Mentality - Metallics Collection [pic heavy]

Hello my lovelies! Before I get to the post today, I want to remind you about my 300 Follower Giveaway that started yesterday - tons of awesome prizes you could win, so make sure you enter! Oh, and one of the polishes featured in this blog post is actually up for grabs in the giveaway, so check out the swatches :)

Now, onto today's post - it has been one that I should have posted a LONG time ago, but just didn't get around to editing alllll these photos lol. This is a big post, so bear with me! Today I have for you the entire Metallics collection from Mentality. Mentality has quickly become one of my absolute favorite indie brands; they are a husband and wife duo (though I think I've dealt more with Hillary than her other half haha) and their customer service is awesome - not to mention the polishes they come out with are incredible!

Here's some shots of the entire collection:

Mentality Metallics collection

Mentality Metallics collection

And now I'm going to show you the swatches in the order that the bottles just happened to be arranged in the above photos - these are not in order based on my favorites! Some of these shades were hard to capture, so they may have more photos than others. I'll save time by telling you here that all of these photos show 3 coats of each polish with 1 coat of HK Girl topcoat. The only sort of issue I had with formula was that the first coat went on a bit streaky, but covered up beautifully with 1-2 more coats. I did 3 coats for good measure, but if you're careful with application you can get away with 2.

First up is Covet. It's a gorgeous golden toned green with tiny micro flakies.

Mentality Covet

This is really a true metallic to me. It's super reflective and eye-catching - I had tons of people ask me what polish I was wearing. I love how the gold really shows itself in different lightings.

Mentality Covet

Mentality Covet

Next up is Desire. The Etsy shop describes it as a bright orange with gold undertones and flakies, but I think the gold is more of an overtone, if that's a thing haha! What I mean is, the gold really shines for me in this polish. It's gorgeous!

Mentality Desire

Mentality Desire

Mentality Desire

Mentality Desire

This next one is Lust, and it is hands down my favorite of the collection! That's why there are so many photos of this one, haha. The Etsy shop describes this as a coppery red with gold undertones and flakies. I think on my skin it came across as more coral, but whatever you want to call it, it's simply stunning. In fact, I love it SO much that I bought a full size bottle for the giveaway!! Check out these swatches and see what you could be winning!

Mentality Lust

Mentality Lust

Mentality Lust

Mentality Lust in direct sunlight - I love how the gold comes through here!

Mentality Lust

Mentality Lust

I love how you can really see all the tiny flakies in this next shot! Such a beautiful polish!

Mentality Lust

This next one frustrated the hell out of me! It looks amazing on the nails, and the color shift is ridiculous, but I could NOT get my camera to capture what it looks like IRL, no matter how hard I tried!! This is Envy, and it's a bright, sometimes almost olive-y green, with gold undertones and flakes.

Okay, now these next two photos...I promise you they are the same polish. This color-shift...anyway, just look!

Mentality Envy - looking very green in indoor lighting

Mentality Envy - looking very goldish and muted in natural lighting

Can you believe the difference?? The first photo is more true to how it looks IRL but in different lighting, that gold undertone really showed up.
These next two were both taken at the same time/location as the first one, and you can see how much change there is even with the smallest shift in angle.

Mentality Envy

Mentality Envy

And now we're back to the photos I took at home, in natural sunlight (no artificial light). The sun seems to give it a softer, glow-y feel, and the gold is a lot more present.

Mentality Envy

Mentality Envy

In this next one, you can really see the olive tones start to show up. It really had so many different shades to it depending on the lighting - what a fun and interesting polish! :)

Mentality Envy

Lastly, I have to admit, this was my least favorite of the bunch, Crave. I just felt like it wasn't at all flattering on my skintone. I bet for someone with darker skin, this would be gorgeous, but on me, in certain lights it just looked like my fingers blended into the nail. Crave is described as a light rose-toned pinkish nude, and I think that's a great description for it!

Mentality Crave

Mentality Crave

In this next photo, you can sort of see what I mean about the polish matching my skin tone. As soon as I held it in the sun, I could hardly tell my finger from my nail haha!

Mentality Crave in direct sunlight

Mentality Crave in shade

Mentality Crave

Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of these polishes. The shimmery metallic finish is stunning, and I had no real issues with formula. The colors are unique and the flakies really add something special! Not to mention, Mentality has some of THE best prices around - $6.75 for a full size bottle! I definitely recommend checking them out using the following links:

Mentality on Etsy
Mentality on Big Cartel
Mentality on Facebook

Have a great Friday everyone! <3
Kelly