Haul: March!!

Hello, blogfriends!

Since I haven't posted in awhile, I'll obviously be taking a bit of a break from blogging -- we're moving again! This one is the Big Move back to Minnesota, so, not only did we take a little vacation to check off the last items on the list of stuff we wanted to see and do before we left the East Coast, but we've also got tons to do before we go... and I've got about 430 bottles of polish to bubble wrap... oofda!

But, that doesn't mean I haven't been doing my nails! I've got plenty to show you once we get settled and into a routine! For now, here's March's haul!

Sally's Loot! Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

First purchase was early in the month at Sally's -- I went in for OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around, got distracted by the Muppets Most Wanted Collection display, and then scored some OPI Gwen Stefani Collection polishes from the clearance bin! I came home with OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around, OPI Toucan Do it if you Try, OPI Muppets World Tour, OPI Push and Shove, OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby, Orly Naked Canvas, and Orly Love Each Other.

Sally's Loot! Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My super awesome husband was paying close attention while I was talking polish at him one day, so for my birthday, he knew I wanted Polished by KPT Nostalgia. And he picked out a second one, Dichromatic, that he thought looked interesting. I love it when he does this, because I initially breezed right on by the listing for Dichromatic, but I really love it after wearing it!

Birthday Presents! Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Next, I treated myself to another significant Rainbow Honey haul... Happy Birthday to me! I picked up Trifolium, Xoxo, Metalmark, Midnight Fountain, Sword Lily, and Birdcage. I had these shipped to my sister in Minnesota so I wouldn't have to move them! She very kindly unwrapped and unboxed them all to snap this picture for us.

Thanks, sister!

I picked up these two pretty glitters from Sinful Colors at Walgreens. I was shopping with a friend this weekend during a visit to Virginia Beach, and I think I may have infected her with the polish bug.... oopsies. The Walgreens there had Essence polishes and cosmetics! So, be on the lookout -- Essence might be making a move on the US market, which is excellent news! Maybe we'll start to see more of the seasonal offerings! Anyway, this is I Dream in Jewels and Shine on Me from Sinful Colors.

Random Walgreens Loot! Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Finally, I got super lucky! I was almost finished with this post, but wandered over to check Facebook to find Colores de Carol had just posted about putting more polishes up for sale. From the collage picture on the post, I could see Emily de Molly Majestic Flight was one of them!!! It has been discontinued, and it was my number one lemming. I was fortunate to find this bottle for sale! Since I completed my order just minutes before finalizing this post, I don't have a picture, but here's a link to one!

Okay, so we're moving the last weekend in April, so I'll be back sometime after that... once I unpack, find a job, and catch up with all the friends and family I haven't seen in six months! Happy polishing until then, my friends!

More in May! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Revlon Pink Pineapple

Hello!

Today I have Revlon Pink Pineapple to show you!

Revlon Pink Pineapple. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Pink Pineapple is a baby pink creme that smells like pineapple once dry. It is soft and pretty. And how adorable is that bottle?!

Revlon Pink Pineapple. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Duri Rejuvacote, one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, four coats of Pink Pineapple, and one coat of Seche Vite. The formula is really streaky and doesn't self-level too well. This was opaque in three coats, but streaky, so I did a fourth coat. I started with two thin coats, then did two thicker coats. The Seche Vite also helped this to level out a lot. It wasn't terrible to work with, and I think that had I been more patient, this could have gone better for me. In hindsight, I should've stuck to thinner coats and waited until each was completely dry before moving on. I had some issues with balding and dragging, so I think the key here is to be patient!

Revlon Pink Pineapple. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle just last week at CVS!

More soon! ^_^

GOT Polish Challenge: Skittle

Hello!

For those of you who are regular readers, this looks a bit familiar! I swatched Cult Nails Mayhem for yesterday's post and realized I was well on my way to this weeks GOT Polish prompt, "Skittle".

I started with a base coat, and the following polishes:

Indoors, direct filtered sunlight, no flash.

Left hand, thumb to pinkie: Essie Armed and Ready, Zoya Ibiza, Zoya Arizona, Pure Ice Wild Thing, and Color Club Gossip Column. All of which definitely qualify for the challenge as they're all at least a year old!

Indoors, direct filtered sunlight, no flash.

Right hand, thumb to pinkie: Sinful Colors Amethyst, OPI Koala Bear-y, Barielle Lemondrops, Zoya Robyn, and Models Own Pink Punch. Amethyst and Pink Punch are newer polishes, but the rest have been around awhile. I'm counting 8 of 10 polishes as good enough here!

I added one coat of Cult Nails Mayhem, a holographic topcoat, to unify the look. Then, I placed rhinestones and shapes from a nail art wheel on each finger adhered with topcoat. Fun and vibrant!

More soon! ^_^

An InLinkz Link-up

Stash Swatch Initiative: Cult Nails Mayhem

Hello!

