Swatches - OPI Holland Polishes and Serena Glam Slam

A couple weeks ago, while I was shopping at CVS, I spotted this little nail shop across the street. I immediately wanted to check it out. I scored these 3 polishes for $4.50 each, which is a pretty sweet deal considering they retail for $8.00 a bottle.

Thanks a Windmillion and I Have a Herring Problem are from the new Holland collection. Grape...Set...Match is from the Serena Grand Slam set. I don't know if this is sold separately but I did see that it came with another glitter polish as a set. I didn't want the other polish because I have a couple of them similar, so I asked the shop owner if I could just buy one out of the set and he was ok with that.

Thanks a Windmillion is a medium cool-toned sage. I have two coats on the swatch and I found the application very easy breezy. This shade was reminiscent of OPI Mermaid's Tears but it's actually  little darker and more cool-toned as compared to Mermaid's Tears.

I Have Herring Problem is a medium bluish grey with sparkling fine gold shimmers. Very gorgeous and easy application. It's opaque within two coats.

Grape...Set...Match is such an interesting color in the bottle that I actually had to take another picture with a different angle so that you can see what I mean. The base color is a dark purple grape color, which I find a bit sheer. You could probably get away with 2 coats but I much prefer how it looks with 3 coats, as pictured. I'm having trouble capturing the true colors of purples with my camera. The last picture is the closest in color that I could capture. Here the polish looks a little more blue that it truly is. It has a bit more red undertone in real life. The shimmers look more like very fine fuchsia, blue, and purple glitters to me so they look quite sparkly.

Have you bought anything from the Holland collection? If so which color did you get?

 

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China Glaze Hunger Games Nail Polish Swatches

Today, I went to see The Hunger Games. I did not read the book but I wanted to see what the hype was all about. Because of that, I had high expectations. I think the movie was good but not as great as I expected. It seems like most movies I've seen that were based on a novel don't turn out as good as the book. 

 

Initially, I passed on this polish and got Luxe and Lush and Electrify first. However, after my friend Celia bought it and swatched it for me, I was sold and went back to Sally to get it. Orange is usually not the kind of color that I'd go banana for but for some shades I'll make an exception.
Riveting has a jelly like bright reddish orange color. It's actually quite pigmented for a jelly base because here I have two coats and it looks pretty opaque. The sparkling gold and orange shimmers in this polish combined with the bright orange base is what makes this color so freaking amazing! It looks so summery and exotic.

Luxe and Lush was the main attraction for me because I've been head over heels for flaky polishes. They add such a gorgeous jewel-like effect to any polish. This polish looks just like an opal stone with opalescent blue and gold flakies suspended in a milky clear base. The base isn't too thick or thin, just perfect I think. The great thing about this flakie polish is that they lay flat when applied. I've had trouble with some were they stick up and feel rough on the surface, aka Color Club Covered in Diamonds. I'm glad this is a lot easier to work with.

Electrify, I wasn't too sure about this one but when the store clerk swatched it for me, I quickly changed my mind, lol. I've been hauling glitter polishes like crazy and I don't think I'll get over this phase anytime soon because sparkles make me feel giddy and happy. Electrify has small gold and red glitters in a clear base. On the swatch I have 3 coats, and it covered my nails pretty much.

At last, here I have all three polishes combined. On the two left fingers, I have Riveting with Luxe and Lush. On the two right fingers, I have Riveting with Electrify.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Which was your favorite polish(es) from this collection? Did you see the movie? If you did, what did you think of it?

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Collective Haul -- Ulta, CVS, Big Lots, and Target

Today, I made a trip to Ulta to redeem my reward certificate and because Mario Badescu skincare were all 25% off. I needed to restock on skincare product so this was the perfect opportunity. Tomorrow, Boscia is on sale at Ulta for 20% off so I will have to make another trip to restock on my favorite eye cream and night cream...Yikes! Oh well, at least I don't feel bad spending money on skincare because I do take care of my skin and I usually don't let my skincare product go to waste.

Products I purchased from Ulta:

• Mario Badescu Almond & Honey Non-Abrasive Face Scrub, $11.25 (original price $15.00). This is a pretty big jar, 4 oz. I was pleased with the pricing.
• Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream, $15.00 (original price $20.00). It felt very silky when I tested it in store so I decided to give it a try.
• Mario Badescu Collagen Moisturizer SPF 15, $16.50 (original price $22.00). I received this moisturizer as a sample a while ago and I liked that it was moisturizing, fast absorbing, and light weight.
• OLAY Regenerist Microdermabrasion & Peel System, $27.99 minus $3.50 coupon. I've always wanted to try this ever since I read the review that Angelic Betrayal did. Feel free to check out her review HERE.
• It's A 10 Miracle Leave In Product, Free but normally retails for $18.00. I redeemed my reward certificate for this leave in conditioner. I've used this product for about a year now. I absolutely love it.

CVS Haul:

• Wet N Wild Fauna Collection. I was absolutely thrilled when I spotted this new limited edition collection from Wet N Wild. $4.99 for 4 products, that is a steal!
• Wet N Wild Flora Collection, $4.99.
• Schick Quattro refills, $12.29. What I love about these blades is that they have the little wire between them and they help a lot. I get no cuts and less irritation from them.
• Confetti nail polishes, To Teal to Handle and Bayou Blue, $1.99 each.
• Revlon PhotoReady Concealer, light medium. $9.99 minus $3.00 CVS coupon and $1.00 manufacturer coupon.
• Essie No Chips Ahead. Free with CVS coupon.

With another CVS coupon, I received an additional 25% off on my total.

Big Lots Haul

• White Cloud Premium Cleasing Pads. $1.20 each.
• Sally Hansen Color Quick Pens, $1.50 each. Lyndsay uses these for nail stamping and I just had to get these too since they were so cheap.

Target Haul

• Sonia Kashuk Full Volume Eyelashes with glue, $4.99. I just had to try these. They look so pretty and natural.
• Sonia Kashuk Flat-Top Sculpting Brush, $12.99. I have not seen any brush like this one and I just have to have it. It's the perfect tool for sculpting your cheeks! It's soooo soft and dense.

Finally, I almost forgot about this last product that I picked up from Sally Beauty Supply. It's a lip and cheek stain duo by Femme Couture. I thought that the product was interesting so I grabbed it. $9.99.


Whewwwww. I think that is it for now. Hope you found something that peaked your interest.



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