Catrice Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy (plus my day with MissTings and IceRozie)

So IceRozie (of MUA) has been in town and we got together with MissTings (of MUA) on Saturday to do some NP shopping.I met up with IR the night before to pick up several gorgeous cheese she brought me back from the Netherlands (when she told me she was visiting and asked what polishes I wanted, I was like "Nothing, JUST CHEESE."). Boy did...

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Butter London Victoriana: when good polish goes bad

Urgh...ever have those manicures when nothing goes right? This is one of those. Nice polish, gorgeous colour...crap manicure. Figured I should post it anyway because it doesn't look that bad in the pictures despite the awful inception.This one was doomed from the start, since it was done on Eurovision night. For anyone who's not come across...

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More RED - OPI Off With Her Red

Yes...I still keep looking for reds. I'm hooked on the hunt! I found OPI Off With Her Red in the clearance bin at Ulta for $3, and I'm not sure what possessed me to buy it. It looked really orange-y, muddy, and just not appetizing. But I bought it. The thing that I've learned about reds is that they rarely seem to look the same in the bottle...

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TiNS The Neptune and China Glaze Lightening Bolt Crackle

TiNS makes the most incredible glitterbombs. Alas they are fairly expensive and rare in the US so I have to rely on... well, an MUAer by the name of TerribleTerra. She gets tons of polishes from Asia, sells the ones she doesn't want... and over the years, I must've purchased around 100 polishes from her. Nearly all my Asian polishes -- with...

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Lippmann Lara's Theme

(2 coats)I asked for more oranges in 2011 and did Deb ever give me a doozy! Love eet. In fact, so much love I went out and bought a matching watch from Henri Bendel.This gorgeous carrot (or dutch) orange has a lovely formula (though not perfect, I struggled with bald spots but still managed to pull it off in two) that dries shiny and relatively...

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Hello Kitty Banana Cream and Minty

So I've really gotten into jewelry making lately. (I don't know why I'm taking up all these craftsy hobbies lately: first crocheting and knitting, now jewelry making... I REALLY don't have time for this sort of hobbying.) And I was on FireMountainGems.com, contemplating a huge order. See, this is how Fire Mountain seduces you: every item...

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My Essie Resort 2011 Picks!

Essie Resort 2011 was one of those collections that I looked forward to for *months*! I found out every little tidbit about it, scoured pictures for advanced shots of the colours - everything. When I was finally able to purchase it (on eBay, by the way - still haven't seen it in stores) I carefully selected my colours. I chose:Essie Da BushA...

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Hey, want to see the worst NOTD I've had in a long time? (CND Brigitte with Anna Effect, Jason Wu collection)

I was really into the idea of the Jason Wu/CND collaboration. So much so that I actually bought it for full retail price and then some from Cult Beauty (because I was getting the Rococo Gold Leaf polish anyway and if I was going to pay for across-the-pond shipping... etc). I like interesting textures. I like taupey, underplayed colors. I...

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Models Own Jade Stone: Mermaid's Tears' more cheerful sister

After placing my OPI pirates order, it occurred to me that I might have a dupe for one of the colours in my order. (Buy first, check later, that's my motto). Anyway, I had no qualms about potential twinning, since I own about a million billion mint greens and still I buy more. This one's a particular pleasure to wear. I present: Models Own...

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OCC Perpetual and Rococo Gold Leaf

I had said I didn't want it. But in the end, I bought it anyway. Yes, Rococo Gold Leaf, I'm lookin' at you. OCC Perpetual and Rococo Gold LeafWhen I put on this combination, I was so disappointed. I thought Perpetual would be this awesome, semi-neon purple creme. It turned out to be very jelly. Three coats, definite VNL. It didn't apply smoothly,...

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Zoya Maura

(2 coats)SO happy with this polish. SO happy. A gorgeous mix of orange and red. It applied like a friggin dream and was smooth, glossy, and perfect in 2 easy coats. Lots of people complain about Zoyas not drying on them but I had 0, no, nada problems with this.The color in the photo is not right, it's not quite SO searingly bright (tho it...

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Yummy Berry - OPI No Spain, No Gain

I'm a big fruit person - I eat a lot of it every day. It's a food group that just makes me feel really *good*. Vitamins and stuff, right? And right now it's getting to be berry season so I've been stocking up on strawberries, blueberries, blackberries - even cherries. So delicious!This berry-coloured polish makes me feel almost as good as...

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Misa Whimsical Wish and Pixie Princess (Wishes, Spring 2011)

I feel like my most recent posts should be labeled "follies of a nail blogger": nails dented with a crochet hook, smudged polish, unshaped nubbins. Man, Misa's never going to send me anything again. Every Wishes collection mani I've posted so far has some major flaw. And totally not on purpose. ...although, I gotta say, that's part of the...

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Not A Match? - Essie Smooth Sailing

I admit it - I fell prey at a drug store recently - CVS to be exact. I fell prey to that sweet, sweet American concept - the SALE. I had some "extra bucks" and a coupon for a dollar off Essie, so how could I resist?So many people have been loving Smooth Sailing, and I decided to pick it up and give it a go...Objectively, this colour is really...

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Illamasqua Purity

I checked out the Toxic Nature collection and really wasn't that wowed. However, Illamasqua had a 20% off sale, and there is nothing like a sale to persuade me I want something. I do like the fact that Illamasqua hold such regular customer sales, plus the 10% off I always get for being a repeat customer. Thumbs up there.So here is Illamasqua...

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Comparison of Zoya Breezi and Sephora by OPI Slushied

This is why you should never de-dupe your collection by just looking at bottle color. Zoya Breezi (Summertime, 2011) and Sephora by OPI Slushied (Glee, 2011)OK. So Breezi looks a tad bit darker than Slushied, right? I mean, maybe if you look really closely, you could think that Breezi may look a tad more teal than Slushied. (Btw, thanks to...

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Chanel Mimosa

Why am I only showing three fingers? Because I dinged the index and refused to reapply.Alright here:(3 coats)I think we all know this one has a soft shimmer and I'm really sorry I couldn't capture it for you working with the light I had.Not happy with this polish. Poor formula, streaky, dull finish (no gloss/shine once dried), application...

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