Cult Nails Spontaneous Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches
Cult Nails Spontaneous Nail Lacquer
Cult Nails Spontaneous Nail Lacquer ($10.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “dark, deep, dusty purple creme with vibrant purple glitter.” It’s dusty eggplant purple with red undertones and scattered violet micro-glitter. MAC Festive Finery is more muted, less purple, smokier, and has no shimmer. Cult Nails Enigmatic is much darker and browner, less purple. China Glaze Urban Night is redder, more wine-colored.
It’s opaque after two coats, and though the glitter is sparse, it disperses evenly–you don’t have to wobble around the brush just so in order to spread out the glitter. The formula wasn’t too thick or too thin, though it was on the thinner side. It dried down fairly quickly and has a naturally shiny finish, but I’d use a top coat for a smooth, ultra-shiny finish. I didn’t have any trouble during application; the polish didn’t bubble, streak, or pool to the sides. I typically get a full week or more with Cult Nails’ formula, which is absolutely stellar as far as wear goes.
Spontaneous
DCDiscontinued. $12.00.
Cult Nails Spontaneous Nail Lacquer
Cult Nails Spontaneous Nail Lacquer
Cult Nails Spontaneous Nail Lacquer
Cult Nails Spontaneous Nail Lacquer
Cult Nails Spontaneous Nail Lacquer
Cult Nails Spontaneous Nail Lacquer
I’m partial to purple nail polishes, and this one is gorgeous with the shimmer! Want! Need!
Pretty! This might satisfy my urge to pick up one of those new purple Diors…or maybe it won’t. Hahaha.
Wow. That’s really lovely. I have such a weakness for purples/aubergine. But I doubt I’ll ever order anything from Cult. I never buy nail varnish en masse, so a company that sells nail varnish only online and with relatively high shipping fees before you get free shipping… not gonna happen. Even if the shipping is just $3 for one item, I have a mental block. That’s more than any state tax were I to buy it in a store. It’s my issue, not theirs; after all, I buy endless NARS nail varnishes and they’re much more expensive. But I don’t like Cult’s difficult, restrictive return policy and I find there is a definite attitude conveyed in their FAQ that really rubs me the wrong way. I find it so obnoxious that it actually makes me want to say, “Screw you.” That’s pretty rare for me. So, all Cult stuff…. total pass.
@Kafka Love it too, but I agree. I can’t stand the relatively high shipping fees before free shipping.
@Kafka While I understand what you are saying about shipping and returns, to be fair Cult Nails is a tiny one-woman business, so can’t have the flexibility of a huge and well established company like Nars to soak up losses on shipping and returns (and is also why they only sell online so far, I think they’d like to be in stores if they could.)
@polyxene I know they’re a small company and I would like to be fair but I don’t think their size is much of an excuse. Their free shipping starts at $75 when there are one-woman eBay sellers who offer free shipping on a cheap $8 product. So the costs are not as compared to big companies such as NARS. And Cult’s shipping costs can go up to $15! That is presumably *before* you qualify for free shipping at $75 worth of purchase. $15 shipping for nail varnish seems very high to me. But it’s not only the shipping issue which makes me unwilling to ever bother with them.
What rubbed me the wrong way most of all was the whole tone of the FAQ. If I were to order something at that shipping rate and it arrived totally smashed, would Cult *automatically* replace it? No. Not automatically. Their answer is “most likely” if you take photos, but no absolute yes. I don’t think much of that sort of customer service. Why no absolute yes? Something arrives smashed through no fault of mine and they’re hedging their bets as to whether they will help you?? Everything about the tone of their FAQ page struck me as unhelpful and with a bit of an attitude. What it reads like to me is this: You miss a sale by one day and hoped you’d get the sale price for what you bought? Too bad for you. “Follow us on Twitter.” “You want a replacement for your product that arrived destroyed? We’ll see.” You’re a blogger who would like to review our products so you’re wondering if you can get one for free? Give us your name and stats, and after checking you out for ages, seeing what your blog personality is like (!!) and more, then we’ll consider putting you on a list. Maybe.
