Haul: February and March!!

Hello!

I'm not super happy with my set up here, and I feel that my picture quality is a little less than what I want... maybe it's the lighting? I think it's the lighting inside, and I know it's the lack of direct sunlight shots. I think those really show the polish well, and our apartment doesn't have a good place for those kind of shots. Anyway, I'll be back more frequently once I can get my photos back up to speed. Probably not until fall or winter however -- we're currently building a house and will be moving before summer is over (hopefully)! All that will keep us pretty busy, but the new house has space for a craft/polish room! I'll post what I wear in mean time.

So first, an update and rant about the Nerdlacquer situation from the January haul. I never did get my order or hear from the seller. Since she did not respond to the PayPal dispute process either, the dispute was decided in my favor, and PayPal was able to refund the money to me. Thanks, PayPal, you rock! So... NerdLacquer... I am disappoint! I've read her previous explanations as to what happened the last time she disappeared, and what she went through was terrible. I am sorry all that happened, but at this point, it doesn't excuse you from your obligations. At the very least, you should know when you can't function enough to continue running your business. Leaving the store active with inventory you can't fulfill and just letting people send you money for orders that you won't send out is deplorable. At the least, the store should have been made inactive and the outstanding orders finished. I will find it very hard to support the brand again (but, damn, those polishes are awesome!).
****Update**** I eventually did get my order! It was sometime in late summer of 2015. It came with a note of apology, extra polish, and some cute extras as well. It was a nice surprise, and I will likely give this brand another shot. I appreciate the attempt to own up and make things right.

Here's a look at what I hauled in February and March!

A quick stop into Ulta saw me bringing home some clearance nail stickers!

Ulta loot.

And, three shimmery pretties from the China Glaze spring collection Dashboard Dreamer, Pack Lightly, and the lilac one, Wanderlust (not pictured).

China Glaze Road Trip picks.

Here is the February mystery bag from Rainbow Honey:

Rainbow Honey February 2015 Mystery Bag - mini.

Even though March was birthday month, my only polish purchase was March's mystery bag:

Rainbow Honey March 2015 Mystery Bag - mini.

More eventually! ^_^

Haul: January!

Hello!

Let's take a look at January's haul!

I should be showing you my first purchase of the year right here, but I have not received my order yet. On the first, I checked in on the Nerdlacquer site and saw a couple of polishes from my wishlist were available, so I placed an order. I purchased a bottle of The Lando System and a bottle of Alecto. When they failed to arrive a month later, I sent an email to the listed support address kindly asking for an update on my order. I understand if my order got overlooked or in line behind a bunch of others, but I have yet to hear anything.  :(  I am hoping the creator hasn't disappeared again, but I did start the dispute process on Paypal just in case... it stated I had 45 days from the date of the transaction to do so. Now, the seller has a month to respond. Has anyone else been having problems with Nerdlacquer lately?

****Update****

I just wanted to update this post because Nerdlacquer fulfilled my order. I think it was a year and several months later, but I did get the polishes I ordered (yes, even after I was granted a refund by PayPal), plus a bonus polish and a few cute extras. The order included a note of apology as well. So, I think that's awesome. Shit happens and the seller attempted to make it right. Good on her.

Moving on to the items I do have in my possession, here are the random Sally Hansen polishes I bought on clearance. Some of these came from Target, some from Wal-greens. I snagged I Lilac You, Peach Fuzz, All Yarned Up, and Berried Under.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Next, China Glaze! The glitters, Pine-ing for Glitter and Chillin' With My Snow-mies, were on clearance at Ulta, and I picked up the red, Seduce Me, at Sally Beauty during a promo (I think it was buy a bottle of Seche Vite or Base and get a China Glaze free).

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Next, Zoya! These were also on clearance at Ulta for less than half price! Haven, Margo, Yuna, and Geneviev. I was surprised to see these on clearance so soon since they are from very recent collections. Happy day!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Lastly, Rainbow Honey's January Mystery bag. Three pretty polishes, a sugar lip scrub, lip balm, and soap!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

 More soon! ^_^

Haul: December!

Hello!

Another year has nearly come to a close. I spent some time today reading through the last two years' worth of haul posts, and I'm glad to have them. As I read them, I remembered the days around those posts and they're perfect little snippets of the way every day life was at that point in time.

