Birthday Haul

My birthday week (haha) is off to a great start! I have a really funny story to share... I have a co-worker, who is the most amazing co-worker in the history of co-workers. And this fabulous person has an equally fabulous 5-year old granddaughter. This little girl is the type of kid who is 5-going on-25. She is a smart little lady who knows exactly what she wants, and apparently what she wanted this week was to pick out some nail polish for me for my birthday. How adorable, right? But the super exciting part is that somehow this tiny little person, who hasn't even made it to grade school yet, somehow managed to pick out the absolute PERFECT polishes for me, including three specific shades I have been wanting, and two bottles from a brand that I have been wanting to try. I have no explanation for this, other than that she just might be my soul sister. 

So, with the exception of these first 3 polishes (which I bought), everything else was a birthday gift from my co-worker's darling granddaughter. 

Lust For Lilac, Dust Rose, and Sail La Vie

Essie -- Bikini So Teeny

I blame a lot of my nail polish obsession on Essie. Those cute square bottles in all of those fabulous shades just make my little heart flutter. Sadly, they retail for way more than I'd willingly fork over ($8.50), even for **gorgeous** nail polish. Enter eBay, and my new (bad) habit. I scored Bikini So Teeny, along with Romper Room, Sand Tropez, and Mint Candy Apple together as a lot of four for $14.95, with free shipping. That's roughly $3.74 each, and now I am constantly on the hunt for sweet deals. On my ring finger in this picture is Essie's Lilacism, which I also got on eBay for $4.67 (the polish was $1.99, plus $2.68 shipping). 

Essie's Bikini So Teeny and Lilacism

But back to Bikini So Teeny... I love the color blue, especially pastel shades, but wasn't so sure I'd like it on my nails. My only other experience with blue nail polish had been with shades of navy, and I absolutely HATE the way that color looks on my nails. So I was very pleasantly surprised with how beautiful Bikini So Teeny was, and the fact that I didn't want to take it off immediately, screaming (which is how I've felt with the before mentioned shades of blue). This shade is an absolute dream, and I really think it should be a must-have for all nail polish lovers. 

[L-R] Mint Candy Apple, Romper Room, Sand Tropez, Bikini So Teeny, Lilacism, Splash of Grenadine

This was my Essie Collection as of last month. I've doubled my collection since then. The first four shades were from the lot of four mentioned above, and the last one is Splash of Grenadine, which a friend found at TJ Maxx for me for $4.99. That's the most I've spent (so far) on Essie, and the only reason I even paid that much is that I was absolutely DYING for that damn shade! It's divine!