So let's get on with the haul! So... technically I spent a bit more than $100, but $16 of that was shipping. I snagged some great deals, though!
First off we'll start with the three items I ordered from Born Pretty Store. I did pay the extra $3 for tracking (which didn't work) so in total my order came to $12.87.
The first item was a 3-piece stamping set--jumbo clear stamper, scraper, and lid--for $2.99. That's a steal! I really wanted a lid because keeping cat hair off my stampers is almost impossible. I haven't yet tested the stamper out, but it feels nice and squishy and semi-sticky. The scraper is pretty small and incredibly stiff, so I probably won't use that.
The next item I ordered was some studs for $4.89 (they're now on sale for $2.99... go figure). It's a mix of silver and gold studs in varying shapes and sizes. There are approximately 200 pieces in this little tiny wheel. What I like about them is that they lay fairly flat--they don't stick up crazy high on the nail like my rhinestones do. Working in the food industry, the last thing I want is something snagging on my nail decor and it ends up in someone's dinner.
(I do wear gloves when I'm around food but still... you can never be too careful.)
The last thing I got from BPS was a set of black and white stamping polishes for $1.99. I wasn't really looking for black, but I needed a good opaque white and they had this set of 5ml bottles, so I figured what the hell. I haven't tested these yet either...
Hey, gimme a break. I just got this stuff TODAY. ON MY BIRTHDAY. That was a close one, Born Pretty... verrrrry close. I ordered on October 11th...
Next up we have the three L.A. Colors polishes that I picked up from Family Dollar for $1 a piece.
The first is called "Sunkissed" and it's... it's... phenomenal. It's a burnt orange with tons of gold shimmer.
The second is a pink! I don't know why but I've been gravitating towards pinks lately. Maybe my hormones are still messed up from becoming a mommy, who knows. But this lovely polish is called "Pink Sizzle" and oooooh does it sizzle.
The third is called "Dazzle" and it is very similar in color to "Pink Sizzle" but it has lots of luscious silver shimmer.
Another thing I purchased was a "big ticket" item. This baby cost me just under $30, but I did get free shipping. Since my polish and nail art supplies were beginning to spill over the lovely shelves that my mom built for me, I decided I'd get a bonafied nail polish rack. Tada!
I got this rack on ebay. I've calculated that she holds about 102 polishes. Unfortunately I didn't count how many I had before I ordered her. Including the birthday polishes I got, I have 130.Now, for a polish collector, 130 bottles is chump change. For me, however, it's quite a lot. Therefore I'm now on a "no buy" until after Christmas (at least!). Gotta save up my monies to spoil my little boy for his first Christmas!
Anyway, I've got my favorites in the rack and a few in my "boo box". Doesn't it look spiffy? And now I have room on my shelves for all my nail art supplies! Yay! What's that? Why yes, my favorite color is blue!
Next in my haul I made an order from Nabi. Nabi has a shop on ebay, which is where I purchased mine, as well as on Amazon. These are all-around great polishes, but they do have one downside: they do tend to get pretty thick after a while and unfortunately polish thinner can't always save them. Nabi does have a wide range of colors, though, and they're inexpensive. In fact, the more you buy, the more you save. A couple of years ago I bought a lot of 20 polishes for $24 (iirc). She's got a deal now on ebay where you can get 20 colors of your choice for $20 and some change. I went for a much smaller lot this time and purchased three of Nabi's "Metallic" polishes for $6.36 with free shipping. That puts each polish at $2.12.
The first one I got was "Metallic New Gold". I've been looking for a really yellow gold for a while, and I thought this would hit the spot. Unfortunately, it's got more shimmer than base. At two coats, it's not quite opaque (as can be seen in the swatch). I'm hoping three coats will get me there, but I haven't tried it yet. It is definitely the color I wanted, though.
The second polish is "Metallic Champagne". This is another pink, and although it's quite a bit darker than I expected, I really do like it.
The third Nabi is "Metallic White". I wasn't sure what to expect from this. How could a white be metallic? But it does indeed have a metallic--almost frosty--finish. I was amazed at how opaque this was at one coat, but did two on the swatch anyway. It does show brush strokes a bit, but that doesn't really bother me all that much.
I also decided to give head2toebeauty a try, since I had heard Phoebe talk about the site a lot on her YouTube channel. Fair warning though: their shipping is not cheap! I paid $12.97 for shipping, bringing my grand total at the e-store to $52.16. But it was so worth it!
Why was it so worth it? Seche Vite, my friends. Seche Vite. They have a "professional kit" that includes a regular .5 oz bottle, as well as a 4 oz refill bottle. That's equivalent to nine bottles of Seche Vite... for the jaw-droppingly low price of $18.75!!!
WHAT!?!?!?
Yep! Seche Vite for TWO DOLLARS AND EIGHT CENTS PER BOTTLE!! Even if you tag on the shipping cost for my whole order, that makes each bottle only $3.52. That's less than half the price Sally Beauty Supply charges. Score!!
