Bitzy Singsong

As someone obsessed with nail polish and in need of cheap, accessible supplies (remover, thinner, etc.), I am a big fan of Sally Beauty. I'm lucky to have a location 5-10 minutes from my home, so I make regular stops when it's time to replenish my nail-related accoutrements. When I'm in the shopping mood (which, let's be honest, is most of the time), I find myself perusing the vast selection of polishes they carry, and often leave the store having spent much more than intended.

However, there is a budget-friendly brand carried at Sally by the name of Bitzy. I'm pretty sure that this is their own in-house brand (meant to replace the old Sally Girl line), as I've never seen them anywhere else. At $2.99 a pop with a wide range of fun colors, I've collected a few of these in my travels. 

Singsong is a lovely vibrant lilac color with very fine, almost invisible shimmer. It's a little cooler-toned IRL, but this photo is still mostly accurate. Shown here in 3 coats. As much as I adore these Bitzy polish, opacity is a bit of an issue... I have yet to find one that doesn't need at least 3 coats. Though I really can't complain... they are rather cheap, and the opacity is their only fault.

The wear on these is weirdly good. I've been wearing this for 2 days now and there's only very slight tip wear. There are a couple of itty-bitty chips on my other hand, but nothing major. The longevity rivals that of higher-end brands like OPI... I can deal with having to add an extra coat if it means it'll stay on my nails for longer than a couple of days!

Here's a closeup of the bottle so you can see that stealth shimmer. The light has to be hitting it just right to show up, but when I do see that little sparkly glint, it makes me smile. Even if this didn't have any shimmer, I'd like this shade... I love a good purple, and this is certainly good!

That just about does it for today, but as a side note -- I've been really obsessed with candles lately (as in, I've literally purchased 15 of them in the past 2 weeks), and the one I've got going right now smells ah-maz-ing. White Strawberry Bellini from Yankee Candle. Go check it out. It's so fruity and fun!

Thanks so much for reading, and until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Wild and Crazy Whatever

 I know what you're thinking. "Is she seriously posting more Wild and Crazy?" The answer is yes, my child. It's always yes. I will stop wearing this brand when I die. I couldn't tell you why I love it so much, considering that the polish itself is (quite frankly) not very good, but I just do. 

(Sorry for the teeny weeny itty bitty little baby nubby nails. I had a breakage the other day. 2 of them snapped trying to close the car door. Super tragic, but c'est la vie.

Also, sorry for the quality of my swatch. I've been wearing this for roughly 24 hours and while I adore Wild and Crazy, their polishes have a bad habit of breaking down pretty badly during the first couple of days.)

Whatever is a dark berry shimmer and I absolutely adore it. In the bottle, it kinda looks like it has silver microglitter, but it disappears on the nail into a nice shimmer. It's dark without being so-dark-it's-almost-black. It's vampy without being too severe. It's simply lovely and I could see myself wearing this many more times. Weirdly enough, I also think I like it better on shorter nails, as with most dark colors... something about a nice burgundy, berry, or black on a short nail is so magical.

Here's a close-up of the bottle! You can see what I mean about the shimmer looking silver here. Can I just talk about how much I love this bottle design? It's so funky, and I've never seen anything else that looks even remotely close to it! Just another thing that sets this brand apart.

Well, that'll be all for today. I don't know why I haven't been feeling very wordy lately, but my inspiration to post pictures far exceeds my inspiration to write an accompaniment. Oh well, so it goes. 

Happy holidays! Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years', everything else... hope you have a good one!

Until next time... PEACE! xoxo 

Wild and Crazy Amnesia (swatches only)

I simply don't have the words for this one. Strong gold shimmer in a mauvy base. Absolutely gorgeous. 3 coats.

Wild and Crazy Renatka

Orange is not a color I have much experience with. I've always overlooked it when considering what color to paint my nails with, and I've always proclaimed that it's one of my least favorite colors... but why? As time passes, I grow fonder of orange. It's fun, it's crazy, and it's a little funky -- not a common choice as far as nail colors go. But if there's anybody that loves funky, it's me...

And funky this is! Renatka is another offering from my beloved Wild and Crazy, aka the only brand I ever want to wear ever again ever. This is a red-leaning orange shimmer that covers beautifully in 2 coats, and I could not be more in love with it. I mean, just LOOK at it! I had originally wanted to set this one aside to use when my nails get longer, but I swatched it on one finger and knew that it couldn't wait. I love the way it looks with my skin tone, my nail shape, my everything! It's perfect.

Something I really like about Wild and Crazy is the fact that it's 3-free but still vintage. This means I get the excitement of vintage polish without the damage of formaldehyde and toluene. I've been trying to be more conscious about what I put on my nails recently, and those old stinky chemicals are absolutely terrible for the health of your nails. Thus the Wild and Crazy kick I'm on! Well, not entirely. It is partially because of the 3-free formula, but mostly because I'm head over heels for their funky colors, fun packaging, and unconventional polish names. 

Here's a nice close-up shot! You can really see the detail of the shimmer in this one. Isn't it so pretty? I've been on a real shimmer spree lately -- cremes just aren't doing it for me at the moment. My skin looks super pale and pink in this photo, but IRL, this polish does a weirdly good job at canceling out my red undertones. I'd think that a red-based orange would have the opposite effect, but apparently not! I'm not an expert in color theory, and I don't claim to be... I just like it when my skin looks less red. :]

I also must say that I am absolutely digging this nail shape. I've been wanting to go square for a while now, but it never seemed to be in the cards for me. Now that I actually have them, I can confirm that short & square is my jam! I don't even feel the need to grow them out now (though I'm not against it)... this shape flatters my hands at any length!

