The Evil Dead
I am the Queen of Halloween and I love Halloween-themed nail polishes. October has barely started, and I have a list of polishes as long as my arm that I want to try…first off, I’m digging into the new polishes from September’s Polish Pickup…
Probably not a shocker that I chose Cadillacquer “The Evil Dead” first. The Evil Dead is my favorite movie with a tree rape – what’s yours?
I have a love/hate relationship with black nail polish. I love it the first day, the second day – I love it every day until the day that I get a single chip in it. As soon as I get the first chip, I HATE it. It looks like shit and I want it GONE. Luckily, this is a good quality polish that went chip-free for quite a while. It’s not quite a jelly and not quite a creme, so it was nice and shiny, but not thin. I LOVE the purple and chartreuse chrome flakies – I feel like it is exactly what “swallowing your soul” looks like.
This is two coats of “The Evil Dead” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.
Polish Pickup September 2024 – Vintage Halloween
Halloween, Halloween…my favorite holiday! I love Halloween so much that I made it my wedding anniversary. This September’s Polish Pickup theme is “Vintage Halloween”, and the polishes did not disappoint. I wanted them all, but I tried to be selective and only select polishes that were inspired by things I really love, as well as not obvious dupes for others in my collection…
Cadillacquer “The Evil Dead” ($14) is inspired by…DUH…The Evil Dead.
Cupcake Polish “Carrie” ($13.50) is likewise inspired by Carrie.
Hit the Bottle Polishes “Elvira” ($9.50) is inspired by the Mistress of the Dark herself…Elvira.
Last, but not least, Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Zombie Juice” ($10) is inspired by…the juice that comes out of zombies? Unfortunately, the bottle I received seems to have come from a bad batch – it doesn’t dry. I’ve reached out to Cuticula directly for a resolution…hoping for a replacement bottle soon!
I am so excited about trying ALL of these polishes!
Diamond in 2025 Ulta Haul
I’d been dropping stuff in my cart for a few weeks and finally checked out…
I am paranoid about running out of shampoo & conditioner, so I got back-ups of Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Joia Strengthening + Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner ($26 each).
I saw that Ulta had a gift with purchase for buying $19.50 worth of Ulta products…I can do that in my sleep! I had been eyeballing the Ulta Beauty Collection Weightless Water Lip Stain in “Cherry Pie” ($11). I was expecting it to be redder on…I guess I need to put like, 35 coats on? My nails need attention, so I also got an Ulta Manicure Buffing Block ($4) and two packs of Exfoliating Cotton Rounds ($3.99). I got the pink variant of the gift with purchase, which includes a 6 pan eye shadow palette; Ultamate Lashes Multi-Tasking Mascara; Poreless Face Primer; Cream Blush Stick; Tinted Eye Primer; High Shine Liquid Lipstick; Tinted Lip Oil; an Eye Shadow Brush; and a Makeup Sponge.
Speaking of nails, I also stocked up on Zoya Remove+ Nail Polish Remover ($8.40, down from $12) and a Flowery Blue Max 4-Way Buffing Block ($2.09, down from $2.99). Since I like color changing lip products and Tim Burton, I got a few of the Nightmare Before Christmas Collection products – Wet n Wild Nightmare Before Christmas Truth or Scare Color Changing Lip Oil and Nightmare Before Christmas Two-Faced Color Changing Lip Oil ($5.99 each). They are not sticky and have surprisingly solid staying power.
I used a $3.50 off $15 coupon AND $50 of my collected Ulta points, but that didn’t stop me from qualifying for 2 more gifts with purchase. First, I qualified for a 14 Piece Fall Haul with my $70 purchase, which included Belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb, Clean it Zero Ginseng-Glow Cleansing Balm; e.l.f. Poreless Putty Primer; NYX Duck Plump High Pigment Plumping Gloss in “Clearly Spicy” (I just put this on and it reminds me of the original Lip Venom – pure capsaicin on my lips – Jesus FUCK); Snail Rescue Purifying Cleanser; La Roche-Posay Mela Serum Dark Spot Correction; Florence by Mills Wildly Me (do you understand what I mean when I say it smells purple? The notes are iris, wisteria, violet and lavender); CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion; First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub (the sole reason I picked this bag variation); The Good Patch Dream Patch (a melatonin patch!); Tula The Cult Cleanser (oh, a DELUXE sample!); eczema honey Soothing Body Wash; Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser; and Vichy Mineral 89 Fortifying and Plumping Daily Booster (what is it even boosting?) I also qualified for a Platinum & Diamond Exclusive Free 10 Piece Gift with $90 purchase, which included Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Bronzer (I bet this makes me look like I’m wearing blackface); Yves Saint Laurent Libre (stinky); Wella Ultimate Repair Miracle Hair Rescue (giving to Lily to deal with all day marching band braid damage); Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in “Warm Deep Brown” (oh, this might be a match – I usually end up with Taupe in sample packs); tarte Maracuja Juicy Plumping Lip Oil (ugh, not falling for this again); Living Proof. Perfect hair Day High-Shine Gloss; Kylie Jenner Matte Liquid Lipstick in “Kylie” (ugh); Smashbox Photo Finish Primer; Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Sculpt Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara; and OUAI Detox Shampoo (but NO MATCHING CONDITIONER – rude). Lots of good stuff!
