Press Samples, post disclosure page
Hey friends! I can’t believe we’re already at the end of the month. This past week was a bit of a doozy. My power has been going out every single day, multiple times a day this whole week. It has made editing things difficult, to say the least. On top of that, Sassy is currently on bed rest due to getting spayed.
Having an indoor-only border collie that can’t run around outside has been… an experience. For the first 2 days, she was clearly not feeling great after surgery. By Thursday, I could tell she was ready (mentally at least) to get back outside and do her thing. She is currently alternating between chasing our cats around the house and driving me crazy. So she’s doing great!
On the positive side, my YouTube channel just hit 5,000 subscribers and my Instagram (somewhat) recently hit 3,000 followers. I am pretty in shock about both happening tbh! Thank you to everyone who has checked me out on either platform! I will be doing a special livestream next Sunday to celebrate!
That was a long intro so today’s blog post is for the newest collection from Mooncat. This is the Underworld inspired collection. Think mythology Underworld and not Kate Beckingsale Underworld.
The collection is available right now on the Mooncat website. At the time of posting, one of the polishes is currently sold out but it will be restocked! Thank you to Mooncat for gifting me this release. Check out my live swatch video to see these in different lighting!
Live Swatch Video
Mooncat is a US based boutique brand. Their polishes are in 12ml bottles, 10 free, cruelty free and vegan.
Gates Of Hell
Description: a color-shifting black-to-red multichrome lacquer with micro holo glitter
Gates Of Hell in the bottle this looks very much like a typical black to red multichrome base. If you have been around my blog for a few years you would know that the black to red multichromes had me gagged and emptying my wallet each time I came across one.
On the first coat, this one leans very berry toned. In my studio lighting, I wasn’t really seeing the black end of the color shift spectrum. It looked more like a purpley berry to red with orange/gold at extreme angles. In lower lighting, I was better able to see the black/dark grey color shift.
This one was pretty thick, I didn’t have any issues with application but the neck of my bottle got gunky just while I was swatching. Which isn’t really typical for me personally. I didn’t need to add any thinner but I imagine next time I reach for this one I might.
The glitters all spread out evenly with very minimal texture. They are super super sparkly.
My photos show Gates Of Hell in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Removal won’t be overly difficult.
I have seen on Facebook that some people are claiming that this a dupe for Holo Taco’s Double Dare (Holo Taco Wicked Sister Duo). It’s not. The red to black multichrome pigments appear to be different, the type of holographic also appears to be different and Double Dare also has reflective glitter. I’ll call them similar but not dupes.
House Of Hades
Description: a deep blue-purple lacquer packed with cobalt ULTRA-fine flakies
House Of Hades had a fantastic formula. It starts off pretty sheer so you will need to build it up for opacity.
This polish seems to be the one that has gotten the most hype from the entire collection. I will fully admit, because of the hype I was so ready to fall head over heels in love with this. While I do think it’s pretty, it didn’t live up to the hype for me.
I found coverage to be pretty uneven with 2 coats. Which isn’t uncommon for a sheerer nail polish. I needed a third coat to reach even coverage and full opacity. Potentially, if you go in for thicker coats or aren’t as anal as I am this could be a two coater.
I think I might have overhyped this one in my mind as I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful and I like it a lot but for some reason, I thought it would knock my socks off and it didn’t.
My photos show House Of Hades in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Removal will be very messy but not difficult. I didn’t experience any staining.
Pandemonium
Description: a red lacquer filled with color-shifting red-to-orange shimmer
Pandemonium was the color from this release that I KNEW I would absolutely fall in love with once I got it on. That hunch was correct because DAMN this is pretty!
The base was a bit thicker, but the application was great. I found coverage was fantastic as well. It wasn’t one coater but coverage as really even. The shimmer wasn’t a super obvious color shifty. Mainly it just looked like an orangey red shimmer to me. I kinda hoped that there would be a gold moment in the color shifts but alas no gold.
My photos show Pandemonium in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. This will remove very easily and I didn’t experience any issues with staining.
Pomegranate Seeds
Description: a reddish purple lacquer filled with blue shimmer and color-shifting orange-to-pink iridescent flakies
Pomegranate Seeds is a beautiful warm toned purple base. Between the shimmer and flakies, I was in love.
I found that reddish purple tone came across as a very warm purple on the nail but the blue shimmer cools it down. The polish didn’t feel overly thick or thin and I didn’t have any issues with application.
Coverage was pretty good in 2 coats but to get the color that you see in the bottle, you will want to build this one up in three coats. The flakies all spread evenly without giving off any real texture.
My photos show Pomegranate Seeds in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. The flakies will make removal messy but not overly difficult. I still wouldn’t reccomend scrubbing this one off.
I initially thought it was odd that we had back-to-back purple polishes with flakies released from Mooncat. However, side by side Pomegranate Seeds doesn’t look anything like Chesire Cat from the Alice In Wonderland collab.
River Styx
Description: a teal blue lacquer filled with green shimmer
River Styx was love at first swipe! This has more of a crelly/creme like formulation so it’s more opaque that some of the other polishes in the release.
I love the aqua/teal leaning base paired with the shimmer! The shimmer is a smoother one so while you do see some brush strokes when wet, they for the most part disappear as the polish dries. If you are capping your free edge, I would recommend capping BEFORE you add your coats. If you do it after, you’ll get a little hump at the tip of your nail.
My photos show River Styx in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Stolen Ambrosia
Description: a coral lacquer filled with orange and yellow shimmer
Stolen Ambrosia ugh I knew when I saw this one that I was going to love it. The coral base paired with the shimmer gives Stolen Ambrosia a peachy almost golden kinda look on the nail.
Both the formula and application were perfect. The base is a little bit on the sheerer side but the shimmer is SO strong and glowy that it helps hide VNL. For my full hand swatches, I opted to go in for two coats but if you want more opacity, especially in bright lighting where the shimmer isn’t strong, I would recommend adding a third coat.
My photos show Stolen Ambrosia in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. Removal will be very easy and I had no issues with staining.
Final Thoughts
If you had told me that this was a Fall or Halloween inspired release, I would have totally believed you. With the exception of River Styx, the color story on this release is very Falloween. Which you know, I am here for.
Overall I thought it was a fantastic release. I originally showed these during one of my members only streams and they had me SO hyped up to swatch these! House Of Hades seems to be everyone’s favorite polish but mine is for sure Stolen Ambrosia. The color shifty goodness was just stunning.
Mooncat
12ml, 10 Free, Cruelty Free & Vegan
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Sale Information
The Underworld collection is available right now on the Mooncat website. Each polish is priced at $15 for 12ml bottles. The full collection listing is priced at $81.
At the time of posting, House of Hades is currently sold out. This collection will be restocked at a later date and it is not limited edition!