Well, thanks so much for reading about this lovely orange polish. There will be more Wild and Crazy on the way, don't you worry! Until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Ciaté London Mini Mani Month 2020: Days 1-8

Happy December! The holidays are fast approaching, and you know what that means... advent calendars! These are always so much fun. Opening a little door every day to reveal goodies inside? Gotta love it! And what better to treat yourself with than a new nail polish every day? Meet Ciaté London's Mini Mani Month - the nail polish advent calendar! It's a dream come true! 

This is actually my first year with the Ciaté advent calendar, and my first experience with any Ciaté polish in general! I've always admired them from afar but could never find them in brick-and-mortar stores, and I wasn't enamored enough with any of their shades to justify an online order. That is until my mom gifted me this calendar for my birthday! Thanks mom, I love it. ♥

This calendar also features Ciaté's brand new Plant Pots. Not only are they enriching for the nails with a formula featuring bamboo, biotin, and bakuchiol, they're environmentally friendly -- the glitter is biodegradable. How awesome is that? As somebody who tries their best to recycle and do good for the earth, I love this!

How this will work: I will wear every nail polish on its designated day. I'll take a pic for each day, and split this up over 3 posts. Why am I doing this, you ask? Cuz it's fun, that's why! :P

Here we go!

Day 1: Good as Gold

Color: Soft shimmery pink with small gold & pink glitter

Number of coats: 2

Wow, okay. I was NOT expecting this shade to cover so well. There's a bit of VNL in person, and 3 coats would totally remedy this -- I just like it slightly sheer. What a wonderful shade to get me into the Christmas spirit! The gold flash is definitely the overarching feature of this polish, as you can see, but the baby pink base and sparse pink glitter (seen more accurately in the bottle) spruce it up a little. I'm definitely a fan! 

(P.S. This totally doesn't need top coat. Not only is it quite shiny on its own and free of any grittiness, it dries lightning quick! I'm really loving this formula so far.)

Day 2: Amazing Gracie

Color: Palest pink creme

Number of coats: 3

Well, I guess they can't all be winners...

After yesterday's spectacular sparkly kickoff, I was expecting something a liiiittle more interesting. This is just your run-of-the-mill so-pale-it's-almost white pink creme, and not a particularly noteworthy one. Of course, it's got that awesome fast-drying formula, but that's about all I can give it. It’s painfully boring, it brings out the red in my skin, it's patchy even after 3 coats... I remember now why I tend to avoid pastels like this.

(My only compliment? It has a slight thinning effect on my hands IRL.)

Day 3: Base Coat

Color: Um... it doesn't have one

Number of coats: 1

As I was opening up day 3's door, I muttered to myself, "please don't be pink". I guess I got my wish! It's just a clear base coat, and a watery one at that. Well, whatever. I guess it's good to get a look at your natural nails every now and again. 

(I promise my nails aren't this yellow in person!)

Day 4: Violet Haze

Color: Rich medium blue-purple creme

Coats: 2

Now here's something fun! This is a really hard color to try and describe. It veers blue, but it's most definitely purple. It's vibrant, but not bright. The color is quite rich. See how attempting to describe this reduces me to baby sentences? I definitely have some comments to make about the formula though - hard to work with, patchy, and stinky. I don't know what it is about colors in this niche (vibrant blue/purple cremes) that always smell so much... it must be something to do with the pigments. Oh, and it also doesn't dry as fast as the others, so quick dry top coat is recommended. While I wasn’t a huge fan at first, this color definitely grew on me with time... I think I’ll be revisiting this one.

Day 5: Lucky 7

Color: Vibrant coral creme

Coats: 2

Oh, how I wish they'd have saved this for day 7... that would have been too perfect! Anyway, this is a nice color. Not something I'd usually choose, but cheery and fun nonetheless. Nice fast-drying formula, kinda patchy and uneven but I don't feel like adding a third coat. Not much to say about this one.

Day 6: Top Coat

Color: none, again

Coats: n/a

I just skipped to day 7...

Day 7: Moondust

Color: Medium purple with abundant golden microglitter

Coats: 2

Now THIS is what I'm talking about! So, so, so pretty. The heavy shimmery glitter almost cancels out the purple base, but it's thankfully still visible. The glitter is so rich, and it could just be my eyes playing tricks on me, but I think I see a few errant blue and pink particles mixed in. I'm actually really happy that I opened day 7's door early, so now I get to wear this for 2 days! 

Day 8: Peachy Cheeks

Color: Terracotta creme

Coats: 2

Ehh... it might make a nice nude if you've got darker skin. On me, it's just... not great. A little too warm. It's opaque in 2 coats and has a good formula, but aside from that... I don't have much to say about this one.

Going forward, I think I'll open these on their designated days but swatch them all on one day. I just don't like the damage that taking off nail polish every single day is doing to my nails. Even when I use non-acetone, I feel like my nails are crying out to be left alone. And while it's fun to paint my nails with a new color every day, I'd rather they be healthy and undamaged. So I'll still be posting about this advent calendar, but the swatches may be a little different. I might also post about my manicures in between these swatches.

