New 31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Days 4 & 5!

Hey there!

 Today I have another day of the challenge, and I've decided to combine days 4 and 5, which are pink and purple! Details on the polishes I used at the end of the post!

Base color: OPI You're Such a Budapest

Stamp color: China Glaze Designer Satin

Stamp: Cheeky CH26

Dots: China Glaze Dance Baby and Zoya Aurora

Top coats: Seche Vite & INM Northern Lights 

I'm a little bit behind from where I was expecting to be with the challenge right now, so you may get a few extra posts this weekend! Stay tuned!

XOX

Jess

OPI Euro Centrale Collection - My Picks!

Happy Monday! 

Today I have a selection from the newest OPI collection, Euro Centrale. I decided to get 5 out of the 12 colors below.

You're Such A Budapest

You're Such A Budapest is a dusty lilac with a silvery blue shimmer. I obviously love this color, because I am a purple polish addict! I used three thin coats for these pics.

 Can't Find My Czechbook

Can't Find My Czechbook is one of those "Tiffany blue" wannabe colors, a touch darker than the real thing. Still very pretty! I used two coats for these pics.

 OPI... Eurso Euro

OPI... Eurso Euro's official description calls it a "deep blue" creme. To me this seems to lean much more purple than blue - which again I have no issues with! Out of all the colors I picked up from this collection, this is definitely my favorite. It is such a rich color, and I am already dreaming up hundreds of crazy glitter combos and other ideas to use this with! Two thin coats for this beauty!

 Suzi's Hungary Again

Suzi's Hungary Again... pretty color, pain in the tushie to photograph! No matter what kind of light I was in, or how much I fiddled with it while editing, I could not get this color to show right! It is an extremely bright coral, almost neon, with a very subtle shimmer. It is much more pink than these photos show. I will definitely be sporting this on my toes a lot once the warm weather gets here! I used three coats for these pics. You can get a better feel of the true color in the photo below, as a base for the glitter from this collection.

Polka.com

over You're Such A Budapest 

over Can't Find My Czechbook

over OPI... Eurso Euro

over Suzi's Hungary Again

Polka.com is a fun mix of medium sized purple, pink, and teal hex glitter with tiny purple glitter suspended in a clear base. As soon as I saw the first promo shots for this collection, I fell in love with this. It is just a gorgeous mix and I love how well it matches all the colors I picked up! For all the photos above I used one coat over the base color. And another clever name from the lovelies at OPI! 

So there you have it! This is a really nice collection from OPI, I may even have to go back and pick up one or two more colors that I was iffy about at first. My absolute favorites are OPI... Eurso Euro and Polka.com. 

Have you gotten any of these beauties yet? Which colors are your favorites?

XOX,

Jess

Sunday Sales!

Hello all! The weekend is almost over, but at least there are some good things to watch on tv tonight - who is excited about the Grammy's!? I can't wait to watch the pre-show, just to see what everyone is wearing, especially since they sent out that list of what you cannot wear tonight! It should be very interesting! (Although I may have to cut away from the actual awards show to watch Downton Abbey!)

Today I am bringing back Sunday Sales! Every Sunday I scour the ads of the big pharmacies and beauty stores to find some good deals for you! 

Source: Google images

All of the sale prices below run from today through Saturday, February 16 (except for Sally Beauty, which runs the entire month).

CVS
Wet N Wild Spoiled: 2 for $3 
All NYC cosmetics are Buy One, Get One 50% Off
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes are $5.99 each
All Milani cosmetics are Buy One, Get One 50% Off
All L'oreal cosmetics: Spend $12, and earn $4 Extrabucks rewards

Rite Aid
All Revlon cosmetics are 40% off
Wet N Wild cosmetics are 40% off
Sinful Colors polish: Buy 3 and earn $3 UP rewards
Jesse's Girl cosmetics are Buy One, Get One 50% Off

Walgreens
Wet N Wild Fergie collection: 2 for $5
Revlon - select color polishes are $3.99 each
Sally Hansen Crackle and Gem Crush polishes: 2 for $10

Ulta
Butter London Sweetie Shop Spring 2013 Collection: $15 each
Revlon Nail Art Duos are $5.99 each
Nicole by OPI polishes are $6.99
Sally Hansen Magnetic polishes and Salon Effects Nail Strips are $8.99 each
OPI Mariah Carey collection: $9 each
China Glaze Cirque du Solei collection: $7.50 each
Ulta Romantic Notions 4pc. mini polish set: $8
*Don't forget to print your coupon! $3.50 off a $10 purchase!

