A Epic Return! Okay not really (Some new pics!)

Hey guys! 

I know this post has been a loooong time comin but its been hectic. Now that I am on summer break, I will be able to put up posts again but I can't promise what will happen come fall. It seems that winter term was nuts! But spring term was 10X worse... And my fall schedule is near suicide! But.. It will all work out. :) 

Anyways, as a way to say sorry here are a few pics... 

China Glaze in Rich & Famous 

A bright (but not quite neon) pink polish! Not a big fan of pink or uber bright/neon colors but this has something special to it that I can't articulate. Even on my pale skin, I like it on me! Very unusual. This was a polish that was a part of my first China Glaze polish haul from the Sally's beauty sale last spring. Oh, how time flies!

I will say that the application of this at first seemed watery but with semi-careful application, it came out damn near perfect! This polish could probably contend to be one of my best pinks. But I most certainly can't ever just pick ONE favorite... :)

China Glaze in Rich & Famous with a LA Girls (under the Forever 21 label) glitter polish

I like the glitter polish but on one nail got a lot more glitter than the other... I tried evening them out and it didn't work so well. A bit annoying, I will admit. But very pretty. If I had more patience (and if i wasn't planning on taking it off in 5 minutes) I would have added an extra layer or two of glitter. Oh well

American Apparel in Peacok

A gorgeous dark teal that I am madly in love with! I asked a guy what color I should put on next and he picked this... A good sport and similar tastes? :)
Anyways! This applies quite well but the brush makes it a little tough to create smooth edges. And because it is so dark and creamy, cleanup is tricky too. But I still love this polish to pieces! I believe this is one coat of polish! Oh, its love! 

That's all that I have today!

I plan to be back with more probably this weekend. 

See ya! 

Current Top 20 Polishes

Hey guys!

This post is gonna be about my current Top 20 polishes at the moment.

I have a good sized collection but there is a lot that I haven't worn/swatched. For that reason, I didn't include those for consideration.

For this reason, my Top 20 will change periodically with new purchases and swatchings.

L to R: SOPI metro chic, Misa high waist hue, OPI merry midnight, OPI sapphire in the snow, NFU-oh 51

L to R: Wet n Wild Crazee in Shield, Essie in Chinchilly, ELF in Blush, ELF in Champagne, ELF in Mod Mauve

L to R: Maybelline in Brown Aluminium, China Glaze in Ruby Pumps, China Glaze in Cords, China Glaze in VII, American Apparel in Dynasty

L to R: Zoya in Jacy, LA Girl in  Addict, La Girl in Indigo (F21 name), LA Girl in Double Platinum, Diamond Cosmetics in Chainmail Charm

I wanted to show you the awesome effect of these two Holos. They are so awesome! Double Platinum is holo glitter and Chainmail Charm is a holo polish.

One word to describe holos? BRILLIANT!

Let's see if my upcoming Transdesign order full of pastels (i hardly have any!), holos, glitter, and new Misa polishes will make the cut for the next Top 20.

Do you have any of these? Would they make your Top 20?

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!

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! :)

La Girls & China Glaze (+ Quick update, haul and SALE)

Hey guys! I've been meaning to do more nail related things during this thanksgiving holiday but i forgot how the holidays tend to go (laziness and good times) plus i almost forgot i worked today.

Anyways... Here is two recent NOTD's. Currently Garnet is on unless i decide to try marbling for the first time tomorrow. We'll see...


LA Girls in Garnet

This is such a beautiful color









This is an amazing Red. I don't go for reds much but when i do i go for the darker colors. This is definitely a beautiful deep red to die for! Can you believe this is only one coat with no visible nail or streakiness LA Girls has some amazing polishes for such great prices. I've found them at Forever 21 ($2.80) and Cherry Culture (usually $2.80 but $4 if new line like the mattes i recently hauled). LA Girls is definitely a brand that needs more recognition. All the colors i have are loved and admired. (Don't confuse with LA Colors. Not as pleased with their polishes)



China Glaze in Cords

This was my previous manicure. The picture isn't great but it isn't the easiest to photograph as it can look brown/grey or totally metallic (like it looks above) and because its been so cloudy here in Portland. It lasted pretty well for a few days with slight wear (with seche vite as a top coat). I was pretty impressed. Application was smooth and it wasn't streaky at all. I believe this was one coat and it is totally opaque.

Okay onto 2 quicks hauls!