Anyways, thanks so much for reading. And until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Wild and Crazy Beloved Child

More Wild and Crazy? You bet! I go through phases in which I obsess over a specific nail polish brand for no particular reason. I've gone through it with Revlon Street Wear, OPI, China Glaze, and now Wild and Crazy -- it's this insatiable desire to collect every single bottle in existence. I have at least 40 of them by now, and if they weren't so dang hard to find, I'd be hoarding many more. 

I'm also posting about this brand so much because documentation of it is quite sparse. There aren't many swatches out there, and I haven't seen a full color list. It was just another cheapy brand that fell to the wayside, and it's a bit of a shame. I'm an archivist and preservationist by nature -- I don't like things being lost to history. Even if it's just a crappy 99¢ bottle of nail polish, I want there to be documentation of it somewhere.

And so today I bring you Beloved Child. I'm the proud owner of 2 bottles of this polish - twice the purple frosty goodness! Here it is in 2 thin, easy coats.

(Yes, my nails are short and square now. Had a couple of small breakages and figured I'd quit while I was ahead. I actually kind of like them like this!)

The frostiest medium purple known to man. I can't believe I ever disliked these kinds of polishes! I think it was mostly because the majority of vintage polishes I inherited from my mother were some variety of frosty purple, and I resented her for not picking more interesting colors. But in reality, I love a good purple! I also love a good brushstroke-y icy polish. Put them together and you get something like this -- how perfect is this color for winter? I'm partial to dark shades during the colder months, but a good frost encapsulates the frigid, ice-covered landscape of winter so well. I think I'll have to induct this one into my regular rotation well into spring -- this color just brings a smile to my face.

Until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Wild and Crazy Crush On You

Well, I can officially scratch another polish off the lemming list.

If you read my last post, then you will know about the close-knit history of Sinful Colors & Wild and Crazy. Both lines were manufactured by the same company (Mirage Cosmetics), and the only differences were the names and the packaging -- the polish itself was EXACTLY the same. The Wild and Crazy line spanned the first 400 or so colors produced, so if they can be found, they're effectively cheaper versions of those older Sinful polishes. (The polishes in both lines share the same exact number, just with a different name.)
I'd been after Sinful Japanese Violet for a while, ever since I saw it on Pinterest. And what do you know, Crush On You is the Wild and Crazy counterpart to that polish. I've basically got this old, rare polish that I've been wanting for at least a year... for $2 from a nice lady in the Sinful Facebook group. I've been quite fortunate in regards to vintage polishes lately, and my stroke of luck has only continued! 

So... let's see it! Shown here in 3 coats. (You could TOTALLY get away with 2, I just wanted it to be perfect.)

Aaaah, I don't even know how to go about describing this color. It's a sort of medium dusty blue with a strong purple shimmer, but there's something else to it... it just glows in a way that can't be captured by camera. I think this photo is a pretty good representation of the color in person, but it isn't exact. This polish is magical, I swear. Slap some Fairy Dust on this sucker and I think I might actually die.

I had made a comparison between this and OPI Ponce de Lilac in my post about the latter, but in reality, they're nothing alike. PdL is a sheer gray with purple flash, while this is an opaque creamy blue with purple flash. Honestly, if I was forced to toss one, it would be Ponce de Lilac. This one has a much better formula, not to mention that I find it much prettier.

I absolutely can't wait to wear this all week! I just finished painting and I can't stop staring at my nails. These days I've been trying to keep my polish on for at least 5 days at a time -- I think constantly going at my nails with acetone is a spell for disaster. I've also been trying to keep up with hydration -- at least once a day I'll either apply my cuticle oil mix (jojoba & argan) or this cuticle cream I found at a discount store a while ago (the brand is "Honest to Goodness Natural Products"). Additionally, I've been taking biotin daily, and my nails seem to be doing... okay? I actually totally snapped the thumbnail on my right hand today while putting the milk back in the fridge... I always break my nails in the strangest ways! I'm hoping that's just a fluke, though... I want my nails to be long & strong!

Well, that'll be all for today, girlies. Have a wonderful day! Until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Update: There is one con to this polish: it erodes in a really strange way. I’ve only had it on for 3 days as of writing, and it’s not chipped so much as cracked. You know when you’ve been wearing a polish for way too long and it starts developing cracks in the surface? This is doing that... after only a few days. It can’t be my base/top coat because I use the same ones every time. I’ve never had this happen so soon after applying a polish... very weird.

The strangest polish name in my collection

I've been trying to write an introduction for the last 10 minutes and I am just coming up blank. There are no words to describe what you are about to witness. This polish name defies conventions. Logic. Sanity. It will make you scrunch up your face, cock your head to the side, and say "Whaaaaa...?" It will haunt your dreams! You won't be able to sleep for days! It will ruin your life!!!!!!!!!

...Okay, maybe I'm being a little bit dramatic. But seriously, this name is weird. I bought it sight unseen from a random beauty supply site. Partly because I was already ordering some other polishes and needed to reach a certain total for a discount, but mostly because I needed this oddity for my collection.

Before I unveil the name of this polish, let me first show you the color and give you a mini-history lesson.

Wild and Crazy was a cheapo polish brand owned by the same company as Sinful Colors. They’re basically one in the same — Wild and Crazy is the same polish as Sinful, just bottled and renamed for different retailers. (Fun fact: the Sinful version of this polish is called “Old Gold”. Shoutout to Sarah on Facebook for that tidbit!) I believe they used to be sold for $0.99 at drug & dollar stores until the early 2010s. I must say, I vastly prefer these stout little bottles over Sinful's signature bulbous design -- much, much cuter! There was also another variation on the bottle that came later, a sort of chunky conical design, which also looks pretty cool in my opinion.