Sally Beauty
Orly polish: 2 for $11
China Glaze: save $1 on each polish (entire stock)
Finger Paints: free color polish with purchase of top coat
Nail Tek treatments: save $5 on 3
Cina Nail Art pens: Buy 2, Get 1 Free
Seche Vite: Free base coat with purchase of top coat
Buy a 2.5oz Beauty Secrets nail treatment, get a .625oz for free
**I also received an e-mail from Sally's this morning stating that through February 18, you get a free Orly polish with any $3 purchase! (Limit 1 per customer)


And there are your sales! Anything in particular you will be running out for? I know I will be stopping by a few of these places today! My favorite quick-drying top coat is NYC Grand Central Station, so I will definitely be stocking up on those at CVS, and I'm on the hunt for a few Revlon's and a particular Jesse's Girl polish, so Walgreens and Rite Aid are in my future as well! (If you'd like to see what other polishes I'm after, you can check out my wishlist on Pinterest!)

Hope you all had a great weekend, I will be back tomorrow with a few of my picks from OPI's new Euro Central Collection!

XOX
Jess

Comparison Post!

Hello there, today I have two comparisons for you guys. Before I get into those, just wanted to say a few things!

I noticed a LOT of people have been looking for the Color Club Halo Hues collection and can't find it in stores. In my area I have noticed them in two stores: XSRE and Harmon Face Values. Prices were $9.95 and $7.99, respectively. Check out both their websites for locations near you! They're also on transdesign.com for $6.95, but are unfortunately sold out at the moment. You can always get them directly from Color Club for $10 each.

And a cool story, bro: At the end of September I ordered 400 "swatchsicles" on ebay. Of course the store was located overseas, and the shipping estimate was about 4 weeks. Well, the day came and went, and I never got my swatchsicles. So I opened a case with ebay, and they ended up ruling in my favor and I was given a refund to my PayPal account. I was okay with that, and figured I'd just order them at another time from someone else, and I forgot about them. Lo and behold.... they were delivered to me yesterday! I was way beyond excited, and all I've been doing all weekend is swatching my collection! Of course, at the time I ordered I only needed about 325 sticks... and now that I have them in my hands 2 months later, I don't have enough! I just wanted to share my joy with you all. :)
On to polish!

Sinful Colors Nail Junkie 

vs. 

Wet N Wild Spoiled Use Protection

These two glitters are VERY similar, but not exact dupes. When I layered one coat each over Sinful Colors Savage (index and pinkie, that's the bottle I'm holding), you couldn't even tell the difference. However, on their own you can see that Nail Junkie (ring) is much more opaque than Use Protection (middle). I used three coats of each on my ring and middle fingers. 

China Glaze 108 Degrees

vs.

Sinful Colors Forget Now

vs.

OPI I'm All Ears

vs.

Color Club Wing Fling

When I was going thru my stash a few weekends ago, I noticed I had a few different colors that were this really vibrant, fuschia pink. So of course I had to compare them. 108 Degrees, Forget Now, and I'm All Ears are the SAME COLOR!! If I had to be very nitpicky, I'd say 108 Degrees does not dry as shiny as the others. Forget Now is very very sheer, and has an extremely watery formula. Wing Fling, while still the same shade of fuschia, has a foil finish, in contrast with the other three. I used three coats of each polish. If I had to choose, I'd pick I'm All Ears, because I like the consistency of the formula the best, but really, you're pretty much getting the same thing color wise! 

OPI: The Man With the Golden Gun !

Happy Monday my loves!

Today I have for you something I picked up unexpectedly over the weekend, from the new OPI Skyfall James Bond collection. Originally I was not planning on getting this at all, but I saw it at a local beauty supply, and it was RIGHT THERE... I couldn't help myself! So I splurged on this, and didn't buy anything else that day. Ladies, I give you...

The Man With the Golden Gun

I was just SO excited to try this out, and I pulled out a bunch of dark colors from my OPI drawer. After seeing it over the dark ones, and of course trying it over what I had already been wearing (OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam!), I am confident in saying this looks good over just about anything! Just be sure to wait long enough in between if you do more than one coat: I didn't, and it got all goopy and thick on my nails, so I had to start over.

The first four colors I used as a base, from index to pinkie fingers (all OPI):

You Only Live Twice

Every Month is Oktoberfest

Vampsterdam

Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not

The second set of four base colors (all OPI):

Yoga-ta Get This Blue

Unfor-greta-bly Blue

Russian Navy

Tomorrow Never Dies

 So what do you think? It is absolutely gorgeous in my opinion, but something to save for very special occasions! Being 18k gold, it was obviously much more expensive ($29.95) than your average OPI ($8). But wow! So pretty!

