Category: Nails
Holo Snake Ulta Haul
I was SO excited about this Le Mini Macaron Lunar New Year Nail Polish + Sticker Collection – Year of the Snake ($40)…that I didn’t bother to fully read the description. The included nail polishes – “Magic Noire”, “Serpentine Sheer”, and “Lucky Red” – are GEL POLISHES. They require a UV light to cure…fuck that noise. I guess I paid $40 for some really cute stickers…
My disappointment was mitigated by the fact that Ulta carries Holo Taco now! I started with just a few products: Holo Taco Pink Smoothing Base Coat ($12), Holo Taco Specialty Nail Polish “Play Rosé” ($14) and Holo Taco Glossy Taco Top Coat ($12). I cannot wait to try them!
I was able to use a $3.50 off $15 coupon, as well as qualify for a Free Beauty Break 4 Piece FENTY Gift with $60 purchase, which included Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Blush in “Peach Face”; Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer in “RiRi”; and Fenty Beauty Hella Thicc Volumizing Mascara in “Cuz I’m Black”, all in a cute makeup bag. Not sure about the peach blush, but I’ll use the rest.
$1,044 to Diamond in 2026.
Truly Truly
Sure, I love Barbie…but I was OBSESSED with Jem. I had the doll – just the original Jem – but none of her friends. She was so much more expensive than Barbie! And none of Barbie’s clothes fit, because she was so much bigger…If she wanted to change her clothes, she often had to borrow Ken’s. I know what that’s like…I was buying mens jeans until 1999-2000, which is about the time that Old Navy started carrying bigger sizes and longer lengths. Jem was my soul sister.
Garden Path Lacquers “Truly Truly” is from November’s Nostalgic Toys Polish Pickup and is inspired by the truly outrageous Jem. I cannot find the words to describe every thing in this polish – so I stole this description from the maker: Truly Truly is a clear base filled with blue holographic microglitter, pink-blue-gold shifting large particle Aurora shimmer, and a mix of purple, pink, and blue matte circle glitters in various sizes and small matte hot pink hex glitters. To me – it looks like Jem’s original dres – see pics here.
This is two coats of “Truly Truly” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Oh, for Oz Sake
This is it!
The FINAL OPI x Wicked polish…I didn’t expect it to take this long to get through all of them, but with all my Polish Pickup purchases, it was gonna take three months to get through 12 polishes.
I suspected that OPI x Wicked “Oh, for Oz Sake” would be a “Tokyo Pearl” dupe and I was half right. Although a bit more sheer, it does look like a dupe…except the OPI is more sheer and does not have quite as bad an issue with brush strokes. It DOES lean pink, but nothing wrong with a little pink.
Thank you, and hallelujah – I’ve found the perfect white pearl polish! Maybe not perfect…I did get a bubble on my ring finger…let’s just pretend that was intentional…
This is two coats of “Oh, for Oz Sake” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Dressin’ Up
Yes, it’s another one from November’s Polish Pickup – Nostalgic Toys!
Crystal Knockout “Dressin’ Up” is inspired by Barbie & the Rockers and their song…Dressin’ Up (not to be confused with Dress You Up by Madonna). You can take a listen HERE. I listened to the song…and it did not ring a bell at all. I must have had the cassette, because I saved my money to buy Dee Dee – she had the leopard print leggings, so obviously she was the best.
“Dressin’ Up” was really thick and difficult to apply evenly. I don’t think the issue was with the polish itself – the brush was fucked up. The tip was uneven and slit in two, almost cloven like a goat’s hoof. The flakies also had a lot of texture – next time I need to add a layer of Glitter Grabber. It was not at all like the other Crystal Knockout polishes I’ve tried…so it’s probably just a fluke.
Oh, and did I mention that it is a THERMAL polish? The sample pics online look more dramatic than mine, but it was cold as balls outside when I took the picture, so it wasn’t a dramatic color change.
This is two coats of “Dressin’ Up” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.
