Quick Blog!

So i have been spending a lot of time in the world of nail polish lately and i have to admit that i have become engrossed in it.

i can't wait for this week to be over (accounting final Thursday morning) so i can relax and spend some quality time playing with nail polish. How lame does that sound? All the inspiration i have gotten over the last month has made me want to put together a list of nail related goals.

1. Make a franken polish (my first didn't go so well)
2. Try water marbling for the first time
3. Practice konading until i get a decent manicure
4. Catalog all my polishes
5. Create a database of all my polishes (See, that IT class wasn't as useless as i thought)
6. Research polish storage options (its getting a little crazy right now)
7. MORE SWATCHES!

Not to mention, enjoy the items i receive this week since i need to study, study, study accounting!


Plans for my winter break...

This week is finals and after this i have 3 weeks off from school.
Of the 3 weeks, i only work 2 weeks (5 hours a day, 6 days a week). Luckily, the week i have off is the week of Christmas. YAY

I also plan on getting my IKEA dresser set up in my apartment after 2 months of waiting since the boyfriend has been 'busy' and i am hoping to get some curtains up as well.

Not to mention giving my apartment a good scrub down. During the term it really gets dirty and neglected. I also really need to rearrange some furniture to make it flow better and to make room for that new dresser i mentioned.

I have a lot i want to do during these 3 weeks and i'm sure i could do them all if i weren't working and if it weren't Christmas... But it is so i realize not everything will be done that i'm hoping for but that's okay, i can deal with that. I need to put together a plan of what's to be done first. As my 325 professor says... Spend 90% of your time planning so you only spend 10% implementing. I think thats a unrealistic ratio, especially for procrastinators like me but that's a different story.

And just for fun, here is a tag i am copying...

1. Where is your phone? my iPhone is just hanging out next to me
2. Your hair? up in a bun. going to bed soon so...
3. Your Mom? Saturday will be 2 years since she has passed. i miss and love her so much
4. Your Dad? i dont get along with him
5. Your favorite meal? it varies but you can't go wrong with some pizza!
6. Your last dream? oh man, i can't remember. But i recently had a dream Eminem fell for me.... haha
7. What do you like to drink? Ice tea, hot tea, water, coke, mochas
8. Your dream? To make a difference and leave my mark
9. In what room are you? i have a studio, so i guess the main room :)
10. Your hobby? blogging, beading, scrapbooking, reading
11. What are you afraid of? failing
12. Last travel? its been waaay too long!
13. Where were you last night? I was at the BFs house for most of the night until i returned home.
14. Something you are not? a bad student
15. Muffins? do you have blueberry?
16. Wishlist? oh man, so much...!
17. Where did you grow up? spent 12 years in Hawaii. I don't remember much before then
18. Last thing you did? Study for my accounting final with some classmates
19. What are you wearing? T-shirt and undies. like i said, i am getting ready for bed.
20. Your television? none. i don't have cable at my place.
21. Your pet(s)? 2 bunnies - basil and paprika
22. Your friends? Some in hawaii, some here and a bunch spread around all over
23. Your life? complicated
24. Your temper? not so bad anymore
25. Do you miss someone? i miss my mother
26. Your car? none! Do you know how much it is to park downtown?!
27. Something you don't bring with you? i don't bring my kitchen sink :P
28. Your favorite shop? i really love old navy
29. Your favorite color? right now it is purple
30. Last time you laughed? at our study group session
31. Last time you cried? not sure.
32. Your best friend? Possum :)
33. A place where you can go again and again? beaches in hawaii. i miss them
34. Facebook? its pretty cool
35. Favorite place to eat? right now i am craving L&L Hawaiian BBQ

Anyway, time to go to bed.

Maybe i'll edit and add more as i make more plans... or just post a follow up post. Either way, i need a plan so please hold me to it!

Anyone else ready for Christmas to be here already?! I'm too impatient to wait!!

NOTD: LA Girls/Love & Beauty Purple/Blue Glitter

This is one of the polishes that Forever 21 labeled as Love & Beauty but is the exactly like LA Girls polishes so i consider them as such.

Anyway, on a whim, i decided that to try some glitter polishes (before last week i only had two) since i have been seeing swatches on blogs everywhere. I just really hate taking off the glitter but the day after i put it on i saw a blog post by Nihrida about how to take of glitter polish easily. It really worked! the only issue i had was the black creme wet n wild polish didn't completely come off but that was a lot easier to deal with than the glitter. And i spilled some acetone all over myself but that's nothing new. :P

Anyway, let's take a look!


Just so you know, i take pics next to my window for natural light. I live downtown and i'm surrounded by street parking so no, that isn't my vehicle.



The polish is full of blue and purple glitter and the combo is amazing. It doesn't have any base color so i decided to layer it over a Wet n Wild Black Creme polish (that i must admit, is VERY opaque!).








Something about this glitter really excites me. I have dozens upon dozens of polishes that need to be worn (or at least swatched) but i am SO tempted to pull this one out again. I found mine at forever 21 for $2.80 but i can't guarantee if any particular location will have it. They don't really display their polishes like Sally's does. They just dump them in bins of other colors so nothing is guaranteed and you often have to dig. It's really annoying but i love these polishes and the price is right!
I am tempted to make another trip down there this week and see what's in the bins again. ECK!

OH and i wanted to mention that i'm sorry for the crappy pics. I am really hoping for a better camera for Christmas and i think i just may get it. I took a little peak in a closet and next to a set of Costco makeup brushes was a digital camera that appears to also have been purchased at Costco. Just by deduction, unless its for some 'other' relative i don't know about, i think the camera is for me! At least, i hope it is. i really need one. Christmas couldn't come faster!
The only thing between me and my winter break is my accounting final Thursday morning. This week i have only two short work shifts, some packages of polish and tons of studying. It's gonna be rough because i have no motivation and i feel like i'm already on vacation (or ought to be). To celebrate, my business fraternity is going for dinner Thursday night. If only i were 21, i could have a glass of something to loosen me up. But i guess thats what nail polish is for... :P

Oh and my Sephora order should be in tomorrow too. Hopefully before i have to go to work. Metro chic, come to mama! Expect a swatch soon!

Avon Haul

Thats right, another haul! Yeah, i am now i nail polish addict...
I didn't get a whole lot but a few cool things i bought were...




Lip Gloss
L to R: Apple Cinnamon and Island Glow





Polish
L to R:
Golden Wine, Golden Rose, Golden Twilight, and Nocturnal


I decided to put on Golden Wine this after noon but by the time i was finished there was barely any sun left so NOTD pics will come later. Winter is nice but i dislike the extremely short days. Makes me miss Hawaii soooo much.




I tried this Friday night and it was such a cool mask. It was on sale from $.99 to $.69
It was soo worth it! It really does leave your skin feeling moisturized. Nothing long term, more of a quick fix. Even so, it was wonderful and i really enjoyed it.

Well that is my Avon Haul. Trust me, there is more haulage on the way...
Monday comes my Sephora Haul (4 polishes and some samples), Tuesday comes my first TransDesign order, and Thursday is my accounting final and a partial zoya order (few polishes are on backorder.) Not sure what i am most excited about... Ending the term or getting these packages...ECK!!

Once the term ends i want to think about long term plans of nail polish storage... This is a pic of my current storage method but let me remind you that this is before my 4 avon polishes and the 13 polishes from the dollar store and excluding the polishes in the mail right now. Don't think there will be enough room once my TransDesign order gets here. *sigh*



Any suggestions?

Also, i've managed to catalog my polish collection in Access (database). going to put a lot more time into it over the winter break. I'm excited, let's just say that. :)

Massive Haul: Part 2 - Forever 21 and Claires

I'm not sure what possessed me to go downtown that day but i did get some great finds. First, what i got from Forever 21...