Did you splurge on this too??

Sunday Sales!

Good morning everyone! Hope you remembered to turn your clocks back! Weird, I do not have a single clock in my bedroom that needed to be changed - all I have is my phone and laptop, and they change on their own! AH, technology!

Today I have some sales for this week. With the exception of Sally's, all the following sales run from today, Nov. 4, thru Saturday, Nov. 10. 

Rite Aid:
All Sally Hansen products are Buy One, Get One 50% Off.

Walgreens:
Select Wet N Wild cosmetics are $0.69!!!

CVS:
L'oreal cosmetics are Buy One, Get One 50% Off
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish are 2 for $4
Milani cosmetics are Buy One, Get One 50% Off
Cover Girl cosmetics are Buy One, Get One 50% Off
Wet N Wild Spoiled "Nail Pail" $6.99 (plus get $3 ExtraBucks with purchase) - in the ad this shows as a tin pail with some different polishes inside. Possible holiday gift?

Ulta:
All Ulta cosmetics are Buy 3, Get 3 Free : mix and match!
OPI Skyfall collection, $8.50 each. Mini 4 packs are $12.50
OPI "Let's Paint the Town" gift set: You Don't Know Jacques and Lincoln Park After Dark with toe separators, $14.95

Sally Beauty (sales are for month of November):
Free wristlet when you buy 3 Finger Paints polishes at $3.99 each
China Glaze "Puttin' On the Glitz" from the 2012 Holiday Joy Collection, 3 pack: includes Cranberry Splash, With Love, and Pizzazz - $8.99


Those are your sales for the week! I'm so excited it is finally November, this is truly the best time of the year. Keep an eye out in all stores for special holiday gift sets!

Enjoy your day!
XOX,
Jess

OPI : Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not

Hello there! I am going to spam you with a few posts in a row tonight, and hopefully within the next few days I'll be up and running with a scheduled daily post!

Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not

I really love this color! I don't have many dark purples in my stash, I definitely need more! In person you can see tiny flecks of pink. I used two coats here - the first was streaky, but evened out on the second. Please don't mind the smudge on the tip of my ring finger :)

Polish-Palooza!

Hello there! After another crazy week I finally have an update for you! First, a small rant. I ordered some "swatchsicles" on ebay almost 4 weeks ago and I still haven't gotten them!! Getting very anxious over here! On the other hand, yesterday I ordered the Zoya Ornate holiday collection, which I am positive I will get before my swatchsicles! Anyway... :)

I have a couple of my mani's from this week, and I also want to share with you some great things I bought this week, and a press release!

OPI You Only Live Twice

Really loving this color from the new James Bond Skyfall collection! I used two coats for these pictures. I'm wearing Barielle Purple Hearts on my accent nail. This color is very similar to OPI The One That Got Away.

Zoya Daul

This is a great duochrome, flashing between purple and gold depending on your angle. I used 3 thin coats of Daul, and BM-315 stamping plate for my accent nail.

OPI The World Is Not Enough

Another James Bond polish! I really like this one, a nice gray, but you can see pink and blue shimmer in it as well! Its really beautiful in person. 3 thin coats, and BM-322 for the accent nail.

And now onto this week's haul :)

I found this little holiday collection at my local beauty supply. I've seen online that this year's China Glaze holiday collection won't be available until November, so I absolutely had to pick this up when I saw it! There are 3 great glitters in this package - Pure Joy, Winter Holly, and Glitter All The Way. It also comes with an adorable pair of fingerless gloves to show off your manicure! I haven't had a chance to swatch these yet, but just looking at the bottles, Glitter All The Way is my favorite! It is all different colored glitters, and reminds me of a New Year's Eve party!

I picked up these Wet n Wild Fergie polishes at CVS, and they were buy 1 get 1 free! 

(left to right)

L.A. Pride,  New Years Kiss, Make Them Boys Go Loco, Flossy Flossy

Last up today I have for you a press release from Nicole by OPI!

Deck the Halls…Kardashian Style

Nicole by OPI Introduces Six NEW Kardashian Kolor Holiday Glitter and Shimmer Lacquers   

Nicole by OPI announces new, limited edition Kardashian Kolor Holiday lacquers for the holiday season! Featuring six shades infused with dazzling glitters and rich shimmer, these lacquers are the essential accessory for festive fingers and toes. From rich red, deep purple and brilliant teal to shimmery gold, sparkly sliver, and multi-toned blue glitter, these spectacular shades make the perfect gift or stocking stuffer. 

