Julie G Candy Shoppe Colors

Hey everybody!  Today I'm showing the Candy Shoppe Colors from the fabulous drugstore brand Julie G.  I purchased these during a Polish Shopping Weekend back in the spring.  And yeah, yeah, I'm just now posting about them.  But I promise you'll love them. :D

The Candy Shoppe Colors collection consists of 9 colors, and I've got 6 of them here.  These polishes have a "jelly bean finish", and this description is dead-on.  They look/feel like a jellybean, a matte jelly.  I can't vouch for the taste, however.  And being jellies, they are sheer but build up pretty nicely in 3 coats.  Mr. VaNeLi kept me lots of company for these pics, but I didn't mind in this case.

Pixi Stick is a really pretty medium pink.  I adore this one!

Sour Apple is a medium green that's a touch grassy and quite flattering.

Lemon Drop is a bright yellow that's as yellow as a lemon meringue pie.  Mmmm.  My Mom makes really good lemon meringue pie, but I digress...  I didn't find Lemon Drop to be overly streaky, given its Quite Yellow Status, but I did use 4 coats for this one.

Sour Grape is a medium-toned purple with a blue undertone.  Of course I liked this one quite a bit.  I mean, it's purple.  And there's Angelo's hair.

Sweet Tooth, or as I could call it, "my personal affliction", is a bright medium blue.  The combination of this fun color with the jelly bean finish is so darn cute.  But *caution* - this one stains.  But oh, isn't it worth it? :)

 

Wild Cherry is a ripe, juicy red that looks simply yum.  I used 4 coats on this one, because for some insane reason, Mr. VaNeLi rears his ugly head most often whilst I sport a red polish.  Go figure.

The remaining colors I didn't pick up from the collection are Licorice (black), Lollipop (red-toned purple), and Candy Shop (orange).  I'm kinda wishing now I'd picked them up...I thought that Licorice may cause me application woes, but these formulas are so good that I don't think it would.  My personal favorites from my purchases are Sweet Tooth and Pixi Stick.

Julie G polishes are sold at Rite Aid and online at Jesse's Girl.  They retail for $3.99 each.  As I've said for a long time, Julie G is a good drugstore polish.  They're an addict's best friend!  Or worst nightmare? 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

Sally Hansen Plumtarius and Age of Aquarius

Hey everybody!  My, the title of this post sounds like it could be a Dr. Seuss book. 

Tonight I'm showing you a couple more drugstore finds from a Mr. Sweets Polish Shopping Weekend from last spring.  Sally Hansen released a Complete Salon Manicure limited collection called Beachside Astrologer that I have seen exactly one (1) time...anywhere.  Now that's limited.  This collection is made up of 12 (of course) shades representing each zodiacal sign.

I, being the utterly predictable sort that I am, was immediately drawn to Plumtarius.

Plumtarius is a blue-leaning purple creme with an excellent formula.  This color is slightly dusty.  Although it was released in a spring collection, it is easily appropriate for fall.  Very nice.

The moon is in the seventh house...Jupiter has aligned with Mars...more hippie stuff...and it's the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!  You twenty-somethings have no idea what I just said, do you? :)

Age of Aquarius is a blue-leaning jade green creme that also has that lovely, dusty autumn feel to it.  And Age of Aquarius makes me look only 23% crustacean!  Greasy bottle thumbprint and paper cut not included.

The very elusive Beachside Astrologer collection had some very nice offerings, some classic colors with a bit of twist.  Complete Salon Manicure, in my opinion, has consistently good formulas and continues to impress me with application and wear time.  I hope I run into this horoscope again someday!

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day! 

Pretty Jelly A Novel Christmas Collection... and a Giveaway!

Hey everybody!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week.  Anytime I get 4 days off in a row AND get to hang out with Mr. Sweets is a wonderful time for me. Not to mention, Thanksgiving is just a special time, period. :)

I have been out of commission for a couple of weeks due to some rather inconvenient breakage, but I'm back tonight with the new Christmas collection from the incomparable Pretty Jelly.  The collection, entitled A Novel Christmas, is comprised of six beautiful holo shades all named after well-known Christmas stories.

