Haul of the Month - May 2013

Contains a referral link

Hi guys! I'm going to do haul posts again to keep track of my spending and curb the impulse to buy nail polish. I've been good since I got back home. The below is all I got! Yay! :D (I am posting now because there is no way I can for the next couple of days. Lots of stuff happening.)

Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter-A-Peel

First off, I purchased what could be one of the answers to preventing the agony of removing glitter polishes. I'm still testing it out right now!

OPI Black Spotted

Yes, this is THE OPI Black Spotted. I bought it from ebay for $19.95 (+ free shipping). OPI Black Spotted was only available to some countries (I think all were European ones), possibly because of an ingredient deemed harmful by the authoritative bodies.

OPI Polka.com
OPI Oy - Another Polish Joke!
OPI A Woman's Prague-ative
OPI  My Vampire is Buff

I got these four OPI's from Cut and Blow for $5.75 each! Cut and Blow holds events (usually lasts at least 5 or 6 days) in which it sells beauty products, ranging from hairstyling tools to nail polish, for less than their retail prices. Here is my referral link for those who'd like to join in on the fun!

LA Girl Teal Dimension
LA Girl Green Sand
LA Girl Uninhibited
LA Splash Golden Seahorse
NYX Girl Gilded Glitter
NYX Girl Dreamy Glitter
NYX Girl Dorothy
China Glaze Luxe and Lush

Cherry Culture e-mailed me about its Memorial Day coupon for 20% off all items. I was so happy and got a bunch of polishes! Even though all of them were already on sale, the coupon code still worked on them. :D I believe I paid roughly $26 for everything! (This figure also includes shipping and tax.)

Messy Jessi Lacquer Quail
Messy Jessi Lacquer Snowy Plover
Messy Jessi Lacquer Mockingbird
Messy Jessi Lacquer Easter Bunny
Messy Jessi Lacquer House Wren

Lastly, I purchased these Messy Jessi Lacquer polishes! Messy Jessi Lacquer is a relatively new indie and its inaugural collection is its take on the Illamasqua speckled polishes. I personally prefer Messy Jessi Lacquer's version because the glitters are bigger. The collection is on sale now and you can purchase it here. (Unfortunately, only Easter Bunny and Mockingbird are still available.)

Hopefully, I will be better next month! But believe it or not, this is actually a good starting point for me. Most of my previous hauls were much larger than this.

I'm beginning to dose off now... See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Just a Little Longer + OPI Stay the Night

Hello everyone! I was about to blog regularly again soon, but I broke my nail yesterday. I was trying out a different nail shape (oval-ish) and it seems that squared nails are better for me. (I also tested this shape out and had no broken nails.) I am so sad I have nubs now, but they feel so liberating! For the next several posts, I will have swatches from the vault. Hopefully, I have enough posts until my nails grow out and are shaped.

Textured polishes are really popular right now. Glitter-infused and creme textured polishes are ubiquitous (think Zoya Pixie Dust, JulieG Gumdrops, OPI, and Milani), but there is also the lesser-known leather effect (Nails Inc. - which I hope to show you guys soon!). Today, I have one of my first textured polishes to show you guys!

OPI Stay the Night

Stay the Night has sparkly magenta glitter in a black textured base. I love it! It looks like glowing lava when you move your fingers. I used 3 thin coats. Using thin coats will help it dry faster and become more textured. Thick coats will dry less textured and a little glossy.  I didn't know what to expect, but the formula was really good. Dry time was fine as well. However, the wear time wasn't at all. I found some chips on my right middle finger after taking a shower the next day. I didn't use a base coat because it dried to a lesser textured finish when I tested it. Pictures below show Stay the Night with top coat.

I'm glad to be (almost) back! See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

P.S. Hellooooo to all my new followers! :D

Nfu-Oh Flakies #37-60 Getting Discontinued!

I just learned that the Nfu-Oh Flakies #37-60 are getting discontinued! I've no idea why, I just found out from my friend. Anyway, best be on your merry way to get the ones you want NOW because some colors are already out of stock! (On fabuloustreet.com, anyway.) Luckily, #51 is still in stock even though it is one of the more popular flakies.

Best of luck and happy shopping!