Anyways! I actually really like this color. It's a bronze shimmer, as you can see, but it's actually pretty rich and deep. I wouldn't call it "lit from within", but it's certainly a nice shimmer for such a low price. Opacity was also shockingly good - only 2 coats here! (This is the exception to Wild and Crazy's formula -- most need 3 or more.) Overall, I'm quite pleased with this polish, especially for something I picked blindly.

So, are you ready for the star of the show?! The name of this polish is...

"Popped out belly". Popped. Out. Belly. WHAT? (I know it kind of looks like "bally" on the label, but it's meant to be an E.) I'm genuinely stunned. I've got no idea what that means. Popped out belly, as in... when you're bloated after eating a lot? Or pregnant? I'm not even going to try to understand.

Well, I think that's enough shenanigans for today. I thought it'd be funny to share such an oddball polish name! I make fun of it, but in the end, I actually find it kind of endearing - it stands out from the crowd. 

I've got some other Wild and Crazy polishes that I'll be showing off soon, since documentation of this brand is sparse at best. I'm all for preservation of history!

Make sure your belly's popped back in and have a wonderful day! Until next time... PEACE! xoxo

NOTD (OPI Save Me) + Blog Update

Well hello there! It's been a while, hasn't it? This blog just hasn't been a priority lately, due in large part to the fact that nobody reads it. Of course, I've also been busy with school and the betterment of my mental & physical health, but the fact that I've got no readers allows me a lot of leeway in my posting schedule. I've got no obligation to post, so I just... don't.

I want to change that, though. You may notice that I've changed the name of this blog, as well as the look. A catchier name and more pleasant site appearance are only a small piece of attracting readers. The elephant in the room was the lack of photos. How am I meant to have a nail blog without any photos? I'd upload them, and they'd just... disappear. I finally figured out the problem, though, so look forward to posts that actually have pictures in them! (I won't bother with replacing the images on my previous posts, though... that would be a project and a half.)

Anyways! Enough rambling, more nails. My manicure today is mildly exciting. This polish isn't particularly old or rare, but it is super sparkly! This is OPI Save Me from the 2012 Nicki Minaj collection. I think it was meant to be a topper, but I decided to use it on its own. Shown in 4 coats. 

I really really really really really really like the way this polish looks. Small silver glitter with a mixture of blue & holo bar/string glitter is definitely a winning combination. That bar glitter is also the PERFECT size - not too big or chunky (like Street Wear Hologram), which is what usually gets on my nerves with these bar glitters. Not to say that this polish isn't afflicted with the usual chunky texture that plagues glitters - it totally is. It's just a lot more manageable than most other bar glitter. How many times can I say "bar glitter" in one paragraph? Bar glitter bar glitter bar glitter bar glitter bar glitter.

As stated earlier, I believe this was meant to be a topper, but if there's one thing I never do when it comes to nails, it's using glitter as a topper. I'm all or nothing, baby! I end up buying lots of glitters that are obviously too sheer to use on their own and never using them because I'm stupid, but hey. What's a collection if you don't have a few polishes that you scorn for being too sheer and banish to the back corners of your Helmer drawers? Thankfully, Save Me is spared from such a fate - she's buildable enough that 4 coats got me to full opacity. 3 coats would also be perfectly acceptable, but I had a couple of bald spots that needed just a little more sparkle. No sparkle deficiency on these nails, no sir!

Here's a nice close-up of all the beautiful shiny goodness. LOOK AT ALL THE GLITTERS... someone better get me a napkin 'cause I'm drooling! Seriously though, this is definitely being introduced into the regular rotation. I love a good silver nail, and this one certainly goes above and beyond the call of duty! I'm sure I'll have a ball trying to remove this... foil method, don't fail me now!

Well, it looks like my job here is done. I've got some hungry kitties to feed, a boyfriend to call, and a nap to be had... how very pressing! I suppose I should be on my way. Hope the rest of your day is positively sparkly, and until next time... PEACE! xoxo

CND Deep Velvet

Today I come to you with another vampy polish. This one leans a little more wintery than autumnal, but it's one of my favorites so who really cares?!

Deep Velvet was released in Creative's 2007 holiday collection, if I remember correctly. This means that it falls right into that confusing territory between vintage and... not vintage. 13 years doesn't sound like THAT long ago (holy crap 2007 was 13 years ago let that sink in), but some folks will maintain that any polish older than 10 years is vintage... hmm.

Anyways, I'm not here to harp on the age of the polish, but rather its gorgeous color. The only way I can seem to describe it in my mind is as a "glowing, blackened boysenberry". Seems a bit flowery to me, but who I am to question the whims of my brain? While it tends to look like yet another nondescript so-dark-it's-almost-black color under low light, it's in direct sunlight (or under direct desk-light) that this baby lights up. It isn't quite metallic, but it feels wrong to call it a shimmer. It's shiny and pretty and opaque in 1 coat (though I do two anyway, because one just feels incomplete). I just remembered that I wore this on the first day of college last year... maybe I'll keep it on for a week and wear it on the first day of class again! (Granted, all of my classes are online and no one will be able to see my pretty nail polish except for me, but it's better than getting sick, eh?)

Until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Fall is almost here! Revlon Autumn Berry

Today's the first day of September! Along with a seasonable temperature of 70 degrees comes the promise of the sweaters, pumpkin spice, and cool breezes that make autumn my favorite season. Maybe it's just an autumn baby thing (my birthday is 2 months from today!), but as soon as the summer heat starts fading and the leaves start falling, I get all sorts of hyped. What better way to celebrate the upcoming season than with an aptly-titled vintage polish?

