Holiday Splendor at Bargain Basement Prices

 I have been having a shitty, shitty month. TL;DR is that February would not be a good month for me to buy a lotto ticket...I'd probably end up owing money. In an effort to console myself, I took a trip to Ulta. On a Sunday. At 6pm. Guess what time they close? F@#$^&$^&*%#$%&^*^*(! Instead, I went to Ross. It's right next door and I had a few minutes to kill waiting for the husband to finish up at Target. (yes, they are all in the same shopping center) I made a bee-line for the cosmetics, hoping for an epic OPI score like so many people seem to find at these discount shops. Usually, I have no luck. But in a stunning turn of events, I found something! A full-sized set of Color Club glitter polishes from the holidays! Hooray for me!(I also picked up two mini sets of five Kleancolor glitters. All for $17USD!)

 My first (and favorite) choice was Holiday Splendor. It is a great opaque tealy-green base packed with more glitter than most strip clubs. In these photos, I only used two coats. I finally found my soulmate! I also added a layer of holo bar glitter in between for extra sparkle. My only complaint is that it is a little gritty. But I complain about that regardless of the brand when it comes to glitter. This was beautiful enough that I didn't care!

Colors Used

Color Club Holiday Splendor

Mystery holo bar glitter by Kleancolor (I threw away the box with the names, sorry)

you can see the bars poking out here and there. 

obligatory blurred picture. SPARKLE!

super dense glitter awesomeness

you can see the bars better here

also, I'm an idiot. I painted my fingers AND toes with super glitter fantasticness...the day before I went in to get a ct scan. In paranoia that I would explode, I had to take it all off :(

New Sinful Colors at Walgreens

New year, new polish!  Sinful Colors has new or revised core displays out now.  Rite Aid got a few existing shades mixed in to a sharper looking new vertical display.  Walgreens unfortunately still has the horizontal display, but they have new shades!  And....wow....

Calypso is a deep teal cream.

I "oooh'ed" out loud when I saw Calypso and hoped for the same one-coat formula that I've come to almost expect from Sinful Colors.  It is!  ONE coat!  I don't have big enough words for how much I adore this shade.  Pictures say it best.

It manages to be blackened without being black too!  I have a growing love of Sinful Colors creams, but this was instant top five.

Endless Blue is a glowingly vivid blue cream.

Here it is, the Nails Inc Baker Street drugstore dupe so many of us have wanted!  I don't own the pricey Baker Street, but I'd considered it.  I'm so glad I waited.  I've seen a comparison and they're virtually identical.  Endless Blue lives up to that one-coat 'standard' too!  Terrific!  Endless Blue is a mind-blower and a must-have if you love blue.  This is THE drugstore blue.

Enchanted is a deep blue-purple cream.

I did a bit of a double-take when I saw Enchanted.  It's fairly close to Mesmerize. Not dupes, but close.  Enchanted is purple with a blue tone.  Mesmerize is blue with a purple tone.

Beyond that though, Mesmerize was part of a collection that was called Muse at Walgreens.  At Rite Aid it was called....Enchanted.  Weird. It makes me wonder if they had planned to include Enchanted in the collection last fall and then decided against it.  It's another terrific, highly-pigmented, one-coater!  I love you so much, Sinful Colors!  Keep this pattern going!

Charmed is a dense mix of tiny silver and pastel multi glitter.

Along the lines of the recent China Glaze full-coverage glitters, Charmed is too dense to be used as a topper and covers with just two coats.  The effect is almost like a softer take on China Glaze Angel Wings.  My roommate thought it was holographic.

It sparkles beautifully!  I can see it being great for accent nails with all sorts of colors.  In ordinary indoor light it reminds me of Essie Beyond Cozy, just a bit.

All four new shades are in the Sinful Colors core display at all Walgreens that have reset their displays.  I really like all four, but Calypso really wowed me the most.  I'd call it and Endless Blue the must-haves, but I'd recommend all four...especially with a 4/$5 rumored to be coming soon!


-Update-
Turns out the swatch I labeled as Enchanted was really Amethyst!  I *think* Amethyst is also new to the core, though it had been in previous LE displays over the past year or more.

I corrected the slot for Enchanted above.  Sorry about that!


....and as if I wasn't already singing Sinful Colors' praises enough, I still have so much more new stuff from them to show you!  There wasn't much doubt before, but they've absolutely clinched it now....they are my favorite bargain brand!

I'm Still Alive...

