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Polish Pickup September 2023 – Haunted History

I cannot remember the last time I spent $65 on nail polish…but I couldn’t resist September’s theme, “Haunted History.” I’ve got to celebrate Spooky Season!

Danglefoot Nail Polish “Hair Raising” ($13) is inspired by past hair disasters…I’ve had a few of those myself.

Sweet & Sour Lacquer “The Saw is Family” ($13) is inspired by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre…supposedly based on a true story, at least according to the kids in my daycare. (For those of you NOT from Texas, it’s not…Ed Gein notwithstanding.)

Alchemy Lacquer “Oddities” ($12.50) is inspired by the medicinal plant garden at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. I am intrigued. And it’s NOT red!

Baroness X “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary” ($13) is inspired by…guess who…Bloody Mary.

Lilypad Lacquer “Haunted forever” ($14) is inspired by…an image on the web. Not sure which image, hmmmm…

I seriously had to limit myself to just 5…I wanted at least 15 other polishes. Which one should I try first???

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Connie

I absolutely HATE that Julep not only stopped carrying nail polish…they deleted all of the polish descriptions from their site. It’s like being a Julep MAVEN didn’t even happen. Sigh. It’s like all those years of polishing our nails together didn’t even happen. And how am I supposed to know what color this is?

Julep Classic with a Twist “Connie” was in one of the last few rounds of polish I got. It’s a magenta crème, with a demi-matte finish, but it was so streaky that I had to go shiny with it. It’s a nice color, very 80s. The edges shrank horribly, but I’m not sure if it was the polish or the top coat. I lean towards the polish, because G&G doesn’t usually do that.

This is two coats of “Connie” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

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Four Times a Mermaid…

I’m oncetwicethrice…FOUR times a mermaid!

I pulled out my favorite nail polish for a funeral last week. Oh, and it matches my hair!

This is two coats of Sally Hansen “Mermaid’s Tale” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Top Coat and under Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber and Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

You may be asking yourself why “Mermaid’s Tale” looks even better than before…more depth, more sparkle. The secret is Glitter Grabber – don’t do glitter without it.

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Turkey Skittles

Remember last year’s Thanksgiving Skittles? I am manifesting FALL WEATHER by doing another fall themed Skittle Mani…I need pumpkin spice and everything nice!

I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I decided to go with cremes instead of shimmers. Starting with my thumb, I used two coats of each polish: Julep “Mary Lee”, Julep “Jenna”, Julep “Lee”, Julep “Rosemary”, and Julep “Nan” on my pinkie. I topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

If it worked, it was SLOW. It was 95 today…but a cold front is supposed to hit Texas Thursday/Friday.

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A Citrusy Ulta Haul

Have you ever smelled a scent that was so amazing that you had to stop what you were doing RIGHT THAT SECOND and order every product that you could find in that scent? That’s what happened to me when I smelled Hempz Citrus Blossom Herbal Body Moisturizer With Vitamin C. I got a tiny 2.25oz sample from Ulta and I immediately ordered a big 17oz bottle ($27.99). Of course, I am kicking myself this week – Hempz is 40% and that same bottle is $16.79. Run, don’t walk to buy it.

I rounded out my order with a few more citrusy products: Megababe Sunny Pits Daily Deodorant ($14), which smells EXACTLY like the Love’s Baby Soft Lemon that was one of my mom’s favorites and a clearance Ulta Scented Foaming Hand Wash in “Pink Grapefruit” ($3.50), another scent that reminds me of my mom. Now I can think of my mom when I smell my armpits and when I wash my hands.

Lily was out of zit stickers, so I ordered Peach Slices Acne Spot Dots ($4.99) for her. She said they didn’t work as well as Zit Stickas, so I don’t think I’ll be getting these again.

