Haulin' it - OPPA bargain styyyle!

Y - I - K - E - S!!!!!!!!!!! 

I thiiink it's safe to say I've become a bit of a beauty addict... 

And I am going to enter a plea of insanity under the defense: THE BLOGGER MADE ME DO IT!

My dear nail blogger buddy, Liesl of Liesl Loves Pretty Things has been true to her "resolution" of sorts to branch out into more beauty and fashion posts this year.  And I'm clearly loving - & influenced by them!  ;)

I have to mention, I've wanted white aviators for years now, but typically, they're of course metal frames with the actual nosepieces. Which get firmly tangled in my hair. So when I saw these, I was exstatic!!! They're not bad at all for $1 sunglasses! I hope they have more because I would like to pick up a backup or two in case these break. :)

e.l.f. is a brand that was not even on my radar at all really, until Liesl started showing us so many of their wonderful and affordable products!  I was definitely intrigued, but had never seen them in my area.  Then one day on a rare stop at my local K-Mart (in hopes of scoring the much-posted-about clearance Essie polishes), much to my dismay and pleasant surprise, what had appeared in the revamped beauty section but e.l.f. products?!  And as if that wasn't enough, our Wal-Mart got a square aisle display shortly thereafter!  So I umm... went hog wild.

1) e.l.f. Professional Total Face Brush - $1, Wal-Mart

2) e.l.f. Eyeshadow "C" Brush - $3, K-mart

3) Plastic aviator sunglasses - $1, Target dollar section!

4) OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around - ?? (roomie brought it home for me just today!)

5) Burt's Bees Herbal Blemish Stick -$8.49, Walgreens

6) e.l.f. Smudge Brush - $1, Wal-Mart

7) e.l.f. Small Angled Brush - $3, K-mart

8) e.l.f. Concealer Brush - $1, Target

9) Burt's Bees Hydrating Lip Balm - $2.99, Target

10) Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Red Velvet, - $5, K-mart

11) Woven plastic zipper clutch - $1, Target dollar section!

12) e.l.f. Long Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow in purple - $3, K-mart

13) e.l.f. High Definition Undereye Setting Powder - $3, K-mart

14) L'Oreal Infallible 24-hr eyeshadow in Sultry Smoke - $7.99, K-Mart

15) L'Oreal Carbon Black Pencil Perfect eyeliner - $3.99, K-Mart

16) L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess - $8.99, K-Mart

17) L'Oreal Infallible 24-hr eyeshadow in Endless Sea - $3.99, K-Mart (they were having a buy one, get one 1/2 off deal on L'Oreal eye products, so I splurged and got some fun & dramatic new stuff!)

All of that for just a HAIR under $50!!!!  In the words of Vector from Despicable Me: "OH YEAH!"  :D 

I realized just a moment ago that it would've been more appropriate to include the L.A. Girl Sand Blast polish (Sands of Time, GREAT sub for Zoya Tomoko!) I picked up today at our Thrifty White drugstore, and the Cover Girl polish (Salt Water Taffy) that was also BOGO half off at Walgreens -- INSTEAD of the OPI since that is clearly not bargain, nor drugstore, but I was just sooo excited to finally have DBNMA that I threw it in my arrangement!  Oh well!
Also not shown here are the e.l.f. blotting sheets I grabbed at Target last weekend.  Just used one this afternoon and they work very well on my extra-oily teenager-like skin. :P  ...I'm 28. -_-
Oh, hence why I decided to give the Burt's Bees blemish rollerball a try!  I've tried every other  over-the-counter product, so why not?!  Some people might find the very strong herbal scent repulsive, but I rather like it.  It's got tea tree oil, juniper oil, willow bark, and a whole lotta alcohol! ...which I did not realize when I bought it, hence the BURN, but I can handle that.  Especially since it does in fact seem to be helping zits heal/disappear faster!

So far, I'm absolutely, positively pleased as punch with all of my purchases!  All of the L'Oreal eye products are fabulous - I use the mascara & liner almost every day, and I did play with the colors when I had a flexible amount of time to get ready for the day. ;)  Oh and they really DO wear all day... not 24 hours, by any means, but I got a good 12 hours out of the below look I did with Tarte Amazonian Clay primer as a base, and using Cover Girl and Victoria's Secret neutrals to temper the boldness of the colors.  LOVED it!  And I feel it came out pretty well considering my limited knowledge when it comes to all things beauty-related.

So there you have it, folks!  My first insane infusion of beauty products and well, this would've been posted on Saturday in the fashion of Liesl's "Happy Caturday" beauty posts, but I was multitasking and doing other things while writing this.  And now it's Sunday!  I guess that IS  how the days of the week go!  LOL  Yup, overtired goofiness is settin' in.  :)

Have a fabulous remainder of your weekend, and if you want to know more about any of the items shown here, feel free to leave a comment.  I read & respond to all of them!

