ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Sparitual Inner Sanctum
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
Untried Day #120 – We had a visitor in our back yard and she inspired today’s manicure. The boyfriend spotted a fawn grazing around the tree in the back corner of our property and when he went out on the deck, he was amazed how unfazed she was by his presence. It’s not like deer are that uncommon or anything but we are in a pretty urban area not far from downtown. Our neighborhood doesn’t exactly provide lots of wooded places for deer to hide. The fawn must be pretty adjusted to city life though because she napped under our tree for the entire day and night and her mom took up residence in our neighbor’s yard. I wanted to go out to try and pet her but I kept reminding myself that I don’t live in a Disney cartoon where humans and wild animals are friends. I dedicate today’s manicure to my little deer friend using Sparitual Inner Sanctum, the best shade I could find to match her gorgeous coat. |
Formula & Application: Sparitual nail polish is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin), vegan and excludes camphor which can be an irritant. Their round bottles are capped with a tapered rubberized cap that includes four ribbed sides for a secure grip. I’m a big fan of rubber caps for ease of polishing and the ability to get a good grip when opening tightly capped bottles.
The Sparitual brush is relatively short and very thin but wow do I love it. The bristles are so nice and flexible and they spread out over the nail so perfectly. It’s such a pleasure to work.
The formula of this polish is kind of thin, watery and squishy but really pigmented. All I need is two coats for full coverage and it flows on the nail flawlessly, drying with a mirror-like finish. I have to give it up to SpaRitual, the consistency and color payoff of their polishes are really high quality.
Sparitual Inner Sanctum is a warm tan creme. It can look a bit more rosy under cool indoor lighting but direct light brings out its warmth. Compared to something like Color Club Best Dressed List it looks a lot darker with a ruddy undertone. I added polka dots using China Glaze White Out to mimic the racing stripe-esque spots running down my deer buddy’s back.
Bottom Line: Inner Sanctum is a great work-friendly neutral that feels very fall. The formula and pigmentation is spot on so it won’t disappoint in terms of application. This isn’t a color family that I gravitate towards to but it was perfect for my purposes.
365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: I don’t see myself needing a deer fur tan again anytime soon so I’ll SHARE it.
Sparitual Inner Sanctum is available at salons and spas nationwide but their distribution seems to be pretty limited. The closest salon to me is in Detroit. To locate a retailer near you visit Sparitual.com. Online shoppers can head to Amazon, Apothica, CosmeticMall and SkinStore to purchase. Sparitual nail polishes retail for $10/ea for a .5oz bottle.
Thoughts on Inner Sanctum? Do you have a favorite work-friendly neutral? Have you created a nature inspired manicure before? What was your inspiration and what colors did you use to recreate it?
Disclosure: A product samples was provided by reps for Sparitual. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
Ahah, the bambi mani is so cute :love:
I have lots of deer (babies and adults) in my yard in the summer. I love them, but I’ve never thought of doing a nail polish tribute!
Aw! I loved the story and the pictures! I wonder where it’s mama was! And the color is perfect for what you were going for, but it isn’t something I would see myself reaching for often, either. I loved this post, though!
The mama was sleeping in the neighbor’s back yard. When I came home later that night she was sleeping right next to our garage. She was huge!!
Aww, the fawn is so cute! Today I was in the park with a friend, and a squirrel came right up to me and touched me! They’ve gotten so used to people.
I was at Rite Aid today and I saw a Wet n Wild polish that resembles this one. Tan cremes are too safe for me, so I didn’t get it.
Can I stop and say the longest awwwwwwwwwwwwww my breath can handle? The fawn is so so so beautiful and cute!!
The colour is something I’d wear, but I guess it would look better if I also had a similarly coloured tan, which I don’t.
Thanks for the nice swatches as ever
I just love the spotted fawn inspiration! A really subtle, but great design, and a welcome reprieve from leopard print and snakeskin.
I’m not feeling it either
That color works perfectly for the fawn! And the fawn is soo cute! I honestly don’t know if I would like that color if it weren’t for the animal, though. XD
I like it. I have a spa in my town that carries only Sparitual nail color, so it’s one of my favorite brands. That color is very cute, and so is your little fawn-y friend!
ALU, will you have a post about “professional” nail polish colors? I’m a new psychiatrist and I have been wondering what colors are appropriate for a young doctor at work. I’m sure others have similar questions regarding all these new colors and whether or not I can get away with wearing them at work!
Ahahahahaha cuuuute idea!
The color looked so icky in the bottle I thought for sure I would hate it… but on your nails it looks really cute, may try a color like this!
wonder if that’s what essie’s new Very Structured will look like…reminds me of pumpkin spice lattes!
Very Structured is more terra cotta and darker than this.
oh my! That is an ugly color. And not in a good way. Like what you did with the dots
Aww that fawn is adorable! Love the dots! While I think this polish served its purposes, I wouldn’t find myself reaching for this often.
Awwwwww here too! I hope that you share the story with whoever gets this polish.
Too cute T_T
not really liking this color..
The fawn is adorable! Thanks for the photo! I live in the city, so there really isn’t any deer here.:(
Do you have any polish suggestions for a first-time SpaRitual buyer? I think your description on the formula and brush sold it to me!
Aw, cute! I saw a ton of deer (and three bambis!) on Euclid Heights when I was walking to my friend’s place on Woodmere at dusk the other night. They were just hangin’ out, bein’ deer.
I love this color! SO me!
Aw, deers are one of my favorite animals. Love this post.
- Liz
Very dull and doesn’t do anything for me. I’ll skip this one.
I have this shade too. I had looked for something that was similar to my go to shade of the 80′s that I called adobe and this was the best match I found. It’s a hard shade to find now days but I think it’s going to make a big resurgence here soon – it’s time. Cute with your mimic from the dear inspiration.
AWWW! Deer are adorable!
FYI you can also find Spa Ritual at Beauty.com and they usually have good promos/samples if you sign up for their newsletter! They don’t have a ton of colors, but a few anyway
So magic! I love what you created with this inspiration. V. cool!
Is there any chance you will be posting swatches of any Fall/Winter 2011 nail collections by OPI/Essie/China Glaze? I come here to get updates about new nail collections to see how they look before deciding what to buy, but you seem to only post the “365 days of untrieds.” I don’t mind that but I prefer your reviews to other sites and I guess it’d be helpful to post reviews and swatches in addition to that.
Yes, I am working on swatches as I type this.
Great post ! Great inspiration. I can’t wear the color myself.
But I’m not a fawn either. Gold glitter overlay would work for me.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!! giggling over the adorable dot-stripe. Btw, all of the swatches of SpaRitual polishes look soooo good on all the nail blogs I read. Where can a girl buy that brand? I live in Dallas, TX.
this was so much prettier on the nail than in bottle when I got to the photos I was very very suprised! and your little friend is adorable!
The little white dots you added on top of that color made me smile! So cute!
So adorable!
omg this is the sweetest story ever!! What a pretty little deer
I love that polish too – reminds me of fall and everything pumpkin (like the tasty pumpkin beer I had last night!)
It’s so nice! The nail color I mean! And you’re really going to give it away…?? Stash it!
I adore the fawn manicure and the story and pics! Very sweet! The little white spots are so cute on your mani! I am very pale with pink undertones so this color won’t work for me but it’s sure great on you! Sweet that you got to experience this brush with nature and nice that Mama was close by her little one!