Don't ask me when Revlon Autumn Berry came out, because I've got no idea. (If I had to make an educated guess, though, I'd put it in the ballpark of 20-30 years old.) It's just one of those old gold ring Revlons that makes me smile. I have at least 20 of these older Revlons in my collection, and I'd absolutely love to add some more. Based on the lack of paint on the bottle and the fact that it's only about 3/4 full, Autumn Berry was well loved before it fell into my grubby little vintage-loving hands. Here it is in 3 coats + TC.

Autumn Berry is the perfect name for this polish. It's a deep brown-red with a hint of golden shimmer. It's rich, it's sumptuous, and it'd pair very nicely with a sweater and a heavy plaid scarf. It just SCREAMS fall! To be fair, so do a lot of these vintage Revlons - the first ones from my collection that come to mind are Wild One (a blackened berry shimmer) and Iced Cocoa (a rich dark brown shimmer). Do you see why I want more of these old Revlons? They're AWESOME!

Here's an obligatory label & closeup of thumb shot that shows off the shimmer a little more.

I seriously can't get enough of this polish. I've been wanting to wear it again for at least a couple of weeks now, but it just wasn't seasonal yet. I wore all of my brights and neons all August long, and now it's time for my vampy shades to shine! I'm partial to dark colors on my nails, and while I tend to disregard the "rule" that they can only be worn during fall/winter, I had so many new summery shades to try out!

I'll most definitely be keeping this one in my regular rotation well into winter. How could I not? I may also be showing off some of my other old Revlons soon. Until next time... PEACE! xoxo

OPI Ponce de Lilac

You know, for someone who owns a ton of vintage nail polish, I really don't post enough of it on this blog. I'll end up posting something that's 5-10 years old (not old enough to be considered vintage), or some timeless shade like Essie Mademoiselle. I rarely bring out the big guns - my chemical-laden stinkbombs that are older than me. So, that's exactly what I'll be doing today.

Ponce de Lilac is one of those old OPI shades that no one really talks about. I've seen it go for big money on eBay and similar sites, but there's no excitement around it like other ancient OPIs. I got this in a little 3 for $25 sale that someone in the Vintage Polish Collectors Facebook group was running, along with two other oldies (Burnt Sugarloaf and Route Beet Float, two pretty unremarkable brown shades). It came out in 1996 and while I don't think my bottle is from the original release (the bottom label would have looked different), it's definitely from 1998 or earlier, as it has the old bottle style. You know the one, that says "PARIS • LOS ANGELES • ROME" under the OPI logo.



(Like the new nail shape? I tried to go for almond and it sort of worked.)

Here it is in 3 slightly problematic coats. There's the obvious VNL, as well as some lumps and bumps - this polish is not in the best condition. This is a WEIRD color. It's a sort of sheer grayish-blueish with purple shimmer. The closest comparison I have is Revlon Street Wear's Raw or Sinful's Japanese Violet, neither of which I own, but it looks fairly similar based on the pics I've seen. While colors like this are almost pedestrian compared to the holo-duochrome-flakie-microglitter-thermals of today, I can only imagine how this was received in '96. Had this color been done before? (Did the aforementioned similar ones come out before this?) Or were the cool girls clamoring over it? I have to wonder.

I can't capture this polish correctly on camera. It has a certain glow to it that just can't be photographed. I don't think I own anything like this, honestly, and I don't think many (if any) dupes exist. The ones I mentioned above aren't exact, only a little bit similar. You can also see that awesome old label. This style lasted from about 1998 to 2004, and I own quite a few bottles with it. I love the font! It should also be noted that the bottle has no icons on the back.

I'm thinking I should start showing off more of my vintage polish stash, especially the ones that have no/few swatches online, as many of them do. The old China Glazes are particularly elusive, and since I own 48 out of the 98 "Pre-2000" polishes on the ChG wiki, I feel it's my duty to share them with the world. I also have some from the Babes in Toeland series, as well as a couple of never before seen prototype bottles that I should totally archive here.

Well, I know what I'll be doing soon. And until next time... PEACE! xoxo

China Glaze Pool Party & some thoughts about my collection

Looks like I've been posting quite a lot lately, eh? All of this uploading doesn't seem to be having an effect on traffic to my site - still, nobody sees it. That's okay, I mostly post for me as a way to archive my collection. Today my Head2Toe order arrived, and one of the polishes I received is extremely strange.



This is 4 coats of China Glaze Pool Party. Dries down satin but I added some of my fave TC, Seche Vive (not to be confused with Vite). I can't figure this polish out. It's certainly neon, that's for sure, but... what color is it?  In low light, it looks like a bright coral. Under the OttLite, it looks like a searing reddish-orange. Lit by my iPhone's flashlight, it looks neon red. In the bottle, it just looks pink. What the heck is going on with this polish?! It's a chameleon! This picture isn't a very good representation of the color I'm seeing in person, but I don't think I could take an accurate picture if I tried. It's also managed to make my hands look REALLY tan on camera - compare this pic with the one from my last post to see what I mean! In person, I'm as white as can be. Is this polish magic?

