Ok, I realized that some nail polish would have to get the boot out of my box. Here is the chaos that resulted in me dumping everything on the floor.

Not a lot, but it's all that fits in the box. It's made out of lime green and purple plaid duct tape, with ribbon bows taped onto both sides of the box, all stuck to a really really, and I mean more than a decade old, box that used to hold miscellaneous stuff. The white thing is a foam insert that came in a case of Ulta face brushes. It fit perfectly!

Side note: No sure why Mint Candy Apple looks so blue... It's the only "blue" in the picture. So strange.

The varnish I knew that wold make the cut; my top coat, base coat, quick dry, silver shatter, and my 2 varnishes that I use for french tip (Essie's Marshmallow and Sugar Daddy)

The finish product:

The varnishes that got the boot :'(

L to R: Essie Too Too Hot, Essie Meet Me At Sunset, and Ulta Noel (bought at Target)

To be honest, I don't even like Noel. It's ridiculously streaky, and needs to meet the trashcan. The other two are summer colors, and it's hard to put them away, but I have to in order to make room. So sad, I love those colors.

That's me "the now box". See you guys in a few days! Toodles!


***NOTE: This was all taken before I went on a major nail polish shopping spree. Look out for an updated picture!

Essie's French Affair and Raise Awareness comparison

When I got home, I realized some polish would have to get the boot from my "the now box", which is where I store my polish that I have been wearing lately. The rest go into a drawer for later use. I picked up Essie French Affair and Essie Raise Awareness, and realized the two looked remarkably similar. Test time!!!

French Affair on the left, and Raise Awareness on the right

French Affair on the left, and Raise Awareness on the right

Raise Awareness on the left, and French Affair on the right

Since Raise Awareness is limited edition in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, is it worth hunting down after it's gone? If you can snag your hangs on French Affair, no. It's not worth it. Unless you really really want to donate to the cause, and can find this in stores, it's not going to be worth the purchase. The two are so close, it really is pointless to have both in your collection. I do love Raise Awareness, and both are great to have. Coming from a girl who doesn't want two of the same color, it's not worth it. It is for a great cause, and it is a beautiful color, and more pink than French Affair, which has a hint of purple in it. Just my opinion though!!


Here is a closer view of Raise Awareness:

Excuse the messy nails.

I am leaving tomorrow to go to Indianapolis. Don't worry, I will show you which nail polishes I am bringing. Ok, till next time, toodles!

Nail Polish ♥

It's horrible, whenever I go out, I cant help but buy a new nail polish. I went to Target yesterday to get some stuff for my trip that's coming up on Wednesday, and I found the new Cocktail Bling collection! I saw that the Essie Facebook page listed the colors, officially, and I had a feeling it would be out.Then there it was, right before my little eyes!

They have minis of all the colors, and a mini top coat. I think I'm good with top coats for a while, but I can always use more.

I picked up Size Matters, and I plan on getting the rest in time.

So pretty!!!!

Today, I went to T.J. MAXX. I was looking for either shoes, or a jacket, but look what I found, instead.

OPI What's With the Cattitude? and OPI Ogre-the Top Blue (Shrek collection)

I was first drawn to the colors. I have yet to bum up the courage, and pick up a true blue. They were the only colors the store had in OPI. I looked at the price: $7.99!!!! Are you kidding me? One bottle alone would cost me $8.50.


Don't believe me?

Steal!!!!! I was very pleased.

Till next time, toodles!

Essie salon bottle v. drugstore bottle

I do have to commend Essie for being bold and making two different bottles for the exact same nail polishes. Waste of money, but an easy way to differentiate between where the varnish was bought.

Above is the top view of the bottles. The "Salon" bottle has a lowercase e, while the drugstore (which means something similar to CVS or Target) has the varnish's name on it.

 The Salon bottle has 2 sides of the imprinted Essie name, as well as the drugstore bottle. The difference is where the salon bottle also has two blank/flat sides. On the drugstore bottle, one of the sides has a sticker with a white "essie", and other information.

The Salon bottle has the barcode and name of the varnish on the bottom, when the drugstore bottle has nothing on the bottom.

The barcode on the drugstore bottle can be found on the cap. It's just the barcode, color number, and the caution warning. The salon bottle has nothing on the cap.


Personally, I prefer the drugstore bottle. It makes looking for a specific color 10xs easier!! I compared the OPI bottles, and they're exactly the same. So boring.