I will begin by saying that all six of these had great formulas with little or no cleanup.  And you know how much I love creator Liz's fabulously classy polish names. ;)

The Night Before is an indigo blue scattered/linear hybrid holo.  I probably don't need to tell you that my love of all things indigo was further deepened with this beauty.  This is the color of the velvety night sky that saw the arrival of St. Nicholas during the Clement Moore family's long winter's nap.

Christmas Carol is a raspberry red linear holo.  This gorgeous polish has enough gold shimmer to impress even Ebenezer Scrooge...AND all the Spirits.  Well, maybe not Christmas Future...that guy was incorrigible! :P

He may be a mean one, but The Grinch's namesake polish is totally wonderful.  The color is a slightly darker emerald with a blue and pink shimmer.  It is quite the chameleon in different lighting...Christmas fir one minute, seasick crocodile the next!  Cindy Lou (and Whoville) - approved!

Poor Jim and Della.  They just got all crossed up.  Oh well, at least Della's new short 'do won't affect her nails. :P  Gift of Magi is a navy blue linear holo with gold flecks.  It's a true navy and doesn't have the violet tone of The Night Before.

I love Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, but I confess, the opening notes of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy always give me a mental picture of giggly, rotten little kids tiptoeing around at night to peak inside their Christmas presents. :P  But hey, there's nothing naughty about this Sugar Plum Fairy!  It's a medium-deep orchid purple with a lovely linear holo.  Yikes, this is yummy.

 

Polar Express is the most complex polish of the collection.  It's loaded in tiny blue and pink shimmer, which gives it a charcoal foil appearance indoors.  In the sun, it's a multicolored light show in a nearly black base.  It looks as wintry and magical as the ride aboard the famous Christmas train. 

Pretty Jelly's stunning A Novel Christmas collection is available on Etsy.  But, hey!  How would you like to win it? :)  Liz of Pretty Jelly is very graciously sponsoring my giveaway - one prize of the entire A Novel Christmas collection!  This giveaway is for US only and will run through midnight, 12/12/14.  Good luck on winning this beautiful set from Pretty Jelly!

As always, thank you for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3


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Financial Responsibility, Pt. 2: Essie Parka Perfect

Hey everybody!  How has your weekend been?  Mine has been nice, especially because yesterday was cloudy and windy and 50-something.  That's like a vacation for me! :)

Today I am continuing my post series on never-worns, and today's star of my irresponsibility is Essie.  Parka Perfect was released for Winter 2013, and that was a collection that I really liked a lot.  As an added bonus, imagine my surprise when Parka Perfect turned out to be not typically Essie-tastically runny! 

Parka Perfect is a dusty blue-grey-green color that has a slight shimmer in the bottle.  Unfortunately, I never could see any shimmer on my nails.  However, that didn't stop me from loving this polish.  The formula is pretty great.  I used two coats for opacity.  Oh, and never mind the tip wear in the pics.  I took these a whole DAY after application, and frankly, I'm surprised there wasn't MORE tip wear. *sigh*

Did you pick up Parka Perfect last year?   I love shades like this one...you know, when you don't really know what to call it, but it seems to look good with about anything. :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

Pretty Jelly Embroidery

Hey everybody!  I hope your day has been fabulous.  Weather update:  it's still in the upper 80's, and I'm still sweating.  Thought you'd all like to know that.

Well, on a much lighter note, I have another warm and cozy shade from Pretty Jelly's new Rich Fabrics collection to show you, and this one is another beauty.  First we saw the lovely and complex Brocade...now meet the elegant Embroidery.

 

Embroidery is a gorgeous, spruce-like green with a tiny dash of a blue undertone and tons of golden shimmer.  This polish is just as fascinating as Brocade in that it looks like a velvety foil in the shade.  It even applies like a foil...very easily for low-level painters like myself!

But add some light, and that scattered/linear holo effect bursts onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere.  Embroidery clearly leads a double life, and I LOVE it!!  That is normally a bad trait in a human being; but hey, this is nail polish.  I'll let it slide this time.  And there is just something about the holographic effect that was meant to go with green.  Am I wrong here?  I think it's the reptilian look it creates.

This is not your grandma's embroidery.