Stuff from Forever 21 (Forgot to take collective pics of stuff from Claire's)

Set of 3 pairs of stud earrings - $3.80
2 different necklace/earring sets - $4.80 Each
LA Colors Intense 4 piece set - $5
LA Girls (Rockstar) Polish in "teal" - $2.80 (Swatch in previous post)
LA Girls (Flare) Polish in Light Orange - $2.80 (Actually a gold glitter)
Love & Beauty Polish in Purple/Blue - $2.80 (glitter)**
Love & Beauty Polish in Orchid - $2.80**
Love & Beauty Polish in Grey - $2.80**
(not shown above) Silver cosmetic bag - $4.80


***Note: These polishes look and feel EXACTLY the same as all the LA Girls polishes i have gotten from Forever 21 (including the first two in this haul and others from CherryCulture. It appears Forever 21 is putting their label on La Girls polishes. Therefore, i still consider them to be LA girls polishes).






Downside is that these 4 polishes are not labeled at all. For reference, i cataloged these as Intense Teal, Purple, Orange, and Pink.






L to R: LA Girls in Teal and Light Orange (more like gold glitter)


L to R: Love & Beauty Grey, Orchid, and Purple/Blue


Clair's Haul


L to R: Claire's Hollywood($4.50), Magic($4), 14 Karats($4), and Clean Slate($4)

This were more pricey than what i expected but i didn't mind because i really liked the colors. My favorite of the bunch is 14 Karats because of its unique appearance. It is quite unique and i fell in love with a gold for the first time. I just hope it looks decent on me, golds and my skin tone usually clash.
i haven't work any of these but when i swatch them i think i will enjoy them very much!


When i walked into Claire's, i just planned on checking out the polishes since i have seen some pretty cool ones on other blogs. but when i saw the rose earrings (LOVE!) i knew i had to have them. Well they have this buy 2 get 1 free deal so i scanned to see if i could find anything else good... I did! I saw the penguins and i HAD TO HAVE THEM! I've seen other Christmas/penguin earrings that look... stupid. These were simple, cute penguins!


And i kind of wanted some bigger but unique hoops and i spotted this pair to make the 3 earring deal. Sweet!

some great finds that day. But i have a lot more hauls on the way. I've been definitely going overboard and i literally had to STOP myself 3 times today from ordering online... But on the drive to the BF's place, i begged him to stop at the dollar store because i had heard about the dollar tree stocking up on polishes from Maybelline and Sally Hansen. So glad i went! I found a lot of great polishes - 13! i would have indulged more but the BF was flabbergasted at how much i was putting in the cart i thought i would take it easy. But now i am feigning for more! If only he saw my entire stash that is quickly approaching 200 when i just hit 100 a week or so ago... yikes

Anyway, i need to focus tomorrow on studying for my big accounting final to pull my grade up. I doubt i will get a A- in the class after re-examining my grades but i could get a B+ if i work my a$$ off!

See ya!

NOTD: LA Girls Rockstar Polish in Teal

Here is another gorgeous polish from LA Girls. I purchased this from Forever 21 and i noticed something interesting besides their new makeup in stores... Forever 21's makeup label is labeling LA Girls polish as their brand now which means no real color names hence the name of this one "teal". Oh its so much more!!
Some of the polishes i pick up at Forever 21 have the typical LA Girls label on the front with a forever 21 sticker on the back (with their sorry attempt for a name!) while others have no LA Girls markings whatsoever but the bottle is identical to LA Girls. This makes me sad. I still consider them to be LA Girls colors. But at least i can find them at Forever 21 now (horribly display, i must say) thats better than buying blindly online.



Anyway onto the polish itself.

Teal-green colors are gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but typically i don't see them looking nice against my pale skin. What sold me on this polish is the amazing shimmer. It reflects as good as a glitter but not nearly as chunky which i love! I don't wear (or buy) glitters often despite how beautiful they are they are such a pain to take off. This was almost as easy as any other polish. I guess i would consider this a glitter but its so on the fence.



It has a Jelly like formula and could be more opaque. This is 2 coats and there is still VNL but that could be solved with more coats (IMO) or a white/black base polish. It was smooth and dried at a normal pace.



I only wore this polish for a day. That may be typical for other bloggers but not for me. Usually i have it on at least 2-3 days but my ring finger nail split on the side so i had to remove the polish and try to mend it for now. I reaaly really want to grow out my nails!


