Category: Nails
Polish Pickup February 2024 – Wild Animals
I *may* have went HAM on Polish Pickup. Again.
February’s theme was “Wild Animals” and I was excited to pick out some of my favorite animals. I was also excited to try some new nail polish brands.
Cadillacquer “Northern Cardinal” ($14) is inspired by the ubiquitous (at least in Texas) Northern Cardinal.
Cat Tail Nails “Little King Trash Mouth” ($12) is inspired by a raccoon that lives behind Bob’s Burgers. Oh, and it’s a solar polish.
Penelope Luz “Hummingbird” ($13) is self-explanatory. I had to have it.
Alchemy Lacquers “Karma Chameleon” ($12.50) is inspired by a chameleon.
Which one shall I try first???
Dead Inside
I’m still working on January’s Polish Pickup – Deadly Plants. This is Red Eyed Lacquer “Dead Inside“. Do you love holo flakies as much as I love holo flakies?
“Dead Inside” is inspired by the corpse flower, a stinky bloom that I’ve never experienced in person. The Houston Museum of Natural Science has had one bloom a few times, but it’s never been during I time I could get down there.
This is two coats of “Dead Inside” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Raspberry Pop”.
Stitch
Nailtopia “Stitch – Limited Edition” was a nail polish that Santa left in my daughter’s stocking…I was going to wait until she had a chance to try it before I snatched it for swatching…as you can see, it took a bit of time for her to get around to it.
I am by NO MEANS a Disney Adult, but I am in love with this line of polishes celebrating Disney’s 100th Anniversary. If they were cheaper, I would’ve bought them all!
This is two coats of “Stitch – Limited Edition” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Polish Pickup Overstock – February 2024
Ooohh….I cannot pass up a second chance to snag polishes I may have missed!
Every so often, Polish Pickup has an overstock sale – leftovers from previous months, stuff like that. All the polishes were $12 and wax melts were $4, so I decided to grab a few.
I’m going to skip to my most traumatizing choice – Vapid Wax “Szechuan Fire”. Holy fucking shitballs, this wax set my brain on fire – and not in a good way. As soon as I put it into the wax warmer in my bathroom, I started to feel physically ill. I don’t know if it was the ginger or the szechuan, but my whole body, mind, and soul were repelled by this scent. I scraped it out of my wax warmer and threw the rest of the pack away. My husband said it wasn’t bad, but we all know that husbands cannot be trusted. This scent was from January 2022 – Spices & Condiments.
I also got Vapid Wax “Hatteras”. This was a rainy, wet scent with lots of petrichor. I like this one a lot – it’s in my bathroom as we speak. “Hatteras” is from May 2022 – National Parks & Landmarks.
Tonshi Mountain Studios “Orange Harvest” is a basic orange with hints of spice. It’s a nice orange scent, without that fake orange smell. I couldn’t find online which month this wax came from.
MTK Designs “Seaing Unicorns” was one I remember passing up in November’s Fairy Tales and Folklore. It’s inspired by the scene in The Last Unicorn, when the unicorns are freed from the scene. I cannot wait to try it.
By Dany Vianna “Nana Nenem” is inspired by the Netflix show, Invisible City. I’ve never heard of it, but I’m intrigued. This one is also from November and it’s a thermal!
Four out of five winners isn’t bad…which polish should I try first?
Toxic Pink
Gracefull Nail Polish “Toxic Pink” is from January’s Polish Pickup – Deadly Plants. It’s inspired by a particularly beautiful type of oleander called ‘Monrovia Red’. Since I live in Texas, there’s lots of oleander along the freeways. A single leaf is enough to kill a man…Texas says, let’s put it along all the highways!
This is two coats of “Toxic Pink” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Raspberry Pop”.
It strikes me that “Toxic Pink” is quite similar to Lilypad Lacquer “Licorice Allsorts”. Am I doomed to purchase the same polishes, over and over again?
Mandragora
Although I am no longer in my Harry Potter era, I can appreciate a pretty polish when I see one. It seems gold, but has beautiful green and fuchsia shimmer.
Moonshine Mani “Mandragora” is from January’s Polish Pickup and is inspired by the Herbology Class scene in the first Harry Potter film. I did not know until I googled it, that Mandrake is hallucinogenic? I mean…I’m too old to start experimenting with strange plants, but interesting nonetheless. <Furiously googling how to import Mandrake from Asia…>
This is two coats of “Mandragora” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Raspberry Pop”.
Polish Pickup January 2024 – Deadly Plants
They keep getting my with these killer themes! The first Pickup of 2024 had an amazing theme – Deadly Plants.
From left to right:
Ard as Nails “Poison Ivy” ($13.50) is inspired by…duh…poison ivy. I personally don’t have any experience with poison ivy, but my husband is VERY allergic. He gets into every few years or so…that’s country living, I guess.
Moonshine Mani “Mandragora” ($13.00) is inspired by the Mandrake scene in the first Harry Potter movie.
Red Eyed Lacquer “Dead Inside” ($12.50) is inspired by the corpse flower. I hope the polish isn’t that stinky.
Gracefull Nail Polish “Toxic Pink” ($12.75) is inspired by the plant Nerium oleander ‘Monrovia Red.’
Envy Lacquer “Poison Garden” ($13.00) is inspired by, well, The Poison Garden in London.
I’ve already tried a few of these and they are OUSTANDING.
Regents Place
In any case, Nails Inc. Gel Effect “Regents Place” was a freebie from a a few summers ago, and I just got around to sampling this shiny periwinkle polish. It wasn’t streaky and it was quite striking.
When I googled Regents Place, I was expecting something traditionally British and quaint…y’all…it’s a fucking high rise, mixed use development – a fucking skyscraper mall.
This is two coats of “Regents Place” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
We’re All Born Naked, the Rest is Drag
I went through a Drag Race phase several years ago, so I couldn’t pass up Paradox Polish “We’re All Born Naked, the Rest is Drag” from December’s Maker’s Choice. This is the last polish from December – I did it!
Even though I’m not crazy into Drag Race like I used to be, I’m still glad I picked this one up – it’s one of the BEST thermal polishes I’ve ever tried! It doesn’t stop working after a day or so and the color change is so dramatic. My daughter is also OBSESSED with thermal polishes now, so I guess that’s what I’ll be grabbing from the Pickups now.
This is two coats of “We’re All Born Naked, the Rest is Drag” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Raspberry Pop”. I cannot remember if I used Glitter Grabber, but I don’t think I did.
No Ordinary Rose
Beaux Rêves Lacquer “No Ordinary Rose” is inspired by The Little Prince. I feel like I’ve read it, but I cannot remember a damn thing about it except for what I’ve read on Wikipedia. This beauty is from December’s Polish Pickup.
This is two coats of “No Ordinary Rose” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Raspberry Pop”. I am really liking Cuticula’s base and top coats – my manicures are lasting 6, 7, even 8 days now!