This year has seen a lot of change for us here outside of the blog, and, sadly, my posting has been neglected as a result. We made the big move from Maryland to Minnesota, I changed jobs, my husband went through a crazy five-month long 'ordeal' over whether or not he would get the job he's waited three years for (We basically put everything on hold until we new the answer, so we are very happy to report that he has accepted the position and finally started!), celebrated our one year anniversary, said goodbye to one of the best dogs anyone could ask for, and have just started the process of building our new home. It's been a roller coaster of a year. I am excited for 2015, and I hope that in the next year I will be able to pick back up to more frequent postings.

For now, here is December's haul!

First, Rainbow Honey's Mystery Bag for December included larger mini polishes, lotion, solid perfume, and a jumbo cuticle balm (not pictured because I gifted for Christmas).

RH's mini Mystery Bag for December.

Second, I received the holiday collaboration gift pack from Serum No. 5, Polished by KPT, and Lacquer Lust as a Christmas gift. This included three polishes, one from each brand represented that showcased the type of polish they are typically known for (For example, Polished by KPT is known for thermal polishes, which is the type of polish in this set.) and another product from each brand. Polished by KPT made a lavender salt soak, cuticle balm from Lacquer Lust, and a lip serum from Serum No. 5.

2014 Holiday Collaboration Set.

I was so excited about these polishes! They are so pretty! Here is a better shot of the three polishes, Serum No. 5 New You, Lacquer Lust A Toast to the Good Life, and Polished by KPT Live the Night:

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Finally, I came across Sally Hansen High n' Dry in a clearance bin at Shopko. This is from the Insta-Dri line, which I've read is good for stamping, so we'll see if this one is as well.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

That's all for now!

More soon! ^_^

Haul: Catch Up - September, October, and November!

Hello!

So, life has been a bit crazy for me lately oscillating between some really happy and some really sad things for the last couple of months, and it's kept my attention focused elsewhere. I'm not sure when regular posts will be back, but I'm starting to pay more attention to the nail world again. ^_^ But, for today, let's play some catch up and take a peek at the little bit of hauling I've done since the last time.

I've been really keeping to a low-buy, partially due to life circumstances at the moment, but also because there hasn't been really anything new out lately that's really called to me.

September - Just Rainbow Honey's September bag:

Rainbow Honey September Mystery Bag - mini.

Here is October's:

Rainbow Honey October Mystery Bag - mini.

And, finally, November's:

Rainbow Honey November Mystery Bag - mini.

Along the way, I also picked up Orly Ablaze and Zoya Harlow:

Hopefully, more soon! ^_^

Haul: August!

Hello!

August started off with Rainbow Honey's monthly Mystery Bag. This month's signature scent was Royal Fruits, which has a nice bright fruit smell at first then mellows down to a vanilla-esque warmth that I quite like. This bag came with a mini roller ball and large cuticle balm in the Royal Fruits scent; a nice-sized body spray in their fan-favorite scent, Summer Juice; and three mini-size polishes. The polishes are 488nm, a turquoise creme; Modern Hearts, a neon glitter topper; and a Royal Fruits scented topcoat.

Rainbow Honey August Mystery Bag.

My husband surprised me with a few things he found on clearance at Shopko - Studded Nail Art Kit from a brand I'd never noticed before (Fing'rs), Fingr's Heart 2 Art Meet me in the Green Room, and Sally Hansen Galactic Green. I picked up a pretty, pastel glitter polish from Salon Perfect at Walmart. And, lastly, my sister's friend became a Jamberry consultant, so I ordered a couple of packets to try - Lollipop Chevron and Cup of Tea.

Random August Loot!

Quiet around here this month! More soon! ^_^

Haul: July!!

Hello!!

Good stuff in July!! It started with Rainbow Honey's July Mystery Bag, which came with a Midori rollerball, large Midori cuticle balm, Midori cooling gel, and three polishes. I thought the cooling gel was an awesome addition this month. It is sort of like aloe, but with a pleasant scent and a tiny bit of sparkle. This trial size bottle will be perfect to take along on a tropical vacation, and I can't wait to use it after a long day at the beach.

Rainbow Honey July Mystery Bag

The polishes are Chemical Plant, Deep Heart Sea, and Viridia.

Rainbow Honey July Mystery Bag Polishes.

Next, I was incredibly surprised when a package from Rainbow Honey showed up at my door. It had been sent to my old Maryland address and forwarded to me in Minnesota. I had been sent these three polishes as a press sample--my first ever!! This is One Minute More, Work It Out, and Elevate.

Rainbow Honey Mixtape Collection - press sample!

At Sally's, I had an offer for buy one, get one free, so I stopped in to browse. I grabbed Sun Worshipper, and saw that they had The Giver Collection out! I picked up Boundary of Memory, History of the World, and Friends Forever, Right?.

