Deal sites can be kind of handy…

…for discounts on accodmodation…
…or food (got 2 dozen Krispy Kreme for $10 once. Crazy fatty goodness…)
…or getting American Apparel nail polish xD

(I got a backup of Supernova. I think I showed it on the blog before, so I didn’t include pictures of it)

Glitter Nebula

Small, multicoloured glitter. I thought that it would apply a bit more densely than it actually proved to be, but it is still nice to have.





Excuse the horribly stained nails.
Starting from the index finger, I have one coat, going to the pinky which has 4 coats of Nebula.

Sunset Blvd

Is a pretty light orange-y colour. I wanted to try and fill little gaps in my stash, which is why I picked this up. A little bit tricky to work with, as it was a little streaky. This was three coats.

Poppy

This one is pretty potent! One decent coat (not too thin or thick) and it could be done at that. I went back for a thin second coat and it made it look a little streaky. A little bit of staining on my skin during removal, so I had to go back with a clean pad to try and erase the colouring on my skin. Otherwise a lovely orangey colour for the warmer weather.

Peacock

I had contemplated buying a convertible dress in this colour. In the end, I didn’t think that I could pull it off. However, nail polish was a different story! Stains like no tomorrow, so you will need to take your time to remove it from your skin, and a bit from the nails. My bottle was a little dry so I had to thin it out a bit. Otherwise I’m glad I picked it up, as it is a unique colour to my personal collection.

Metallic Bronze Dash

I didn’t think that this would look good on me, but I was proved wrong. Such a pretty colour that I couldn’t help but buy it. This is a polish that you need to use a top coat, as it brings out the shimmer more. I added a top coat on my ring finger, but then smudged it (which is why the nail looks wonky).

Metallic Violet Panache

I was slightly disappointed with this polish. I loved the colour, and it looked a little complex. Seriously loving the look of the Metallics. I mean just all that shimmer…drools. Anyway, blue pink and purple shimmer in the polish. It is however a shame that it is so SHEER! Ack! I would say that you should layer it over another purple that is similar in colour, or over black. Otherwise you will need like 4+ coats to get the bottle. I did 5 thin-ish coats to get what I have in the pictures.

Neon Red

First off, this is not a full big three free polish. It contains formaldehyde. So that’s a heads up for those that didn’t know. I hadn’t at the time of purchase. Anyway, though it is neon red, it shows more pink. I had wanted it because I don’t have too many neon sided colours. Two coats, and it is decent coverage. Could have done three, but I was really content with the two. With no top coat (it didn’t really need one in terms of shine. I mean look at the pictures! O__O), it erases quite easily, with no staining on the skin from the removal. Win.

Phew.
Finally got through that all. Took a bunch of pictures, and I am not fully content with how Sunset Blvd turned out, but all in all…not bad :)

So, do you have any American Apparel polish?
I love their range of colours. Though some can stain, for the price I get them for with the deal coupons, I can’t complain :)

A look into HL

I had credits from a canceled order from long ago, and a few referrals that I needed to use up, as HL told me they would expire at the end of December 2012.

However I found it impossible to find something I wanted to spend money on! You would think with all the brands that they offer, this wouldn’t really be a difficult thing to do -___-

Well, seeing as my choices were limited, I decided to get a few circle scarves for myself, and to give to a friend.

But the costs at checkout somewhat irked me.

Let me explain.
Each scarf was an extra $2 in surcharge.

I received my package in good time, as it shipped when they stated it would. When I finally did get my hands on the package…I realized that they made a mistake. They sent me one of the sheer jersey circle scarves, rather than the knit one. It was amusing to me on several levels. First it is VERY different in weight, so I don’t understand how the packer wouldn’t have noticed something was off. Second it wasn’t even offered in the sale that I had bought from. So I can only conclude that American Apparel was the one at fault…but who knows. I just know that I had to pay the extra few bucks for a scarf I didn’t want.

So of course I emailed them. I got a response just a little over 24 hours later.

The response was, things like this happen.
Thus send it back, and we will refund you.

I think I should have been refunded at least the few bucks for the change in the surcharge it created.