This one is from Walgreens on Friday. I went in because i could not find my bottle of acetone anywhere! And while the non-acetone remover i have (nearly gone) works fine, i just prefer the speed of acetone removers... (And i hate being so low on anything...). But of course i just happened to see the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque on sale as a BOGO. One thing you should know... I LOVE BOGOS! So i paid $3.99 for two! So glad to finally try it (although i don't think its good in winter when my skin is uber dry). And of course i had to pick up a Sinful Colors polish in Vacation Time because the single Sinful Colors polish i had was lonely by itself... Of course it is a dusty muave color that i adore and own too many versions of. And of course acetone remover by studio 35.
All 4 for a total of $10.03 (with WA tax)




Next haul is from two places - Wal-Mart and Sally's Beauty Supply (Love this place except for the rude employees i always run into). From Wal-Mart we bought the Revlon Black hair dye to dye my best friend's peak-a-boo highlights back to normal since she is in ROTC and needs to cover them up more easily ($3). As well as the scissors for hair from Goody ($6) and of course i had to grab two polishes... I grabbed the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polish in Nude Shimmer ($4) and Pure Ice in Taupe Drawer ($2). With tax it was $16 or so.
From Sally's was the Orly Bonder Base Coat that i have been dying to try so i snatched it when i had the chance (we were waiting for the BF to finish up at Harbor Freight Tools) for $6 with my Sally's card. As well as a nail tool thingy for $.99 for a total of $7.55 with WA tax.

Okay i should also mention that i placed a small but highly anticipated order on Avon.com for some goodies because they had a buy 3 for $7.99 on certain products and free shipping with $5 purchase (code:SPREE2009 ends 11/30/2009). I picked up some polishes, glosses and a cheap face mask for $18 - no shipping! I really love the shipping deals because often i just want a few things on sale/clearance and don't want to pay shipping for 3-4 little cheap things. Great idea Avon!

Also placed a hefty order with Zoya for their "green" friday promo where u can get 6 free green polishes if u spent $20. I decided to just buy enough to grab free shipping. The Zoya polishes i have are great but normally a little on the pricier side than what i prefer. But 14 polishes for $56 comes out to $4 a bottle. More reasonable than the $7 price tag. Yeah my polish collection is gonna start growing exponentially at this rate! Okay not quite... But a girl can dream can't she?

Currently looking for new nail polish organization ideas... Gonna need it. :)

Nail Polish Haul!

Hey guys! I am bringing you my latest nail polish haul and i must admit... I am quite giddy! I wish i was some sort of human octopus so i could wear all my new colors!

But anyways, let's get to the haul.
Everything i purchased is from 3 places: Head2ToeBeauty, CherryCulture, and a few from Forever 21.

As a result, my collection has reeeeally grown. I have can only assume that this is just the start. :P




China Glaze is one of my favorite brands. A great price and a wide array of colors. While i like other brands, not many seem to really step out and make bold colors as often as they should. All the China Glaze below were from Head2ToeBeauty.

So here are the colors i picked...

Left to Right: Stella, Recycle, Cashmere creme, Cords (Wearing this now)


Left to Right: Hybrid, VII, Sex on the beach, Coconut Kiss, III


I also decided to snag some Color Club polishes because of the great prices on Head2ToeBauty.


L to R: Babe, Electronica, Diva in Brown, With abandon, Love 'em Leave 'em (AMAZING color!)


L to R: Mocha Whisper, Slow Jam, Ready to Wear, On the wild side, Jewel tone blue


L to R: Skin Deep, Summer of Love, I am not a plastic bottle (these are mini sizes)



LA Girls make some great polishes as well! I bought a few from Forever 21 and the rest from CherryCulture.


L to R: Burgundy, Indigo, Deep Purple (these are all amazing colors i got from Forever21)


L to R: Matte Alpine Green, Matte Plum


L to R" Garnet, Luminous, Rock n Roll


Also tried some polishes from LA Colors and I'm not sure how i feel about them yet...


L to R: Sandstorm, Dark Gray, Grain


And two Misc polishes


L to R: OPI in How to Jamaica Million and Sinful colors in Noelle

So this is my haulage! I took the pics in the best lighting possible in the dreary fall weather but they colors came out pretty accurate. I'll be posting my new nail color, a few new things i picked up as well as a list of wanted nail polishes so i can begin to be a serious collector. :)


BTW, have you noticed the new look of my blog? Still not complete but it is getting there. Any input would be welcomed.