Like i mention, these colors aren't usual for me but wow... I absolutely love this. I want my best friend (who is much darker than me) to wear it. I'm sure it will stand out great on her plus this is her type of color for sure. :)

Ecck! Still anxiously waiting for my packages in the mail. But they did change the delivery date of my TransDesign packaged from Wednesday to Tuesday! :)

Massive Haul: Part 1 Rite Aid

\

So i waltzed to Rite Aid, the one weekend when i didn't check out their ads, and discovered that they had all Wet n Wild products 40% off! I only went in to get some cheap basic polishes to experiment with but left with almost every color on the shelves. HA! No i'm not kidding. I left with a whopping 48 polishes. Most were Wet n Wild. I did buy multiples of clear polish, black and white but all the 'colors' i only purchased one each with an exception of a few that didn't interest me.


(Pic above includes everything i bought that day. Not just what i grabbed at Rite Aid. Will post what i got from Forever 21 and Claire's separately.)

All of their polishes are either $.99 or $1.99 making them $.59 or $1.19
So... i stocked up and i have to say i am quite impressed. I've had a few of their polishes but nothing recently and anything i had from before i moved to Portland is long gone now that i'm out on my own.

Anyway i bought:
Wet n Wild - Wild Shine (Regular $.99) in:
Red Red (love it!)
Frosted Fuchsia
Burgundy Frost
Mauve Frost
Misty Rose
Flirty Rose Creme
Bar-B
Blazed
Sapphire Blue - WOW!
Eggplant Frost
Bijou Blue
Sparked - Pink Glitter
Kaleidoscope - Silver/rainbow glitter
Wild Orchid - Purple glitter
Ice Blue Pearl - Opal
Black Creme X2 - This is a rich black! Great formula
French White Creme X3
Clear Nail Protector X4







Wet n Wild Mega Last (Regularly $1.99) in:
Broken Hearted
Head Over Heels

Wet n Wild Craze (Regularly $1.99) in: [Forgot to take pics of these. Sorry!]
Lust - Bright Pink
Jade - Green with Gold shimmer
Rustic -Brown copper color
Glitz - Pink Glitter

NYC (Regularly $.99) in:
Broadway Burgundy Frost
Pink Promenade Creme
Starry Silver Glitter



Petites (About $1.80) in Universe - Gold glitter/Shimmer/Flake mix WHOA!

CQ (about $2.60) in Silver Taupe - Of course i had to get a taupe!!! :)

And lastly from Rite Aid i picked up Nad's hair removal creme that was on sale for $5 just on impulse. Sick of shaving lately.

I'll post the rest of the haul soon!

NOTD: Color Club Babe lined with Sliver Tips

So I keep reaching for my typical dark or neutral colors and i wanted to mix it up a little. I decided to go with Color Club in Babe which is a very opaque pearl pink. I was surprised just how opaque it was since so many light pinks are on the sheer side and require layering. I believe i did 2 coats just to even it out but i could have gone with 1 thick coat.



After i sat and looked at the color, it thought it needed something. It was just so opaque and pink. So i pulled out my collection and decided to do the tips with a LA Colors Art Deco polish in Silver Glitter.




I thought it was nice but the more i kept looking at it... i just felt something wasn't quite right. This manicure, on me, looked a lot like those press on nails for 6 year old girls. Pretty but just meant for a completely different age group.

Lesson of the day is to be careful with pinks and overly girly combinations.

IN OTHER NEWS....

And just as a quick blurb, i have a huge haul from Tuesday to show you from Rite Aid (because they have all Wet n Wild products 40% off making their $1 polishes .59 and $2 polishes $1.19), Claires and Forever 21. Definitely going to have to break it up and it may take a few days to get it up. Going to be picture heavy since in total i picked up 48 polishes and a few other things. Yeah, i went a little crazy and now that means no more shopping for December unless it is a Christmas present.

