Cult Nails Evil Queen
So I've been enjoying some decent length on my nails for a while now and feeling pretty lucky about it too. But you know something as tenable as nail length is bound for tragedy at some point. Today the nail on my left pinky finger suffered a break down to the quick. Luckily I'd taken off some of the length on all my nails already, but I just am not ready to take them all all the way down. Thus you will be witnessing something of a polish impropriety: uneven lengths. My apologies to those whose sensibilities are offended by this. Perhaps I can figure out how to get my cinderella right hand to do the posing that my left hand does, but until then gird your loins for the funkiness of a pinky nail that looks like it belongs on a child's hand (my nail beds are that short).
Also in the way of announcements, if you're a polish enthusiast and have not heard about the new weekly nail polish podcast, Nail Newscast, I encourage you to check it out. It's full of wonderful polish related banter and discussion between the hosts, Tia of Iced Lacquer and Courtney of Swatcher, Polish-Ranger, that includes past, current and upcoming collections from mainstream and indie brands, information about available sales and special offers, a q and a segment where they respond to listener questions and live interviews with indie polish makers, bloggers and other special guests. The sessions are of substantial length and full of detail, very enjoyable listening! This podcast, released weekly on Wednesdays, is the first of its kind in the online polish world, so hie on over and show it some love, submit a question or just have a listen!
Ok. Today's Cult Nails offering is Evil Queen, from the Fairy Tale collection of early summer 2012. This is a gorgeous medium well-saturated red, beautifully balanced slightly to the cool side of the temperature spectrum with a smidgen of pink in its blend. It's supremely bright and vibrant, but it's blue based nature provides it with an air of self-composure that keeps it from being too loud. Rather, Evil Queen is a demonstrably smooth and graceful red that will win you over with it's killer colorimetry.
Application was a little messy. I'm still getting used to the fluidity of the Cult Nails formula, which is slightly thinner than I'm used to. The consistency of this very fluid yet still creamy consistency across the line is impressive. If you're a lover of the thin coat, Cult Nails surely must be among your favorites in application. Unfortunately I don't have a delicate enough touch with the brush and did manage some major swipage. And Evil Queen is very pigmented, so you can imagine. There's a bit of translucence to it as well -- it's like a creme with the soul of a crelly. I used two coats for even, opaque coverage and could still detect a hint of visible nail line on some nails in the photos that's not noticeable in person. Cleanup with a polish this pigmented takes a bit of care, and I've found it's best to wait and let this polish dry a bit before beginning to clean up, since the pigment is so readily redistributed by acetone when it's wet. Evil Queen dries naturally in good time to a beautiful glossy finish, another quality that seems to be a Cult Nails hallmark.
Photos show two coats of Evil Queen over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. I've heard that le Vite doesn't play nicely over time with the Cult Nails formula, but I didn't notice anything untoward in the short term. The next time I order, I'll to have to remember to include a bottle of Wicked Fast, the Cult Nails fast dry topcoat, which has an excellent reputation among fast dry topcoat aficionados.
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| Cult Nails Evil Queen |
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| Cult Nails Evil Queen |
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| Cult Nails Evil Queen |
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| Cult Nails Evil Queen |
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| Cult Nails Evil Queen |
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| Cult Nails Evil Queen |
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| Cult Nails Evil Queen |
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| Cult Nails Evil Queen |
Evil Queen gives Zoya Sooki a run for her money as my favorite bright medium blue-based red. They've both got great formulas that are on the thin side and a touch of translucence that captures light and creates that juicy, limpid look that is just so appealing. If memory serves, Sooki seems to have a heft to it that Evil Queen does not possess but I dunno. Neck and neck, these two. Love them both!
xoxo,
Liz
I love the name of this one! It makes me think of the evil queen from one of my favorite shows, Once Upon A Time, although her color would probably be something like a dark purple or black. This shade is really pretty too.
ReplyDeleteI love that show too, although I haven't kept up with it. After the first season I watched all of the episodes on Roku while visiting my sister and her family. I got them hooked on it too. I love that trio of actresses, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison and Lana Parrilla, and Robert Carlyle and the whole fairy tale vs reality concept of the show. So cool! Have you ever seen Grimm? That's another show that came out around the same time with a partially similar dynamic that I loved. I just adore Silas Weir Mitchell, he is scrumptious.
DeleteEvil Queen is an awesome red! You're right though, the evil (or not, depending upon the episode, eh?) queen from Once Upon a Time would totally be rocking a dark purple.