Hey, I'm alive, I exist. Really. Summer has FINALLY arrived for me -- except not really because I do actually have a ton of work to do and am going to France in two weeks for a conference -- and I have a pretty substantial backlog of NOTDs that I have to post! (Plus a lot of swatching to do... alas, I don't think I'll be able to resume swatching until after I get back from France.)
Essie Braziliant
This was such a disappointment for me. It was this really bright orange in the bottle with this fabulous magenta shimmer... and then I put it on and discover that it just looks coral in most lights. (Oddly, once I uploaded the photos to blogger, it looks a lot more red...) You can see the magenta up close (though I wasn't able to capture it in the photos) but it just sort of mixes with the orange and turns into coral... and I just don't look good in most corals. Application was great though: two coats. This photo was taken on day 2 or 3.
Essie Braziliant and OPI Blue Shatter
My SO took one close look at my nails and asked, "Why did you choose this color combination?"
I answered, "Because it's the ugliest color combination."
He replied, "OK. Just making sure you knew that."
But I love it. I would not mix blue and orange in any other situation but my nails but I just love this shatter *coughcrackle!cough* mani. This was taken on Day 2 of the shatter mani (which would be day 4 of the Braziliant mani). I used one coat of the blue shimmer shatter and it crackled beautifully. Why can't all crackle polishes crackle nicely? (Oh, and it wasn't clumpy. Thank goodness.)
Braziliant and Blue Shatter closeup
So I have a question for y'all: I have several boxes that are CHOCK FULL of nail polishes that I need to get off my hands. (I'm sure there will be more after my annual summer de-stash.) Some are older, some are more recent. The vast majority have only been used once; a small fraction have had 1/4th decanted from them. Most cost between $1 and $10. Many, many different brands. I do plan on selling the ones that I paid many pretty pennies for individually (though I won't charge pretty penny prices, I promise) but there are at least 300 polishes that don't fall into the "oh man, I spent too much on this one polish, I have to recoup this loss" category. I just don't have the time to sell all of them off individually.
I know my $10 (+$5 shipping) small flat-rate grab-boxes have been popular in the past. But even selling these polishes by the dozen is a daunting task. Would there be any interest in my selling medium flat-rate grab-boxes? I need to pack one up properly to see how many I can fit into a single box but I estimate it to be between 40-50 polishes. The price will probably work out to be about $1.50 a polish (plus shipping), a good mix of brands, colors and finishes guaranteed. (And seriously, no one will get a box even half full of polishes that cost me less than $3.) It's a steep price but for those who want to build their stash quickly... I mean, it's a stash-in-a-box. Open it up and voila, a decent-sized stash for a fraction of its retail price.
If I do go with the medium flat-rate grab-box idea, after selling a few, I'll probably be offering small flat-rate grab-envelopes (which can reliably hold 20 polishes, price TBD). ...there's plenty of nail polish to go around!