Jesus! For such a small company, you’d think they would try to seem more accommodating or pleasant. And if that smug, cocky, chip on their shoulder, full of themselves attitude is not what they meant to convey, then they should get someone to rewrite that entire FAQ page to hide it better.
@polyxene
I know they’re a small company and I would like to be fair but I don’t think their size is much of an excuse. Their free shipping starts at $75 when there are one-woman eBay sellers who offer free shipping on a cheap $8 product. So I’m not comparing the costs just to big companies such as NARS. Furthermore, Cult’s shipping costs can go up to $15! That is presumably *before* you qualify for free shipping at $75 worth of purchase. $15 shipping for nail varnish seems very high to me. But it’s not only the shipping issue which makes me unwilling to ever bother with them.
What rubbed me the wrong way most of all was the whole tone of the FAQ. If I were to order something at that shipping rate and it arrived totally smashed, would Cult *automatically* replace it? No. Not automatically. Their answer is “most likely” if you take photos, but no absolute yes. I don’t think much of that sort of customer service. Why no absolute yes? Something arrives smashed through no fault of mine and they’re hedging their bets as to whether they will help you?? Everything about the tone of their FAQ page struck me as unhelpful and with a bit of an attitude. What it reads like to me is this: You miss a sale by one day and hoped you’d get the sale price for what you bought? Too bad for you. “Follow us on Twitter.” “You want a replacement for your product that arrived destroyed? We’ll see.” You’re a blogger who would like to review our products so you’re wondering if you can get one for free? Give us your name and stats, and after checking you out for ages, seeing what your blog personality is like (!!) and more, then we’ll consider putting you on a list. Maybe.
Jesus! For such a small company, you’d think they would try to seem more accommodating or pleasant. And if that smug, cocky, chip on their shoulder, full of themselves attitude is not what they meant to convey, then they should get someone to rewrite that entire FAQ page to hide it better.
@Kafka @polyxene Kafka, I thought the EXACT same thing when visiting Cult’s website and reading the FAQ a few days ago. As I kept reading, I noticed that almost every answer to a question sounded SO bitchy and haughty! Considering that it’s a very small business, as of yet, the lady should sound helpful and professional, instead of condescending with a hint of superiority. I was really thinking of buying Annalicious (because my name is Ana and I LOVED that shade of red) but just like you, I don’t really want anything to do with the company anymore. Too bad..
@StylishStudent @polyxene So it’s NOT just me??! That’s a relief to know! Yes, “bitchy” and “haughty” describe it perfectly. Even the one point where she’s right and where I agree with her — for example, lying on customs forms — the response was snotty and bitchy. I don’t know if the air of superiority comes from getting rave reviews from bloggers (in fact, I don’t even know if there are major reviewers other than Christine who rave about Cult products), but you’d think they would want to be pleasant to the general public, not just reviewers, if they want to expand. I’d never even heard of Cult before Temptalia and I highly doubt I’m alone.
The chip on her shoulder and air of superiority might be understandable if Cult were Chanel. But it’s not. She needs to seriously get over herself because the whole thing is remarkably unprofessional in my opinion, even apart from the snottiness. I can’t recall the last time a company made me feel so hostile that I gave an actual finger to photos of their products; not even UD’s China disaster made me do that nonstop. But Cult has antagonised me to such an extent that, whenever I see a Cult product being reviewed, my response will be “Screw you.”
@Kafka I’m so glad to see I’m not the only one. I was going to buy the green polish from this collection (amaaazing color!), but that FAQ really put me off. I don’t really care about high shipping costs. I don’t even care if processing takes a week if it’s a small indie company. But that attitude. OMG. I seriously felt like she saw her costumers as potential enemies before even placing their orders.
@t_zwiggy It was gorgeous. So far, from Christine’s reviews, ALL their polishes look amazing. They really do. But that attitude….. “potential enemies” nails it, imo. Have you *ever* seen a company of ANY size treat customers as potential enemies like that??! I haven’t. Maria can put out all the cutesy stories she wants about her young daughter picking collections, but when viewed through the prism of the incredibly snotty, obnoxious FAQ and her hostile approach to her actual customers, it just further adds to the image in my mind of someone totally full of themselves. I wish more people were aware of just how rudely and dismissively they were viewed in the company’s eyes. It might be useful if reviewers/bloggers would make note of things like hostile, antagonistic customer service or company attitudes when reviewing brands that hold you hostage to their website for purchases.
