Glow So Bright
Kathleen & Co “Glow So Bright” is the last polish I picked from November’s Nostalgic Toys Polish Pickup. It’s inspired by the Lite Brite, which contains the 3rd most painful toy part to step on after Legos and Barbie heels. I never owned a Lite Brite, but my sister had a Lights Alive, which was WAY better, because you didn’t have to worry about those dumbass pegs.
I love a good black polish with rainbow microglitter…but I feel like I buy one every month and maybe need to back off? We’ll see if I keep on buying them…
This is two coats of “Glow So Bright” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Play Rosé
Oh, you noticed that the background of my nail picture isn’t my yard?
What is it, you ask? It’s my CAR…Holo Taco “Play Rosé” is a perfect match for my new rose gold colored car.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Holo Taco. This particular polish is a finely textured holographic micro glitter. I got full coverage in two coats and it lasted like a champ. I went SNORKELING IN COZUMEL and didn’t get any chips. What?
I am a Holo Taco convert – thinking I might be adding a new bottle with every Ulta order…
This is two coats of “Play Rosé” over Holo Taco Pink Smoothing Base Coat and under Holo Taco Glossy Taco Top Coat. The top coat did not make the polish 100% smooth. It was still a bit pebbled, but not dramatically.
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“.
January 2025 Ipsy Bag – A Clean Slate
A brief hiatus was just what I needed…
This month’s theme is “A Clean Slate” and included a different kind of makeup bag than usual. It doesn’t zip – it has a magnetic snap. It wouldn’t work inside my purse, but I’m sure I can find a use for it…
My product choice this month was Dr. Lili Fan Probiotic Recovery Cream. I am in LOVE with this face cream – and not just because I just got crispy-crittered in Cozumel. In my mind, it is that luxurious “Pearl Cream” from the 90s commercials…(I have no idea what the original “pearl cream” was like, I’m just talking shit.)
I’ve been using the Pamper + Polish Sugar and Coconut Infused Body Scrub (damn, the sugar is sharp), but I haven’t tried the other three products. I’ll probably get around to using the Glow Recipe Plum Plump Hyaluronic Acid Lip Gloss Balm, but I won’t ever use the Seraphine Botanicals Mimosa Mist Glass Skin Setting Spray. I might *possibly* use the Illuminati Cosmetics Multi-Chrome Gel Eyeliner in “Prime” – not sure.
Not a horrible bag, but not a lot of product types that I use…it’s been a bit since I’ve updated my ipsy preferences, so maybe I should do it.
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.
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“.
First Ulta Haul of 2025
…and I was ready to shop…because I placed this order on January 2nd!
Select skincare was BOGO 40% off, so I decided to try Thayers Soak It Up 80HR Liquid Moisturizer for Normal to Dry Skin ($14.99) when I got my Thayers Witch Hazel ($6.57 after discount). I also got a free Travel Size Thayers Witch Hazel. I had been wanting to try megababe The Smoothie Deo Fruit Enzyme Daily Deodorant ($9.80 after discount) and was happy to see it was also 30% off.
Ulta came out with their own marker lip stain – Ulta Magic Marker Lip Stain ($10) – so I picked up “Purple Fizz” at 30% off. It goes on like a magic marker, too! It lasts decently through food – highly recommend, although this color was REALLY dark on my pasty skin…I might have looked a bit like the joker. On the other hand, I do NOT recommend Revolution Beauty Pout Tint ($4, down from $8). It’s just lip gloss that gets all over anything – it doesn’t tint or stain at all!
It was a rather small order – around $33 after using a $10 off $40 code and benefiting from free shipping on all orders placed on an Ulta Credit Card. Just $1,119 to Diamond in 2026 (my son and his girlfriend have been using my phone number at Ulta – score).
I got a Semi…
…Annual Sale Haul. What did you think I meant?
So, even though I purchased 3 times, I visited the sale and different stores another half dozen times. I was looking for one SPECIFIC thing…I wanted one of those Wallflower Projectors from Halloween. I saw them in a few different stores, but always on the 50% table. Those things were $39.95 – $42.95 originally, and even $20 was too much…I finally broke down and went to the outlet in Katy Mills Mall and HALLELUJAH, they had about 20 of the Skeleton Hearses at 75% and it was finally mine. They didn’t have any of the Tentacle Houses, which was disappointing…
I spent the most on my first visit, the day after Xmas. Wallflowers AND Hand Soaps were $2.99, so I stocked the fuck up. I added a few backup Shower Gels, but now knew scents have entered my shower…I am waiting for a good sale + coupon to add “Perfect in Pink” to my shower.
Oh, and since my daughter binged Bridgerton over the holidays, I grabbed a “Diamond of the Season” Fine Fragrance Mist for her…and another “Vampire Blood” for me!
I added up my receipts and I spent $119.47…but (supposedly) saved $208.23. That averages out to ~64% off…not too shabby!
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“.