I have a holographic topper from Cult Nails to show you today. This is Mayhem!

Cult Nails Mayhem. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Mayhem can turn any polish into a holographic polish without altering the base color too much. It's really quite marvelous.

Cult Nails Mayhem, layered. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I wanted to show this over a variety of colors, so swatches today started with a base coat of Seche Clear, and the following polishes (thumb to pinkie): Essie Armed and Ready, Zoya Ibiza, Zoya Arizona, Pure Ice Wild Thing, and Color Club Gossip Column. One coat of Mayhem was added to each, and then everything was topped with NYC In a New York  Minute. Formula is great -- glides on smoothly, no issues.

Cult Nails Mayhem, layered. Indoors, direct filtered sunlight, no flash.

I love how it melds into the brighter/lighter polishes, but still pops in the sun.

I purchased my bottle from Cult Nails.

Cult Nails Mayhem, layered. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: China Glaze Bat My Eyes

Hello!

This is China Glaze Bat My Eyes from 2013's Halloween Collection, Monster's Ball.

China Glaze Bat My Eyes. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Bat My Eyes is a fun mix of burnished gold glitters in a black jelly base. There are tiny, extra small, and small hex glitters, plus a sparse sprinkling of iridescent bar glitter. It makes for a dark and intriguing polish.

China Glaze Bat My Eyes. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Sinful Colors Base Coat, two coats of Mat My Eyes, one coat of Gelous, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. The formula here is a little thick, so thicker coats are necessary. I dabbed on my first coat and found that if it wasn't dry, the second coat caused some balding. But, I only needed two coats total for this look today.

China Glaze Bat My Eyes. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I'm loving the complexity and tone of Bat My Eyes. I do think I might like it layered even better, but either way it's unique and marvelous!

I purchased my bottle directly from Sally's when this collection was new, however, Head2Toe Beauty still has it available.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Finger Paints Twisted

Hello!

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today's polish is Finger Paints Twisted! A coveted flakie from a collection that wasn't around long enough. By the time I new these existed, they were gone when I went to look for them. Empty displays, boo! I was so excited to find this on a blog sale recently and couldn't snatch it up fast enough.

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This beauty is a multi-colored flakie in a clear base. It looks yellow in the bottle from all the flakies packed in there. I chose to show this over black because the colors pop so well. As you can see, there's a rainbow of flakies here: deep blue, orange, green to yellow, light blue.

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Sinful Colors Base Coat, one coat of Cult Nails Nevermore, one coat of Twisted (on all my fingers except my ring finger, which got two coats), and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. Formula was good. One coat of this polish swiped on provides a nice flakie density, and two coats, which I have on my ring finger, is awesome!

Twisted is phenomenal over dark polish! Flakies at their best! It looks great in matte too.

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Like I first mentioned, I purchased this bottle second-hand from a blog sale. It is no longer available from Sally Beauty, which is terribly unfortunate. I never thought I'd get a bottle of this, so keep an eye out, you might find it for yourself like I did!

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Haul: February!

Hello!

I've got a small haul post for this past month! I stopped in to Sally's while out running errands one weekend just see to if they had anything new or fun on clearance. I had my choice from the new China Glaze texture collection, Sea Goddess, so I picked up Wish on a Star Fish. The clearance rack had mini bottles of Travel in Colour from the most recent holiday collection, Happy Holiglaze. Finally, I found the new Sally Hansen Satin Glam collection at Target and picked up Chic Pink.

China Glaze and Sally Hansen shimmers!

Lastly, a quick trip into CVS for a prescription found me also snagging these two from the Revlon Parfumerie collection, Pink Pineapple and Wintermint, on sale buy one get one half off. In my entire collection, I don't think I have this type of blush/baby pink. OPI Bubble Bath is much sheerer, and everything else is brighter. I was going to pick up Zoya Dot from the Awaken Collection to meet this 'need', but Pink Pineapple is cheaper and more convenient!

Revlon Parfumerie picks, Pink Pineapple and Wintermint.

And that's it! A very quiet month around here for polish, but that's a good thing... I've been pretty ridiculous as of late. Next month is birthday month, so we'll see what happens! Onward!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Pure Ice Tease

Hi!

I have another aged polish to show you today. This one is Pure Ice Tease. Tease is a sheer pink jelly base loaded with shimmer.

Pure Ice Tease. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are two coats of Tease, plus NYC In a New York Minute over my base coat of Seche Clear. Formula was good, but sheer as expected. Three coats would've been better now that I see the pictures on the big screen, but I usually use this as a topcoat rather than layer it up to opacity on it's own.

Pure Ice Tease. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I'm sure I picked this up at least five years ago from Wal-mart. It's nothing too special, and I'm pretty sure I have similar polishes.

Pure Ice Tease. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^