Haul: Christmas Nail Gifts

Hey guys! So I received a lot of amazing gifts this year for Christmas. I am truly grateful and appreciative.

My boyfriend and his parents didn't feel too comfortable picking out makeup/nail stuff but they did their best and supplemented it with a gift card to Ulta (that will be a different post). Let me show you my goodies!

I got a set from Colorworks which i don't think is a regular line of polish just one that makes box sets for the holidays but i could be wrong. Anyway, this came with a lot of different things that i didn't have.

I immediately took it all out of the box and threw that away. So I also took pics individually too.

These are all the color polishes in the set. A few of the colors look different IRL. Theres no labels or names so I'm not sure how to enter them into my list of polishes. Maybe I could make up my own names and attache little labels? hmmmm...

Just by playing with them, they seem to be pretty decent pigmented polishes. Cheap polishes can be big surprises!

These are the French manicure polishes and French tip guides as well. I needed more of these! These polishes are bigger than the colored ones.

Yup thats right! A nail dryer! This thing was funky because the included instructions said it needed two C batteries but when we popped open the back the slots were way too small. AA's fit perfectly. Weird.

You turn it on by placing your hand under the flap (pic below) and pressing down.

I don't like having to press it down because without dry fast top coats, it can take forever and I'd probably forgot to apply pressure. But its still cool... in a not-so-useful way!

By the way, it emits cool air. Probably just a fan inside.

These are a bunch of the tools they included.

The round cylinder thing at the top left is a set of 4 nail tools. Next to it is a foot lotion (but i suppose it could be used for hands too).

The tub is a nail buffing cream with the nail buffer on top. Not sure if this cream is just for buffing or just a typical hand lotion. Either way, i've used it all over my hands.

The 3 items under the nail tools is a cuticle remover cream, nail whitening pencil, and a corrector pen.

And the last two items are pretty obvious-nail brush (2 sides! really useful) and toe separators. Honestly, i hate toe separators... I don't like my toes pulled apart!

I also got this case! I decided its nail related because I plan to use it for nail stuff (and maybe some makeup too) when I travel. Most often, when I stay over with the BF and I want to bring my supplies.

Included with it are those dividers (which i put up randomly) and different foam padding! Perfect for protecting my polish while allowing them to stand up-right.

I took a shot with a ton of stuff in it! Pretty much more than you would really 'need' for a manicure or two but polish lovers will understand... We need all that stuff "just in case" we will need it. Haha

When I went home after Christmas, I took my polish home in this and everything seemed safe. Very happy with it.

I also received a smaller, less cool version of this case, i just forgot to take pics.

I received much more non-nail/beauty related items such as a new desk and desk chair from Ikea, tea set from Ikea, a HP mini netbook, my new nikon digital camera (notice the awesome pics above?), penguins galore including more penguin pajama pants (love!), bed set, penguin flannel sheets, and even a crystal penguin! Yeah, I was really spoiled. :)

Anyways, I'll start posting new material very, very soon! I promise!

Bye for now!

Haul: (Before Christmas) from Walmart and Sallys

Hey guys!

So I will be posting a parade of haul posts for the next few days/week or so. I've been picking up things here and there and plus Christmas! Not to mention that I am getting paid at the end of this week. You know what that means!

So let's get started on some of the polishes I picked up a bit before Christmas at Walmart and a super cool item I picked up to organize my polish table with!

I really wanted to recreate a sparkly/snowy look so I needed a silver micro glitter. I'm just starting to get into glitters so I don't have much of a collection yet. I also some a blue mirco glitter and a soft yellow, so I picked those up as well.

I also picked up Biotin there since I want to improve my nails. I take about 2-3 pills a day when I remember. haha I picked up the Vitamin D at Safeway. Not sure why I added it, I guess I was in a bit of a hurry to get to bed.

L to R: Pure Ice Strapless, Pure Ice Beware, Sally Hansen Extreme Wear in Mellow Yellow

I didn't have a yellow so I figured "Why not?". That reasoning gets me in trouble. But it is my first yellow.

I also picked up Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. The thing is... It really isn't a cream. Its more of a salve consistency. Its hard and you rub your finger over it and you get a little product on your finger tips and rub it over your cuticles. Take a look, its solid.

I've been using this for about a week and a half and so far I think its decent. I wish it were just a little bit softer so I could swipe a bit and apply whereas now I have to swipe apply, swipe, apply, etc.

