Review: Smith & Cult Nail Polish

Hi Guys!

Today I am reviewing polish from the Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer line. If you are not familiar with Smith & Cult they are a 5-Free polish brand created by the founder of the Hard Candy cosmetics line, Dineh Mohajer. The brand is devoted to individualism and their bottles of polish are nothing short of little works of art. If you follow me on Instagram and Snapchat you've already seen exactly how beautiful their bottles are, and the shades certainly do not disappoint. 

I was honored to be asked to swatch these for the brand, which was very exciting in and of itself. Not only did they ask me to do so, but they also let me select the colors. What more can a girl who loves nail polish hope for? Out of their shade selection of around forty polishes I chose five shades that I thought people would enjoy seeing, which includes both cremes and glitter polishes. So, without further adieu, let's get into the review and swatches!

One of the most unique things about these polishes is the bottle shape and brush size. The silver cap is thick and artfully dented, but it does come off and to reveal a much easier to work with handle. Because the basin that holds the polish is so short and squat the brush has to be short and squat as well, and that certainly is different from most polishes. I wasn't sure how I would feel about using it, but I've come to the conclusion that it's really not bad, and I actually think it helps to give you a little bit more control being as close to the nail as you are when using it. 

The chunky silver cap comes off to reveal the much more manageable wand

The short Smith & Cult brush

As I mentioned before, the formula is a 5-Free formula, which means their polishes are free from Dibutyl, Phthalate, Toluene, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin and Camphor. For each of the swatches below I used two coats. 

CUT THE MULLET

First of all, we need to discuss how awesome the shade names are. Yes, all nail polish brands have really cute and fun names, but the Smith & Cult polishes are on a whole different level. Their website describes it as a "pastel sea blue," and this one is BRIGHT. The formula is nice and the color is opaque... It's hard to ask for too much more! I received so many compliments when I had this one on, and it's my second favorite of the bunch (more on my top fave later). I had nothing quite like it in my collection and it's just lovely.

Cut the Mullet

Cut the Mullet

FAUNTLEROY

This color was very popular on my Instagram account when I posted about it. It's the most beautiful pastel lilac shade that is just perfect for Spring. I am always so drawn to pastel purples, but sadly I don't find them as flattering on my skin tone as I'd like them to be. But that's okay, I still adore the color and I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of their most popular shades. 

Fauntleroy

Fauntleroy

DIRTY BABY

As you might have noticed, I'm not too much of a "blingy" nail person. So when I was choosing colors this one caught my eye because I had absolutely nothing like it in my collection. Dirty Baby is a black polish loaded with tons of finely-milled silver glitter; it's the kind of polish that's just perfect for something like New Year's Eve or a ladies night out. The formula is good--it applies smoothly despite all of the glitter and it also wasn't too hard to remove, which I know is a common problem with glitter polish. I enjoyed wearing it and it has made me want to venture outside of my comfort zone and try more glittery polish. 

Dirty Baby

Dirty Baby

SHATTERED SOULS

The name on this one is my favorite by far, not that that's terribly important or anything! Shattered Souls has a clear base that's loaded with large and small flecks of gold glitter. This polish is very easy to use to create a little extra pizzaz on your nails and it's not at all difficult to get the different sizes of glitter out of the bottle and into the spots that you want. Again, since I don't do a lot of glittery looks I decided to get out of my comfort zone with this one and I think the looks I created came out really nice. 

Essie First Timer + Smith & Cult Shattered Souls

Shattered Souls atop Bitter Buddhist

BITTER BUDDHIST

And now on to my #1 favorite out of the five, Bitter Buddhist, a lovely muted grey-green polish that is just wonderful. The ironic thing is that I almost passed this one up thinking that it wouldn't be as dynamic or as flattering on me, but boy was I wrong. The formula was fabulous, the color is amazing, and I am literally in love. The funny thing is that I also didn't realize how close it was to Essie's Maximillian Strasse Her, which I LOVE, until I put them together a few weeks after getting Bitter Buddhist and was shocked at how similar they are. MSH seems to be a just a touch more dusty grey. I will include a picture of the bottles together below, and I also plan to do a side-by-side on-the-nail comparison soon and will update this post with that picture when I do so. 

Essie Maximillian Strasse Her vs. Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist

Overall I have been very impressed with these Smith & Cult polishes. Not only are they gorgeous bottles that look oh-so beautiful on my nail rack (bonus!), but they're also very nice shades that I can see myself wearing repeatedly. In addition to the polishes I was also sent a bottle of their Basis of Everything base coat and Above it All top coat, but I will review them separately after I've used them enough to form an opinion. 

Smith & Cult is a luxury brand, so the price point ($18) is a bit higher than most of the mainstream brands, but if you're wanting to treat yourself they'd make a nice addition to any collection. You can buy these polishes from the Smith & Cult website, at Neiman Marcus, or on the Birchbox website. 

What do you think about these polishes? Are you familiar with the brand? Which color is your favorite? Leave your thoughts down below, and thank you for reading. 

Luxury Brand Partners provided these items for swatching purposes, but the opinions expressed are entirely my own. I was in no way compensated to write this review.