Jaded, Pearly Queen, and the paper cut

Ahhhh finally got to change my polish. Last Friday I was organizing a new filing cabinet at work and got an awful paper cut. It went half way to my first knuckle from the cuticle on my middle finger (and in true ME style, immediately posted a photo on Facebook). Needless to say it bled, it hurt, and I got to flip my boss off without actually flipping him off. Win.

Another downside to the slice, other then those mentioned above, was that I couldn't was scared to change my polish because as we all know: acetone + open wounds = OW! Wooo!

In my Big Lots haul from Friday I picked up some Revlon Top Speed Fast Dry duo packs for $2.00 each. One those those packs I bought specifically for Jaded - a cool, creamy, minty green. Since it was late and I wanted to be in bed by midnight I figured that a Top Speed Fast Dry polish would be the ticket.

It wasn't.

I opted for thin, 'even' coats that I could build on since I knew that Jaded was a little on the thicker side from swatching it on a nail wheel over the weekend. First coat was about what you'd expect. Streaky and uneven. Surely it will get better wont it? Meh, no, not really.

I ended up with 2 thin coats, 1 normal coat, and 4th touch up coat to try and even out the streaks and gobs. After all of that, and maybe its just me, but I feel like I can still see my free edge! Grrrr.

Anyway, I loved the color, but I wasn't crazy about the coverage so I layered Deborah Lippmann - 'Pearly Queen' ($6 - TJ Maxx find) over the top which gave it some beautiful iridescent sheen. Seriously. In the sun these claws shine like a mermaids tail. Thanks Pearly Queen, you saved Jaded!

Edit: There was no sun today! I had fully intended to take a photo of this in direct sunlight so that you could really get a feel for the iridescent-ness of Pearly Queen, but alas, it rained. There IS a decent photo of it on my Facebook.

While its a pretty mani on its own, it's not really 'me'. Oh well, can't say I didn't try!

TLDR:

Revlons Top Speed 'Jaded' - Mint Green. Slightly on the thicker side, streaky application, not quite opaque after 3 coats. Color was pretty true to bottle.

Deborah Lippmann 'Pearly Queen' - Gorgeous greeny-blue iridescent shimmer, sheer top coat (think mermaid, fish scales...well maybe not fish scales...ew) Applied like a dream, very thin. Evened out nicely. Multiple coats didn't appear to achieve additional shimmer benefits.

<3 Fox


Oh yeah! Enter my Birthday Giveaway here!

Big Lots Haul + $6 Deborah Lippmann

Last Friday I heard (it through the grapevine) that TJ Maxx had Deborah Lippmann polishes for $6.00! Jumping at my chance to own my first DL polish at such a killer price, I raced over there after work! After some searching I finally found them -- Naked and Pearly Queen. SQUEEE!! I ended up picking up Pearly Queen because...It's. Freaking. Beautiful! I can't wait to try it!

While I was on that side of town I figured I'd hit up Big Lots which is right next door to TJ Maxx. I found a couple of 4 packs of ELF polish for $1.80 (which I passed up because I haven't had good luck with their polish in the past), some Salon Express stamping sets for a little over $6.00 (passed over those because I already have them), and duo packs of Revlon Top Speed for $2.00. Woot!

I was about to head to the check out when they mentioned something about a 'drug store buy out' at the back of the store. Hmm...sure why not. I was about half way down the aisle when I saw it: Essie. Lots of Essie. Baskets of polish. Essie for $1.50! OPI for $3.00! OH MAH GOD. My head exploded. No joke.

It probably took me 20 minutes to make sure that I checked, and double checked the bins for duplicates. Anyone that came down the aisle quickly turned and walked away. I was like an addict looking for a fix. I walked away with 4 bottles of Revlon Top Speed for $4.00, 2 bottles of OPI for $6.00, and 7 bottles of Essie for $10.50!!

My Haul included:
Revlon: Espresso, Jaded, Guava, Sugar Plum
OPI: Conquistadorable Color, No Spain No Gain
Essie: Be Right Bag, Au Natural, Anniversary Gala, Guchi Muchi Puchi, Need A Vacation, Chastity, Material Girl

WOOOOOOOO!!!!! That was fun! But the real fun came from seeing how much I saved when I got home!

Let's assume the following (I'm rounding) and add a little 'Price is Right' theme music:
OPI is around $8 at Ulta :  $8.00 x 2 = $16.00
Essie is approximately $8 at Ulta:  $8.00 x 7= $56.00
Revlon Top Speed is $5.00 at Walmart:  $5.00 x 4 = $20.00
Deborah Lippmann is $16.00 according the the tag on the box.

And the actual retail price is: $108.00

What I actually spent: $26.50

Holy. Crap.

Even my fiance can't argue with that purchase. I can't wait to swatch these and get them posted! I also have ORLY, ColorClub, Spectraflaire, and new (to me) China Glaze on the way, as well as some Ulta and OPI.

TLDR:

Big Haul at Big Lots, TJ Maxx

Essie for STUPID cheap

Lots of savings

Pearly Queen is gorgeous

Exploding heads

<3 Fox 

Don't forget about my birthday giveaway! Click HERE to enter!