I got a free 5 piece Beauty Break from e.l.f. Cosmetics with my $50 purchase: e.l.f. Power Grip Primer; Whoa Glow Sun Protection + Makeup Primer; Holy Hydration! Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm; Luminous Putty Bronzer; and Hydrating Core Lip Shine in “Happy”. Oh, and I used my $3.50 off $15 coupon, OF COURSE.

$268 til Diamond in 2024.

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September 2023 Ipsy Bag – Find Your Groove

I LOVE a fancy zipper pull and this month’s ipsy bag has a wild tasseled zipper pull. Groovy.

This month’s theme is “Find Your Groove”, so consider it found. My product choice was First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream – winter is coming, and so is my dry skin. I’m still trying to use up the Kate Somerville Cream from May’s box, so I haven’t busted it open yet.

Also in this month’s groovy bag: Hey Honey Show Your Glow – Colloidal Gold & Honey Beauty Mask (a nice soothing mask that doesn’t dry or peel – you just rinse); Lavido Thera Intensive Oil Control Clarifying Gel Wash (going in my travel bag for this weekend); Pacifica Stellar Gaze Length & Strength Mineral Mascara in “Supernova” (a nice mascara – very basic); and Shaina B Miami Lip Gloss in “Heat Wave” (haven’t tested it yet).

A nice bag with products I’ll actually use!

I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $13/month and Icon Box (formerly Glam Bag X) for an extra $43/quarterly. If you’d like to try Ipsy –  click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.

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Speedster

Sinful Colors “Speedster” isn’t too old…if three years isn’t old for a nail polish.

It’s fine, the quality was fine. This is just a plain, old candy apple red nail polish. It’s fairly similar to Zoya “Sooki”, my favorite red. It’s perhaps a bit more orange?

This is two coats of “Speedster” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

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Missy

Julep “Missy” is another polish that has been chilling in the cabinet since 2016.

“Missy” is a silver foil polish. I love to hate foils – they are usually so fussy to deal with and streaky…but not “Missy”. I got smooth coverage and no bubbles – shocking! Is it me, or is there faint greenish cast to this silver?

This is two coats of “Missy” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

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WONDERSKIN

I don’t know about you, but that lip stain that goes on blue and peels off is all over my socials. Does WONDERSKIN live up to the hype?

I ordered two tubes of WONDERSKIN Wonder Blading Lip Masque ($22) few weeks ago. One for me – “Charming” (Toffee Rose) – and one for my daughter – “Romance” (Cool Rose). I made the mistake of not ordering the Wonder Blading Lip Activator ($12), which I didn’t realize if what makes the blue stuff peel off. I was scraping my nails at the edge of my lip and I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t peeling! I gave up and wiped the blue off with wet toilet paper, which was a LOVELY experience.

Once I got all the blue off my fingers, I topped with my favorite lip balm and was ready to go. The stain lasted all day, even through Mexican food and booze and charcuterie and more booze.

For the record, my daughter said that hers DOES peel. I’ve worn it several times and no peeling for me. Hmmm…

I don’t know that WONDERSKIN is worth $22 + $12, but it does last a pretty long time. (Full confession, I only ordered it to use up some Shop Pay cash that was about to expire, which made then $14.40 each.) I am curious how the darker colors or a vibrant red will work on me though…I might save up more Shop Pay cash and try again…

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Candied Grapefruit

My old Potluck Gang was finally able to get together the weekend before last and the theme was “Barbie Boobs”. We’ve been doing this for 22 years, and we’ll never run out of offensive themes for our potlucks!

“Barbie Boobs” means pink food and pink nails, so I picked a pink I hadn’t tried yet – Sinful Colors “Candied Grapefruit” from the Confection Crush Collection. It’s a glossy pink, a bit streaky – even with the second coat. Ugh, it reminded me of that awful liquid amoxycillin I used to have to take as a kid…

This is two coats of “Candied Grapefruit” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

NOTE: This is NOT what color candied grapefruit is. My Father-in-Law makes it and it’s more of a coral shade.