Zoya Posh with Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure and China Glaze Matte Magic

Ohhh man. This was such a gorgeous manicure to wear. I know most of you are probably tired of seeing Hidden Treasure manis, but I haven't posted one yet! For this, I applied one coat of Posh and let it dry completely. Then I applied one slightly thick coat of Hidden Treasure, and also let that dry completely. Then I applied a thin coat of Matte Magic.

 I really love the end result. It reminded me of red jasper, which is one of my favorite semi-precious stones.

So pretty. I love all the different facets of color in Hidden Treasure. It goes from green to orange to gold, and is sometimes all three at once. I really need to get my hands on more flakies. Or I guess I should say I really need to get more flakies on my hands, haha.

China Glaze Something Sweet.

Oh, this polish.. I wanted to love it. I really did. I mean, sure, I love the color, which manages to be delicate and mod at the same time. But application and wear were both horrendous. It took so many coats to even it out and get it smooth, and then, due to the massive amounts of coats, it chipped so fast. I only have one other polish from the Up & Away collection, Grape Pop, which I haven't tried yet. I'm kind of a bit nervous to try it, to be quite honest. I don't want another application disaster like I had with this one.

China Glaze, cremes are not your strong suit. Just saying.

China Glaze Entourage.

This color was impossible to capture. It's a beautiful crisp Granny Smith apple green with a slight green shimmer. I love it! I did two coats here, but I'm realizing now that I should have done three. Oh well. Application was lovely, though! Pretty much one of the best China Glazes I've worn.

China Glaze Millenium.

Oh, the famous (or infamous) ChG Millenium. Loved and hated by nail fanatics worldwide. Seriously, this polish is..something. I love the look of it. Silver foil? Count me in! However, the application was horrendous. It accentuated every bump, dip, and ridge on my nails. It's streaky. And it chipped on the same day that I put it on. The only good thing about its application is the dry time, which was majorly fast.

I think I'm going to relegate this to the "stamping-only" section of my polish collection. Because, really, this entire manicure was a disaster.

Hello, my name is Jean, and I have a polish-buying problem.

Yep, you guessed it. I bought even more polish. But wait! Before you say anything, you must understand: LEMMINGS. Serious, serious lemmings.

First up, a few polishes I picked up at Sally's last Thursday. I really only went in there to get a new bottle of Poshe (the tale of what happened to my old bottle is forthcoming), but then I decided to glance at their sale rack. SKFJBSKB. So glad I did. There was China Glaze Glacier! One of the most-lemmed polishes on my lemming list. And right next to it was ChG Dreamsicle! What the heck, Sally's? Have you been holding out on me? Because those definitely were never on display with the rest of the glitters. Anyway, their sale items were buy 1, get 1 50% off, and my mom was only getting one polish (Finger Paints Wine Wristlet), so I also got Finger Paints Cobalt Cardigan. It's a super-pretty dark navy that seems to have a little bit of teal in it.

This picture does not show just how pretty these polishes are. Glacier has all this pastel opalescent glitter, and Cobalt Cardigan is not that black-looking, and the flakies in Merry Midnight aren't even showing up. Sigh.

(L to R: ChG Glacier, ChG Dreamsicle, Finger Paints Cobalt Cardigan, and OPI Merry Midnight [Which I left out of my previous haul post, so I decided to include a picture here.])

Moving on.

I'm visiting relatives in south Florida this weekend, and there's this huge shopping center nearby. With an Ulta. Now, I have never been to Ulta before. When I walked in..oh my goodness. It's just heavenly, isn't it? There were so many polishes I wanted, but I had to restrain myself, since they were all a bit expensive. They even had the China Glaze Up & Away collection! I didn't get any, though, because—and yes, I know this might be blasphemous—none of them were really drawing me in. They looked so pretty online..but in person? I don't know. I just felt they lacked..something.

They had so many other amazing polishes, though! Including OPI La Paz-itively Hot Matte! I passed on it, though, because I already was spending too much, haha. I did get OPI Mad As A Hatter, though, because my Trade Secret still hasn't called me to tell me they got more in, like they said they were going to. I also picked up OPI Jade Is The New Black. As for non-OPIs? I checked out all the Ulta brand ones, but nothing was really pulling me in.

Then I got to the Essie section. You know you're addicted when you see a polish from 20 feet away and know EXACTLY what it is. The polish in question here was Essie Aruba Blue. YES! They had it! And oh my word, it's so gorgeous in person.

I only bought one other polish, and that's Sula Paint and Peel in Watermelon (It looks more like a cherry blossom to me, but whatever). I've been curious about these polishes for quite some time, but I've never had a chance to see them in person. My mom was also intrigued, so she agreed to split the cost with me. Originally, I was going to get Moss, but I've been craving a good pink lately.

