Odds and Ends...

SWAPS!

I'm in the middle of two swaps right now, and I'm absolutely loving it!  It's so fun to be able to give someone polish that they want and get something that you really want in return! :)

So let's open this up, eh?

I went through my collection of polish last weekend and sorted aside the polishes that I can live without.  After organizing them into a Word document, I came up with nine full pages (with slight overflow onto the tenth page).  I have a pretty fat lemming list on the right side of my blog.  If you have some of the polishes on there that you would like to swap, please feel free to email me at erinface8d@gmail.com, and I can send you my big long list of polishes I have available for swaps.


China Glaze update!

While I was in Sally Beauty Supply the other day, I noticed that most (if not all) of the Up and Away and Poolside collections have been added to the core line.  I also spotted Dorothy Who? in the new rack.  Is this a new development, or am I behind the times on this?


Mushroom woes!

I recently bought the four newest Hard Candy polishes from Wal-Mart.  While looking through my receipts, though, I noticed that the mouse-y taupe, Mushroom, had rung up at $8.00 instead of $5.00.  What...?  I returned the polish, expressing my confusion about EVERY OTHER HARD CANDY POLISH being $5.00, and that the $8.00 price tag could not possibly be correct.  During a visit to another store, though, I found the same thing.  Weird, right?

After driving up north to go to one of my favorite little restaurants for lunch, I stopped at the Wal-Mart there.  Mushroom for $5.00!  Hooray!  Finally!  Once I had unwrapped it, though, the horror!  The cap had suffered a pretty severe horizontal crack that stretched across almost the entire circumference.  I hadn't seen it because it was low, behind the chintzy ring they package with the polish.  (Is the little plastic ring the reason that they're so much?  Lame.)

Instead of hassling with another return, I took it home.  My younger brother, bless his heart, is pretty handy with super glue and duct tape. :)


Hopefully I'll be able to post a real update again soon.  Blogger hasn't seemed to be interested in loading my pictures lately, so here's hoping that will change.  Until then, though, enjoy the rest of your weekend!  Happy Halloween!

Sally Hansen - Mystery Polish SOLVED!!

So I was at Meijer today, doing that cosmetic aisle stalking thing that I do, and I came across something... rather odd.

Observe.

Excuse the sloppiness, as usual.  But seriously.  What is this?!  It was in a gift pack, rather than the normal display, but it's not a new polish...

No label...  And if I remember correctly from my teen experiences with Sally Hansen polishes, the white cap signifies that it's an older polish.

No label on the bottom, either.  I've never known Sally Hansen polishes to have a bottom label, but it was worth a check.  The bar code is covered because it was part of a holiday gift pack with some lip inflation products.

Look at all the sparkle~!!! :D

This polish is tiny holographic glitter suspended in a sheer gray base.  To get the opacity on my nails, I needed four coats.  I didn't have application issues with it, though, and with a sheer base like this, four thin coats dries quickly and doesn't feel excessive.  I absolutely LOVE the pencil graphite gray, though.  And as if that wasn't good enough, they stuffed it full of itsy glitters.  If this were a flawless two coater, I would be in POLISH HEAVEN!!! :D

Krisinphilly (more readily known as the author of My Lucid Bubble!) informed me that it's called Night Lights.  Thanks, K!


Also, while I was out today, I ran across the new Wet n Wild Megalast holiday collection.  After seeing some pictures, I hadn't expected much, but I was more disappointed than I thought when I saw that...

...they've gotten smaller still!!!  For being a cheap polish, I really enjoy the Megalast collection.  Originality-wise, it's not much to write home about, but the colors are color accurate, reliable, and overall just a pretty decent investment, as far as drugstore polishes go.  But really?  SMALLER?  (0.30 fl. oz. to 0.22 fl. oz.)  For the same price?  Lame.  The store that I was at had a color for every reindeer but Vixen.  The majority of this holiday collection are very unoriginal, in my opinion.  The one pictured is the only one I'm hesitantly considering to buy.

Studio M - Sophisticated Lad

I've been really blog lazy.  Which should not be confused with lazy in real life.  Work has been beating me halfway to Sunday this last week, and I'm still in the process of overhauling my living space in a big cleaning venture.  Oy vey.  There's always good and bad that come with cleaning, so I'm trying to stick with the positive aspects.  At least until I can see my floor again.  Haha!

I've still been taking pictures, but my camera is buried somewhere in this mess.  So unfortunate...  So you get a slight oldie.  Don't worry, though.  It's still fresh.  I sniffed it.

Urgh, why do you do this to me, pointer and middle fingers?  I need a good ridge filler.  This peeling business is ridiculous.

This was two easy coats of Studio M's Sophisticated Lad.  This is the first Studio M cream I've worn in a long, long while.  I was pretty impressed with it!  Sophisticated Lad turned out to be more of a greige than a beige, in my opinion.  There are slight cool undertones that lean purple, but don't make the polish itself look purple.