Anyways, I've been thinking a lot lately about the size of my collection. I stopped counting a LONG time ago, back when I had around 650 bottles, and I've got no idea how many I have now. My lowest guess is in the 800s, my highest... 1000? That can't be possible! I've currently got one completely full Helmer, a medium-sized USPS box full of vintage ChG, and a plastic tub (roughly 18 x 14 x 6) that's overflowing. I was intending to grab another Helmer at Ikea, only to arrive and notice an hours-long line... there had to be at least a couple hundred people. Hell no! I was not standing in that queue, so it looks like the Helmer will have to wait.

I also had an insane thought regarding my collection... what if I swatched all of my polishes? I had tried to do that using some tips and a plastic finger, but I got about 60 polishes deep before I abandoned the project. This method was messy and inconvenient - the tips can only be reused so many times before they begin to melt due to all the acetone, and the plastic finger was shaped in such a way that I had to bend the tips in order to apply them. I wonder if swatching on my real nails would be easier? It'd definitely take a while to get through all of my polishes, but having a comprehensive catalogue of my collection is something I'm interested in. I also happen to own some rather rare polishes that don't have any swatches online, and I'd love to change that.

Anyways... it's only about 11:30 at night, but I'm quite tired. School starts back up in 2 weeks, and I have a heavy courseload ahead... wish me luck! And until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Gummy apple nails!

I know I said I'd be keeping my confetti nails on for a little while, but I just couldn't. You know why? Whenever I wear star glitter on my nails, the corners tend to peel up and catch on everything. Having any sort of texture on my nails (even just slightly bumpy glitter) bothers me to no end, so I undertook the grueling task of removing all that glitter from my nails. Here's what I replaced it with! Shown in 3 coats with TC.

This polish may be called "Mint", but I don't find that accurate in the slightest. This is a bright green jelly polish. The photos aren't doing it justice - I wouldn't quite call it neon, but it skews more "radioactive green apple" IRL than the sort of kelly green shown in the photo.



This photo of my pointer finger is much closer to the actual color of this polish. Isn't it awesome? I'm a sucker for those squishy jelly shades that look like candy on your fingertips, and this matches that description to a tee. I feel like I could suck on my finger and taste sour apple (not true, of course, but I wish it was)! You could always layer it over white if you're not a fan of VNL, but I've come to love jellies and their fun, unique finish.

While my Head2Toe order is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, I think I might be leaving this shade on for a couple of days. I can already tell that I'll be staring at my nails the entire time I have it on!

Until next time... PEACE! xoxo

My take on confetti nails

Well, hello again! I just can't seem to stay away, huh? As of late, nails have become a central facet of my life yet again. I'm painting them with regularity and putting lots of effort into my nail care routine (if it's any indication, I'm sleeping with gloves on these days). If you saw my last post, you'll also know that I've been getting into nail art! It was never something that interested me until recently - I found myself watching a lot of SimplyNailogical to cope with a bad falling out. Her videos are super fun and silly, providing not only a great distraction from my blues, but the inspiration to dip my toes into some nail art - thank you, Cristine, for reigniting my love for nail care and awakening my new passion for nail art!

I don't know if today's look can really be considered nail art, though - there wasn't any actual skill involved. Basically, I just spent an hour elaborately placing glitter on my nails. There was a trend that made the rounds on Insta last summer called "confetti nails". I actually didn't know about this fad until I found an article about it and I fell totally in love. You can sum up confetti nails in two words: glitter explosion. The philosophy of confetti nails is just to place as many different types of glitter on your nail as possible, and that's exactly what I did. I pulled out the big guns for this one:


1 coat of OPI - Be Magentale With Me for a slight pink tint (hides the yellowness of my nails a bit, also just looks cute)
1 coat of L.A. Colors #652 for a little bit of iridescent pizzazz
Randomly placed on nail:
Love Your Life - Nicole by OPI
Blind Date - Kleancolor
Twinkly Love - Kleancolor
Carnival - NYX Girls
Starry Silver Glitter - NYC

No, I did not get this smattering of glitter by just applying it like regular nail polish - I placed every.single.piece with a toothpick. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Very painstaking and very time-consuming, but I really love the result.








My use of Kleancolor's Twinkly Love is also quite unorthodox. Usually, this polish would consist of chunk pink, blue, and silver holo heart glitters. In my bottle, whether it be from age or improper storage conditions at the dollar store I bought it from, the pink and blue colorants that once coated the heart glitters has peeled off. This leaves only silver hearts and a bunch of pink/blue flaky foily holo pieces. I used these pieces in my confetti look - the most prominent instance in this photo of my left hand would be the blue flake on my pinky finger.

You can also see it here on this macro of my pointer finger - that little holo chunk between the stars at the bottom. Isn't there something so fun and whimsical about this look? It’s the perfect balance of super-cute ultra-glittery girly fun without being TOO in your face and obnoxious about it. Especially if you opt not to cover the whole nail like I did - but that was less about keeping the look subdued and more about the fact that I was getting tired of gingerly placing glitter on my nails. It gets tiring after a while! Still, I had fun deciding where to place each glitter, trying to achieve a purposeful yet playful look. I didn’t want it look like I individually placed every piece - confetti is pretty messy, right? I think I was able to achieve that feeling of orchestrated chaos.

