Masquerade Limited Edition Fall mini-collection. There were only 500 sets made, and I am now a proud owner of one of them!
I kinda feel bad about posting these swatches, since none of these colors are available for sale anymore, but I thought I would at least share them to introduce you to the company. I know as a reader I like seeing swatches even if the products are no longer sold, that helps me decide if I want to buy something from them next time or not; and I’m just hoping you feel the same way 🙂
The first color is Masquerade, which can be described as a cool medium green jelly base packed with purple to copper fine duochrome glitter flecks. It’s quite a color-changer, and can look gold, purple, or green depending on the angle and the light. I tried to capture the colors, but obviously it’s very challenging to do, and my camera doesn’t do it any justice.
I only have one small complaint – as you can probably see, the shimmer flecks smudge towards the middle of the nail a little, leaving the tips looking green. I googled a few reviews, and most swatches look like they have green nail tips, just like mine. The polish sets with a slightly rough “texturey” finish, but can be evened out with two coats of glossy top coat. I must also add, that you can layer Masquerade over other polishes to create your own unique colors.
The second color is called Ms. Conduct, a taupe-greige opaque creme with neutral undertones. It’s very pigmented, so someone with steady hands could pull-off a one-coater. I’m not really good at being precise, so I always go with two or more coats, which also adds some thickness to my thin bendy nails. Ms. Conduct is not a very unique shade, but it’s a great basic neutral to have in your collection.
I wore this color for a few days and topped it with a random Nubar glitter after I noticed some minor tip wear. I think it will look great with just about any glitter on rop.
And last but not least, my favorite polish in this collection is Midnight Mist – an unlikely combo of ultra fine gold and ember shimmer in green-taupe creme base. It has a thinner consistency than the other two, so I needed three coats, but I just can’t take my eyes off of it. It’s unlike anything I own and I definitely never saw anybody else wear a similar color.
The polish goes on like butter and layers well, setting with gorgeous glossy finish and deep shimmery effect. As you can see, I took way too many pictures of my favorite shade, and it was too hard to pick which ones to post 🙂
Since none of these polishes are available anymore, I found a few dupes for you, in case you decide that you need these colors in your life:
Masquerade:
- Temptress by Piper Polish (Etsy seller)
Ms. Conduct:
- Not Tonight by Leighton Denny
- Mysterious by Chanel
Midnight Mist:
All Cult Nails polishes are free from formaldehyde, camphor, toluene and DBP.
PRICE & AVAILABILITY
$24 USD for all three. Not sold anymore, but you can try your luck on eBay.
INGREDIENTS
Ethyl acetate, Butyl acetate, Isopropyl alcohol, Nitrocellulose, SD Alcohol 40B (Alcohol denat.), Adipic acid/Neopentyl glycol/Trimetallic anydride copolymer, Trimethyl pentanyl disobutyrate, Triphenyl phosphate, Acrylatos copolymer, Stearalkonium hectorite, Silica, Diacetone alcohol, Citric acid, Benzophenone-1
May contain: (+/-) Aluminum powder (CI 77000), Bismuth oxychloride (CI 77163), Oxides (CI 77499, CI 77491), Blue 1 (CI 42090), Red 34 (CI 15880), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 (CI 15850), Yellow 5 lake (CI 19140), Ferric ammonium ferrocyanide (CI 60725), Polyethylene terephtalate, Isobutylphenoxy epoxy resin, Ethylene/VA copolymer.
