Category: Nails
What’s YOUR Hogwarts House?
You want to cause chaos in your household? Pick up a couple of Hogwarts House Bath Bombs for your kids and watch them freak out when their bath bomb tells them they are in the wrong house. No joke, my little Hufflepuff daughter was scandalized when her bath bomb told her she should be in Slytherin. My Slytherin son wanted to get into HER bath and kick her out, and even a week later, he is too scared to use his own bath bomb. The Harry Potter x Ulta Beauty Mystery Hogwarts House Bath Bombs are $8 each – purchase at your own risk.
The Harry Potter x Ulta Beauty Hogwarts House Lotion ($12 each) is a much safer bet. I got one for each member of the family: Gryffindor (berry vanilla), Hufflepuff (wildflowers), Ravenclaw (cucumber), and Slytherin (raindrops). They all smell very good.
I added a few odds and ends to my order – a China Glaze Striper in “Paint it Black” ($1.05, down from $1.50) and a Marc Anthony Deep Repair Aloe Vera & Jasmine Oil Deep Conditioning Packet ($1.79, down from $2.99).
I got a Clinique Beauty Break with my order, with Clinique High Impact Mascara, Lipstick in “Bare Pop”, and Take the Day Off Makeup Remover. I also used my trusty $3.50 0ff $15 coupon.
Just $418 to Diamond in 2021.
Galaxy
Sinful Colors SinfulShine “Galaxy” really does look like the nighttime sky. It’s a midnight blue base, with silver shimmer.
This is two coats of “Galaxy” over Glisten & Glow Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. The formula is silky smooth and applied like a dream. I highly recommend.
I did my toes, too – perfect for a lazy weekend in the pool.
The Always Extra Mermaid Parade
What’s better than a $1.50 nail polish? TWO $1.50 nail polishes.
I picked up THE GLITTER – Sally Hansen Mega Strength “Mermaid Parade” – in my last Ulta order. I ventured out to Ulta this past Sunday for a haircut – I’m pretty sure I haven’t gotten it cut since some time in 2019 – and found Sally Hansen Mega Strength “Always Extra”, a nude sheer with a pink shimmer. These two are meant to be together – they have adjoining bottle numbers! “Always Extra” is 016 and “Mermaid Parade” is 017.
I used Sally Hansen Double Duty for the base coat. It’s not the best, but I’m trying to use up the bottle. All of my nails got two coats of “Always Extra”, except for the pinky, which got two coats of “Mermaid Parade”. I did a full coat of “Mermaid Parade” on top of “Always Extra” on my ring finger, and just did the tip of my middle finger. I finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
I am in LOVE with “Mermaid Parade” – I am going to use it alone soon.
Target Queen
I went to Target a month or so ago, and it was WEIRD. The dressing rooms are still closed, but it didn’t really matter, since there were no good sales. COVID-19 has sucked all the fun out of Target.
I used up my “Queen Bee” Rollerball, so I decided to switch to the Good Chemistry “Queen Bee” Body Spray with essential oils ($9.99). Now I can DROWN myself in it, instead of just hitting my pulse points. I wish they sold lotion and shower gel – I would buy the hell out of it.
I went ahead and stocked up on my Target stuff – Laundry Detergent, Contact Solution, Rewetting Drops, Polish Remover and Exfoliating Cotton Pads. Even though I got reusable polish remover pads, I still need Cotton Rounds for my skincare regimen.
I was able to use a $3.50 off $15 coupon from my Target Beauty Box…I better use them while I can, because Target Beauty Box is another victim of COVID-19 – they’ve been discontinued, too!
Hella Bright
I was NOT expecting the peach shimmer peaking through the purple polish in Sinful Colors “Hella Bright” – surprise!
How have I missed trying out this polish from last year’s Neon Collection? It’s stunning.