While I’m still unsure if this counts as nail art, I definitely did have fun with it, and I love the result! I’m waiting on a Head2Toe order that’s set to arrive in a couple of days, so I’m definitely keeping this on until my new polishes arrive. I did something uncharacteristic and made a small order consisting of things I was specifically looking for. A neon pink? A yellow-toned orange? An opaque pinky nude? A ridge filler? All stuff that I was already looking for. Very surprisingly for me to exercise that kind of self restraint! I think I’ll also be heading to Ikea today to pick up another Helmer - my collection has gotten out of control! Well... until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Nail art has my heart

Lately, I've had a lot of free time on my hands, what with the whole coronavirus thing and all. School doesn't start back up for a few more weeks, and aside from the odd task around the house, I'm not doing much. Obviously, I've been painting my nails constantly, and while a fresh coat of plain creme polish is easy and effective, it's grown a little... boring. I've had some nail art tools (a thin brush and some dotting tools) collecting dust for the longest time, so I got to thinking... why not dip my toes (or my fingers, I should say) into the wonderful world of nail art? I've been painting my nails regularly for about 2 years now, and with all this practice has come great dexterity and steadiness, which have proved very useful in my nail art endeavors. Let me show you some of the looks I've done in the past month or so!

Base - Essie Mademoiselle

White - Orly French Manicure Softest White

Black - Jordana Black

Silver glitter - Pure Ice Beware

Here you have a dotticure I did about a month ago. I had initially tried traditional polka dots before realizing this - I absolutely cannot do normal polka dots. I have a tough time placing them at regular intervals, and they end up misaligned. So, I thought, why don't I just smack them on my nails willy-nilly and see what happens? This is the result - a gradient effect using multiple different colors. I actually really like how this turned out, and so did others - I posted this in a nail polish subreddit and got almost 200 upvotes! 

Base - Orly French Manicure Softest White

Black - Jordana Black

Red - OPI Big Apple Red

Yellow - OPI Towel Me About It

Blue - Nicole by OPI I Sea You and Raise You

Silver glitter - Pure Ice Beware

Next up is this fun and colorful leopard print look. I also really, really like how this turned out - leopard print looks a lot more complicated than it is! You can see that my black polish got a little bit stringy after sitting out in a puddle to dip my dotting tool into, resulting in fine black lines as I lifted the dotting tool away. Still, I think this look is a lot of fun, and I couldn't stop staring at my nails when I had it on. I showed it to my boyfriend and he said it gave him major 80s vibes - I have to agree!

Green - Revlon Sassy

Red - OPI Big Apple Red

Yellow - OPI Towel Me About It

Here's a sweet little strawberry accent nail! I thought this was so cute that I ended up wearing it for about a week. I was a little too scared to attempt the strawberry on all of my nails, but I'm thinking I may try it at some point - my sister wanted me to replicate this on her!

Gold - Urban Outfitters Fools Gold

Black - Jordana Black

And lastly, here's my latest creation (which I'm still wearing now) - gold glitter with a black French tip! While definitely the most simple and easy to achieve out of the bunch, I'm super proud of how they turned out! The tips are totally freehand - I didn't think I had enough control to get them so clean looking, but I underestimated myself! I did some very minimal cleanup with an angled brush, but there was no tape or vinyls involved. Here's a tip for all you polish lovers - Urban Outfitters has really high quality polishes for SUPER cheap. They're currently running a 3 for $10 sale online - I got this one, as well as a blue holo glitter and a highlighter yellow creme.

Well, it looks like that'll be all for today! I'll definitely continue my nail art adventure - not only is it pretty, but SO fun! I love trying out new designs, and practice makes perfect! Until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Don't you step on my blue suede shoes!

Hello hello! I am back with another lovely polish that I received today in the mail. It's an oldie but a goodie - #150 Suede Shoes from Sation. This is my first Sation polish, and it will probably be my last - these old ones go for quite a pretty penny on eBay! This was part of a lot with some other lovely blue polishes, and when the seller offered a special discount, I knew I had to snap it up! Seen below in 2 smooth, easy coats.



This beauty is a vivid blue shimmer chock full of silvery white glitter. It would have been lovely on its own, but that glitter gives it an extra "oomph" that takes it to the next level for me. Not only that, but as mentioned above, the formula is simply amazing! I worried that it might be a little bit sheer due to its age, but I stand corrected - 2 thin coats is enough to get it up to bottle color, totally opaque. Drying time is about average.

Gosh! I just can't stop looking at my nails. I've been obsessed with blues lately - whether it be the night-sky effect of Nat Robbins' "Midnight Hour", the periwinkle glimmer of Essie's "Bikini so Teeny", or a beautiful vibrant hue like this one. I think it might be my fourth favorite color to wear on my nails, after purple, green, and red (in no particular order). I feel pretty fortunate to have scooped this one up, as I didn't see any other listings in my eBay travels. Lucky me!

I've been pretty slow buying polish lately, but I do have quite a few exciting finds that I have yet to show off on here - maybe they'll pop up soon! Thanks for reading - until next time... PEACE! xoxo

NOTD: Essie Fifth Avenue and why I adore it

Hello once again! I'm starting to get really... really... bored. School has officially ended for the semester, so I don't have any more essays or write-ups to focus on. There's only so much Pinterest browsing and Youtube watching I can do before it gets old. So, then I turn to online shopping and promptly remember that I don't have a job and can't be blowing my money. Despite this, I recently purchased 10 polishes on my favorite site, Head2Toe Beauty. I am very happy with most of them, and will probably be showcasing them here in the coming weeks.

First up is Essie Fifth Avenue. This polish is old news by now, but it's new to me, and I must say that I am in LOVE with it. Here is 2 easy coats with Essie Good to Go tc. You could TOTALLY get away with 1 coat if you're in a rush or just feeling lazy and don't mind a tidbit of VNL, but I had the tiiiiiniest little bald spot on my thumb and wanted full opacity.