I also picked up this remover. I've never heard of the brand but they didn't have the Sally Hansen remover that I love. I've been using acetone a lot (and its drying out my nails!) so I am really trying to find that Sally Hansen remover but its always sold out or not sold where I shop. Argh. I don't recommend this remover. Its nothing compared to my HG Sally Hansen. Oh well, worth a shot. Maybe I'll keep this at the BFs just in case. :)

I got the idea to get this turntable from Walmart from Emily Noel on Youtube. I loved the idea so much it was the main reason I wanted to go to Walmart. In her video she used the turntable for makeup supplies. I wanted it to hold my newest polish that I need to swatch and some essentials. The pic above is just after putting it together just to show what it looks like. Now its on my kitchen table turned manicure table (LOL) and I LOVE it. I plan on doing a post about my evolving manicure station and storage. I'm not done with by its a work in progress. :)

Emily picked up the plastic one that was about $5-6 at my Walmart in the kitchen section. But when I got there all the plastic ones looked messed up or opened PLUS I saw this stainless steel one for only a few bucks more ($9 and some change) and it looked more sturdy. So I picked this one over the plastic and I'm very glad I did. The sides don't look overwhelmed at all like plastic can do.

Sallys! So we were hitting up Safeway Christmas Eve for some last minute groceries. Of course, there has to be a Sallys right next door and I really needed another bottle of Seche Vite. But I was sucked in and picked up China Glaze Ruby Pumps and Emerald Sparkle.

L to R: China Glaze Emerald Sparkle, China Glaze Ruby Pumps, and Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (Love this stuff!)

In a post coming up, I used these two new polishes for my Christmas manicure that really lasted on my nails.

Well that's all I have for now. I know I totally slacked off last week with the posts so I am writing up a few more and scheduling them post now so that I don't go on 1-2 week hiatuses when school starts back up... Which is Jan. 4th! Eck!

Anyway, Happy New Years!

Haul: Diamond Cosmetics, OC Nail Art, and Zoya

Hey guys! So I have been waiting for some packages (some longer than others) and, of course, they all arrived Saturday! Weeeeeee
I'll start with the  smallest which is from Zoya. I ordered last minute from the Zoya Green Friday promotion and 4 of the polishes I ordered were on back order (3 of the greens and 1 I picked out). The first shipment came with 10 polishes and this time i received 2. So I'll just have to wait for the last two... Sigh
Below L to R:
Zoya Freja and Tangy

I also placed another order from OC Nail Art for another plate (i reaaaallly wanted the snowflake image) and 3 more special polishes since my white was running a little low. I ordered them in white (my favorite and the easiest color to work with), silver, and red. I plan on picking up a few more colors soon. Maybe next month?

And lastly, my order from Diamond Cosmetics.

Assuming these go on decently, I would purchase from Diamond Cosmetics again. I already know of a few more I want.But here is what i picked out. Unfortunately, none of them really fit in with the Christmas theme I am going with for the next week so no swatches until later.


I am anxiously awaiting Christmas. This year there are a lot of gifts under the tree, its AMAZING! I grew up a little on the broke side so this just seems unreal. There are so many presents that they are layering each other like crazy. Its all the Boyfriend and his parents. So, can you see why I am excited?

I am really hoping for a camera this Christmas. I take so many pics on my iPhone and now i am blogging regularly... It only seems obvious that a real camera is in need, dontcha think?

The BFs mom said that something was really special but i don't think she would say that about a camera.. Its just not her thing. Maybe jewelry?

If I don't get a camera for Christmas, I just may take the plunge and get one for myself soon. I was hoping to save up for a trip for my 21st bithday (in July) but we'll see...

Anyway, I am spending tomorrow cleaning, cleaning and maybe some rearranging. Including working on a place for me to do my nails. I need a little corner so I will probably move my bed around. It sure is tough sometimes living in a studio but much better than a dorm room!

See ya!

Mini Konad Haul and My First Christmas Tree

Yes, you read right... ANOTHER haul but this time its small so don't worry!

I've been practicing with my konad supplies and i am definitely getting better at it. I'm not sure what i was doing wrong months ago but i'm glad i'm getting the hang of it now.

With practicing has come my mega lemming for more plates and more fun!


I see the 30% code for OC Nailart all the time on peoples blogs so i thought i would place a order. My first konad purchase went smoothly through wowsocool.com but the prices were the same or similar i thought i would try the site.
I ordered 4 plates at $6.99 each and a plate holder for $3.99.
With the 30% off code, my order came out to be about $22 or so. You get free shipping after spending $20 as well. What a deal!

