Return of the Addict!

Its been a loooong time Blogger, but I've returned! And I blame all of you for reigniting my nail polish addiction. That and I am now out of school (Accounting Undergrad) and on the job hunt. In other words, I have much, much more time on my hands to browse blogs(ahem, stalk) and paint my own nails. 

First, quick update. 

1. Graduated college! 

2. Quit my student job. 

3. Moved from Portland, OR to the Austin, TX area (Round Rock, any polish addicts in my area?!). 

And this massive moved required me to liquidate 2/3 of my collection. *tear* I mostly purged lower end/cheaper polishes and ones that just didn't wow me. But there were some tough choices made. Now my mental inventory of my stash is so out of whack! I will need to re-inventory my collection. I also need to find a new way to store and organize them. My SO says hes going to build me a nice custom rack but I'll believe when I see it. :)  

Am I going to get back to blogging? 

Yes. But I can't seem to find my camera after the move. I swear I saw it when I first was unpacking. And I want to figure out a new system of lighting for the pictures. In time, my friends. So I guess the answer is yes BUT I'll need to slowly get things figured out. 

Also, I am on a mad raging path for GLITTER polishes lately. I have a love/hate relationship with them, I admit. And I am restarting my polish lemming list. On the top is the top coat from Nubar called Moon Drops. Omg WANT! My tax return couldn't come at a better time (or worse from a different perspective!). 

I hope to get caught up with all the blogs I follow shortly! :) 

-A 

China Glaze Collection & Bermuda Breakaway

Oh China Glaze, I love you. 

Someone wanted to see all the ChG polishes I have so here they are in the shape of a heart. Cute right? I have 54 of them currently and it definitely won't stop there. I am already eyeing the holiday collection. 

I have issues. 

But don't blame me! ChG makes great collections in so many fun colors. Any serious collector or nail polish fan needs them in their collection. 

Anyway, here is Bermuda Breakaway that I just recently hauled. 

Such a deep, beautiful blue!

These pictures show the blue to be brighter but in person its darker. More like a dark navy blue. 

I've never been into blue much until recently. I think it was that blue holo polish from Milani that suddenly got me into blue. Weird. 

And I wanted to get someones opinion... Does it drive anyone else crazy when people call creme colors (no sparkle, glitter or shimmer) mattes?   Matte means there is no shiney effect. This confusion drives me nuts. Probably because I LOVE creme finishes but I'm not wild about the majority of matte polishes. So for me, this distinction is important. 

Does anyone else notice this?

Well, I'll end that mini rant. :P 

OPI Miami Beet

I am in a frenzy trying to get back into the swing of school which starts next week (Eck!). So far, its been rough. I believe this may be a case of senioritis. But unlike high school, this is my most important year to be on track, focused and organized. Ugh  I am determined to do everything and more so I'm going to keep the attitude up even if I have to fake it for awhile.

Anyway, here is one of the polishes I found half off at Fred Meyer - OPI in Miami Beet.

I love these berry shades but I know they aren't too exciting or unique. This one isn't anything special but its rich and opaque in color. And for half off? Definitely could use just one more, right? :)

Currently this is on my toes and it looks great! 

Is it just me or is Miami one of those cities that just isn't too appealing to visit? I know the club scene is great and I'm sure the beaches are lovely too. But coming from Hawai'i, I prefer the Pacific. :)  And clubs just aren't my thing. Eh

Since I am (kinda sorta) on the topic, I may be going to Hawai'i sometime this winter break. Really hope it works out because I miss my little rock in the ocean. Its been 4 years since I left and I bet soooo much has changed. Sigh...

Is anyone making holiday plans yet?

Anyway, that's all I have for now. 

Misa in Quirky Smile

Misa in Quirky Smile is apart of their new fall collection that consists of deeper, darker, lit from within colors. They are all truly beautiful in their own right. Quirky Smile, to me, is a blue-leaning teal although in some lighting it can look more green. The shimmer looks amazing in the sun or in strong, bright light. This is definitely not your grandma’s shimmer polish!

I didn’t pick up the entire collection but now I wish I had. No worries tho, I will pick up the rest later! 

The application was smooth but a tad bit on the runny side. With a little cleanup, application looks flawless, don’tcha think?

(I’ve been practicing my cleanup and its starting to reeeally impress me)

Misa, how I love you!'

I picked these up from Head2ToeBeauty.com for $3.75 each and they are so worth the price tag!

Reorganization of my Polish Stash!

So I recently came to a crossroads. In a Tumblr post, I wrote about needing to rethink the organization/storage of my nail polishes because I had run out of space… Officially. I had gotten a bunch of new polish from Golden Rose and they had no home. I left them to sit in the packing envelope that they arrived in but really… That's just not fair.

I listed some options in the Tumblr post. Bascially I was kind of stuck in the short term. I really don't have the funds to do much right now in terms of purchasing racks or what not. So I decided on the next best option… Clear out this shelf I have in my apartment that housed some DVDs and books.