I also snagged a polish corrector pen for 99 cents. I'm not so keen on this just yet. Don't get me wrong--it works well. However, it's very stiff and it hurts my skin. Maybe after a while it will soften up a bit? I hope so, because in the meantime I'd rather just use my angle brush for cleanup.
I got that liquid pump for $5.95, hoping to put acetone in it. The description for it said it could hold "polish removers" and didn't say anything about not putting acetone in it like the other pumps did. Sadly, when I got it, there was a note inside that said "DO NOT USE ACETONE". Well... fack. So now it's holding my cuticle oil. It's also incredibly noisy to pump. I hate to say it, but I would definitely not recommend this particular pump.
And of course, I purchased some polish. China Glaze for $3.25? Color Club for $3.50? Yes please!
The first swatch is Color Club "Winter White". And yes, it is very similar to Nabi "Metallic White". This is a frosty finish, though, and has a bit more of a silver tone to it. As with most frosts, it does show brush strokes a smidge. Again, though, I don't mind.
The other Color Club is "Grand Dame" from... the English Garden Collection, I believe. You guys... these are my first Color Club polishes and I can now see what all the fuss is about. I think I'm in love. Grand Dame went on so smooth! It's easily the best polish I've ever worked with. It's a beautiful deep silver. I don't think this is a duo-chrome, but it sure does pick up colors around it. It's almost mirror-like.
Next we have China Glaze "Jolly Holly" from a holiday collection a couple years back. I've been seeking a nice forest green, and this one is lovely!
The second China Glaze is probably my favorite polish in this whole entire haul. When I saw Jess swatch this in her review of the Rebel Collection I just knew it had to be mine. I present to you "Combat Blue-ts". It is a gorgeous matte blue with the slightest blue shimmer. Gah, I'm drooling just looking at it. See? I must be hormonal with all these pinks and mattes and whatnot. Jess did warn that it dries super fast, so you shouldn't manipulate it too much. I didn't have any trouble with the swatch, but then... a nail wheel is much easier a canvas than real nails.
They also sent me a free 100/100 grit nail file. I'll probably never use it, but it was a nice gesture. If you haven't yet checked out head2toebeauty, I'd say give it a go. I'd certainly buy from them again.
I also snagged six polishes from Walgreens. Know how much I paid for all six? $2.42 including tax. That's 40 cents per polish!
...But I totally cheated and used my rewards points for $5 off. Go me!
The first one is Sinful Shine "Kryptonite" from the Kylie Signature Collection. This was on sale for $1.49. It's an absolutely stunning teal with green and blue shimmer. It's a little thin, so depending on your application you may need three coats. I did two for the swatch.
The second is Sinful Shine "Kalypso", also from the Signature Collection, and also on sale for $1.49. Did I mention blue is my favorite color? This one is breathtaking. It's a luscious cobalt blue with blue shimmer. There are two coats on the swatch, but again you may need three if you tend to apply thinner coats.
The third--oh, look, another blue!--is Sinful Colors "Midnight Blue" which was marked down to 99 cents. This color lives up to its name. I'm already picturing the starry night manicure that I could do with this beauty.
On to number four: Wet 'n' Wild "Grape Minds Think Alike". All of the Wet 'n' Wilds were 99 cents. This one doesn't remind me of grapes at all. It's much more berry-like in color, which is precisely what I wanted. This could potentially be a one-coater, but I used two for the swatch.
Number five is Wet 'n' Wild "Ready to Propose". This is a nice, simple gold. It's a hair or two lighter than Sally Hansen "Golden-I". I bought this because I really want a good gold for water marbling, and I think the Nabi I purchased isn't going to work.
The last polish is Wet 'n' Wild "Sparked". I've been eyeballing this for a while now, but I tend to shy away from glitters. I finally decided to snatch it up and I'm glad I did. This is a very dense (though not quite "Studette" dense) pink and silver glitter. I believe the base is a very light pink, but don't quote me on that. The swatch is two coats, and I think it could easily be opaque if you used the sponging method.
And that concludes my hundred dollar haul. But wait! Wanna see what my mommy got for me? Yes, I'm now 38 years old and my mom still spoils me rotten.
I don't have any prices on this stuff, 'cause, y'know... that'd be rude to ask. But I wanted to share all the fabulous goodies I got for my birthday!
First up, because my Born Pretty tracking said that my package was still in Asia, my mom got me a BundleMonster double-sided clear stamper (with caps!). I've already tried this puppy out, and I love it. The only (minor) negative is that in order to see through it, you have to take out the end that you're not using. I worry that that may shorten the life of the head. Otherwise, though, it stamps like a dream. It also came with two card-scrapers, which I have discovered I like better than the standard scrapers.
She also got me two more pump bottles that are much quieter and that are safe for acetone! Yay! Now I just have to figure out what I'll put in the second bottle.
The last nail-related item she got me was a set of five stamping plates from Nicole Diary. Regrettably, they're not the best. They're very thin. So far I haven't had much luck picking up the images even with stamping polish. I'm hoping the Born Pretty stamper is sticky enough to help. There are some cute images on the plates that I'd really like to make use of!
Alright, this long ass post is finally done! Next up? Delectable Diamonds!
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