And because the owner ships from California, i recieved my order very quickly! I was shocked! i ordered Friday evening and it was shipped Saturday. And in my mailbox on Monday. Amazing or what?!

The plates i ordered:
M12 - Christmas theme with santa, candy cande, tree, bells, snowman, and "Merry Christmas"

M35 - flowers, heart, fairy

M51 - Flowers, unique pattern design thats totally unexplainable in a good way

M65 - pattern designs including a rose bud (which is why i wanted it)

i used a flower pattern on M51 tonight using the plate holder and wow! i love the plate and the plate holder made it so much easier and much less of a mess! Definitely worth the money.

I loved my order so much i placed another small order even though i really shouldn't have... Oh well.

I ordered mainly because i saw an amazing snowflake design that i just have to do myself. Surprisingly (to me at least), the Christmas plate didn't have a snowflake but M59 does so i ordered that and 3 Princess Konad polishes in White, Silver and Red. I hope (and assume) i'll get it before the weekend. Eecckk!


Yup, i am really getting into the Christmas mood. Sometimes its hard since my mother died two years ago on Dec. 15 but i know she wouldn't want me to be sad. So, i try hard not to be and keep my spirits up.

This is my very first Christmas tree since i've been out on my own. It's mini but i still love it dearly! We picked up the table top tree for $10, the lights from sergio's parents and the decorations from Target and Fred Meyers. It was so much fun decorating it.

Anyways, i'll be posting pics of some Konad work i've done. Its been pretty bad weather here in Oregon which means pretty bad pics but i'll post what i have. Still hoping for a camera for Christmas. hopefully something with a macro setting. Let the countdown til Christmas begin!

Did i mention i placed my first Diamond Cosmetics order last week and that 2 of the 4 Zoya polishes that have been on back order have shipped out? Well, i am mentioning it now. :) Yup, that means a few more packages.

These nails blogs have made me addicted, addicted i tell ya!

Haul: Package from Transdesign!

So i took the plunge about a week ago and ordered a ton of stuff from Transdesign. A lot of polish and a lot of other misc. nail items that will be at the end.
With this order, i tried out some new brands (to me) and items so i can continue my love for polish!


L to R: Misa in Candy Girl, High Waist Hue, Passion 4 Fashion, and Glimmering Mauve

After hearing such great things about Misa, i took the plunge for $3 a bottle, what could go wrong? So glad i did because i am IN LOVE with Misa right now. I thought for sure the new polish i would put on today would be a toss up between Metro Chic, Merry Midnight or Holiday Glow. For some reason, High Waist Hue called to me. Texture is amazing, color is rich and the bottle is so pretty and classy. i love it all around!
I immediately started looking for more Misa polish swatches so that i could see my next picks.

Anyway...


LOVE!
For some reason i wasn't expecting the bottle to be a cube shaped. Neat!


I was eagerly waiting for the New OPI Holiday polishes. Every swatch i saw, my lemming became stronger and stronger until i knew it was time to order some.
I have to admit, i am a cheap shopper. I like brands like Misa, China Glaze, Wet n Wild because the polish is great AND the price is right! So it's hard for me to reason to spend anything more than $4 on a polish. But for these colors, i had to. Plus, e-retailers sell at a great price $5 compared to $9 in stores.


L to R: OPI in Merry Midnight, Sapphire in the Snow, Holiday Glow, and You Don't Know Jacques!
The little flakes in Merry Midnight is to die for!


L to R: China Glaze in Sci-Fi, Innocence, Harmony and VIII.

Harmony has this streak of silver in it that totally stands out. I wonder if it wasn't mixed well of its just from shipping and particles settling. Either way, its frickin cool!


I really love China Glaze polishes. I feel like they rival OPI and quite often they win. In my book at least.



Heard from another blogger about these New York Summer polishes. Transdesign didn't seem to have much of a collection of this brand but i picked up something different.
I really love Poppies. Not even for frankening... Just the color itself is amazing. For less than two dollars you really can't go wrong even if you are not head over heels for them. The glitters will probably be frankened just because they aren't quite unique or WOW enough but we'll see how it all goes i guess.


L to R: New York Summer in.........


I picked up another Essie even though i'm not a big fan. I have this weird thing that i don't want any "lonely" single brand polishes in my collection. So i am trying to make sure to have at least two. Is that silly of what?!
But anyways i picked up Essie in Chinchilly as well as NailTek Foundation III.
They were out of NailTek Foundation II so i just shrugged not knowing if it mattered anyway. But so far, i'm not really impressed.