Let's look at the before storage pics….

Yikes! See how crowded it had become? There was no way I could fit anything more in there comfortably. Not to mention  I couldn't even really see my stash. I had to always pull polishes out to find anything. No Bueno!

And here is the after in the shelf…

What do you guys think?

I also posted a video if you're interested. I'll include it at the very bottom.

I keep inventory of my polishes here and as I write this, I have 346 polishes. Isn't that insane?! But honestly, my collection is no where near done! Not by a long shot.

How big is your polish collection? Is there ever a number of polishes that you would reach and decide your collection is full/complete? I'm not sure if I have  magic number. I guess its just when I am satisfied or overwhelmed with my collection. Whichever comes first :P 

Haul: Sally's Beauty Supply + Cute Kitty!

Hey guys!

So I was able to make a pit stop in Sally's for some necessities... But with any visit, I always walk out with more than I originally planned. Oops!

I really just needed some new files and to pick up a bottle of Seche Rebuild (to 'rebuild' your nails) to try out.

But I walked out with these things....

3 different files, Seche Rebuild, Seche Vite, and a detail nail art brush. 

Did I mention I also saw some polishes on clearance from a brand I've never really noticed or heard anything about... 

Savvy by Femme Couture in Purple Potion, Knightly Armour, Prince Ala Charm

These turned out to be layering polishes. They lay down this fleck/shimmer that is just AMAZING! I used Knightly Armour in two manicures here and here. Since they were on clearance, they were only $1.99 each. Wowza! If I see another bottle of Knightly Armour on my next visit, I am picking it up without a doubt!

Seche Rebuild

Its too premature to say whether or not this treatment polish works but I do love the light/natural look it gives when you wear it alone. Excuse the crappy iPhone pic. 

And just for fun...

Isn't she adorable? Why do cats like to sit on important stuff? It cute, I will admit. 

Anyways, more haul posts to come! But trust me... No more buying. Wallet is screaming at me!

Haul: Sinful Colors and Milani

One afternoon we made a quick trip to Fred Meyer (I believe that was bought out by Kroger a while back) and I decided to wonder around their beauty isles. They had some collection plastic holders sitting out but they were either empty of damn near empty. Wah!

Some locations seem to have a wide, well stocked variety, but sadly this store was not one of them. I still managed to pick up some cool polishes so I won't complain TOO much.

L to R: Sinful Colors in All About You, Suede Shoes, Shausha, 

Dream On, Rise and Shine, Mint Apple, 

Milani in In A Flash

I have a small collection of Sinful Colors previous to picking these up. As of writing, I've used 3 of these and I love them! I currently have Rise and Shine on my toes right now and its PERFECT! 

Rise and Shine, Suede Shoes, Mint Apple, All About You

I'll get to the glitters in a moment... The two greens are unique. Rise and Shine is definitely not showing up as vivid and bright as it is IRL. So sorry! I can say that I have it on my toes at the moment and its lovely, bright, and great for summer! In the bottle you will see a blue shimmer/sheen but on the nail, it seems to disappear. Honestly, I'm not sure if thats good or bad. Either way, I LOVE it. 

Mint Apple also has obvious silver shimmer visible in the bottle. I have yet to wear it yet but I hope the shimmer is at least somewhat noticeable. But I will say that this isn't the typical mint greens that we've been seeing. It seems to be much less pale/pastel. I like!

Suede Shoes

See the glitter on that one? It looks like I am looking into some galaxy or something. I hope its as interesting on the nail as it is in the bottle!

All About You

This is one of the polishes I was wearing as a layering polish recently. Check it out here. The pics there aren't great, I know! In that post I mentioned that the micro glitter in this polish is more complex than I originally thought. There is a base of micro tacky-yellow-gold glitter but there are also some lightly larger glitter bits that are orange. That bit of orange really lights up this polish!

As for the other two polishes, I could not seem to snap a decent photo of them. I think my camera started acting wonky at the end of the little photo session. Its temperamental and fussy. 

In A Flash

Milani's In A Flash refused to be captured by my camera as well. It isn't the first time I have tried either. The base color seems right but the glass-like-flecks just don't appear quite right. In person, you can see lots of gold flecks! But photos? Fail.  Oh well. 

Anyways... More hauls to come. I've been one haulin fool :P 

Guest Nails with American Apparel

So on Friday I knew it would be a slow shift at work. I just so happened to be ready for work early. Unusual for me, honestly. So I decided I'd bring my things and do a co-workers nails. She said she wanted a nude-purple color. Naturally I pulled a ton of options for her.

After much consideration we decided to use American Apparel in Dynasty on all the nails except the ring finger. We did that nail as the accent nail with American Apparel in Mouse topped with Savvy by Femme Couture in Knightly Armour.

Excuse the crappy iPhone pics but its all I brought with me.

I really like the result. I think those purple/taupe colors look great on just about anyones skin tone. I love em!

Now... Whose nails should I do next?  :)