The colors represented here are all Essie; Raise Awareness for the "Salon" bottle, Chinchilly for the "drugstore" bottle, and for the first two pictures I am wearing Raise Awareness, and the last two are Essie Carry On (the pictures were taken on two different days).

Ok, this post is done, see you next time! Toodles.

I bought some nail polish....

I went to Sally Beauty Supply today. It was my first time going there, and wow is China Glaze and Orly cheaper there! I was so overwhelmed, I didn't know what to do. I went there to pick up the box in the middle of the picture below, but more about that later. Also, the pictures are shot inside today. It's raining outside, and I don't want to get sick, lol.

Now for the individual pictures!!!

I really wanted a mini varnish of black. I wouldn't use black often, so I really just wanted to get a small one. This one was cheap, only $0.99. I picked up a glitter as well, because I wanted that too. Neither have names, but I'm assuming it's Sally's brand, so it doesn't bother me.

Orly Fifty Four

I fell in love with this nail polish as soon as I found it!! I think it will look gorgeous on top of a pale pink or putple. It's almost metallic in the bottle, but more on the pearl side. Great glitter color.

Orly Pointe Blanche

I use Essie Marshmallow for my french tips. I really don't like the formula for a french tip, so a few weeks ago I went on the Orly website to look at what they had. I wanted Pointe Blanche so bad, but they didn't have it at my local Ulta. I snatched it up when I saw it at Sally's!

China Glaze Celtic Sun (Neon)

Probably about as bright yellow as you can get. I was shocked at myself for buying, but I definitely have nothing like this in my collection. So excited for this guy.

Front

Back

China Glaze Go Go Pink and Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

It also came with an adorable key chain. Guess how much!? $8.99!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH!!! The top coat alone would cost that much! What a steal! I am loving it.

Such a great buy today. All of the nail polish came out to be $29.77. Not to mention I got Pirates of the Caribbean (the 5 or 6 disk edition) for $26, and Sims 3 Pets today (It's EA, so it's a rip off either way). Expensive day, but so worth it!!!

I swear those posts that I mentioned are coming! I have them made, I just need to go through and edit some more.

What I am currently wearing....

OPI - I Want To Be A-Lone Star

 I am so late when it comes to the collections. I bought OPI I Want To Be A-Lone Star a few days ago. I had on Essie Case Study but I kept getting bubbles, so I gave up, and put on this color. It's so pretty! It's quickly becoming a favorite.

I think I am going to try and prolong wearing this varnish for as long as possible. I don't know why, but I am loving blues and purples right now!

Buys buys buys

I went a little.... overboard. So much nail polish!!! To the average junkie, this wont seem like a lot. But, considering how much I bought VS what I was actually on the hunt for, it's a lot. I heard about the Essie Raise Awareness nail polish, and that it would be sold in salons and at Ulta.com. Me, not putting 2 and 2 together, I went to Ulta thinking that I would only be getting nail polish from the new Essie Cocktail Bling collection. Silly me, there was Raise Awareness right next to the new collection. Snagged that one up real quick. I also looked at the new collection, only bought one; Cocktail Bling. The red one, Size Matters, wasn't as red as I expected, and Bangle Jangle had this weird purple liquid at the top that I could not shake or mix for the life of me! No matter how hard I tired, it wouldn't mix. So, I went to Target thinking that it would be out. Silly me, my Target is so slow!!! No new collection. But, I did still manage to walk out with 2 new nail polishes, Essie Case Study, and OPI I Want To Be A-Lone Star. Also, the ORLY minis (along with loads of other varnishes) were by 2 get 1 free at Ulta, so I decided that I wanted Lolipop, and a really bright true orange for Halloween, and them my husband picked up a sparkly red which had the name rubbed off of it. What is it with men and red?

I do plan on going to CVS later today to see if I can hunt down 2 of the new collection colors. Not sure which ones, but I'm limiting my self to 2.


On with the pictures!!!! Cause that's what you really want to see.

L to R: Orly Star Spangled (I think), Orly Hola (♥ the name), OrlyLillipop, Essie Raise Awareness, Essie Case Study, Essie Cocktail Bling, and OPI I Want To Be A-Lone Star

Some close ups:

I have a lot of posts lined up in the next few days:
A Essie Raise Awareness/French Affair comparison/review
Re-organizing my "the now box"
A comparison of the "drugstore" vs "salon" Essie bottles - They're different!
Matte Avon nail polish review/ comparison

So much!!! Ok, see you guys later, and expect an update soon! Also, don't be surprised if I throw in another "nail polish buy" post today or tomorrow :D

Random bunny picture to say bye bye:

Nail polish. I want!