Nail mail GALORE!!! WOWZA

This week has been UHmazing!!!  Monday, (in the midst of a blizzard which dumped 18" of snow on us) I came home to the most amazing SURPRISE package from a dear blogger friend; the amazing Melissa of Lacquer Reverie!!!!!!! :D  Just LOOK  at this beauty and generosity!  That would be Strawnana on the left, which has been on my wishlist for quite some time, and on the right, Redivivus from the new spring/summer holos.  My mouth was agape for roughly 5 minutes, staring at ALL THE RAINBOWS!!!  Strawnana is a very pale pink nude crelly with teensy tiny holo sparkles that look like fairy dust, small iridescent & gold squares, and small red metallic & frosty white hexes.  I initially thought Redivivus (meaning reborn, brought back to life) was light pink, but according to the description in her Etsy shop, it's actually a light purple strong linear holo.  Absolutely stunning - to me, it's on par with the famous China Glaze OMG holos. :D

And isn't the handwritten card just precious?!  I love it.  Liz is truly an artist - with polish and  a pen! :)  Of course there were some sweet treats too.  I think that is just so kind... almost all nail mail I've gotten from friends has included candy.  Who doesn't love some sugar?!
Melissa, I cannot refrain from thanking you again; this was such a well-timed, unbelievable surprise!!!!  You are far too kind to me!  I will treasure these polishes forEVER. :D

Then today, I opened the mailbox to find it stuffed with some random mail - who cares about that?! - and both my Northern Star Polish AND my Bear Pawlish orders!!!!!!  Woot woot!  heehehe

^ Look at that!  Made right here in my own state! 

I cannot get over her packaging!  The individual boxes for each polish are so professional and "Minnesota nice!"  Yes, that's a thing. :)  I almost didn't even notice the little "Thank you!" on the flap, but I'm so glad I did.  Attention to detail is what distinguishes excellence from average, in my humble opinion.  Another prime example: the cotton ball tucked in to cuddle the polish and keep it from moving in the box.  Awww!  So warm & snuggly!

Printemps is a bubblegum pink subtle linear holo with icy blue mini flakies.  Somehow I missed them in the description, I guess because upon discovering said flakies, I exclaimed: "oh my gosh!!"  ♥ unexpected beauty :)

Belles Fleurs has sooo many pretty, springy glitters suspended (and very well, I might add!) in a clear base.  I think it'll be absolute perfection over Printemps.  Because I'm big on languages & words in general, the French names for these two polishes are especially endearing to me...even though I speak Spanish, not French.  Mais, je sais un peu de Français! hehe  I took two semesters in college, as well as one semester of Arabic.  There are far too many fascinating languages out there for me to focus solely on Spanish!  I really wish I'd kept up with those two as well...

Okay, so I ordered two polishes and two cuticle oils... what on earth is this mystery skinny thing?!  Hmm...

LOVE both of these - the scents and the way they make my cutes feel.  Lettuce sounds odd but it is THE perfect fresh grassy, leafy smell I've been looking for in well, anything!

I snagged this haul during Kristin's 2-year celebration sale for her Etsy shop, and I assure you I'll be a repeat customer!  Maybe one day, I'll even get to meet  this genius indie polish maker, as she lives a mere 5.5 hours  away from me. :D  

So, remember that mystery skinny thing?  THIS is what was in it!  She generously included a sample of her bubble gum cuticle oil, which is amazing because I was debating between the cranberry & bubble gum for my full-size purchases (the lettuce scent was a given).  It's like she read my mind!!! :O  Not to mention, it's a BIG sample in my opinion, and I loooove the rollerball applicator.  I've never had a cuticle oil with a rollerball before...so easy, no mess!  Her full-size oils with the doe foot applicators are nice too, but I think I like this better.

Bear Pawlish!!!! RAWR, you are FIERCE!  And punny.  :P  Okay, yes that was cheesy, but I couldn't resist.  This is yet another new indie brand to my stash (wow, all 3 in this post are, actually!) and I cannot say enough good things about these beauts either!!  

Awww! You Guys Made Me Ink! is the lovely coral-leaning pink strong linear holo on the left, which of course is named after the cute little octopus (Pearl) on Finding Nemo, which happens to be one of my most favorite movies of all time, so the name alone was a selling point.  And SURPRISE, it has these fascinating fuchsia microflakies that almost create a duochrome effect.  Like Printemps, those extra touches that add even more beauty and dimension to a holo just make my heart beat a bit faster when I see them. ;)

Maleficent is the super stunner on the right; the listing on her Bigcartel site calls it an electric blue with a splash of holo, but in person I honestly feel like it's a blurple.  Which I think makes me love it even more!  In some lights, it definitely is pure electric blue, then in others, I think is has to be purple... so shifty! 

SO, ladies and gents, the biggest question now is: WHICH ONE DO I WEAR FIRST?!?!?  Please PLEASE leave a comment and help me decide!  P.S. I do have Strawnana on right now, so that is off le table. ;)  I hope you enjoyed this haul and shared in the excitement with me, and I also hope that you show a new-to-you indie brand some love, whether it be one of these three, or maybe even one I've never heard of!

Aaaand and Emily Extra, brought to you by my famous movie line loving mind!!  

Summer fun with Maybelline Polka Dots + matching crèmes

 Good eeevening, daaahlings!  LOL, I guess I’m in a goofy mood tonight.  And this is a rather “funky” manicure, so I guess it fits. J

After months and months (ok, not really that long) of admiring the new Maybelline jellies on other peoples’ blogs & wishing they’d arrive in my Wal-Mart already, I SPOTTED (haha!) them in a Walgreens & managed to restrain myself & purchase only the one I really wanted: Drops of Jade (since I was getting 3 Sinful Colors as well, and earlier that day, I’d scooped up 3 of the new Fing'rs Heart 2 Art polishes from those fun Wal-Mart displays).

Polishes, L-R: Drops of Jade, My Buoyfriend, 24/7, My Kryptonite, In Mint Condition, V.I.Purple, & Set In Rhine-Stone

Immediately after I left Walgreens, I was thinking about the hot pink version of Drops of Jade, but oh well, I don’t live anywhere near a Walgreens, so my loss, I guess.  L  Well, whaddya know: not even a week later, I was perusing the cosmetics section in my local WM, and lo and behold, there stand four of the Maybelline Polka Dots and three of their new “Holographics” (*cough – aka lame duochromes- they need some bloggers working there so they get their finishes straight)!  And wouldn’t you know, one of the four happens to be Pretty In Polka. :D  Yay!!  While perusing my stash, I discovered I had two colors that would be perfect matches to the jellies.  And thus, my mani was born:

For some reason, the SinfulShine refused to photograph true to color! It's coming out much more blue & muted in these photos than IRL. Grrr.  Although I don't feel too bad - even the swatch on the SC website looks like this! lol

My original plan was to use OPI Mod About You (perfect 50’s pastel pink) and Maybelline Green With Envy (perfect 50’s mint green), but once I saw how they all looked together, it was not a pleasing combination (sorry, Essie - I was sad too).  Ergo, plan B! ;-)

I started with a thin coat of each jelly (well, over the obligatory base coat of course) and one medium coat of Kleancolor Neon Pink & SinfulShine My Kryptonite from Sinful Colors' new line with Gel Tech (very shiny, I must say!).  Both of the latter were smooth & easy to use (although the Kleancolor brush wasn’t the best - I’ve used worse) and OPAQUE IN ONE COAT! :-D LOVE me some one coaters!  And then I decided to do a medium-thick coat of the jellies, which covered beautifully and had a great payoff of the small & medium black & white matte hexes.  Dry time was good on all four polishes.  Jellies continually & pleasantly surprise me with their quick dry times. J

The small fuzz begs your pardon for ruining the lovely, squishy aesthetic

If you haven’t picked some up already, I would highly suggest getting one or two (or all!) of the Maybelline Polka Dots.  The bottle is small, but for only $2.97, I don’t mind. J  The other colors are orange, blue, and clear with the same black & white glitters.  Which I’m thinking would be fun to use over any color – I saw a neat skittles mani on another blog using the clear one.  I would include the image here & credit the blogger, but that still feels wrong to me, so just head on over to Google to see what I’m talking about. J

I hope you are enjoying the hot, hot days of summer!!  Just remember; before long it'll be -60 million degrees & snowing! (at least, it will be here in northern MN)

Zoya haul-ette?

Hi everyone!  Despite being ridiculously tired (ridiculously as in it's ridiculous how horribly my brain is functioning right now - thank God for spell check!), I am SOOOO excited about the Zoya polishes that I got from the Earth Day Exchange deal. WOW.  I've tried 3 on my nails so far and LOVE them all!  I wish I'd had the complete color chart they send in all packages when I was placing my order 'cuz I surely would've bought more than 5 then!  Hahaha, my bank account is probably very glad I didn't, but seriously, HALF OFF Zoyas?!  What a deal!!!  Gotta say I can't wait for Earth Day next year - forget planting trees - I'm gonna save the planet, 10 Zoya polishes at a time! ;-)

L-R: Neely, Vespa, FeiFei, Daul, Reagan
I edited this photo a bit to make it as close to shade-accurate as possible.
The cremes do dry darker on the nail - Reagan is definitely NOT magenta!