This purchase pushed me over the edge! I’m Diamond in 2025!
Blueberry Smash
Sinful Colors “Blueberry Smash” looks like the shmutz at the bottom of a store-brand fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt. The color is weird and there are suspicious spots in it…
“Blueberry Smash” is from the Winnie Harlow Fruity Blends Collection, one of the last new Sinful Collections released. I have seen a few random Sinful Colors displays at HEB, but they’re always re-promotes. I suppose I should be happy that Sally Hansen is still going strong…
This is two coats of “Blueberry Smash” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. No top coat, due to the matte finish in the polish.
Blooming Azalea
I’ve never seen an azalea this color. I’ve seen white, hot pink, and even red…but never a muted mauve. Definitely NOT a muted mauve with an electric green/gold shimmer.
Beaux Rêves Lacquer “Blooming Azalea” was originally from January 2024 Deadly Plants, but I picked it up in July’s Polish Pickup Rewind. It’s a gorgeous polish and it lasted on my nails over 8 days without noticeable chipping!
This is two coats of “Blooming Azalea” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.
“Blooming Azalea” is also a magnetic polish…but I didn’t remember that when I tried it, so no magnetic fun for me!
You Betta Recognize
I love a good pinkish red polish.
Sweet Heart Polish “You Betta Recognize” was another one originally from February 2024 – Wild Animals, but I picked it up in July’s rewind. Haven’t we ALL had a betta fish this color? My son had a betta fish (that he named “Alan Rickman”) and I believe it was this kind of red.
I feel like I am starting to blindly buy similar polishes again, because it reminded me of “Seaing Unicorns” once I had it on. I feel like I like this one better, though.
This is two coats of “You Betta Recognize” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.
September 2024 Ipsy Glam Bag – Soft Era
Look, I don’t know what a “Soft Era” is…but I am guessing it has to do with skincare (and Taylor Swift), since this is a very skincare heavy bag this month?
My product choice this month was NIP+FAB Salicylic Fix Clay Mask. I tried it last Saturday and it was nice enough. I should be able to get 2 uses out of the sample tube, which is nice.
The REN Clean Skincare Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk is a bit weird. I feel like it doesn’t rinse clean from my skin. The Innisfree Cherry Blossom Glow Jelly Cream is a light moisturizer. It doesn’t have much of a smell and is very light on my skin.
I am unlikely to use the last two products this month – Eloise Beauty Blush in “Bloom” and Toyfactory CliqueStick Eye Shadow Crayon in “Fantasy”. The basic tan shade of both products just screams “Beige Mom”. NO.
The bag is cute – I think it might make the cut for Barbie accessories!
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $14/month (recently increased from $13/month) and Icon Box (formerly Glam Bag X) for an extra $60/quarterly (recently increased from $43/quarterly). If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
Bling Pop
THIS polish made buying the whole set worth it. To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed with The Berry Best or Grape Expectations…but Sally Hansen Insta Dri x Ring Pop “Bling Pop” is a nearly perfect polish. It’s a high coverage hot pink sheer shimmer, with a brilliant flash of blue fire. It lasted for nearly a full week and looked brilliant and shiny until I removed it.
This is two coats of “Bling Pop” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Now I just have to try the plain yellow polish that came with the set…ugh, maybe in 2026.
The Battle of the Labyrinth
I keep buying the same polish, over and over again.
I cannot help it – I really want to be a mermaid when I grow up…except for the fact that I hate the beach. All that sand and all those creatures, living under the sea. Can’t I just be a mermaid that lives in someone’s pool? Not a hot tub, though – those things are TOO HOT. Or how about a Sea Monkey? I’d make a GREAT Sea Monkey…I’ve done it before…shhhh…
Whatcha “The Battle of the Labyrinth” is inspired by the Percy Jackson series, by Rick Riordan. My son moved on from Harry Potter fairly quickly and was really into Rick Riordan for a long while. I’m really glad my son hasn’t snatched all his books from my house – I need to hurry up and read them before he can afford a bookshelf for his apartment. Luckily, Riordan is not a TERF piece of shit, so I won’t have to feel bad enjoying his works.
This is two coats of “The Battle of the Labyrinth” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.
Sour Apple Rings
It’s not too late for BRAT Summer is it?
It was 96 degrees outside today…tell me that’s not summer!
Atomic Polish “Sour Apple Rings” was another score from July’s Remix, but was originally released in May 2023 – Junk Food. Those who know me, KNOW how much I hate sour apple flavored things – even green apple jolly ranchers…but this color is not that. This is the best neon polish I’ve ever used. No white base coat, nothing extra – just neon glowing goodness. I did get a few chips the first day – but that’s my fault for digging in the dirt and gardening.
Atomic Polish is quickly becoming one of my favorite Indie brands…check out “Redrum”!
This is two coats of “Sour Apple Rings” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Melt Down” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Champagne Toast“.