Philly MUA Nail Board Meetup!

Yesterday we had the first Philly-area MUA Nail Board Meetup!  It was so much fun!  We *should* be having another in November...and hopefully many more after that.  For this first one, we met at the stupifyingly huge King Of Prussia Mall.  It's not the biggest mall in the US, but it is the one with the most retail spaces....it's an experience.  It was one girl's first time there.  I'm sure she was astounded.

If you're a 'Nail Boarder', you may know MelissaL (or maybe you know her astounding blog, Glass Flecked...if you don't, you should! Go go go!), MissCarley, and vagabondage (Christina)...they're even more awesome in person!  Great girls, all three.  We spent several hours swapping polish, talking, laughing, and....of course...shopping!

I fretted for a few weeks over what to wear...I have so much polish I love and I wanted something bold and something I adore.  Whenever I'd think about it I kept going back to the same much-loved polish, Nicole by OPI Give Me The 1st Dance.  Not that it needs it, but I gave it a little boost with the new e.l.f. Target exclusive I call George.

I love the brightness boost 1st Dance gives George!  I might do a full accent nail of that sometime...and my toes match.  Don't worry, you won't see them!

Yesterday finally came and I found Carley and Christina at a table near the food court.  Melissa showed up just after me and we started right off, chatting, swapping...and getting some very odd looks from gawking passers-by!

Come on, people...that's not *that much* polish!  All four of us have way more than that in our own collections.  This is our normal!  It was so great to be with girls who share my obsession and who know and adore polish too.

We didn't do a ton of swapping, but I'd picked up some surprising finds for Carley.  OPI DS Sapphire and Smitten With Mittens and Maybelline Mirror Image are not things you're likely to find in stores anymore...but I did and she was so thrilled that she had to thrill me right back!

Those are Revlon Grape and Mint scented Fizzes (looooove Fizzes for layering...even if the smell is wretched)....and....AND....*trying not to hyperventilate*... CHINA GLAZE LET'S DO IT IN 3D!!!!  I'd never have thought in a million years I'd get one of their Kaleidoscope shades.  I will owe Carley forever!

The other girls out-shopped me.  I managed to behave myself pretty well.  I picked up a little something fancy for someone overseas (...and I can't wait to get my side of the swap!!!), but that was planned ahead of time and paid for with the custom purchase money from the girls for the OPIs and Maybellines I'd found for them....so I'm not counting that!  Girl math!  I did pick this up....

I have some fairly hefty qualms about American Apparel as a brand...but...I gave in to my love of metallic and duochrome polishes.  Smoke Dazzle is both and you will be seeing my swatch of it soon.  It's hard to resist something so pretty.

I *was* going to save my JCPenney appology gift card for some of OPI's upcoming Skyfall James Bond-inspired holiday collection.  Was.  I used most, but not all, of it on...well...I can never resist OPI for under $5!  These were $4 each, so I was THERE.

They're Wooden Shoe Like To Know?, Vampsterdam, Honk If You Love OPI, Metallic 4 Life, and I Have A Herring Problem.  I'd been clearance stalking most of these...this was just too good to resist.  I still have a little over $3 left on the card, so I'll be going back next month to use that toward one of the Skyfall collection...and I guess I'll get any others I want using Ulta coupons.  ...or maybe I won't like any of them when I see swatches.  HA!  Right!

So with the girl math and gift card, I was only $6 out of pocket for the whole day's polish.  I can't believe how well I behaved!

The other girls found a bunch of things they love too and it was terrific to see other people made so happy by the same simple thing that brings me so much joy!

We were all planning on a group photo, but between mall rules against photos and the inexplicable heat of the place...we all figured that you didn't want to see three lobsters (I don't think they looked as red as they felt) and a racoon (curse you, eyeliner!)...if we even could have found someone to take the photo.

We did get the shot I wanted most though...

I love how our nails are accidentally coordinated! That's Christina in teal and gold, Melissa in soft periwinkle gray, Carley in aqua/blue/purple multichrome, and me again.  The fountain's nice too, isn't it?

On our way to get this shot, Christina shared a tip with us.  She raises one hand before photos, to get the pink out.  We all tried it.  It makes my knuckles go a funny bruised gray/purple, but the other girls saw great results and we walked through the mall to the fountain with the three of them raising their hands!  We had a good giggle about that...and a bigger one at the little boy on the other side of the fountain smiling and raising his hand too!  So cute!

Really hoping we get to do this again!