I’m the Wonderfullest
Even The Wizard gets his very own polish…but why is it blue instead of green?
This is OPI x Wicked “I’m the Wonderfullest” and it’s a shimmery and sheer smurf blue polish. I was surprised at how sheer it is – look at the nail line!
This is two coats of “I’m the Wonderfullest” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.
Ghost or Furby?
Bee’s Knees Lacquer “Ghost or Furby” was released for November’s “Nostalgic Toys” Polish Pickup. The polish is inspired by the maker’s childhood furby, that may have been haunted. This is one of THREE haunted/possessed furby polishes in the collection, so obviously a common occurrence…
…I had a haunted furby once. It was the special “Gizmo” themed Furby and it made Mogwai noises. It was similarly haunted. So haunted, in fact, that my husband disappeared it. It’s been missing over 20 years…AND TO THIS DAY, he won’t tell me what happened to it. Did he just stick it in the attic and it was lost in a move? Or did he smash it with a hammer? Maybe he buried it in the back yard? To this day, this is the longest standing conflict in our marriage. He won’t admit to shit – he just says, “I forgot what I did with it. Let it go.”
I am not Elsa. I will never let it go.
I’ll be there at his deathbed, waiting for a confession.
This is two coats of “Ghost or Furby” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.
Glinda the Good
OPI x Wicked “Glinda the Good” is an intense hot pink polish with a shiny satin finish. Where “Ga-Linda” is a sheer pink polish, “Glinda the Good” is intense and pigmented, representing Glinda at her narcissistic best.
I’d have to watch the film again – and I’m sure I will – but I feel like Glinda’s wardrobe gets more intensely pink as the film goes on. I’m reminded of how Voldemort’s wardrobe becomes grey and washed out as the horcruxes are destroyed. Feel free to tell me that I’m full of shit.
This is two coats of “Glinda the Good” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” (I finally used up “Melt Down”!) and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.
Just 2 more Wicked polishes left!
Xmas Nail Fail
It’s been a while since I had a good ‘nail fail’. My ego wants to say it’s because I’ve achieved mad skillz in the nail game…but we know what it really is. Since I’ve gotten into Polish Pickup, I’ve simply been enjoying swatching my nails with exciting polishes, as opposed to experimenting with drugstore polishes. It’s fine, it’s whatever – I cannot be a nail polish thrill seeker forever?
In any case, right before Xmas, I decided to pull out the nail decals…and these 6+ year old Julep Gold Rose Nail Decals seemed like a good idea…at the time. I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Top Coat, then two coats of Revlon “Valentine”. I only placed decals on my index and ring fingers, then topped with Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber and Glisten & Glow Top Coat. All seemed fine…until we lost the TV remote.
Now…I don’t know if this sucker popped off by itself, or if it was lost as I was digging in the sofa (a few hours after applying – nails were DRY). I chalked it up to the decals being old, so they went in the trash…but then I did a little research. These fucking nail decals lifted off back then, too! I even mentioned that they reminded me of a wax seal, which is exactly what I took a picture of…
Let’s Rejoicify
OPI x Wicked “Let’s Rejoicify” surprised me! I wasn’t expecting such a stunning and dynamic polish from OPI – it’s more like one of my indie polishes.
This purple shimmer jelly base is filled with red and gold microglitter. Julep “Bri” is similar, but darker.
This is two coats of “Let’s Rejoicify” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.
Dead to the World
My first Lemming Lacquer! I chose Lemming Lacquer “Dead to the World” from August 2024’s “Book Covers” Polish Pickup. It’s inspired by one of the best (IMHO) books in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries Series, AKA the True Blood books. It’s the one where Sookie is dealing with the nekkid, memory-wiped Eric the Vampire.
“Dead to the World” is a deep blue/black jelly based polish, filled with shifting shimmer. It is somewhat similar to Zoya “Lilith”, which only shifts to pink.
This is two coats of “Dead to the World” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.