Sally's and Ulta Haul

Today I got to get out of the house sans-baby and hit up Sally's and Ulta.  I may swing back by Ulta again tomorrow to see if I can snag Tart With A Heart for $9.  Anyhow, yesterday my fella came home with a giant bottle of acetone so I'll include that in the haul because I can.  Anyhow, I got five polishes, Orly Bonder, orange sticks, swatch wheels, the huge bottle of acetone you see towering above everything else, and a teasing comb.  

Bonus diaperbag

I finally got to swatch all my polishes, and still have five wheels left for growth and practicing different designs:

I started to caption these with "reds, oranges, and yellows,"

"Blues and greens,"

"Pinks and purples,"

But then I realized...if you're reading this...

You probably can see for yourself.

You know exactly what's going on here.

Found these polishes all on sale or clearance:

Elves Bells

Water You Waiting For?

High Roller

Envy

CE-53 "Killing Red"

The Layla Ceramic Effect polish was doing some crazy rainbow shit in the bottle that my camera was not willing to fully acknowledge.  It was just as difficult trying to capture it on the wheel so I gave up.  Trust me, it's fancy.  It's a red jelly base with rainbow flakie giltter that is similar to Essie Shine of the Times as far as I can tell.  I'm in the process of ordering some things from Amazon, and after that and my Julep box this month...I think I should go on a no-buy!

I'm still debating whether I want to do the Julep mystery box or just get the Maven box.  The suspense till they announce what's in the Maven box this month is killing me!  Six days seems like forever.

Galaxy Nails and Nail Growth Comparison

Just a quick post before bed this evening.  Here's what my nails looked like in September 2012:

Mine are the painted ones herp derp

And here is how long they are as of tonight:

Koona t'chuta, Solo?

I was amazed by how easy galaxy nails are to do.  It took just as much time as pretty much any other manicure I've done.  I'm in love!

Sinful Colors Green Ocean

If you know me, you know I love flakie polish.  Love it.  LOVE IT.  So when I saw Sinful Colors Green Ocean, I had to have it.  As with all flakies, it looks all right in the bottle:

I also love old Catholic art pieces.

And then you slap it on over some black polish and it turns into some kind of amazingness:

Seriously.

This is three coats over the black polish from Revlon Moon Candy which is my favorite one-coat black.  My camera doesn't really capture all the fabulousness of Green Ocean, but it's not only full of flakies but it also has glitter in the same iridescent shade.  The majority of the color you see is a beautiful rich teal, but there are flashes of yellow, green, royal blue, and even a little purple.  Here are some close ups:

So much glitter

Haggahaggahagga *drool*

The formula is great and what you'd expect from any glitter polish, the first coat works better if you dab it on, then after that feel free to brush away.  I also found the mylar flakes lie a lot flatter than other polishes with a similar finish (I'm looking at you, Moon Candy) and I only had to press a couple little rebellious bits down while it was still tacky.

I also own Luxe and Lush by China Glaze as well as Heavenly Angel by NOPI.  Luxe and Lush is warm and firey, while Heavenly Angel is an array of pastel iridescence in pink, yellow, green, and blue.  I like Luxe and Lush over reds and oranges.  Here it is over OMB! by NOPI:

He shot first.

I've just realized I've never done a mani with Heavenly Angel.  I'll have to do a side by side comparison of all my flakies over black, but not until this manicure has chipped.  I'm loving Green Ocean WAY too much.  For the price ($1.99 or so at most places) it really is a stellar polish.  I paid about twice that for Moon Candy and have been pretty irritated with the formula and I'm really glad I can get a similar effect without all the hassle.  From what I understand, it's only available as part of the Shamrock Colors collection, so get it now or you'll have to wait and see if it comes back around next March.

Welp, I think I hear the little one calling for his after dinner snack.  I've never had a more demanding (or more adorable) boss.

Julep Lucky Sloppy Swatches

Just received my add-on of Julep Lucky.  Still having issues with the postman not understanding the size of our mailbox relative to the boxes Julep ships.  I had to wedge my hand in alongside the box and tear a side off to get it out:

Hulk smash.  Again.

Oh well.  Anyhow, Lucky is described as "kelly green and gold coin multi-dimensional, full coverage glitter."  To me it looks like a slightly jelly-er version of Cindy with added gold hex glitter.  

Lucky

I swatched it over a few greens in my collection, starting from the thumb we have one coat of Lucky over Cindy, Sinful Colors Happy Ending, Sinful Colors Why Not?, Julep Adrianna, and finally two coats of Lucky with no undies.  Sorry it's so damn sloppy, this is what happens when you're making dinner and soothing a drooling teething angry baby at the same time you're trying out your new polish: 

Goddamn it.