It's been a while. But I'm back! And with fancy-ish nails to boot! I picked up some new polish at Target, and just knew I had to do some Companion Cube inspired nails. But I am just not feeling the super detailed, literal interpretation right now. So think of this as "inspiration-lite".

Colors Used:

Essence Gray-t to be Here

Sinful Colors Easy Going

I tried my hand at doing the hearts by hand, even though I am the proud new owner of a konad stamp now. Lemme just say: NEVAR AGAIN. I'm sure we're all seen the Beauty Department collage on Pinterest. "Oh, just make two dots and then connect them in a point! Instant heart <3" Well, my response is "fuck you guys, I'm pretty sure you're witches." I could not do it. I tried...oh gods, did I try. But no dice. Finally I gave up and just mangled the pink mess into a heart shape. Next time, stamps or DIY decals. Because no. Not cool, internet. Not cool.

I love the subtle pinky-coral sparkle of the gray. So unexpected!

Before I Shortened Them, I Had To

Some things are just better on long nails.  Heat sensitive polish is up at the top of that list.  I'd hit a point recently where my nails were getting in my way...and clicking when I typed...and I knew I had to shorten them a bit.  I used the blue cream Claire's Mood Polish, Flirty/Shy, as a 'last hurrah'.

Seriously....look at these suckers!  Too damn long!  I was hitting them on everything and starting to feel like a badger.  The last time I had them long, I swore never to do it again.  I was up to SIX teabag patches by the time I posted that.  This time?  Not a one!  Hooray for ovals, they're so much stronger on me.  There's more to it than just the shape, but that's a post for another day.  You're here for the polish, not the nails, right?  Flirty/Shy is a deep, almost indigo, blue cream that turns to more of a true blue when exposed to heat.

The result on long nails is something between a gradient and funky french, with the tips staying dark and the rest of the nail going bright.  It emphasizes just how long these monsters had gotten too!

I have three of these Mood polishes, but Flirty/Shy is my favorite.  The color change is really sharp and crisp and both shades of blue are vivid and stunning.  With all of the fiddling I'd done with Sinful Colors' new Matte Finish top coat, I had to try it here too.

I love what its satin glow did to these blues!  The mood polishes dry a bit matte (along the lines of a neon), but I can't seem to get them to change color unless I top coat them.  This was a good compromise between the bold effect and the original finish.

Claire's Mood polishes are gone from most Claire's stores, but it's worth checking the clearance bins because you never know.  They're also a staple of blog sales, so you can probably track them down.


I can't imagine you're exactly dying to see my shortened nails, but there are several 'sneak peak' photos for upcoming posts over on twitter.  Sinful Colors fans will want to keep an eye on my posts this week...if they didn't already buy EVERYTHING in last week's sale.  I...kinda did.

Sinful Colors Matte Finish

The Sinful Colors buzz is all about Walgreens right now (especially with the $1 off circular coupon this week!), but fans of the brand need to check Rite Aid ASAP!  I love matte top coats, so I was really excited to see a new one from my favorite bargain brand!  The new Matte display seems to be a Rite Aid exclusive.  Knowing the pattern recently, it might show up at Target too - though I haven't seen it there yet.  Matte Finish is the only new item in the display.  Tagging along are Black On Black, Ardoise, Midnight Blue, and Mesmerize.  I tried it over Midnight Blue and a few other Sinful Colors shades and there's a comparison with two other top coats at the bottom of the post.

I used the display as an excuse to finally buy Midnight Blue, which I eye every time.  It was a good choice to pair with Matte Finish!

Matte Finish isn't the flattest, mattest matte top coat ever, but I love its soft, satiny finish!  It's so schmooove that I had to try it over a cream.  Georgio seemed perfect.

Georgious!  I really loved how this looked and I usually don't like creams mattified.  While I was swatching the Truth Or Dare collection, I figured I might as well matte a few more.  I prefer my glitter mattified, so I knew I'd be putting Matte Finish over this combo of Queen Of Beauty and Sugar Sugar.

It softened it just enough to let the sparkle still come through.  Next is Matte Finish over a combo I didn't include in the Truth Or Dare post, Sugar Sugar over GoGo Girl.

Love the stain sheen!  I'll be going back to Rite Aid for a few more bottles of Matte Finish.  It has so much potential!

I only own two other matte top coats, NYC Matte Me Crazy and Butter London...Matte Finish.  Yeah, they kinda have the same name.  The difference between the three is pretty striking...