Oh and i almost forgot to mention that i placed my first TransDesign.com order on Tuesday for some empty bottles, NailTek, Crackle polish (YES!!), Nail design Tools and of course some polishes. Needless to say, i am quite excited. I just sometimes wish i didn't live across the country from awesome online stores since it often takes 5+ days to receive. But i am a little worried because now UPS says it will arrives next Tuesday. I have a big accounting final on Thursday! It will be so hard to study after getting so many polishes and new things to play with!

Geez just as i was about to post this and i realized i have so much coming in the mail.
Transdesign: 21 polishes (i think) plus a lot of other odds n ends
Zoya: 14 polishes (will take a while since i used the green promo code)
Sephora: 4 Polishes
Avon: 4 Polishes

For a total of 43 polishes. Wow.... Yeah, i think i am done with polish shopping this month. :/




Just wanted to add this pic of the crazy construction thats been going on for months and will be going on for many MORE months. Ugh But at least it was a nice day.

Comparison Swatches of Dusty Muaves

So this is going to be a post comparing some of my dusty rose-muave colored polishes. This post may be a bit premature since i am expecting to receive a few more polishes in the mail (a whopping 22 new ones!) but i just wanted to see so i thought i would make a post of it.



L to R: China Glaze in Fifth Avenue ($3-6 Depends on retailer), ELF in Mod Mauve ($1 EyesLipsFace.com), NYX Girls in Flash ($2 Cherry Culture), Pure Ice in Taupe Drawer ($2 WalMart), and Sinful Colors in Vacation Time ($2 Walgreens).




These last two pics really make it confusing which color is which so i will label them again for ya :)

Thumb: China Glaze in Fifth Avenue ($3-6 Depends on retailer)
Much more red/rosey pink based cream color. Only one coat and it is completely opaque. Application is flawless! One of my favorites in my collection and china glaze hit the nail on this one!

Pointer: Pure Ice in Taupe Drawer ($2 WalMart)
This is such a beautiful color but definitely needs more than one coat for even coverage. First thing i thought after applying was that i HAVE to compare it to Metro Chic (once i get it in the mail) because i wonder how the two compare. This is the darkest of all the colors and definitely is more purple/plum toned then the rest and i knew i fell in love. Only problem was the the application wasn't quite smooth, particularly the 2nd coat which can lead it to be less than a beautiful manicure. But i can't say i mind much... Its a great color and the price is right! Definitely grabbing more of this brand.

Middle: NYX Girls in Flash ($2 Cherry Culture)
A little on the sheer side, 2 coats are needed (minimum) but 3 coats really brings out the true color. Application is smooth and you are left with a light pink based dusty color. Lighter than i prefer but it was one of my first "dusty" colors that really got me hooked.

Ring: ELF in Mod Mauve ($1 EyesLipsFace.com)
At one coat, it looks very blotchy and uneven. Application isn't as smooth as i would like but still decent. Give it 2-3 coats and it is a lovely plum/rose mix mauve color. This is definitely a keeper and the price is amazing at only a dollar!

Pinky: Sinful Colors in Vacation Time ($2 Walgreens)
A new addition and my second polish from Sinful that i had to grab when i glaced down at it in line at Walgreens. Application was alright but i'm not sure if it was the brush or the formula that made it slightly annoying to apply. Regardless it is a dusty rose color that is less red than Fifth Avenue but darker than Flash. Very pretty and (in my opinion) work appropriate.



Like i mentioned above, i wonder how Metro Chic will compare to these colors. I can't hardly wait!
If anyone knows any colors similar to these, let me know! I love these 'dusty' colors.

I also thought i would mention real quick that Sephora by OPI currently has a box set of 3 polishes for the price of 2 on their website which includes Metro Chic. I wasn't planning on placing an order today until i was sent a code for free shipping on any orders. Here is the code in case you were interested: Ship4Free and is good until Monday 11/30/09. I also decided to pick up another one called On Stage. These will be my first Sephora by OPI polishes and i am giddy with excitement right now.

Anyway, off to finish my Sunday evening and prep for dead week. Finals are right around the corner... How fun!... (Not!)
Who is ready for Christmas?! I am!

-Antonea
11/29/09