Sally Loot

Of course, I couldn't resist a Llarowe sale! I picked up a few Dance Legend Mist Way polishes, Albion and Be Mine; some random two dollar clearance polishes from both Dear Rus, #15 and #18; and Chick Polish Hipster Chick.

Llarowe Loot

My sister clued me in about our local Shopko's clearance bins. They are hidden away in a corner, so, from her directions, I found the spot and was pleasantly surprised to see some of the Maybelline Bleached Neons collection left! I picked up the limited edition Color Tattoo in Shimmering Sea, Color Whisper in Peach Punch and the polish, Bleached in Peach.

Shopko Clearance Finds!

We're not even done yet! Our local Kmart is going out of business and has marked down everything in the store. I browsed their surprisingly large cosmetics department and found some dusty gems. I found two older OPI's - Magazine Cover Mouse from one of the Minnie Mouse collections and The One That Got Away from the Katy Perry Collection. I also found Sally Hansen Big Smoky Topcoat, Milani Cupid's Touch (the best Wild Orchid purple!!), and the diamond glitter from Nicole by OPI, Be Awesome. I also picked up some nail art stickers and clean-up brushes (I use the concealer brush from E.L.F.).

Kmart Clearance Finds

Finally, Harlow & Co. restocked Powder Perfect just a few days ago. I had been eyeing some pretties from the Abandoned Mansion collection for a few months now. They are so beautiful! I was at work for the restock, so I prepped my husband to do battle and grab these as soon as the restock went live in case they sold out fast. He did an excellent job, and I got all my lemmings: Fading Tapestry, Widow's Walk, Around the Salvatore Fireplace, and Secret Passageway. Perfect for fall, and I cannot wait for cooler temps, changing leaves, and snow!

Powder Perfect gems.

I didn't intend for this month to be so huge, but I am really going to enjoy these beauties!

More soon! ^_^

Haul: June!

Hello!!

We're starting this haul post off with June's Mystery Bag from Rainbow Honey. This month I received a small rollerball perfume in Nucifera, a jumbo cuticle balm in Tea Biscuit, a sugar scrub bar also in Tea Biscuit, three mini polishes, and some half-sized orange sticks.

Rainbow Honey June Mystery Bag. 

I was delighted to see all three polishes this month were pink. Rose Macaron is a light pink crelly with pink, gold, and yellow glitters. Ichigo is a pink jelly packed with flakies. Pikake is a cute mix of pink, white, and yellow glitters with shimmer. I haven't used them yet, but they look cute!

Rainbow Honey June Mystery Bag Polishes. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Next up! Sally Beauty supply! I picked up two China Glaze polishes, Flip Flop Fantasy and Prism, and got the Nail Tek treatment free.

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

After that, I went looking for the new Salon Perfect Red, White, and Blue collection at Wal-mart, but I struck out. My local store apparently did not get any, but I did find Pure Ice Freedom from last year that I had missed out on! I picked up Sparks Fly as well. Sally Hansen Lava was on clearance for about two dollars, so that came home with me too.

Cheapies! Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Finally, a good friend of mine has recently become a nail polish junkie (welcome to the club, Molly!!!), and she has been bidding on polish lots from Ebay. I am the happy recipient of her duplicates! Nicole by OPI textures - Cinna-man of My Dreams and Blue-berry Sweet on You, and China Glaze Luxe and Lush.

Gifts! Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I've got a ton of posts in the works for July, so more soon! ^_^

Haul: May!

Why hello there! Long time, no see, huh?

I'm baaack, and coming to you from lovely Minnesota! Our move went about as well as could be expected. Some minor things popped up including the moving truck breaking down, getting turned around in a few places, and our cats crying for nearly all of the 1100 miles... BUT we made it in one piece! And aside from my lightbox (and by 'lightbox', I mean the cardboard box I cut panels out of and glued white paper into to make a homemade lightbox) being a bit worse off, nothing got damaged, which is incredible. Our family and friends are awesome because, not only did my parents fly out to help drive us back, but everyone came to help us unload. The giant truck that took my husband and I the better part of two days to load was emptied in under an hour!

Here all of my polishes are boxed up and ready to go! Bubble wrap around everything, then into big Ziploc bags before being boxed up!

For the last month, we've been busy changing addresses, licenses, insurances, doctors, anything and everything; unpacking and settling in; and, most importantly, catching up with all the great people in our lives. I landed a job right away (phew!), so now that I've a had a few weeks to get comfortable, I think I am ready to start posting here again!

