May haul and musings

Hello again! 

I've decided that at the end of each month I will try to do a monthly haul post of all of the new nail polish I've accumulated. I am TRYING, however, to behave myself and not buy something nail or beauty related every time I go into Target or a drugstore. It's hard though, because I like to think of myself as going through what I call my "rubber band" phase. For the longest time I spent money strictly based on need. I literally almost never bought anything for myself, except a quarterly Bath & Body Works splurge to get my favorite lotions and body wash (which are Moonlight Path and Warm Vanilla Sugar---for the record). I just didn't care about buying things for myself, I cared more about saving money. But now I realize spending some money here and there isn't gonna break the bank... hence the rubber band theory. I think that since I have held back for SO LONG I'm like a rubber band that has been pulled tight and released---now I want to buy SO many things! It's really not good....


I've done a good job on slowing my roll on buying nail polish, but last month I bought a LOT of makeup. The majority of it was two ColourPop orders. If you don't know much about ColourPop, they are a small company based here in L.A. that makes really good products that are not expensive. I started with their Lippie Stix and then got into their Super Shock Shadows. I also have one of their blushes. I am obsessed, their packaging is just so CUTE, and the products are just so amazing, but I am telling myself that during the month of June I need behave myself and I've challenged myself to not buy anything. Well, that didn't work because I came across a REALLY sweet deal for four Essie polishes on eBay at the start of the month, but after that I SWEAR I'm done! Anyway... back to the nail polish haul...

My May haul

This month I actually only purchased two of the six new bottles I got, so that's good, and the two that I bought were SUPER scores. I purchased the two bottles of Essie myself, and the rest were gifts. Let's start with the Essie polishes because those were awesome...

Essie: Go Ginza and Haute As Hello

So, I had heard a rumor that a local swap meet had sellers with brand name nail polish for really cheap, so I finally convinced the hubby to take a trip with me last weekend. If you are in Southern California this is the swap meet at Cypress College each weekend. It's HUGE. It actually took us a while to find the booth in question, but we finally did and they had a big stash of Essie polishes that they were selling for $3 each, no tax. I bought Go Ginza (which was the one I was most excited about) and Haute As Hello. 

Essie: Go Ginza

1). Essie--Go Ginza: I've been wanting this polish for a while, and when I found it at the swap meet I was SO excited! It was like finding buried treasure, lol. The formula is kind of... meh. Not great, but not the worst ever. But the color is so pretty... it's like a pale pink with the smallest drop of purple in it. Of all the polishes in this haul this is the only one I've done a full manicure with so far. It took three coats to get it fully opaque and leveled out, but I still love it. 

Essie: Haute As Hello

2). Essie--Haute As Hello: This shade just sort of caught my eye because it was just so bright and color saturated. It's a raspberry shade that is really pretty and I think it could work well all year round. I swatched it on one finger and the formula is REALLY good. It applied really smoothly and it is very opaque, arguably even a one-coater. This will be good for nail art, too. 

China Glaze: First Mate

3). China Glaze--First Mate: This is my first China Glaze nail polish, given to me by my wonderful co-worker, and this color is fantastic!! It's the kind of shade that's really dark, and you worry that when you put it on it'll be so dark that it just looks black, but this polish does NOT lose its color integrity... when it's on it it LOOKS like you're wearing navy. The formula was TERRIFIC: smooth, super opaque, a one-coater. It also dried pretty fast on my nail. Love, love, LOVE this polish. 

Finger Paints: Magenta Mural

4). Finger Paints--Magenta Mural: This is a really pretty purple shade that my dear co-worker also gave me this month, it has a bit of a shimmer to it that definitely shows up on the nail. I'm not really familiar with Finger Paints, so this will be my introduction to the brand, and I have a feeling my Mom will really like this color, so I foresee me using this to do her nails in the future. 

And lastly, we have two shades my Mom got for me this month...

Bonita: Hydrangeas Are My Fav

5). Bonita--Hydrangeas Are My Fav: So, my Mom totally picked this one out because purple is her favorite color and wants me to do her nails with it, but that's fine by me! This nail polish actually is a really nice color. The first coat had me worried because it was patchy and awful, but by some miracle the second coat completely fixed it all and I was actually pretty impressed. I am pretty sure she got this at the 99 Cents Only store because it came in the same blister packaging as another one I bought for myself a while back. 

Sally Hansen: All Fired Up

6). Sally Hansen--All Fired Up: Okay, stop the presses... This nail polish may have THE BEST FORMULA IN THE KNOWN WORLD. Seriously. To say it is smooth is an understatement. To say it's a joy to apply is an understatement. It LITERALLY perfection. I'd mentioned to my Mom that I wanted a red nail polish with orange undertones after she came over one day with her nails done at the salon in a shade like this, and she went out and found this for me! How sweet is she? She got this at Target, so it's safe to say she paid full retail price which, for this line, is around $7-$8. It's my first time trying anything from the Complete Salon Manicure line, and I am very impressed. I know that the idea behind this line is that you are supposed to be getting everything in one---base coat, nail strengthener, top coat, etc----but we'll see. Maybe I'll do one hand as Sally Hansen intended, and one hand my normal way with my own base coat and top coat and then see how they compare after a week. But this the most exciting new addition to my collection this month, only because it was a complete surprise and very, very impressive, formula-wise. I cannot wait to do a full manicure with this!


So that's everything I collected in May. Next month's haul should be significantly smaller due to my shopping moratorium, but that's okay with me! Until next time, happy polishing!