Reviews and Swatches: Cult Nails - Baker

Indie Nail Polish makers come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny operations run by a single person bent over bottles and scales in their home to larger operations that employ a lab to manufacture their products.

Cult Nails is one of the larger names out there in the indie/niche polish market, but the polishes are developed with love by a great designer as part of a family-run operation. Today, I'm bringing you one of the polishes I picked up in the recent Cult Nails clearance sale - Baker, a warm light tan polish with a soft gold shimmer.

Brand: Cult Nails

Name: Baker

Product Description: "A rich butterscotch/tan crème provides the base for Baker. But, what tan doesn't look better with just the right amount of a golden glow? Baker adds a touch of gold shimmer which makes it anything but ordinary."

Vintage: February 2012

Collection: Let's Get Nekkid collection

Limited Edition: yes

Size: 15ml /.5 fl oz
Dupes: 

Baker was part of Cult Nail's Let's Get Nekkid series of polishes whose colors were each based off the skin tone of a different member of the founder's family. As an aside, I've also read that all of the polishes in this collection were actually named after nude beaches. Genius!

Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm reviewing YET ANOTHER nude / neutral toned polish. They really ARE a huge trend right now, and a bonus is that as I search for a job, they're very interview-friendly. However, if you look, Cult Nails was WAY ahead of the curve on this trend. Nude tones may be everywhere at the moment, but this polish collection was developed more than two years ago!

Baker is a peachy-tan color with a slight yellow-ish undertone. I was a bit unsure about how this would actually look on my nails since my skin tone is pale and pink. Yellow and ochre tones tend to look pretty horrible on me. It turns out that this polish didn't look that bad at all! I think that the golden shimmer suspended in the tan base color really helps to balance out the yellower tan tones. Honestly, I can't wait until summer when my skin has a little bit more color to see how this polish looks.

This polish goes on fairly sheer and takes perhaps 3 or so coats to reach full opacity. This is one of those polishes, though, that doesn't look bad sheer or with a visible nail line. I can definitely see myself wearing this in one or two sheer layers just to add a little something special to my nails. It's a nude polish that's not necessarily meant to give you "manniquin hands." It's a nude, plus something special. It's meant to enchance what you already have.

Application was easy and flawless and the formula went on like silk. Cult Nail's bottles have brushes that screw on flush with bottle, forming a very distinctive-looking cylindrical bottle. This makes the brush handle/lid a bit wider than usual, which felt a little bit strange at first. Ultimately, though, it didn't really interfere with painting.

Manicures/nail art that use this nail polish:

• Nude and Green Zigzags / Chevrons

This was my first time purchasing Cult Nails Nail Lacquers products. I actually picked up Baker as one of 12 different polishes that I splurged on during the Cult Nails $3 clearance sale 2 weeks ago. The sale may be over and I don't know that this polish is still available, but I really encourage you to try Cult Nail's polishes out!

• Website: http://www.cultnails.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CultNailsLacquer 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cultnails
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/cultnails
• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cultnails/

*edit!* I was JUST about to post this when I got an email announcing the preorder for Cult Nails new collection - Casual Elegance. They look amazing!

Disclaimer: I will give my honest opinion on any reviews and swatches that appear on this site, regardless of origin. All products mentioned in this review were purchased by myself <3