(L to R OPI Mad As A Hatter, Sula Paint & Peel in Watermelon, Essie Aruba Blue, OPI Jade Is The New Black)

Yeah..Only MAAH is really color-accurate. The Sula is a bit darker pink (like these cherry blossoms), Aruba Blue is darker and prettier, and JITNB is a bit darker, as well. The lighting in this room is just really weird. Sorry!

Review: China Glaze Flying Dragon

Whoa, crazy. Two posts in one day! I really hate being behind on posting my manicures, though. Actually, I might have had three posts today if my pictures of Essie Very Cranberry had turned out. And if my nails were cleaned up a bit more, haha. By the way, this post is going to be a bit long. Sorry about that!

ChG Flying Dragon is, in a word, spectacular. Beautiful true purple with blue and reddish purple microglitter. It's a neon, so it dries fairly matte. I didn't really like the finish, so I did two coats of Poshe (Which I'm actually loving a lot more than Seche Vite. We just get along much better.), and it became shiny and pretty. I did two coats of polish, though I really should have done three. I have major, major VNL. I let it slide, though, because the polish is just so gorgeous. I picked up this polish the other day (I talked about it in one of my haul posts) from one of the local Sally's, along with ChG Japanese Koi.

(Click the pics to enlarge and see the fabulous glitter.)

I've never been a huge fan of purple nail polish (Shocking, I know.). It's always too sheer or t0o thick or something. The formula is usually just weird in some way. This polish was practically perfect, though. Definitely one of my favorites.

So, I broke my no-buy. Again. I know, I know. This addiction is getting bad. But, hey. This isn't as bad a vice as I could have, right? Right! I posted the other day about my Sally's haul, so I don't think I need to repeat myself. Anyway, yesterday I went out shopping a bit with my mom, and we hit up some drugstores. We've got so many Walgreen's and CVSes in town, it's crazy. We only went to one Walgreen's and one CVS, though. At Walgreen's I picked up Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Grape Going! and Revlon Mad About Mango. MAM is one of Revlon's new scented polishes! It totally takes me back to my childhood. I had all these scented markers, and it smells exactly like one of them. I think I had some scented polish, too. I think that's why I've been seriously lemming the Revlon scented polishes. They remind me so much of the 90s, and it's awesome. I almost got Coconut Crush and Mon Cherry, as well, but backed out at the last minute. Afterward I was upset that I didn't get Mon Cherry, and my mom told me today she's pick it up for me! Hooray!

I also finally convinced my mom to buy colored polishes. She's been addicted to these barely there frosty pink colors for practically forever, and I got her to get Sally Hansen Plum's The Word and Milani Cherry Pie (which is actually from the CVS haul). These polishes look great on her. CVS is having a sale right now, by the way, where you can get Milani polishes and cosmetics for buy one, get one 50% off (I'm not getting anything for posting this. I just thought it was a great sale.) Because of this sale, I picked up Milani Garnet Gems, Milani Blackberry Baby, and Milani Key Lime Shine. Such pretty colors.

We also went to the mall, where I went in search of Claire's Dream Catcher. Sadly, my Claire's did not have it. I've been trying to find a dupe for Chanel Jade, and the closest I've come is L.A. Colors Green Satin, which is pretty close, but Dream Catcher seems almost identical. I did pick up Icing Marine Blue and Icing Blackout, though. I was so excited to find Blackout. It's so pretty! And it was the only one left!

I went to World Market, too, and picked up a bunch of random foreign/weird snack foods. I've been having serious cravings for crazy things lately. I picked up a box of milk coffee (??) flavored Pocky, a box of Chocolate Crunch (basically a stick of Pocky covered in chocolate cookies and then dipped in chocolate) flavored Pocky, Chili Lime dark chocolate (So, so good.), some crazy maple candy in the shape of a maple leaf (It tastes exactly like brown sugar. Heavenly.), and a box of lemon mint Turkish delight, which is amazing (I had to throw out my last box of Turkish delight, which was actually lemon and rose flavored, because my brother's dog got into the box. Both flavors are to die for, though.). I also got a really pretty wool cream and tan houndstooth scarf that I plan on wearing quite often in the next week, since our temperatures have dropped immensely. It was 19 degrees last night! In the South! This is madness.

Oh, and for Christmas I got a gift card for Bath & Body Works, which is probably one of my favorite stores. I love indulging in wonderful-smelling bath products. Well, B&BW has a huge sale going on right now, too. It's amazing. I was able to get one of their huge candles (in Fireside. This smells exactly like a fireplace. It's absolutely amazing.), two foaming body washes (in Black Amethyst and Japanese Cherry Blossom), and two bottles of their Aromatherapy Stress-Relief Eucalyptus and Spearmint Volumizing shampoo (which is great. I used it last night, and I felt so relaxed after using it. And this morning when I woke up, my hair had body and volume, which it desperately needs.) all for only 22 dollars. That candle alone would have been 20 dollars if it wasn't on sale. Oh, how I love after-Christmas/New Year sales.