BL Matte Finish * SC Matte Finish * NYC MMC * SC Matte Finish

Butter London is the most matte, making black polish look like charcoal.  Very flat.  NYC is somewhere between matte and satin.  Sinful Colors gives a 'soft-focus' look with a smooth, but still slightly shiny finish.  I've overused the word "satin" in this review, but that's really what this finish is.  I love it!

So the bottom line on Sinful Colors Matte Finish?  Worth owning, even if you have other matte top coats.  I think it's LE too, so I'd hurry and stock up!  It applies smoothly and easily and doesn't go gloppy and need thinning as quickly as NYC.

More Sinful Colors goodness (and some other stuff too) coming next week!

Color Club Beyond

I do like holos.  I swear I do!  I'm just not as crazy about them as almost everyone else who's into polish seems to be.  Part of the reason is the colors they tend to come in.  Silver's good.  I have three silver linear holos.  For years my only holo was Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Diamond.  The other typical holo colors though?  Pink.  Always pink, it seems.  Washed-out greens.  Pale blues.  Pastels.  Bleh!  Darker colors are a compromise between the holo flame and the deep pigment.  The balance is almost always off, but Beyond strikes it perfectly!

Perfect!  Just perfect!

Outstanding!  Vibrant!  ...but still BLACK!!  Sorry to keep tilting my fingers ever so slightly at you, but come on...look at this perfection!!  LOOK!!

At other angles it somehow looks even blacker and even flame-ier...how did they do that??

Gorgeous at any angle really!

In sunlight you see even more of the blue and purple.

So then how does it look in ordinary room light?  Well...there's the bad news.  It falls a bit flat there.  This is the strongest flame I could get without LED or sunlight.

Most of the time it just looks like this...

All of those were without topcoat.  I'd heard really mixed things about top coating Beyond....but I had to know.  I added a coat of NYC Grand Central Station (which is an honorary top coat because so many people use it that way) just to see.

Maybe a little dulling, but nothing terrible.  Other top coats might dull it even less.


I have one other black linear holo, Layla Flash Black, so I figured I should compare them.  This is *exactly* what I mean about picking either holo flame or deep pigment with most linear holos.

Layla Flash Black on ring - Beyond on other fingers

Layla chose flame.  Flash Black makes Beyond look a bit weak, but it also shows just how black it looks.


Beyond was easy to apply, opaque in two coats, and really exactly what I'd look for in a black linear holo.  Top coat doesn't completely flatten it, but does dull it a little.  I wouldn't just recommend it, I'd say you outright need it!


This spring is really surprising me...I actually like a lot of the new polish out there!  I have plenty to show you over the next couple of weeks.  Get used to reading the words "Sinful Colors" because they've really outdone themselves again lately!

Sinful Colors Kiss & Tell

Sinful Colors seems to put out a new display for every holiday, so I knew there'd be something for Valentine's Day.  I was really happy to see this at Walgreens at the end of last month.  (That girl looks so much like Alexis Bledel's character on Mad Men, doesn't she? It needs to be April 7th soon!!)  Like a lot of their displays, Kiss & Tell is a mix of new shades and reissued or core shades.  This time around, there are two new shades.  The display also included Snow Me White and Black On Black, but I skipped them.


Truth Or Dare is a deep berry pink cream.

I think this polish broke my brain a little.  It's pink.  It's unquestionably pink...but I *love* it!  What is wrong with me?  Truth Or Dare is a dangerous charmer.  It's shiny even before top coat, deep and rich enough to not be too bright or girly, and it's...one coat!!  Perfection!  Not a bubble, not streaking, perfect!  It's one of the two new shades from this collection.

It looks best in the soft sunlight of my kitchen, but even under the bright LED I still like it!  *checks temperature*  How could I not love this?  It's feminine and romantic without being too girly.

GoGo Girl is a bright red crelly.

I wasn't joking when I called GoGo Girl bright, was I?  It's a perfect, glowing pinup red.  Three coats for full opacity, but WOW!! RED!!  No bubbling or other issues and cleanup was easy, as reds go.

Georgio is a deep brown-red crelly.

 So rich!  So deep!  Such a nuisance to clean up!  It took me forever to get little red traces cleared off.  It really pinkened the cuticle of my index, but it's my fault for using remover right before this color.  I almost always get a dry, easily stained rim that comes off with the next pushing.  Still, Georgio applies wonderfully, opaque in two coats and with a dazzling shine almost as bright as the topcoat.  It's blackened, but not black.