As you can probably tell, it matters jack all what you use under Lucky if you use undies at all with this polish.  In fact, I think it looks even sloppier over the light green Why Not? and Adrianna.  If anything I'd use Happy Ending so as not to waste the more expensive Cindy. It truly is a full coverage glitter; two coats and you are good to go!  It's going to be perfect for St. Patty's day and I see potential for Christmas time as well.  All in all, a good addition to my collection.  Thanks to the fiance for adding this on as a surprise for me!  

Lazy Sunday Stash

My cousin's wedding was lovely and it was great to see the extended family.  The baby was passed around a lot and cuddled by all.  General consensus: He's the cutest baby ever. I agree.  I swear I'm not biased or anything. Here's a great shot of the newlyweds:

Awwww

I really mangled my manicure today so I'm not posting pictures of it.  Instead I'll just show y'all my entire stash!  You've seen my Juleps so I suppose I'll start with them: 

Julep

Joan, Minnie, Audrey, Jane, Adrianna, Cindy, Susie, Marion, Alfrey, Rebel

 China Glaze

Rougish Red, For Audrey, Polarized, Glitter Goblin, Bizzare Blurple, Goulish Glow,  Luxe and Lush, Electrify

 Essie

Aruba Blue, Set In Stones

 Essense

Magic Red Carpet (Magnetic)

 Finger Paints

Laugh My Art Off

 Sally Hansen

Rockstar Pink, Spectrum, Rapid Red, Silver Sweep

 Nicole by OPI

Turquoise Texture, Sweet Dreams, OMB!, One Less Lonely Glitter, Step To the Beat Of My <3, Heavenly Angel, Confetti Fun

 Sinful Colors

Fire Red, Hazard, Let's Meet!, Innocent, Happy Ending, Green Ocean, Why Not?, Dream On, Pinky Glitter, Pearl Harbor, Snow Me White, Black On Black

 Drugstore

Caboodles Gash, Revlon Celestial FX, Cover Girl Blue Blossom, Maybelline  Crimson, Gold Accessory, LA Colors Jewel Tone, Revlon Moon Candy Moon Dust

 Ulta

Topcoat, Quick Dry Topcoat, Jaded

Julep's Lucky is on its way to me as we speak as well as Sally Hansen Mermaid's Tail.  Tomorrow while the baby naps I'll swatch some newer polishes for y'all.  I also plan to show off some recent manicures to show how much my nails have grown since I stopped biting them in December.  

March Maven Box

What up, y'all, my son just went down for his third (THIRD!) nap of the day so I thought I'd take the opportunity to update.  

I recently (thanks to reddit) discovered Julep.  The fiance got me Cupid's Mystery Box and a subscription to their Maven program for Valentine's day and I received my March Maven box last night.  It fit in our teeny apartment mailbox on the postman's side, but we had some trouble getting it out:

Hulk Smash.

Thankfully, nothing inside was damaged.  I usually go with the "It Girl" selections but this month I wasn't really feeling the colors and I know my poor winter dry cuticles wanted the hand creme on offer this month, so I switched to Bombshell.  Here's what I got: 

Adrianna, Minnie, Strawberry Lip Balm (freebie!) and Rock Star Hand Creme

Am I the only one who gets annoyed with American companies who sell you "Hand Creme" instead of regular old hand cream?  Like an ooooh-la-la-fancy-Frenchy-face name is going to make it work better or something?  C'mon, Julep, you're based out of Seattle.  I've been all up in your hood and there are no accent marks over the vowels in "grunge," "Starbucks," or "fish market." Get over yourself.  I MEAN WHOOPS SHUT UP I LOVE YOU GUYS.

I was surprised to find that Minnie is an opalescent shimmer, not just a pink creme like I had originally thought.  Both colors look great with my skintone, which is olive.  The handcream smells like the makeup department of a JC Penny's and I love it.  It absorbs really fast and doesn't leave my hands feeling all greasy grossy.  I'll swatch the polishes properly later as I'm currently trying to figure out how to do my nails for my cousin's wedding tomorrow.  Here they appear on my first and pinky fingers:

Also pictured: Julep Susie (thumb), Essie Set in Stones (ring), and some Chinese hologram loose glitter (middle) that my Pops brang me back from Hong Kong.

I'll probably go with the Susie-plus-rhinestones-and-pearls combo.  I only ever wear black anymore since I had the baby and nothing friggin fits anymore so no worries on matching my outfit.  My Julep polishes now number ten:

Joan, Minnie, Audrey, Jane, Adrianna, Cindy, Susie, Marion, Alfrey, Rebel

In other news, my son has discovered his feet and is now working on how to get them into his mouth.  I wish him luck.