This is two coats of “Hella Bright” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
You’ll notice that I stubified my nails and cut them all fairly short. A few of the longer nails were getting sharp, so I just went ahead and cut them all to match. I feel really self-conscious of how short they are…
Beautifully Bizarre
Don’t blame the polish – it’s my fault. I am totally incompetent when it comes to apply light or white nail polishes. I apply the polish too thickly, and it pools in the creases of my nails, which is exacerbated by adding a top coat. When I pick off the ragged edges of the top coat, it leaves ragged edges instead of a smooth line. Ugh, I need to start cleaning up with acetone or something…
But regardless of how ugly my paint job was, this polish is GORGEOUS in person. Pictures do not do it justice – you cannot even see the teal shimmer under neath this pink pearl polish. This is Orly “Beautifully Bizarre”, a $2.38 steal from Ulta.
The first coat was a bit streaky, but two coats was just right. I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. I had to see it mattified, so I used Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on my ring finger. It was nice I guess, but muted the teal shimmer too much for my liking.
More pearlescent polishes!
Hufflepuffery
When I got my last Ulta order, I thought my daughter was going to have a seizure from how excited she was about my Gryffindor palette, so as soon as the Hufflepuff version was back in stock, I had to get it for her.
So yes, I ordered her the Harry Potter x Ulta Beauty Hufflepuff Eye Shadow Palette ($16). A few more products dropped, so I also got her a Hufflepuff Cosmetic Bag ($16) and the House Pride Hair Accessory Set ($18)…I admit, I stole the Gryffindor scrunchie and my son stole the Slytherin one.
I came across a new product that I found intriguing – The Sign Tribe Remove and Chill Reusable Nail Polish Remover Pads ($16). I spend a small fortune on cotton rounds, so I was curious if I could save some money using these pads. I’ve used them a few times and they seem to work just fine with regular polish remover. I still need to try them with Remove and Chill Nail Enamel Remover. Each pad is supposed to be able to be used 25 times, whereas I use between 2-6 cotton rounds each time. So…this pack should replace roughly 300 cotton pads, or 3 packs ($3 each or so). If I get 50 uses out of each pad, it might be worth it?
I have a hard time saying “no” to clearance nail polish. It’s rare to see Orly on sale, especially for a price as low as $2.38. I picked up 3 different shades – an iridescent pink pearl called “Beautifully Bizarre” (somehow I added 2 to my cart, so someone will get gifted); a rose gold shimmer called “Lucid Dream”, and a hot pink called “Top Down”. I also got a few cheap Sally Hansen Mega Strength polishes – a pinky gold glitter called “Mermaid Parade” for $2.68 and a matte fuchsia called “Like a Girl” for $1.50.
Oooooh! I qualified for a free pink tote with my $75 purchase. I do not know what I am going to tote with it, but I’ll think of something. I also used a $3.50 off $15 coupon – stacking deals.
$608 to Diamond – almost exactly halfway there!
Clay Me
Sinful Colors “Clay Me” reminds me of terra cotta pottery, but shimmery. The sticker says “Stoned Crystal Shimmer”, but it’s from the 2017 “Desert Diva” Collection. It was another cheap Dollar Tree find…
This is a THICK polish – this is two coats, but I could’ve gotten away with just one. I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat.
I had a hunch that this polish would look better with a matte top coat, so I used Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on all of my nails, except the pinky. It’s not bad looking shiny – the regular Glisten & Glow Top Coat makes it look like wet pottery!
Tint for Tat
Sheer polishes are gamble. Unless your nails are immaculately clean and exquisitely shaped, you run the risk of a sheer polish revealing every flaw. My nails are far from perfect, but they’re in better shape than usual…
I went ahead and took the risk to try Funky Fingers “Tint for Tat”, a sheer purple. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. On its own, the polish was very shiny, so I decided to go matte instead. I topped ALL of my nails with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
I thought this polish would chip away to nothing immediately, but it lasted pretty well, with only minor edge wear after three days.
Juicy
Juicy is one of those words…some people cringe at the word “moist”, but “juicy” is the word that makes me gag. The worst is when someone refers to their ass as “juicy” – no ma’am!
Sinful Colors Quick Bliss “Juicy”, on the other hand, is a perfect pink creme. It reminds me a plastic pink flamingo!
This is two coats of “Juicy” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. It’s very shiny alone, but it looks even…juicier…with a shiny top coat. Yeah, I went there.
Be warned, this polish is definitely a streaky one – prepare yourself to be cursing the drag marks in your nails during application.