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Hiatus

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since my last "real" post. I've been M.I.A. (missing in action) because of some stuff I had to take care of back home and improving my grades. There is some time now for me to swatch here and there, but I just can't get myself to do so. I want to swatch, but I just don't want to actually do it. Hopefully an absence will make the heart grow fonder, as they say. I've been keeping myself busy with nail polish-related tasks when I'm not studying to help regain my passion and love. Here's a little of what I'm occupying myself with... (Warning: wordy post!)

Last night, my friend helped me build my melmer! (Well, more like I just assisted her...) It's the best investment I've ever made because there's now more room underneath my bed, my polishes are more organized, and I can finally get rid of all the boxes my polishes were in!

The first drawer is where all the big brand name polishes are, with some higher end ones on the side. Brands: OPI, Essie, China Glaze, Orly, Zoya (in the way back), Color Club, Deborah Lippmann, and Butter London.

The second drawer has a continuation of my higher end polishes, but mostly contains indies, out-of-the-country brands, retail brands, and what I consider "higher end" drugstore polishes. I left some space for the polishes that haven't been delivered yet. In my excitement, I forgot to leave a bigger space to accommodate the new Cult Nails collection that I already pre-ordered. So sad! :( Brands: Butter London, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Illamasqua, Julep, Candeo Colors, Candy Lacquer, Chick Nail Polish, CrowsToes, Cult Nails, Glitter Daze, Gloss 'n Sparkle, Jindie Nails, Ninja Polish, Ozotic, Pretty Serious, Wing Dust Collections, Essence, Ulta, Love & Beauty, L'Oreal, Milani, JulieG, Jordana, and Revlon.

The third drawer has a continuation of "higher end" drugstore polishes along with "lower end" ones, miscellaneous brands that I only have one or two of, and my frankens. I didn't think I'd be able to fit all my polishes (the ones that aren't packaged in some sort of display, at least), but there's actually some space still left! Yay!!! :D Brands: Maybelline, Sally Hanse, Sinful Colors, Wet 'n Wild, Spoiled, Confetti, Barielle, Layla, Nails Inc., Sephora by OPI, SpaRitual, Finger Paints, Sonia Kashuk, Avon, Winmax Delicia (Japanese brand), Catrice, Model's Own, Urban Outfitters, Claire's, Icing, NYC New York Color, Funky Fingers, CQ, Rimmel, Fantasy Makers (from Wet 'n Wild), Nabi, Sally Girl, and frankens.

Review: As of now, the melmer contains approximately 360 polishes. I still have polishes at home and on the way! (I'm going to estimate that it will hold close to 400 polishes. However, keep in mind brands use bottles of different shapes. I also had to leave space at the back of the drawers because the polishes wouldn't fit in them. Only my mini polishes could, and I don't have many of them. I tried my best to efficiently use the space provided.) The quality is ok; it will do what it was made to do. My friend and I had a particularly hard time with making the second drawer (though it could also be contributed to assistant error...) and the screw was drilled in a way that made part of the drawer crack. (To clarify, damaging the melmer is not that difficult to do, though it is still somewhat sturdy.) Since it is a melmer, it is obviously compact. Included are pieces that allow you to stack melmers so you'll be able to save lots of space! (Very convenient if you live in a small apartment or dorm.) Since the place from where I bought it always has a 40% off coupon, I only paid $20. Not a bad investment, right?

(Aaaaand now I just forgot to leave some more space for The New Black and Orly polishes I have on the way! Curses!)

I've also been doing stick swatches of my polishes. I do them as soon as I receive my packages so my workload won't pile up. After the swatches are dry, I organize them by color. I find that displaying the swatch sticks on binder rings is the most convenient method. Friends and I can find the color we want to wear easily. So far, it's been keeping me on my toes!

I hope to be back soon with a reborn passion! Until then, see you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Goodbye to Google Reader (and Possibly GFC - Google Friend Connect)

I'm sure many of you have heard that Google Reader will be stopping operations soon. I've heard it may be June of this year. (Please correct me if I'm wrong!) Some have speculated that GFC (Google Friend Connect) may also follow suit because the two are so closely linked together. I, myself, find no more use in GFC because it "feeds" blogs into Google Reader. To continue following my blog, I have created Facebook and Bloglovin' pages.

Bloglovin'

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Facebook

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle