Monday, September 9, 2013

Indie Review: Carpe Noctem Cosmetics: Autumnal Secrets

*Press Sample
*Cruelty and 3-Free
*Carpe Noctem Cosmetics

ONE MORE SLEEP UNTIL I GO TO FLORIDA.
I have not packed one thing but I am up to date on all my swatches!
Yesterday, I showed you the lovely Fall collection from Spellbound Nails!


Tonight I have another soon-to-be released Fall collection called Autumnal Secrets made by Emily from Carpe Noctem Cosmetics.
Full disclosure: The above swatches are my own and while that Fall photo emulates them mucho perfecto, I cannot take credit for it. I borrowed it from the Google monster and you can find it as a wallpaper here

Photo heavy but I know you don't mind :)
First up is Samhain Flame.


Samhain Flame is bright red metallic polish that has an auburn look about it in most lighting.


All of the polishes in this collection were 1 coaters, with the exception of Autumn Amber. I used 2 coats to even out any of the brush strokes that can often be seen with metallic type polishes.
1 coat of NYC on top.


The formula was easy to work with and the polish glided on nicely. You can see that even with 2 coats there are some brush strokes left behind, but the color of this is so intense that it hardly matters.
Samhain, for those of you wondering, 
is a Gaelic festival that marks the end of the harvest season and reminds us that 
'winter is coming'. 
Hah. Thanks for the reminder, Em!

BUT lets not rush the Fall weather shall we?!
Next up is Spiced Cider.


Spiced Cider is a rich chocolate brown. The problem with most brown polishes, is they often become too dark after a couple of coats.


That was not the case here. This was opaque in 1 coat but even with 2, the color did not darken very much with the second coat. I know, perfect color for some Football nail art, amiright?
Shown here with an 1 coat of NYC topcoat.


I had no trouble formula wise, it went on easily and dried nicely.
I am really loving the way the light reflects off of Spiced Cider, really showing off the lighter colored particles.

Next we have Autumn Amber.


Autumn Amber is a metallic gold, and essentially is the same shade as my skin here.


This was the only polish out of this collection that I found to not be a 1 coater. Because of the lighter nature, the first coat was splotchy and needed the second to even it out. I like that there is just a little bit of red sparkle giving it a more dynamic look.
Shown with 1 coat of NYC topcoat.


Overall, formula wise, this one wasn't as opaque as the rest of the polishes and it wasn't my favorite, I have used it a couple times for some nail art!

Next up is Mulled Wine.


Right off the bat, I knew this one would be one of my favorites. I fell in love with how appropriate the name is for this wine purple shade.


Last year, I went to Europe and spent a day in Germany. While there I tried glühwein, which is mulled wine. I thought it tasted terrible. I had a case of the dropsies that day and I ended out spilling a bunch on me. This was what color it was. 
Mulled Wine was a 1 coater, but the color was not nearly this deep with 1 coat. I wanted to liven up the color so I used 2 coats here. 1 coat of NYC top coat.


The formula on this one was thicker than the rest and I used thinner coats.
I tend to love these shades on my skin.
I wore this shade for several days and I currently have it on my toes paired with Gorgeous Gourd, which you'll see next!
All of Emily's polishes have such great wear! I get a full 2 weeks on my toes without needing any touchups and at least 5 days on my hands.

The perfecting pairing to Mulled Wine is Gorgeous Gourd.


Gorgeous Gourd is an intensely flame colored orange. I LOVE IT.
This is a serious surprise favorite for me. It is unlike anything in my collection and I didn't think it looked half bad on me.


The 1 coat opacity trend continues, but is shown here as 2 coats with 1 coat of NYC top coat. I wanted this orange to be as intense as it could be.


The formula was great on this one, flowed easily onto my nails and seemed to be the most even and without many streaks.
Want to know when I am going to wearing this?
WHEN THE SECOND HUNGER GAMES MOVIE COMES OUT IN NOVEMBER!
Remind you of the THE GIRL ON FIRE much?
Gahhhhh.

Last but, certaintly not least, is Creeping Ivy.


Creeping Ivy is a lovely emerald green. I liked that it wasn't too vibrant and was a bit more muted than the other polishes in this collection.


Another 1 coater, but I used 2 here with 1 coat of NYC top coat. Like GG, this one was absent of any brush strokes.


The formula was fabulous and it dried evenly.

Overall, I really love this collection. Between the amazing glitters you saw by Spellbound yesterday and these solids, I suppose I can say goodbye to summer and welcome Fall.

My top picks are Spiced Cider, Mulled Wine and Gorgeous Gourd. 
These polishes will be on sale Saturday, September 14th.

You can find Carpe Noctem Cosmetics at the following links:

Will you be picking any of these up?

**Disclosure: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by their manufacturer for my unbiased review. I covered the cost of shipping the samples. Please see my Disclaimer page for more info**

1 comment:

  1. Great colors! Love Samhain Flame!

    - Toria
    http://toriamasons-treasures.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

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