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

Review: Base and Top Coats

Probably two of the most important steps in making my manicures last as long as possible (and chip-free!) is the use of a good base and top coat. And I can't say enough about the absolute necessity of having a fast-drying top coat! We all know how annoying and debilitating it can be waiting for nail polish to dry on its own... It takes FOREVER, and then you have to be on high alert making sure you don't accidentally smudge it. It's awful. Fast forward to my discovery of fast-drying top coats *insert the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah here* (Here it is, for the full effect). How did I ever paint my nails without one? Anyway, these are the base and top coats I've used, and what I think of them...

Sally Hansen's Double Duty Base & Top Coat and CND's Stickey Base Coat

OPI -- My Boyfriend Scales Walls

Here's a quick swatch of OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls. I'm not too sure about the availability of this color, but I got mine on eBay for $6.95 with free shipping. The color is a cross between white and gray, and the formula is really good. It's opaque enough to be good for nail art, and the fact that it's not bright white makes it very wearable all by itself. This is three thin coats, topped with Seche Vite. 

Nail Polish Haul

This week I've added five new polishes to my collection. I bought two OPI shades on eBay last month (my first OPI's, by the way), and they finally arrived on Friday. It took two freaking weeks for my order to go from Texas to California--grumble, grumble--but I digress...

I got Don't Bossa Nova Me Around and My Boyfriend Scales Walls for $6.95 each with free shipping. My Boyfriend Scales Walls is a white polish with the tiniest drop of gray in it, so rather than it being the standard shockingly bright white, this shade should be more wearable. And I continue to want to expand my collection of nudes, so I went with DBNMA because I like the dusty, putty-like pink vibe it has going on. Both of these shades were highly recommended by my favorite Youtuber (Nicole/Young Wild and Polished), so into my collection they go. Here's a link to Nicole's nail polish videos: Young Wild and Polished.

L-R: [OPI] Don't Bossa Nova Me Around, My Boyfriend Scales Walls
[NYC] Tudor City Teal, Lexington Lilac, [Pop-arazzi] Sugar Spun

Manicure Essentials

These are my current nail care go-to items that I use weekly/daily. From removing old nail polish, to making sure my cuticles stay hydrated and polish-free, these items have all become staples in my nail care routine, which (in my opinion) makes all the difference in having your hands and nails look beautiful. 

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!