HAUL: Ross & Nail Polish

Here are a few things I wanted to show you guys that I bought recently. 8 new nail polishes....yes, that's alot, but they were inexpensive! The rest of the products were mani/pedi related items from Ross. I picked up some exfoliating gloves for the shower as I have terrible luck with shower scrunchies...they tend to just unravel and end up a long string  :(  So I thought I'd give the gloves a try.

I am very diligent about pumicing my feet in the shower, but no matter what I do they're still dry since it's officially flip flop season! Maybe slathering some lotion on then putting these on instead of regular socks will do the trick! Any suggestions?

Unfortunately the nail dryer didn't work and will be going back to the store....should have known it would be a dud, it was only $3.99. Sigh, I guess I'll have to continue to flap my arms around to get my nails to dry faster....or just give them a blast of the hair dryer! The Salon Express nail stamper I've had before, but gave it away. Now that I'm back into the nail kick I thought I'd give it another go!

Take care!

NOTD: Hard-Core Party & Strobe Light

Hard-Core Party & Strobe Light

Today's NOTD is a "Replay" of my last NOTD! The original manicure was using the pretty pale pink "Hard-Core Party" by Sally Hansen. As you can see in the replay I just added this gorgeous new glitter polish "Strobe Light" also by Sally Hansen on my thumb and ring finger. Strobe Light has tiny dark pink glitter and medium sized holographic glitter. The color and size differences in the glitter make for a dynamic combination! I can already tell that this glitter will get a lot of use with many different shades beneath it! 

L: Hard-Core Party
R: Strobe Light

NOTD: Hard-Core Party

Sally Hansen: Hard-Core Party

Today's NOTD is a simple mani using a pretty pale pink. I'm starting a new job this week and thought that this would be work appropriate. The polish is "Hard-Core Party" from Sally Hansen Hard as Nails line. To get the opacity that you see in the picture required 3 generous coats, perhaps too thick as small air bubbles started to form on a couple of the nails. I'm thinking multiple thin coats would work out best. 

I went with this polish instead of investing in Essie "Fiji" nail polish which is a similar shade. I don't know what the color payoff for the Essie polish is like, but I opted to spend $2 on the SH polish versus $8. Did I make the right choice? Those of you that have "Fiji" let me know!

NOTD: Revlon Red & Brilliant Brushstroke

Today's NOTD is a beautiful red combination. Revlon Red is one of my all time favorite colors. It is a great cool red cream that has amazing payoff! I always get compliments whenever I wear it! But, I wanted to spice it up a little bit and added Finger Paints Brilliant Brushstroke on top. Brilliant Brushstroke is pigmented enough to be worn alone, but I like to put it over a cream to add depth. It's a neutral  red with tiny red shimmer. The picture does not do this manicure justice  :(

I love red polish, it looks great! But....it's sometimes a pain to remove. Usually I'll remove red polish then jump in the shower. That technique works pretty well in getting any residual off of the skin around the nail bed.

Till next time!

L: Brilliant Brushstroke
R: Revlon Red

SHOPPING: Target & Ross

I went to Target to pick up a few more things today since I had some coupons that were about to expire. I try really hard not to pay full price for anything and I also shop for Christmas all year long.

I picked up a couple of makeup and nail polish items at Target with my coupons. I got the Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Sandstorm for $2.99. Pretty good deal considering some say it's a dupe for  MAC's Mineralized Powder in Natural. I had the MAC powder, but gave it away...it was way too light for me! I have high hopes for the Rimmel since Mary of A Love Tart recommends it.

I had 2 Target coupons for $2 off of Revlon eye makeup so I bought 2 of the Revlon Colorstay Quads. I went with Addictive and Attitude, very neutral shades in both. I'm going to give either 1 or both as gifts...haven't decided if I'll keep one for myself or not. What do you guys think?

I also had a coupon for $1 off of a Revlon nail polish and used it to buy Rainforest. It's a pretty dark green with gold shimmer. I don't have any shades like it in my collection and I thought it would be lovely in the winter and around Christmas time. I will not be giving it as a gift since my family and friends tend to lean towards my tradition colors.

I did purchase one item at full price, but it was only $1.99 so I decided to splurge  ;p It's a NYC nail  polish in Wall Street. It's just a pretty light frosty pink. I had a nice polish in that shade that I recently parted with and thought I'd give NYC a try.

I've been having some trouble with my nails peeling on the tips, which I think was related to using overly abrasive emery boards. So I have been on the hunt to find a glass nail file. Lucky me, they had 2 at Ross today. The Sally Hansen file is ceramic, I'm not sure if that is much different than glass but I decided for $3.99 it was worth a try. The other file is not a brand I'm familiar with, but it is a glass file. It's housed in a pink plastic case and slides up and a small light illuminates it once fully extended. I think the light is a bit gimmicky, but I do like the cover which will protect the file from breaking. The pink file was only $2.99!

HAUL: Sally Beauty Supply May 2012

So I stopped by Sally's today to pick up nail polish thinner and of course ended up with a few other things. 

First of all I got a few great deals in the clearance bins. A China Glaze polish, "Some Like It Haute". It's a Gunmetal/pewter shade with grey/silver shimmer and larger holographic glitter. It's from 2011 3D Eye Candy Glitter collection. Looks beautiful and I will certainly post pictures of it on my nails. Even better was the price! Only $1.99!!!

Left: Gondola Before You Know It
Right: Sili-Coney Island

I also picked up a couple of lipglosses from Real Colors for $2.99 each. They're plumping glosses with lots of pigmentation. "Gondola Before You Know It" is a cool pink which reflects blue and packs a nice punch with the plumping sensation. "Sili-Coney Island" is a neutral rose shade with gold shimmer, it doesn't have that lip plumper sting to it like the other. Both are beautiful and are pigmented enough to wear alone if you want to skip lipstick.

Lastly I bought 3 of the Sally Girl nail polishes. They don't have names, but I got them with a specific manicure in mind....stay tuned to see them in action!!

NOTD: Rich & Famous in the Jetstream

Rich & Famous with Jetstream on top

I did this manicure last night. I was originally going to wear Jetstream, but the color was too sheer and required something underneath it. Rich & Famous was a perfect match! Both polishes are by China Glaze and only needed one coat each. Rich & Famous is a lovely cool/blue pink cream shade, while Jetstream is a sheer pink with very fine shimmer that reflects blue and purple.                      
                                           
                                      CHINA GLAZE