It's simply the perfect bright orange-red with nary a cool undertone in sight. I have been looking for a cheery tomato red like this for quite a while, but I could never quite nail it (pun intended). Every red I picked up ended up either leaning too berry-ish or too cool-toned, and none of them were as bright as I wanted. But then I stumbled across this beauty on Head2Toe, took my chances, and it ended up being exactly what I was looking for!
I reeeally love how this looks with my skintone. Cool-toned reds always seem to accentuate my cool undertones and make my skin look much more red than it actually is. This one, though, perfectly compliments it.
The photo seriously does not do it justice. I am in loooove with this color. It looks almost orange in some lights, but under the OttLight (which also doubles as my desk light), is just the most perfect eye-searing tomato hue, and I can't stop looking at it. I'm not a believer in matching your nail polish to the season - I wear whatever I want whenever - but this is a super summery color and totally appropriate for the warmer days ahead.
Do you think I drove home how much I adore this polish? Lol. I can see myself reaching for this quite a lot. I might have to get a backup at some point! Anyways... until next time... PEACE! xoxo

NOTD glitter fun *~*

Hello once again! It's been a few months since I last popped up here, which is surprising considering how un-busy I've been as of late. Haven't we all? School is winding down for the semester and I'm currently out of a job, so my days have been filled with anime (I recently finished Jojo's Bizarre Adventure aka the best anime ever and am now 8 episodes deep into Yu Yu Hakusho, for anybody who cares) and waaay too much snacking!
That being said, I honestly haven't been painting my nails as often as you'd think. If you can believe it, I've grown bored with many of the polishes in my collection, which is now hovering at around 750-ish. I recently picked up Essie's Style Cartel at CVS but it failed to wow me. I see a Head2Toe order in my near future, but until then, I've whipped out one of my favorites as of late - Essie Mademoiselle!

I honestly cannot put into words the love I have for Mademoiselle. It certainly deserves the good reputation it has. It's the perfect sheer pink - soft, sweet, girly, understated, and sophisticated. It gives your nails a put-together, polished look without being too obvious or offensive. As much as I adore this color, though, I have to admit that it gets a little... boring. Especially when you wear it all the time, as I have been. So what better way to spice it up than a glitter gradient? They're insanely easy and instantly upgrade your manicure while adding a whimsical touch.



You can see how much I've been loving Mademoiselle with that fill line! What you're seeing here is 5 coat with Pure Ice's "Beware" on top. I can explain the 5 coats - I've been wearing this polish for a few days now, and gradually adding coats as I go. The glitter gradient freshens it up so much! This would be a great way to cover up chips or tip wear.

Anyways, I'm procrastinating. I should be working on my sociology homework right now. School isn't over just yet!

PEACE! xoxo

Nicole by OPI - NOTD and swatch comparisons

Hello hello! Sorry for my absence. For the past few months, nail polish really hasn't been on my mind. Work and school have been busy, and I just haven't had the time to sit down and talk about polish. However, my passion for polish was recently re-invigorated, and I bought a 10-pack of mystery Nicole by OPI polishes. I ended up receiving a pretty good selection, which I will list:

Goodbye Shoes (green-grey creme)
Carrie'd Away (gold glitter)
Listen to Your Momager! (dark blue shimmer)
I Sea You and Raise You (true blue creme)
It's Possible (champagne metallic/shimmer)
Candy is Dandy (from the "gumdrops" series - pink and holo textured glitter)
Sweet Daisy (salmon creme)
Sweet Surrender (pinkish-white creme)
Carnival Cotton Candy (pink creme)
Show You Care (dark purple shimmer)

Overall, this is a pretty good range of colors. The formula is decent on all of them except Listen To Your Momager! which is sheer and runny. I'm currently wearing Carnival Cotton Candy, which is a true Barbie pink.


3 coats + Essie "Good to Go" TC

I actually really like this color because I don't have anything like it in my collection. Most of the pinks I own have at least a little shimmer to them, and of the pink cremes I have, none are this color. I find that the formula on these pinks can be kinda iffy, but this formula is actually pretty good - nice and smooth with minimal streaking! You could definitely get away with 2 coats, I just added one more because I did have a little bit of streaking. It evened out well!



This is such a girly, sweet color - definitely not for everyone, but if you are a girly girl you'll love this! The first picture is much more accurate to the actual color - it's a really cute pink that I imagine would look best on especially light or dark skin tones.

The other polish from this lot that I wanted to discuss is Show You Care. While I haven't worn a full mani of this yet, I surely will soon! It's right up my alley - a dark, shimmery purple. I'm a sucker for polishes that are almost black with a tinge of color, and this certainly matches that description. It might be kind of hard to see, so click on the photo for full resolution.



Look at that shimmer! How pretty is that? I figured I probably had a dupe for this somewhere in my collection since I'm drawn to these colors, so I pulled out a few of my dark purples to do a comparison:
Essie Sexy Divide
Creative Deep Velvet
China Glaze That Look
Revlon StreetWear Grape

It was very hard to capture the colors accurately, so I turned up the contrast a little bit. Sorry for my weird handwriting!



As you can see, none of them are an exact match. I'd say that Deep Velvet comes the closest, but it's a tinge more red than Show You Care. The others are far too light. So maybe I don't have a dupe for this one...!

I always struggle with ending these posts. How do I close them out in a good way? Maybe I'll never figure it out. Until next time.... PEACE! xoxo :P