Very simple, but much more simply pretty than I expected.  As far as I know, though, Studio M polishes are only available at Meijer stores, which are only located in parts of the Midwest.  Indiana, Michigan, and parts of Illinois, if I'm not mistaken.


I found a fun book when I was cleaning.  It's called "The Conversation Piece Collection" by Bret Nicholaus and Paul Lowrie.  My parents got it for me when I was pretty young so that we would have things to talk about when we were out on trips.  It's a hefty little book filled with open ended questions. :)

If you could fly in a hot-air balloon over any city in the world, what city would you choose?
I'm not into heights.  I probably wouldn't even get into the balloon in the first place.  If I had to choose, though, I'd probably pick a tiny little town in Nepal, so that I could see the Himalayas.  Or some little touristy niche in Arizona so that I could fly over the Grand Canyon.


How about you?  Where would your hot balloon fly?

Awww! :D

I had a pretty horrible day at work today.  Usually I can leave my problems at the store, dumping them in the coat closet after I punch out.  The compounding stress of being so busy and having so many things go wrong made that impossible, though.  I took all of my frustration with me, and couldn't seem to turn it off.

Really, though, is there anything that an afternoon with your amazing boyfriend can't fix?  Well, if there do happen to be stubborn little problems, a little Ben & Jerry's Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream will do the trick. :)  After some tight hugs, a hot shower, and some delicious seasonal ice cream, I was right as rain.  I'm only hoping that tomorrow will go more smoothly than today.

When I got online, I found that Sombrero Stephie had doodled me up a quick picture all Reverse Sensibility style before she headed in to work herself.  It definitely made me smile, so I had to share it!!

What a doll! :D


I should have a nail post for you tomorrow, as well as a picture of my last box of goodies from Nicole at Magic Maid!  I used two of the polishes I got from her to create the look I'm wearing for tomorrow.  I can't stop staring at my hands! :D

We have a winner! :D

The big winner of my Mysteriously Multiplying Bad Fairy Giveaway iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissss.....

April!!

Check out her great blog, Concrete and Nail Polish, if you haven't done so yet!

I'll be sending you a message straight away. :)

Huge thanks to everyone else that entered.  I really appreciate that you took the time to follow my little blog!

Congratulations again to April!

 

 

The Bad Fairy has left the building!

The giveaway is over, folks!

I must say, I'm extremely impressed with the turnout at my little corner of the web. <3  It makes me even happier to see new people comment.  Welcome, and thank you for following my blog!

I'll have the results of the giveaway up tomorrow! :D

Nubar - Wildlife

Wildlife is absolutely beautiful, but don't listen to me.  I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Click it if you don't believe me!  This polish may as well have just applied itself.  I was expecting several sheer coats, but this was two coats and done.  I don't usually gravitate toward duochromes, but how could I resist this one?  I love green, and the pink in the polish is exquisite.  Light, coppery pink with the mossy green flash underneath.

This picture isn't the greatest, but it gives a good idea of the green in the polish.

Look at that gorgeous flash in the bottle!  I'm smitten with this color.

When I excitedly pulled out my haul to show Brad yesterday, and I asked him to help me pick one, he dismissed this one quickly.  I was a little curious, but I didn't question it.  While I was painting up this afternoon, though, I had to ask.

His answer?

"It looks like roast beef."

Hahahaha!!  Y'know, like when deli-sliced roast beef gets that weird coppery-green sheen?  Never fear, though!  That color is really alright.  You can read about it here!!


What I thought about when I saw Wildlife, though, is my best friend.  Pink and green always make me think about Stephie, because we both like those colors.  Sometimes we even shoot each other random texts when we see colors that remind us of the other.

Totally cool gal, right?  Darn right she is!  The sombrero proves it!

She's been going through some rough things lately, and I don't always feel like I can make her feel better.  But even when I can't always seem to say the right things, she still hangs in there with me.  Without a doubt, Steph's the strongest person I know.  Even when bad things happen, she still thinks of others first.  She's always smiling, always encouraging.  Creative, excitable, hilarious...  This gal's fantastic!

I've been incredibly blessed these last six years to have her as my best friend! :)

She recently started up a blog where she writes about everyday experiences, punctuated with really fun pictures that she draws!  You should check out her blog, Reverse Sensibility!


The Mysteriously Multiplying Bad Fairy Giveaway ends in less than twenty-four hours!  Get your last minute entries in, and keep your wish lists handy!

So what'd you think about Wildlife?  Are you digging the sombrero?  Did you check out Reverse Sensibility yet?!

Heartburn, nausea, indigestion...

...upset stomach, diarrhea.  Yay, Pepto Bismol!

Okay, so wearing these colors really wasn't SO bad.  But the next time I do a half-asleep manicure at one in the morning, I'd really appreciate if the Barbie Dream House would just drop me a memo to let me know the girlish horrors I'm in for.

