Category: Nails
Oh Walgreens, How I Love Thee!
I can’t let a Walgreen’s 99 cent Sinful Colors sale go without stopping in and grabbing a few. I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat, which was NOT on sale. I was conservative – only picking 4 colors: “All About You”, a gold and copper glitter; NEON “The Bright Thing”, because I want my nails to look like highlighters; “Hazed”, a Limited Edition puce demi-matte; and “Pride”, a rainbow glitter.
I also came upon some $1.49 clearance polishes – Sally Hansen Pearl Crush “Clam Digger” and “Rainbow Fish”. I almost bought one at Target this past weekend, on clearance for $2.74 – I’m glad I waited.
I also did some super secret birthday present shopping…shhhhhh!
Matchy Matchy
I found the perfect polish to match all my new lipstick – Ulta “Sunset Bronze” – a tiny little bottle from one of my old gifts with purchase.
Although it was thick, the polish went on smoothly, but there were a few bubbles on the second coat. I couldn’t decide on shiny or matte, so I did both – “HK Girl” and Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat, with Orly Bonder as the base. I like the matte better, but my husband likes the shiny better.
I found an eye shadow that matches perfectly – theBalm “Flirty”. I even wore a sweater and shoes to match – matchy matchy!
On a Mission…
When you’re on a mission and you still don’t find what you’re looking for…but still come home with several bags of goodies…
My mission – to find some dupes of Kat Von D “Lolita” (Sephora exclusive) and Anastasia Beverly Hills “Veronica” (Macy’s exclusive). As painful as it would be to spend $20 on a lipstick, it’s more annoying that both are very hard to come by – forever out of stock in stores and online. So I did some googling and found some cheaper alternatives. I hadn’t used my 20% off Ulta coupon, so I went in search of some NYX and Essence dupes. I saw online that NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in “Cannes” and NYX Intense Butter Gloss in “Chocolate Crepe” were close. Nope – no luck. I did, however, pick up another Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in “Soft Brown”, another Zoya Remove+ and Ulta Dual Tipped Foam Applicators (I can’t quit foam applicators). I also hit a Target and HEB looking for NYX, Essence and wet n wild dupes – but no luck.
That was Saturday. On Sunday, I scammed my husband into dropping me off at a different Ulta – I did manage to find NYX “Chocolate Crepe” – but no “Cannes”! I did grab NYX Butter Lipstick in “Pops” – it looks close, too. And then I saw the Fall Ulta Gift with Purchase (a leatherette bag with the usual – eye shadow quads, blush, mascara, polish, brushes, eye liner, lip gloss, etc.)…I picked Ulta Shiny Sheer Lip Gloss in “Smoky” (I thought it would be darker, but it just made my lips vaguely gray and glittery) and Ulta Liquid Liner in “Black Pearl” (Glittery black eye liner is good, but they were out of the Rose Gold I wanted). That was only $19 and I needed $19.50, so I grabbed Ulta Cotton Pads.
Last stop, HEB to grab some soda for my M-i-L…and I found wet n wild Megalast Lip Stick in “Spiked with Rum” ($1.93). Still no “Cannes”, I’ll keep searching, but look forward to some lipstick swatches coming soon…
Moscow Mule
Okay, I’ve never actually had a Moscow Mule, but it sounds really tasty…and Sinful Colors “Copper Pot” looks like like one of those fancy copper mugs.
This is two coats – smooth and full coverage – with Sinful Colors Base Coat and “HK Girl”. I also did my toes, but I haven’t taken a pic yet. There’s a slight hint of green sparkle – where did that come from?
“Copper Pot” is somewhat similar to Julep “Tatiana”, but it’s a tad darker and less sparkly.
I’m Gilty
Sinful Colors “Gilded” has been sitting in my “untrieds” basket since…oh, OCTOBER, so I decided to take it for a spin.
“Gilded” is a gold shimmer with red microglitter. I was able to get almost full coverage in two coats, with Sinful Colors Base Coat (almost empty!) and “HK Girl”. The red and gold meld together to give a rose gold effect.
Just as I expected, “Gilded” is very similar to Julep “Love”, except the glitter is red, not fuchsia and there’s more of it.
Piss Piñata
Never one to shy away from the most grotesque descriptions possible, I cannot resist comparing this particular combination of nail polish to the after effects of killing a piñata over a toilet. A “piss piñata”, if you will.
I do admit that Sinful Colors “Otaku Anime” is the loveliest yellow I have ever used. I usually hate yellow polish – I don’t often try it – but this shimmery polish manages not to look like a fungus. It is, however, reminiscent of a urine sample. I added Sinful Colors Piñata Blast “Fierce Fiesta” to my thumb and ring finger to jazz it up. “Fierce Fiesta” is a very sparse topper – red, blue and yellow dots, with giant pink hex pieces.
I used Sinful Colors Base Coat and “HK Girl” – smooth as silk.
Sunburn
Coincidentally, Formula X “Power Source” is the EXACT same color as the sunburn I have on my legs. Yeah, I made a rookie mistake at Schlitterbahn and didn’t respray after lunch. Now I have sunburned strips on my knees and shins. I’m hoping it ends up looking like contouring.
I got this tiny bottle of “Power Source” in my June Ipsy bag. Tiny bottles are kind of a pain in the ass – short brushes and awkward. This formula was just okay – it was thick and somewhat streaky. It dried smoothly though – no bubbles or clumps. I’ll credit that to Orly Bonder and “HK Girl”.
So what color is this? Neon Coral? Coral is really growing on me. I thought I hated it, but it looks so good with my skintone.
The Lace is On
Okay, I promise – this is the last one tonight.
Lily was again kind enough to let me borrow one of her polishes. This is essie “The Lace is On”, a polish I bought her a while back at Nordstrom Rack for $2.75. (She didn’t have to ask but once – it’s a lovely fuchsia.) The formula is perfect – 2 coats, no clumps or streaks.
I’m trying to use up all my random base coats, so I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat. I stuck with “HK Girl” for the top coat though – I use my other top coats on Lily – she chews off her polish within 48 hours, so it doesn’t really matter.
Beauty Box 5 – Summer Night Out
I might actually use every single thing in my Beauty Box 5 this month!
Inside this month’s “Summer Night Out” box: OFRA Lip Gloss in “Truffle”; OFRA Lip Liner in “Spicy”; Nanacoco Nail Polish in “Orange Wonderland” (it’s really more sparkly/rusty); Love Life Skin Restorative Night Cream and Intensive Recovery Serum (2 foil packets each); and Pur~lisse Flash tattoos (I’m about to get another REAL tattoo, so maybe I’ll use these on my wrists?). I also got codes for 20% at purlisse.com and 25% off at lovelifeskincare.com.
Now I just need to plan a Summer Night Out!
Matte Mia
You know what happens when you let your husband pick out your nail polish? Good things…good, good things. Technically, he didn’t pick it out – the only guidance he gave me was “dark red” and “matte”.
For “dark red”, I chose Urban Decay “Mrs. Mia Wallace”. I’ve had it not even a year and it’s already getting clumpy. I had to fight a few clumps, but I managed to smooth them out. I guess it’s time to invest in polish thinner.
I used Orly Bonder as the base coat. To make it matte, I used Zoya Velvet Matte Top Coat – it’s the best…although I haven’t tried any other matte top coats, so I’m just guessing.
I’m going to bug my husband about my polish more…I’m sure he’ll LOVE it.