Oh my gosh this is going to get me in so much trouble!!! Yesterday-ish the Essie facebook page announced that the Cocktail Bling collection is starting to hit stores. Normally there's one or two that I want from a collection, or at least one that I flat out go EW at. You know, the colors that make you wonder why anyone would want that on their nails? Not this time! No sir-e-bobber. I want them ALL.

A while ago I saw the collection preview on All Lacquered Up. I am so excited about these colors! One of them I think I wont like in the store; School of Hard Rocks.

Also, let me say that I am loving the Luxeffects collection too! I will definitely be snatching up 2 or 3 of those glitter. I have absolutely no glitter nail polish. *gasp!* I have been on a hunt for a good one, and Deborah Lippman glitter nail polish is certainly catching my eyes.

Also, I just recently bought Essie's Angora Card. Let me say that I have had this on since Monday. LOVE. Ok, that is all =)

OPI: Lucky Lucky Lavender

This polish is from the OPI Hong Kong collection that came out in Spring of last year. I just bought it, so I am assuming they put it out into their permanent collection. I wore the last color, Play the Peonies, until today without any chips whatsoever. So, I guess that means good things for the top coat that I've been using, which is the OPI top coat.

I really like this color , it's a pink with a hint of purple. It goes on quite opaque, but it doesn't reach the full color that is shown in the bottle until the second color.

Alright, here is the rest of the nail polishes I did in this round of reviews:

Color is much more accurate than it was the first time I posted these guys together. I also dropped Chinchilly on concrete on the way back in side =( It's alright, just a ding, so I guess that shows that the Essie bottles are made well! I do have to say, post rain lighting is the best. This is a real representation of what the bottles look like.

Ok, next time around (possibly Wednesday) I think I will spend a day talking about matte nail polish using varnish from Avon!

Toodles!!

OPI: Play The Peonies

I wasn't planning on doing a blog post today, but my nails started to peel and chip. Not the nail polish, Chinchilly held on strong. It was my actual nail that was peeling, and my thumb started to break off, so I thought it was time to cut them.

I was so excited when I saw Play The Peonies in Ulta. It is such a gorgeous pearly pink color, and I wanted to try it on first. I held on, and decided to go with Chinchilly first, but oh boy was I excited to get this color on my nails! Play the Peonies is form the "Nice Stems!" collection that came out earlier this year.

My first impressions was on how opaque the polish is. I could have gotten away with doing one coat, but I thought 2 would make it stand out a lot more! My only issue is that I feel like it is a bit light for my skin tone, but oh well!!! Below are pictures of my nails, and the bottle. Both in direct sunlight, and shade.

Essie "Chinchilly"

Lets just say that I LOVE this varnish. I is the right shade for my ivory skin.  It took two coats to get an opaque look. It's a dusty purple, that's perfect for fall,and in the right light I've found that it can have a greenish tint to it. This is third day wear, not bad! I approve, and recommend this varnish.

welcome!

I probably should have posted this first, but oh well! I'm Kristina, and I am a nail polish junkie. I recently (March) threw away ALL of my nail polishes. Most were old, like really really old, and I had a lot of reds that were given to me by my aunt, so who knows how old they really were. Others were some that I had when I was younger and didn't care about them, so they leaked, and the dried polish sealed the bottle shut. So, I made the decision to throw all but 2 of my varnishes away. So, I began my new collection on my honeymoon in March, and I am quickly stock piling. Oh how I love pretty nails!

My top nail polish brands are:

1. Essie ❤
2. OPI (I have a rabbit named OPI)
3. Orly (I have a really bad urge to call it "Oh Realy")

I plan on getting China Glaze, and some Piggy Polish <-- such a cute name!!!

I am a little biased towards Essie, but I will expand!!! Again, welcome to my new blog, and I hope you enjoy it!

newest friends

I bought new nail polish today. I was on a hunt for particular ones, but Ulta did not have them so I was left with picking out ones I had not originally intended on buying. That's the fun in shopping, right?

I ended up getting 4 nail polished total. 3 OPI, and 1 essie (bought at Target).

The first polish that I will be reviewing is Essie's Chinchilly. Check back soon for that review!