I didn't buy ANYTHING AT ALL in April! So... Onward to May's Haul!

I picked up a few glitters from China Glaze's Surprise Collection at Sally Beauty near the beginning of the month. This is Don't Be a Flake and  I'm a Go Glitter.

Glitter!!

Then an unforeseen second stop at Sally's a few days ago had me bringing home a couple of polishes from the Offshore Collection. This is Shore Enuff and Be More Pacific. Both greens, which is weird because I generally don't like greens!

What?! I picked greens?

Also, that trip to Sally's was super fun because, since I wasn't expecting to go there, I hadn't prepared my list of Offshore pretties to pick up. I ended up looking at swatches on my phone while in the store, which drew the attention of the other shoppers... and I ended up with a crowd gathered around me checking out swatches too! So we got to talking, and I ended up 'consulting' for about a half hour. I got asked for my opinion on the best polish brand, and gave little pointers on how to make a disappointing polish work better (i.e. the tip of putting neons over a white base). It was really fun to share my enthusiasm for nail polish with others.

Finally, I subscribed to Rainbow Honey's monthly mystery bag. This is so much fun because it doesn't cost very much, and you get a happy little package full of fun things each month! May's bag came with three mini polishes, which aren't released on their own right now: Neon Blossom, Waves, and Petit Four. In addition to the polish, there is a Summer Juice scented soap (beautifully done with purple shimmer), a mini Summer Juice rollerball, Honeymint lip balm, and nail studs! I'm really enjoying all of these products, and I can't wait for June's bag to get here! I also ordered another limited edition from them too, that's a full-size All My Stars over there on the right (not included in the Mystery Bag).

Rainbow Honey <3

Hope you've all been well!

More soon! ^_^

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! ^_^

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! ^_^

Haul: January!

Hello!

I've got some fun stuff to show you this month! Let's start with a late December purchase from Llarowe. I believe these were from a flash sale. Cult Nails Flushed and Dance Legend Termo 178.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Then, I picked up one of Rainbow Honey's November LE's, Linger, and December's "The Bubbly set", which included the topper, a scented topcoat, and a Bubbly scented cuticle balm (my favorite!). I really enjoy the way this smells. I wish they made other products in it.. like lotion... oooh, or a tart melt!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

The order also included a free mystery grab bag because my order was over the required dollar amount. I was pleasantly surprised by what was included! Shown next to Linger, the mystery grab bag came with three mini-sized polishes and a cuticle balm - this one in the Sakura Matsuri scent. Awesomely, the rightmost two polishes are samples from their upcoming spring collection, which hasn't been released or even previewed yet! How exciting! The pink polish is Sakura Matsuri, which I have here. The middle is called Metalmark, and I have swatched it already. The blue one is called Midnight Fountain (swatched here), and it is everything I wanted Bubble Beam to be! If these two are any indication, Rainbow Honey's spring collection is going to rock!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Then I couldn't resist Zoya's three free promo, which nicely worked out that if you purchased three more polishes, you got free shipping, effectively making it buy three, get three free! So... I picked up all but one of the Naturel collection plus Zoya Payton.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Up next, Cult Nails! Cult Nails did a quick little sale of all random bits of inventory they had left on numerous discontinued polishes, so I snagged Seduction (finally!) and Living Water!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

And then some random CVS polishes! Essie On a Silver Platter and Spoiled Trust Fund Baby.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

And if that wasn't enough (It's polish, is it ever? ;) ), I was able to pick up Color Club's Luminous Lacquer set from Llarowe. I also snagged four Joss Gel polishes for my sister because they were on sale, and because she's into gel polish. Aaaaaand, since I could spend $8.92 on shipping or just buy another polish to get free 3-day shipping (really, was there any question as to which to choose?), I grabbed Dance Legend Glam Rock. But, because I'm super awesome, I had these shipped to my sister in Minnesota. She's going on a cruise next week, so I wanted her to get her gel polishes (they're holos!!!!!) in time to wear for her trip. So my new babies will be kept safe at her house until my next trip home (which will hopefully be our big move back there)!

Aaaand, I thought I was done, but I lucked out and found Finger Paints Twisted on a blog sale!!! And Sation Confessions of a Nail Tech was also on the blog sale for three bucks, so I picked that up too.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

And then, my husband not only took my truck in for new tires a few days ago, but, as he was waiting for it to get done, he wandered around some stores and bought this polish for me. It's Sally Hansen Snow Globe and it's full of iridescent glitter! My favorite! He is SO awesome... buys me tires and polish in the same day. He's my favorite!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

So many pretties! More soon! ^_^