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 |