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

OPI Designer Series Extravagance, Lapis and Mystery

Hey everybody!  I am really bummed today.  I was supposed to see my beloved Mr. Sweets this weekend, but Hurricane Joaquin has put an end to our plans. :'(  So I decided instead to treat you all to a quick post of a few more of my amazing OPI Designer Series finds from the clearance rack.

DS Extravagance is still a very popular polish and one that is probably still on many a wish list.  I think (?) it was released around 2008.  It is a beautiful purple/wine jelly base filled with holographic shimmer.  This is two coats, but I could have used three, as I spot a bald patch on yon index finger! :o  Extravagance is easy to apply and wears quite well.

DS Lapis was released in 2013 (along with Pewter) as a textured polish.  The color is iolite blue, which has a hint of violet.  It's full of silver shimmer and dries matte, but as you can see, it has a distinct sheen.  As you know, I'm not really a matte girl, so I topcoated mine and wore it to work the following day with the intention of getting a topcoat pic that night as well.  But much to my dismay and surprise, this polish chipped like crazy, even with topcoat, within a few hours!  I was so disappointed too, because Lapis really is a stunning color, and the sparkle is out of this world.

The 2009 release DS Mystery is just that.  I put this on and still had no idea what color it was.  It's extremely dark and rather confusing.  In the bottle, Mystery looks black with a heavy gold shimmer.  On the nail, it's blackened purple, and the gold seems not as obvious.  It's weird.  I've seen other photos of Mystery that looked more interesting, but on me, something just got lost.  It wasn't any better in person, either. :/

Do you have any of these Designer Series shades?  What is your opinion of them?  And did you notice the pliers marks on Mystery's bottle lid? :)

As always, 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! 

Hard Candy A Mermaid's Tale and Wild Child

Hey everybody!  How is your week going so far?  

I may not have spent the past few months blogging about my polish purchases, but I did in fact *make* polish purchases. :)  On one of my more recent polish shopping jaunts with Mr. Sweets,  I picked up two of the new 2015 releases by Hard Candy:  Wild Child and A Mermaid's Tale.  I was drawn to the former due to its combination of duochrome and glitter.  I purchased the latter because I always buy polish with mermaid names...I think there must be 72 out there named Mermaid's Tale. 

So this particular A Mermaid's Tale is a medium electric blue shimmer that has a slight green undertone.

The formula is good, with an easy and non-messy application.  It's a little sheer so you may want to use 3 coats.  And what is up with my fingers in these pics?  They look absolutely cadaverous.  Oh well..early Halloween! :/

Wild Child is the more complex of the two.  It's a medium purple shimmer with a slight green duochrome that doesn't really translate on the nail.  But in my opinion, Wild Child's best feature is its blue microglitter.  Yay sparkle!

Mmmmm...shimmer.  And tiny blue glitter.  Niiiice.  Wild Child is also a sheer little number...I'm wearing three coats in the pics, which covered up Mr. VaNeLi quite nicely.

So has Hard Candy been releasing anything lately that has gotten your attention?  I'm always on the lookout for interesting drugstore/big box store polishes.  Hard Candy polishes are sold at Wal-Mart (which I avoid like the plague...but you know) for $4 each.  

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day! :)

Pretty Jelly Goes Back to School

Hey everybody!  Yes, it's me.  Hugs and kisses all around!

Nothing brings one out of dormancy quite like a new collection from a favorite brand.  The Pretty Jelly Back to School Brights collection is a fabulous array of *this close to neon* scattered/linear holos that is even prettier in person than in photos.  The colors are a nod to all those grammar school memories we have...well, to be totally honest, we 70's grammar school kids didn't exactly have neon things yet, but I digress...

All the polishes here dry very quickly to a semi-matte finish.  I used top coat on each because, of course, I like to shine.  Let's take a look! 

First up is a polish so full of yumness that it may very well be caloric:  Scented Markers.



Scented Markers were NOT invented in the 1970's.  But never mind that...look at this gorgeous purple!  I would describe it as mulberry-tinged bright orchid.  How's that for specific?  

Next we have every kid's favorite thing in the world:  Pop Quiz!  Ah, I can still remember the sounds of groaning across the classroom...

Pop Quiz is described as coral, but on me it's a gentle apricot.  It's a good bit brighter in indirect light.  I used three coats of this one to cover up Mr. VaNeLi.  I wore this one this week for three days before it finally gave in and chipped. 

The last Back to School polish I have is a lovely bright pink called Book Fair.  I loved Book Fair time.  I bought the coolest ever coloring book once that looked just like those popular adult coloring books around today.  I'm such a visionary. :)

Book Fair is the most linear-leaning holo of the three.  This hot pink is bright, sparkly and electric.

Be sure to check out the Back to School Brights collection on Etsy for the rest of the collection!  I cannot recommend Pretty Jelly enough for consistently good formulas, interesting color choices, and yes - intelligent polish names. 

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

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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Coming Around...

Hey everybody!!  Wow, I've missed you all! 

I am slowly getting back into the swing of things after my 3 month long hiatus.  So much has changed for me personally since my last blog post...I'm still trying to get over it. :/  I thought I would show you some of the things I've been wearing since June.

butter LONDON Shag - metallic and shimmery and gorgeous and chipped all over the place...

Orly Star Trooper - coffee-colored jelly and white glitter!  Yikes, it's pretty!! Oh, and this...

Zoya Payton - imagine blackberry jam where the seeds are holo.  Yep.

China Glaze Optical Illusion - my absolute favorite microglitter!

Zoya Aurora (complete with tip wear!)

I hope you all have enjoyed your summer and are ready to listen to me whine about the slow-poke arrival of our Southern autumn. :)

And a special thank you to my co-bloggers and friends Liesl, Yadi, Christine, and Emily for checking on me over the past weeks.  It means more than you know. <3

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day. 

The Blogger Made Me Do It: Sally Hansen Open Mica Night

Hey everybody!  I know you all are ready for my special little blame game in which I don't accept responsibility for my polish buying.  Today's guilty culprit is Yadi of Night Swatcher!  I am not usually somebody who is drawn to glitter toppers, but when I saw Sally Hansen Open Mica Night on Yadi's blog, well...I knew it should be mine.  After all, she specifically said we needed it in our lives. :)

YIKES!!  It's holo AND square!!  What a gor-gee-ous topper Open Mica Night is.  Look at that bottle shot!!  This lovely glitter spread well, but since it's so chunky, it needed a little help with landing in all the right places. ;)

I dabbed on Open Mica Night over Nicole by OPI Back to Reality...TV, which is a rather strange little number.  It's a dusty, deep periwinkle with a sludgy look about it, and it's got a pink shimmer.  It's very unusual, but I like it.  I debated on using such a flashy topper as Open Mica Night over it because of the shimmer, but I love the result.  Rule #3:  Shimmer makes the world a happier place!

Now, once more, let the colors and flash assault your eyes!!

AND...let me add one more thing to the awesomeness of this mani:  I used OPI's new Glitter Off as my base coat, so no worries about busting out the old foil tonight when I change.  I have read some negative reviews about Glitter Off, but I have to tell you that it works fantastically with my chemistry.  So, if you're like me, and butter LONDON chips like crazy on you, check out Glitter Off for all your non-foil, glitter-friendly needs! :)

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