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ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Sparitual Inner Sanctum

By on August 22, 2011
in 365 of Untrieds, SpaRitual, Tan
sparitual inner sanctum nail polish 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.

sparitual inner sanctum nail polish swatch

sparitual-deer-polka-dot-nail-art-inspiration

sparitual-deer-nail-art-polka-dot-inspiration

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.

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There Are 38 Brilliant Comments

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  1. Thilwen says:

    Ahah, the bambi mani is so cute :love:

  2. Sarah says:

    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!

  3. Jessi says:

    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!

    • All Lacquered Up says:

      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!!

  4. Chris says:

    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.

  5. Chris says:

    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 :)

  6. Ariel says:

    I just love the spotted fawn inspiration! A really subtle, but great design, and a welcome reprieve from leopard print and snakeskin.

  7. Maya says:

    I’m not feeling it either :)

  8. 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

  9. Cindy says:

    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!

  10. Cindy says:

    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! :)

  11. gnoma says:

    Ahahahahaha cuuuute idea! :D

  12. melinda says:

    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!

  13. April says:

    wonder if that’s what essie’s new Very Structured will look like…reminds me of pumpkin spice lattes!

  14. erinsabs@cox.net says:

    oh my! That is an ugly color. And not in a good way. Like what you did with the dots :)

  15. Katie says:

    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.

  16. Jammies says:

    Awwwwww here too! I hope that you share the story with whoever gets this polish.

  17. Katy says:

    Too cute T_T

  18. Nicole says:

    not really liking this color..

  19. lillian says:

    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! :)

  20. Stephanie says:

    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.

  21. Fingers says:

    I love this color! SO me!

  22. Aw, deers are one of my favorite animals. Love this post.
    - Liz

  23. Joan says:

    Very dull and doesn’t do anything for me. I’ll skip this one.

  24. meme says:

    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.

  25. 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 :)

  26. Jecca says:

    So magic! I love what you created with this inspiration. V. cool!

  27. Chelsea says:

    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.

  28. Erin says:

    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.

  29. Lauri says:

    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.

  30. Robin says:

    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!

  31. Sondra says:

    The little white dots you added on top of that color made me smile! So cute!

  32. Lara says:

    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!)

  33. milktea says:

    It’s so nice! The nail color I mean! And you’re really going to give it away…?? Stash it!

  34. Rachel Kurtz says:

    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!

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