In the end though, I didn’t feel like doing it. I would have gotten a few bucks back in CREDITS, which wasn’t what I wanted anyway, as I really don’t know when my next order with them will be. Plus I didn’t want to spend the time to ship it back out to them. I figured I could gift it, or sell it. But it was a shame, as I had really wanted two navy ones, as my mother keeps trying to steal the one I currently use.

Anyway…do I think it is worth it? The site in general?
Well yes, and no. I think it is beneficial for Canadians to have a relative in the US that you can ship to. That would be the best, as you won’t have to pay the surcharge. What I did like was that my credits could be used towards shipping. So though I intended to ship to my cousin, I ended up skipping out on a scarf to have it shipped directly to me (I figured with the white circle scarves, I could dye them to my liking). I didn’t get hit by duty, as the surcharge is supposed to cover it, but I’m still not completely sure how I feel about that.

So…
Have you bought from HL recently?
Do you keep going back?

It’s that time of year again… <3

What shall I do with the nails for Valentines…Not too sure. But here are a few colours that I wanted to share.

First Up is American Apparel Nail Polish in Lipstick


I added a NOPI glitter on the accent nail. Anyway, this is a gorgeous red nail polish. Definitely something to look in to, though it does stain the skin when removing.

Second, we have a pink glitter gradient.




Sally Hansen HD Byte
China Glaze Innocence
Sally Hansen Xtreme Strobe Light
Wet n Wild Sparked
China Glaze Fairy Dust

I applied Byte a little messily about a 1/3 of the nail. Then I applied Innocence over, which helped smooth out the rough edges of Byte, and give it a more gradient look. I applied Strobe Light to half of the nail, then applied Sparked to the tip. I finished it off by applying a coat of Fairy Dust to the entire nail.

Finally…Revlon Ruby Ribbon

This is a matte polish, but I applied a top coat…


This was a Christmas LE colour, but I found it at a Revlon sale that was held at the International Centre in Mississauga. Applies quite decently, though not a full matte. More of a shiner matte polish. It has subtle shimmer in it that doesn’t really show up until you apply a top coat. It isn’t a deep red, but a nice colour to wear as well.

Next…

Just a few colours I scrounged up. If I were to go all pretty lipped, I’d pick one of these. Seeing as I am just in classes the whole day, I think I probably won’t. I might contemplate the stained lip though.

Vasanti Denmark
Revlon Colorburst Ruby
NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil Deep Red
The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Stain

If you want something kiss proof, you wanna go for stains, or at least a good lip sealer. Also might want to dab a bit of UDPP on the lips before the application of the colour to make it last longer.

Is there a particular colour you will be wearing this Valentines Day? Or an anti-Valentines Day colour? Let me know :)

If you don’t have it, made do with what you’ve got!

Now I’ve been fully regretting not getting my hands on the China Glaze It’s A Trap-eze polish…

The thing is, I really don’t need more… (though you will see that I didn’t do very well in upholding that idea for others…) but this polish really great on me.

So what is a girl to do, when it is sold out?

Try and recreate her own. I should really stress the try, as it turned out nothing like it! lol but you can read about that more down at the end…

(On a side note, I couldn’t figure out why my pictures would turn out this weird hazy/blurry on the Hybrid. Then it clicked. Maybe I should clean the lens. Yeah…it was a very “Duh!”moment for me. I should now have things under control…)

I used:
American Apparel Supernova
Sally Hansen Secrets
China Glaze Innocence

(that is what I meant by weird hazy blur…ah…I should have thought of that sooner…)

Anyway, here is what I learned from this.

First off, get rid of the holo glitter. I LOVE holo glitter, but this wasn’t the place for it.
Second, do a double decker sandwich. Meaning, Innocence, 2 coats of Supernova, and then 2 coats of Innocence to finish it off. Now that I think about it, I probably could forgo the initial Innocence application.

THAT should give me a closer look to Its a Trap-eze, though not so in colouring.

EDIT:
Okay it was bugging me so much I redid it on a nail chip. THIS is what I had in mind. But you really do need like three coats of Supernova.


I might consider just mixing up a small batch of a franken. Maybe that will decrease the number of layers I would need? Another experiment for another day :)

Well to move on to something else…
I have the nail chip swatches, bottle shots, and mini info on the Hard Candy polishes. I just need actual manicures of them and I will be set.