Saturday, June 1, 2013

Haul: May!

Hello! Today's haul post is a big one! I may have gone a bit overboard this month. I definitely broke all the rules. What can I say? Without getting too detailed, I finally got the raise I had been expecting for quite some time, so I celebrated in polish! ...and a fancy dinner one night!

I'm always weak when it comes to in-store shopping. I stopped into Ulta to look for a few specific, non-nail polish items, which I didn't find, but walked out of the store with these lovelies: OPI Jinx, Essence Peach & Cream, Zoya PixieDusts in Dahlia, Chyna, and London. Hangs head... I have no willpower!

Ulta Polish Haul!
Next came my celebratory polish haul from Head2Toe Beauty. I love their prices, but their shipping is a flat ~$12 for any amount of polish. So, I usually wait until I want a LOT of polishes from there to 'justify' the shipping costs. From China Glaze: United, Orange You Hot?, Make a Spectacle, When Stars Collide, and Strap on Your Moonboots.

Head2Toe Beauty Haul: China Glaze!
From the Color Club family: Winter Affair, Ruby Wing Wildflower, and Fashion Addict.

Head2Toe Beauty Haul: Color Club & Ruby Wing!

 More form Color Club. Halo Hues: Cherubic, Cosmic Fate, Cloud Nine, and Blue Heaven.

Head2Toe Beauty Haul: Color Club Halo Hues!
From Orly: Au Champagne and Golden Maharaja.

Head2Toe Beauty Haul: Orly!
Lastly from Head2Toe, I picked up a dappen dish. This one was listed as "Raspberry". It's a really small but very solid glass dish, which I was hoping would be perfect to hold just a bit of the acetone I use for clean-up while swatching. It is the perfect size for this type of use. I had been dipping my clean up brush directly into the acetone bottle, but I was losing a fair amount of product to evaporation while I worked, plus worried about tipping it over. This glass dish suits my needs perfectly! And, it only cost 59 cents! I pictured it next to a Sinful Colors bottle so you can get an idea for just how small it is.

A dappen dish next to a Sinful Colors bottle for size reference.
My super awesome fiance surprised me with these after what he knew was going to be a long day at work that I had been dreading. Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in All Yarned Up and Tight Knit. Isn't he great!?

Surprise polish!
I also splurged and picked up my first (and probably only) Deborah Lippmann polish. Million Dollar Mermaid just had to be mine, regardless of the $19 price tag!

Nordstrom loot!
I also ordered on-line from Ulta. I purchased the brightening serum and another of my favorite essence eye pallette. My purchase qualified for the "free bag o' stuff promotion" they had going on! This included deluxe sizes and full sizes of about a dozen Ulta products: deluxe sized lip gloss, face wash, blush, and nail polish. Full-sized mascara, lipstick, eye shadow, and eye liner. It also came in a nice make-up bag with a few brushes.

Ulta loot!

Ulta Freebies!

Lastly, I snagged all of my lemmings from Elevation Polish during their latest restock, which are Haba Xueshan, Daisen, and Stay Behind Catch a Wave. Circle glitter perfection!

Elevation Polish Haul!
Oofda! What a month! I'm gonna go play with my new "toys" now! Enjoy your weekend! And, as always, more soon! ^_^

Friday, May 31, 2013

NOTW: Aquamarine Skittles!

Hello and happy Friday!

I got some nail mail from Elevation Polish on Tuesday, and I was inspired by Stay Behind, Catch a Wave. I started with a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote followed by two coats of China Glaze Re-fresh Mint topped by one coat of Seche Vite. I layered one slightly manipulated coat of Elevation Polish Catch a Wave on my ring finger and thumb, which then got topped with the usual Gelous + Seche Vite.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.
On my middle finger, I stamped the chevron image from Bundle Monster plate BM-201 with Zoya Robyn (which was not thick enough to stamp cleanly or I used too much pressure) and topped that with NYC In a New York Minute. Lastly, I layered one coat of Zoya Maisie over my pinkie and pointer fingers and topped that off with the NYC topcoat.

Hope your week has gone swimmingly! More soon! ^_^


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Stash Swatch Initiative: China Glaze Caribbean Blue

Hello!

China Glaze Caribbean Blue. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.
The China Glaze love continues today with Caribbean Blue.

China Glaze Caribbean Blue. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.
Caribbean Blue was one of the first polishes I ordered online, and therefore, one of the first of my current stash... and it's only taken me a year and a half to swatch it! It is a gorgeous light blue polish with silver shimmer.

China Glaze Caribbean Blue. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash/
Swatches today are a base coat of Seche Clear, three coats of Caribbean Blue, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. The formula is just okay on this one. It is sheerer than I expected and a bit streaky. I needed three coats to reach even opacity, but it was really quite manageable. Not perfect, but manageable.
 
China Glaze Caribbean Blue. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^