“Whether celebrating the holidays traditionally at home with the entire family or jet-setting the season away, the Kardashians spread cheer with glitz and glamour, starting with their nails!” declares Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Nicole by OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “The six captivating Kardashian Kolor Holiday shades offer the perfect way to add lots of color to this joyous time of year. Wear vibrant red, purple and teal for a jewel-toned look, or glittery gold, silver, and blue glitter for a classic holiday sparkle – both important trends for the season.”

The new Kardashian Kolor Holiday nail lacquers from Nicole by OPI include:

Kardashing Through the Snow

Jingle all the way in this multi-hued glitter.

Here We Kome A-Karoling

This deep, grape purple will make your heart sing.

All is Glam, All is Bright

This rosy silver sparkle goes with everything.

Keeping Up with Santa

Deep. Rich. Red. Must be Santa. 

A Gold Winter’s Night

Baby, it’s warm inside….especially in this blue-flecked gold shimmer.

Deck the Dolls

Accessorize teal you drop!

Limited edition Kardashian Kolor Holiday shades will be available November 2012 for $7.99 each in the U.S. at select Target, KMart, ULTA, CVS, Meijer, Sears, Kroger, H-E-B, Duane Reade, Fred Meyer, Giant Eagle, Harmon, and Winn-Dixie locations.  In Canada, these lacquers will be retailed for $10.99 each in Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaw, and Jean Coutu.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan! 

I am ashamed to admit that I do not own any Nicole by OPI polishes as of yet, but I do plan on picking up a few from this collection! I really like A Gold Winter's Night and Kardashing Through the Snow! And the names are cute! Which NOPI colors are you looking forward to?

Birthday Nails & Sunday Sales!

Hello hello! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I spent it celebrating my 26th birthday! A very good friend took me out to see my favorite cover band last night, and we had an unbelievable time! Right now I'm in recovery mode, so I'll just show you my nails from last night and highlight a few of this week's sales!

Last weekend I went to TJ Maxx, because I read somewhere that you can sometimes find Sation polish there. Well, I found no Sation... but I lucked out and found this little beauty instead! I've been lemming this probably since I started collecting, and I am beyond thrilled that I finally found it! And to make the find even better, it only cost $7.99 for a two-pack of OPI colors!

Swimsuit... Nailed it! is one of the most beautiful blues I've ever seen! Glass flecks, foil-like finish... just perfect! I used two coats for my pics. The first one went on only a tiny bit streaky, and evened out on the second. I needed a little bling for my birthday, so I put one quick coat of Essie Set in Stones on my ring fingers. 

And now for Sunday Sales... 

Sally Beauty and Ulta's ads are still current from my last post here, I believe Ulta runs through the end of this week. As always, Sally Beauty's ads are monthly.

After searching through all the ads for this week, there really isn't anything noteworthy, just one sale at Walgreens. Wet n Wild nail color is only 99 cents! The photo in the ad shows a Wild Shine polish, so I'm not sure if this sale includes the Fast Dry and Mega Last lines also. However, no 'exclusions' are stated, so hopefully it does include the other two lines! I only have one Mega Last polish in my stash, and I'd really like to get all the others... :)

Even though we seem to have a lack of sales this week, we are getting something special: Zoya Ornate Collection! You can check out the colors on Zoya's website here. They are available for pre-order now, ship date is actually tomorrow, October 15. I'm not 100% sure if that means they will also be released to stores this week, but if I find that out I'll let you know. I am really looking forward to this collection... I may have to buy all of them!! Has anyone placed their pre-orders? Which colors do you need to have?

OPI Skyfall Part 2!

Hello Friday! I am particularly excited about today, I took off work, and my birthday is tomorrow! Yay :D

So in my last post I previewed the OPI Skyfall collection and showed you Goldeneye. Today I have another polish from that line, and it is beautiful!!!

Tomorrow Never Dies is a gorgeous purple. There is a wonderful, very subtle shimmer going on, and I swear when I was applying it, there were teeny tiny blue shimmer bits hidden in there. I used two thin coats for these pics - the first one went on a bit streaky, but it evened out great on the second. My pics make the color seem more blue than it really is, but trust me... this is one of the prettiest purples I own.

 I wanted a really eye-catching accent nail, and I dug this great Five Below find out of my Helmer. Funky Fingers Mermaid Lagoon has three different types of glitter in it - tiny blue, slightly bigger magenta, and then these absolutely fantastic medium sized hex glitters that are... you guessed it... holo! 

I'm totally obsessed with anything holo right now, since I am a *new* collector of polish, the only holo stuff I have is glitter, I am anxiously patiently awaiting the arrival of the China Glaze collection due out next year! For now, here are a few blurry pics of Mermaid Lagoon... enjoy its glittery goodness :) :)