@Kafka @t_zwiggy You might try looking elsewhere – I’ve met Maria and also keep up with her updates on Facebook, and I’ve never seen any attitude whatsoever. In fact, she’s likely one of the easiest to deal with indie brands I’ve worked with–right up there with Sugarpill. I haven’t read her FAQ, but from meeting her in person, working with her via Temptalia, and every other interaction I’ve seen between her and her customers, she’s the complete opposite of what you’ve described.
@Christine (Temptalia) @t_zwiggy Few of us generally know the head of a company personally; potential customers usually can only judge a company’s attitude or approach by what they put out there. Every company is subject to being judged on a variety of different criteria and a company’s explicit statements are certainly fair game. Just as UD’s Press Releases regarding China can be (and were) interpreted as conveying a certain attitude or mindset, so too can Cult’s FAQ. How small a company is does not change the fact that it is a company and in the business of trying to please customers in order to make a profit and succeed. IMO, tiny companies are not automatically protected from fair criticism just because their size means the criticism is directed at one person. If the FAQ creates an impression that is inaccurate or misleading, then, as I said up above, it should be completely rewritten to convey a totally different attitude. As it stands, it’s not just me who found it offputting. More than one person has changed their mind about buying the company’s products as a result of it.
@Kafka @t_zwiggy Your comment was approved, therefore it was not a problem. This discussion has had many more comments that were threatening users, calling others various names along with plenty of cussing – that is what my warning is in response to, which is about this particular thread of comments overall. This is why I specifically mentioned that these comments were *not* approved.
@Kafka As a Cult nails customer, I just have to come one here and say Maria is such a generous, down-to-earth business owner. After following her on Facebook and reading how really sweet she is to her customers, I purposely buy from her to support her business. I’d never read the faq’s before this post, but I can tell you she is really fun and not at all haughty with her interactions online w/ her fan base. I would encourage you all to follow her on FB to get a more genuine, real-world picture of the face behind the brand.
@Christine (Temptalia) I hope my comment didn’t come across as hateful, I certainly didn’t mean for it to be. I have never dealt with Cult Nails, and Maria might be the sweetest person for what I know. But this really shows how important it is for a company to think about what they write on their website and more importantly the way they say it. I have to say I think it’s sad if what might be a great company with good customer service loose potential costumers because of something like this.
@Kafka I also noticed the lack of professionalism in the way the copy was crafted on the FAQ but I definitely didn’t interpret it as mean or condescending, only as unprofessional (by which I mean low budget). I think we’re so used to the slick marketing copy that editors get paid salaries to write that it subconsciously soothes us, and when something isn’t phrased in market-speak something feels very weird. Let’s face it, the design and graphics are not very high budget either but let’s not confuse any of that with mean or greedy policies. The policies are very understandable from a practical business-plan perspective. If the same policies were written by a savvy copywriter I bet everyone would feel differently.Ebay sellers have different motives. They have other jobs or are just making supplemental cash or getting rid of things. That’s very different from running a business.True, Cult Nails would benefit from a slick marketing team of designers and copywriters but to me they seem like a perfectly warm small business with a good product. They just need a little branding help.
Ooh, this will be gorgeous for fall! I have such a weakness for purple and I don’t even know why.
Honestly, I never know about this brand, but after seeing Cult Nails on this blog .. I find that these polishes are the most unique polishes on the market .. I must order this color and Princess 🙂
Super nice grapey colour! Oh yes, I can dig that!
pretty in the bottle, but i dont like it on the nail.
LOVE this one. It seems like every single Cult Nails polish you feature is really original and so lovely–WHY haven’t I tried anything from them?!?
How close is this to Zoya Lotus?
Lotus is a lighter, more red-toned. http://www.temptalia.com/zoya-true-collection-review-photos-swatches