AHHHH...it's just so pretty.  No doilies here, folks...just good stuff. 

You can find Embroidery in the Pretty Jelly Etsy store.  Check out all of creator Liz's beautiful polishes.  She not only makes super-interesting creations, but she gives them the most charmingly intelligent names.  No "Leprechaun Guts" or anything of the classless persuasion. :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

My New Sinful Colors Picks! Embers Only and Peppered Amazon

Hey everybody!  It's Friday!  Isn't that nice? :)  And talk about nice (I love segues), our favorite super-affordable-but-unfortunately-named brand, Sinful Colors, has come out with some beautiful new shades for summer!  I was on my monthly drugstore polish shop fest with Mr. Sweets looking for Hot Chili, thanks to Liesl Loves Pretty Things and the way she makes me want AWL the polishes, and not only did I find Hot Chili, but I also picked up two of the new shades.

First up is Embers Only...heh heh heh!!!  Embers Only!!  Do you all remember Members Only jackets?  Of course you don't.  You weren't born back then.  But I digress.

Ooooooh.  That's mighty nice.  Embers Only is a true red...to me it doesn't lean orange or blue...it's just red.  It's bright too, and it's got a pink shimmer and sparse pink and gold glitter.  This one is a crelly and a little thin.  I used 3 coats of Embers Only for pretty good opacity.

My best high school bud Todd had a Members Only jacket back in 1983.  He wore it with his parachute pants and looked totally awesome!  But again, I digress...

I made the comment to my friend Yadi at Night Swatcher that I am making the BOLD prediction that this next shade will be the coveted Sinful Colors shade of the year:  Peppered Amazon.  Peppered Amazon??!!  :/

My bottle had spottitis wonkimus for some reason, but try to overlook that and look at how utterly fantastic Peppered Amazon is!!  It's a creamy, dreamy, slightly dusty jade that's loaded with more silver shimmer than an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras.  This is an unusual shade and finish of green, and it's gorgeous!  Application was fabulous on this one, and I used 2 coats.

What do you think of these Sinful Colors shades?  I'm loving Embers Only, but Peppered Amazon is SO lovely that I am anticipating the possible arrival of Salted Nile for autumn? :P  I purchased these at Rite Aid. 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

Rimmel Sweetie Crush Collection

 
Hey everybody!  

Do you all like sugar as much as I do?  What a fib...nobody could possibly like sugar as much as I do!  I am a moderately ashamed sugar addict.  I should be more ashamed than I am, but that would only depress me and cause me to stress eat more sugar.  What a dilemma.  Fortunately, I have a sweet offering today without the calories and ensuing guilt complex! :P  Rimmel London has released a limited edition texture collection called Sweetie Crush, a yummy set of pastels.  I will say up front that all the colors were pretty sheer, and I used 3 coats of each.

First is Sherbet Sweetheart, a pale yellow.  This was a surprise favorite for me.  Could it be because it looks like butter cream frosting?  Hmmm...

Next is a gorgeous blue called Blueberry Whizz.  It's a true pale blue...no aqua undertones.  The sheen gives this one a blue fairy look. :)

The pink (!!!) of the Sweetie Crush collection is called Candyfloss Cutie.  Let me just say that the British have the most adorable name ever for cotton candy.  Come on...isn't it? :)  Candyfloss Cutie is a light pink with the *tiniest* touch of rose, but not enough for it to appear indecisive and annoying.

Ahhh, pale green texture!  And such an unusual color at that.  I wore Fizzy Applelicious to the office today,  and it's such a pale color that you have to look closely to see it's green.  It's pretty though and looks a bit like a neutral.

Violet Swizzle...what can I say about this lavender except that it's beautiful?? :)  This is actually very pale too, paler than the photos show.  Springy and girly.

The Sweetie Crush collection bottles are small at .27 oz., but I paid a whopping $1.29 a bottle for each.  I found these at Kmart and have not seen them anywhere else.  I like their pale, ethereal colors and their silvery sheen.  As far as the texture goes, I would say they are somewhere between Zoya Pixie Dust and Julie G Gumdrops.

Have you seen the Sweetie Crush collection around?  I would have to say my favorite is Blueberry Whizz. :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3