This is two coats of Finger Paints' I'm a Survivor, topped with one coat of OPI's Princesses Rule!  I'm a Survivor would have needed three coats for better opacity, in my opinion.  The polish is naturally bright, and studded with tiny silver flecks.

See the pretty flecks?  1:00 AM Me seemed to think it needed more glam, so on went a coat of Princesses Rule!  I'm going to try the polish over a different color, but...  These are probably the two girliest polishes that I own, and paired together, I was most certain that diabetes was next up on my life list.  That or throwing a five year old girl's birthday party.



 I have better news, though!  My parcel from MagicMaid's blog sale arrived today!

Without the bottles in front of me, I may butcher the names... :/  Forgive me in advance.  From left to right we have...
Barielle - Tight Knit
Nubar - Wildlife
BB Couture - Caterpillar
Essie - Turquoise & Caicos
Essense - What do U Think?
Diamond Cosmetics - Orange Blush
Misa - Sandals, Flip Flops, and Hip Hop

I'm pretty torn between whether I want to wear Wildlife as my next mani, or Caterpillar!  Such a hard decision!

Love & Beauty - Currant and a giveaway update!

I did some tallying on the number of people entered in my giveaway and the number of actual entries that random.org will choose between.  Twenty-seven people are entered, with 65 entries total.  There's a lot of good chances for winning, people! :D

Remember to keep your wish lists handy for your extra prize!


Now on to something I'm not really fond of.  Red polishes.  I don't understand it.  I love to wear bright, ultra shimmery reds.  I love to wear bold, jelly reds.  But when it comes to red creams?  I kind of just want to run and hide from them. :(

 Two coats of Love & Beauty's Currant.  Maybe I just feel too sexy wearing reds like these?  Smokin' hot, sexpot in red nail polish is NOT how I would describe myself AT ALL!  I really think this is a great color for Fall, and application was fine, it just felt too weird.

Also, lack of clean up?  Sorry.  I took pictures before I started work at 6:00 AM, and told myself I'd take pictures after as well.  But the polish didn't hold up through the rough day, so these were what I got.  Love & Beauty has a new bottle style, though!  I like this simplistic shape, and much prefer it to their old style

Love & Beauty polishes can be found at Forever 21.  Not at all creatively named things, but for $2.80, they aren't bad polishes.  Definitely fun to pick up a couple with very little guilt involved while you're out shopping. :)


Any favorite Love & Beauty polishes out there?  I have a bunch of them, but I'm realizing that this is the first one I've really worn.

Playing catch up!

I don't know if I've made a single polish post this week.  So sad...  Sometimes I just fall out of the writing mood, though.  The 30 Days of Truth posts will continue, too, when the motivation crawls back in.

I have, however, been sucked into blog sales.  Nicole over at MagicMaid has a massive sale going on, and she wants to get rid of everything.  You should check it out!  She has so many different polish brands up for sale, LOTS of discontinued polishes and polishes from outside the US, and ALL at great prices.

I'm actually up to my third order from her blog sale right now... >_>  I got three polishes in my first package, two of which I used for my weekend manicure and pedicure! :)

 This is Essie Pretty Edgy.  I think that I like this color.  I like China Glaze Four Leaf Clover better, though.  Pretty Edgy is a thin cream polish that required two coats.  Even after two, I feel like I had some weird balding going on.  That's likely a problem with the way I applied it, though.

I topped Pretty Edgy with NYX's Graffiti, which is one of the polishes that I bought from the blog sale.  This is my first NYX polish. :)  Why the Ulta in my town sells NYX makeup but none of their polish is completely beyond me.  What you see on my nails is one quick coat, though.  It applied well and dried quickly.

This was a fun combination.  This weekend was good and sunny, so I stared at it quite a bit

WARNING: Toes ahead! 

For my pedicure, I used Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Nfu Oh #54.

 I bought Black Expressionism from Sally Beauty Supply.  I don't think that the markdown to $1.99 was correct, but the girl there didn't have issues ringing it up as such, so whatevs.  And I bought the Nfu Oh from Nicole's blog sale as well.  I had some slight reservation about buying it, but I reasoned that it may be the only Nfu Oh I ever own, so it was purchased.  I was ridiculously pleased with it, so it may not be the ONLY one I ever own...  I love Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure like everyone else, but that one generally flashes warm colors.  I love that this Nfu Oh flashes cool colors.

It's not the best picture, but I didn't figure anyone wanted some serious close up action on my feet.  Black Expressionism went on perfectly opaque in one easy coat.  (Why do they make black polishes that you have to use more than one coat for opacity?  Isn't the beauty of black the fact that it's... y'know... BLACK?).  Two coats of Nfu Oh #54 and one coat of Seche Vite later, and it's a super gorgeous pedicure.  I have to wear shoes to keep from staring at my tootsies. <3


You only have until Wednesday to enter my Mysteriously Multiplying Bad Fairy Giveaway!  If you haven't yet, get crackin'! :)

Thanks for reading!