My partner called it black, but he's a guy and what do they know?  It's obviously NOT black!  It's not red on me either.  It's very red on some people, but I think the warm tones of my skin pull it brown.


Sugar Sugar has fine red shimmer and larger gold microfleck shimmer in a cool-toned red base.

Opaque in two coats, but VERY thick.  Still, it's gorgeous and could help satisfy some cravings for several OPI reds at the same time, if you've got a tight budget.


Queen Of Beauty is small, round silver glitter in a clear base.

over Sugar Sugar

I had tried Queen Of Beauty over Truth Or Dare, but the simplicity of the glitter (and the thickness of the pieces) didn't look that great over a cream.  The shimmer in Sugar Sugar added that oomph that a basic silver glitter needs sometimes.  It applied very nicely and was smooth with just one layer of top coat.  The glitter pieces are thicker than usual, so a generous layer of top coat between the base and glitter is needed to prevent "digging".


Tantalize is a soft silver shimmer in a cool gray base.

Yeah.  I wanted this to work way better than it did.  This is the first time I've had "trenching" with a Sinful Colors polish.  It happened when I applied a third coat because the second looked a little streaky.  I think with very careful application this could be prevented, but Tantalize doesn't apply nearly as well as Truth Or Dare.  This is the only other new shade in this collection.


Only Truth Or Dare and Tantalize are new, so if you like them I'd say get them ASAP!  Georgio is also limited edition, but has come back several times.  The rest are all in the core display, so it would be safe to wait for the next Walgreens $1 Sinful Colors sale to get Queen of Beauty, Sugar Sugar, or GoGo Girl.  Of the six shades in this post, Truth Or Dare is my favorite, but I also really like Georgio and Sugar Sugar.

More new Sinful Colors swatches coming soon...along with soooo much other stuff!  See you then and happy Valentine's Day!

Too Awesome for My Camera

Just a quick one today. And shitty pictures, to boot. Apparently, my camera can not handle bright colors. AT ALL. I thought it was just reds, like with the Butter London red-parison, but no. It's all brights. So I surrendered, and snapped some shots with my horrible cell phone. Apologies for the dry cuticles and shitty lighting. I'm battling the plague, and the constant hand washing is taking it's toll.

Colors Used:

Essie Mod Square

Sinful Colors Dream On

L'Oreal L'Orange

I painted too many coats of Mod Square as a base. (Seriously angry with that polish right now. Four coats? C'mon?!) And then I dabbed Dream On and L'Orange on and smushed them around with a bit of cling film. My right hand actually turned out a lot better than my left. Very strange, indeed.

Hello, righty! It does all the work around here, and gets so
little attention.

regular old lefty. 

Sonia Kashuk Hocus Pocus: A dupe for Casino Royale?

 A few weeks ago, I saw it mentioned that Sonia Kashuk polish was on clearance at someones local Target. I rushed out (what, I needed diapers and stuff too!) to mine to check...but no dice. At $5 a bottle, I didn't love any of the colors enough to bring any home. But I did spy one color, Hocus Pocus, that looked like a possible dupe for OPI Casino Royale, which I was kinda lusting after.

 Fast-forward a few weeks, and I was out doing some retail therapy. I wandered down the make-up aisles at Target and spotted a clearance sticker on the Sonia Kashuk cosmetics. Hooray! The purpley polish I had eyed was $2.58! A much better price for an untried brand. Even though I had already scored Casino Royale at Ulta with the last bits of my xmas giftcard, I snatched up this color. I've had a weird fascination with plum colors lately. I blame this post, that I have seen repeatedly on Pinterest. It doesn't look like that on me, btw. It is a much dustier color on me, you'll see.

On to the swatches and thoughts!

I do not like this polish. It's thin! It took me five coats to get completely opaque. And the streaking, oh god, the streaking. I almost didn't finish painting my nails, I was so annoyed. But the color is pretty, so I kept going. If I had paid $5 for this, I would have marched right back to Target and demanded (politely, it's not their fault it sucks) my money back. But for 50% off, I'll keep it. I might throw it in a swap box at some point in the future. 

The TL;DR of this is if you have Casino Royale, you probably shouldn't bother with this one. But if, like me, you had a hell of a time getting it, then maybe look into this color. Targets are a little more accesible than Ultas, generally.

Ever since I first laid eyes on Casino Royale, I wanted to see it matte. I have no idea why, I just did. This color did not disappoint either. It softened it a bit, and I love the look.

Butter London Matte Topcoat. <3

God, how I love these orange stickers!