My mom is also currently indulging my obsession and is polish shopping for me. I can't wait to see what she brings back! I know she's getting Revlon Vixen and Revlon Frankly Scarlet. I think she's getting OPI My Private Jet (!!!), too. (EDIT: My mom brought home Revlon Vixen, Revlon Frankly Scarlet, OPI My Private Jet (It seems to be the latest version that's sort of brown and duochromy. Not exactly a holo, but it has holo glitter. Hey, I'll take it! I'm still on the lookout for the elusive original, though), and OPI La Paz-itively Hot (They apparently didn't have the matte version. Oh, well. This version's super pretty! My search continues for the matte version, though. I want an 80s prom dress for my nails!). A lovely early birthday present indeed!)

Gah, why do I keep breaking my no-buy? It feels so good at first, but then afterward, I start regretting it. I know it's going to get better, though, now that I'm starting school again, because I'm not going to have any time to shop, haha. I justify it, though, by saying that nail polish is like an accessory. You can't just have one or two. You have to have a lot, to fit your mood and the season and whatnot.

Have you picked up any great polishes or products lately?

Review: China Glaze Wagon Trail

Where has this color been all my life? It's perfection. I finally broke down and ordered this a few weeks ago, and I just got around to trying it, and I have completely fallen in love. It's this gorgeous blackish bronzy color with olive gold shimmer. It does have a tendency to look black in certain lights, but I honestly don't care. I love vampy colors, and this is a vampy color that's dirty and a little edgy and just downright perfect. I'm going to be sad to take this off in a few days to do my Christmas manicure. Application was perfect. I had hardly any cleanup to do, which is saying a lot for me, since I'm pretty messy when I'm painting my nails, usually ending up with it all over my cuticles. But not with this! It was lovely. This is, I believe, two coats polish and one coat Seche Vite. I apologize in advance for the tipwear. I've had this on for about three days now.

(Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.) In this picture, you can see the great brownish bronzy undertones this polish has. You can also see one of my dogs. Oh, and I apologize for the horrendous scrapes on my hand. I tripped on the driveway yesterday (Don't ask me how; I have no idea.) and scraped both my hands, both my knees, my left elbow, and my right foot.

(Indoors, flash, artificial light) In this picture you can see more of the black base and the wonderful olive gold shimmer.

I am so happy I finally was able to get this polish. It's now one of my favorites.

Review: China Glaze Frostbite

I'm back! The wisdom teeth thing went smoothly, I'm told. No complications or anything. The only pain I've been having is on the lower left extraction site, but I was told this was going to happen, since they had to cut some things to get that tooth out. My face is still a bit swollen, and I've been having a fever on and off, along with nausea, but it's nothing I can't handle. Anyway, on to the review!

Yesterday I was feeling up to getting out of bed, and decided I would paint my nails to cheer myself up. I looked through all my untrieds, and I knew I wanted to do something bright but still wintry. Enter China Glaze Frostbite. Oh, man, this polish is a stunner. I don't think I've ever owned any polish this blue. Seriously. It's just like, "BAM!" It's a true, primary blue. To me, it seems to have a bit of that foil effect. Or, really, what it reminds me of are those curly ribbons that go on gifts. You know which ones I'm talking about. They're metallic and the ribbon comes in a roll and you have to curl it with scissors? Well, anyway, that's what this polish reminds me of, and I absolutely love it. Application was great. Three coats polish, one coat Seche Vite. I probably could have gotten away with two coats, but I always like doing three, just to be safe. On with the pictures! By the way, this polish is extremely hard to capture. Many of the pictures kept leaning more teal, which was really weird. These three seem to accurately capture the gorgeousness of this blue, though.

(Indoors, no flash, natural light)

(Indoors, no flash, artificial light)

(Indoors, no flash, artificial light)

Review: China Glaze Strawberry Fields

Oh, this color. It's absolutely gorgeous, isn't it? This is China Glaze Strawberry Fields. It's this amazing hot pink with lovely gold shimmer that catches the light and just shines. This is, I think, three coats (I don't quite remember. This is my manicure from Sunday and Monday.), with one coat of Seche Vite. That stuff is amazing, isn't it? Application, like most China Glazes, was pretty smooth. The color was pretty hard to capture on my camera, though. It's sort of in between those two pictures. Not quite as pink as the first one, but not as salmony as the second. The gorgeous gold shimmer showed up in the second picture, though. Isn't it amazing? (First picture taken in natural light, second taken in artificial light, no flash for either.)