I'm sure you polish addicts can understand this:

I'd been watching the FedEx tracking information and it said my package had arrived in my town on the 6th, well, what the heck were they doing with it?!  Why were they estimating delivery on the 8th?  I forgot that seemingly every stinkin' UPS or FedEx package that comes here gets handed over to USPS for actual delivery.  They don't call it snail mail for nothing.  So I barged in there, explained the situation, and stood there 'til he went and searched the pallet.  Victory was mine!  :-D

My *star* attraction . . . 'tis true that out of focus shows the sparkle better
P.S. It really looks like this on the nail, and definitely glittery indoors!

Outdoors, in the shade.  Color accurate.

FeiFei
The colors in her shimmer are AMAZING!  Best purchase ever!
There's a coppery gold, champagne pink, medium purplish, and definitely dusty green shimmer.

Neely
Calming, creamy pale dusty mint green

Reagan
Haven't worn this yet, but I did a tiny swatch on some white cardboard, and it definitely looks to be a juicy raspberry creme. As I said, it is NOT magenta IRL.  Sorry, I couldn't adjust this photo enough.  They all look like this, probably because it's so highly pigmented.

Daul
It's like a bottle of royalty in the palm of my hand!  The gold glass fleck shimmer is SO prominent and perfect in the bluish leaning purple base.  I plan on wearing this over Dutch Ya Just Love OPI? to conserve it.

This pretty color accurate

Faye
The raisin-y/plum version of Daul.  I almost got one for myself too, but just bought it for my roommate instead.

These are the polishes I picked out for her.
L-R: Faye, Kimber, Reece, Karina

 

 What amazing polishes Zoya has!  I'm officially in love!  <3

THE HAUL - take 2

Since all of my posts thus far could practically be published as mini-novels, I will turn over a new leaf (at least temporarily!) and let the pictures do the talking this time. :-)  ENJOY!!!!

Note: reader may want to have a Kleenex handy to prevent drool from damaging the keyboard.

Let Them Eat . . . What?  available at Llarowe.com
SO in love with this one!!! :-D  Pay attention to the LEFT side of the rabbit -
it's most like the colors IRL.

Color Club Alias . . . the black text is worn off.  "All the better to SEE you with, my pretty!"
You can see the predominant purple with its tad of gold shift

ALIAS in all its glory! Mmmmm.
Not sure if all of this will translate to the nail, but we shall see very soon!

Darling Diva Rescue Me
See her shop on Etsy or Llarowe . . . I don't know if this one is still available tho :-/

Hits Speciallita Super Cute
The greenish grey part of the multichrome

LINEAR HOLO - and the bright seafoam/teal!

Beautiful lavender and gold shift

Hits Speciallita So Unique
Bright reddish orange multichrome flash

Chocolately, burgundy, wine-like . . . oh yeah, and that LINEAR HOLO!

Brownish copper part of the multichrome

MatteseElite Attitude. Lovely stormy grey blue!
I think I'll put my Pure Ice Heartbreaker over it for extra dimension, & as a weak attempt to mimic Girly Bits Stormy Skies.
I want it SO MUCH but the cost + shipping was way too much for me! :-(

Fantastical.  TOTALLY lives up to its name!  Can't wait to wear this one.

SUPER MACRO . . . to the rescue! Dun dun DUN DUN!
I don't know if you can see it, but there is an ultrafine teal shimmer as well as
teensy tiny teal bar glitters! :-D

Trina, you so purty!

Here you can see a hint of the gold. I'm a huge fan of dark purples with  a gold shift!

Silly Lily Pacific Fantasy
Clear base, tiny pale blue hexes, small pale blue squares,  med. mint matte green hexes, and various sizes turquoise hexes.

Silly Lily Paint Splatter
I think the color coating on the neon purple hexes disintegrated,  creating this effect.
Their "skeletons" remain, though (clear hexes, floating in the goo!)
Maybe Adele's next big hit could be entitled "Floating in the Goo" oooh OOH OOH. . . coulda had it all . . .

Milani Twinkle
I was one of the winners in Liquid Jelly's 2-yr blogoversary giveaway!
8 outta this world glitter polishes - and I NEVER win anything!

Obviously, you can tell what brand this is! ;-) Color is Glitz Gal.
Also from the win.

Aaaand same here . . . lookit all that hairy holo goodness! :D
Oh, the "color" is A Million Glitters (which is an exact dupe to
Stars at Night from the new Selena Gomez collex)

So I think that's it!! I hope you liked all the purty pictures! :-D  Coming soon: my Zoya haul (literally, HOPEfully arriving in the mail, very soon)!