These are some extra items i ordered that are all nail related.
I'll try to list them left to right.
The big round bottle is cuticle oil from Armour. I couldn't pick which one to order but this one had a cute bottle and i picked it in watermelon scent. How cool!
I also grabbed some fakies so that i could start the process of swatching my whole collection. I don't have enough fakies currently to do that but i am starting with the brands i love and brands i own many polishes from.
The little squirt bottle is cuticle remover. I have some nasty cuticle growth that can't simply be pushed back no matter how hard i try. So i decided to give this a try and it really does work. But when they say wash it off, they mean it! i've heard of people just wiping it away after and there goes their nail! So be careful with it.
The 3 stick looking things in the back are supposed to be tools for dotting and marbling. I tried water marbling yesterday and i couldn't prefect it but i'll keep experimenting.
I also grabbed some nail decals just for fun. I felt they were overpriced for how many were in the package. Eh, oh well.
Also picked up a nail brush for $.30 since you can't have enough nail brushes. But this thing is so cheap. The bristles suck and they are no where near even... Its just a disaster that they even sell something so crappy. But whatever, its 30 cents.
The two long polishes on the bottle were supposed to be kracle polishes. But i didn't realized the black was actually a "black base" so only the white krackles. I was excited so i just slabbed some on real quick and while it does crack... i'll give it that... It cracks and peels off your nail. Its crappy and did nothing like krackle polishes from CoverGirl did years ago. Ah, oh well. I am now temped to write to Cover Girl and beg them to bring back Krackle polishes. I'd buy at least 5 of them.
And on the far right is just two different kinds of empty nail polish bottles. Just from looking at their brushes... yikes. But we'll see. I plan on doing some frankening very soon. :)

So anyway, i am at work finishing up this so i better get going. :)
Gotta love the save button!

Haul: Sephora and Christmas is near!

i've been wanting some Sephora by OPI for a while now. All the cool kids had Metro Chic and its definitely my kind of color, thats for sure! So when i saw that Sephora had a set of 3 polishes for the price of 2 ($18 instead of $27) and it included Metro Chic PLUS on Cyber Monday they were offering free shipping on all order... So i gave in! I also picked up another polish (that turns out to be very similar to Metro Chic) because it was another color i was attracted to... So i decided "eh, why not?"


L to R: Sephora by OPI in On Stage, A True Romantic, Domestic Goddess, Metro Chic



This is my door. The fake wreath is from 1-2 years ago from the Dollar Tree. And the bottom sign "Let it Snow" i also purchased at the Dollar Tree over the weekend along with some $1 Maybelline and Sally Hansen polishes. I'll do a haul on this soon i just keep forgetting to snap a pic before the sun goes down.


Here's some yummy cinnamon apple strudels (Spelling?!) from Fred Myers. These are becoming some of my favorite things to eat! I hope to pick some more up over the weekend. Yum, Yum, Yum! I've been so obsessed with cinnamon this fall.


The Santa outfit is another thing we picked up at the dollar tree. Isn't it cute? this is Luther, older black cat who loves to be held, rubbed, and petted all the time. He is my cuddle bug. Everytime i go to the BF's parents house, i have to spend some quality time with Luther.
He wore this little outfit all around. Didn't even notice it. It was so cute. Too bad i couldn't snap a good pic of it.


I also decided to try the outfit on LuLu to see how she would react. She seemed rather... confused. Haha


I love her big bright eyes. In the dark, sometimes it looks like a fair of floating eyes.


this is Tiny. I didn't try the outfit on her for my own safety. Haha But she can be nice sometimes. in this pic she was laying on my chest.


lulu kept chewing at the Velcro. Doesn't she know how cute she looks with it on??




Awwwwwww! I love her.

Anyways, tomorrow i have my transdesign order coming in and i'm just too excited!
I'm not sure what to do with myself because i really want to wear my new sephora polishes as well. But i think the Holiday OPI polishes i ordered just may win. We'll see.
Luckily, i don't have to work so i can just focus on studying. Today, the studying hasn't gone so well. Woke up a little late, had a hard time getting motivated andby the time i got on track, i had to head to work.

And by the time i got home i was (and still am) a frozen icicle! With wind chill its says its about 8 degrees outside! So this is why the boyfriend has been trying to get me to buy gloves. It gets frickin cold!!! I plan on staying in tomorrow except to make one trip to the office to grab my package when its in and to pickup/drop off a form. Then it's back to the apartment.

Well i may try to post my TransDesign haul tomorrow, if it gets here before i lose the sun. If not, then i can probably get to my little dollar tree haul.

See ya!

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. :)