NOTD and SO MANY SAMPLES...

Essie "Lolipop," two coats and one coat of Orly Sec'n Dry

So, I recently went on a no-buy, which was almost stopped immediately by the Urban Decay sale. In doing so, I took inventory of all my bath and beauty products. I didn't really think I was a perfume person, but I guess I will be now because:

And that doesn't even include my body sprays :P I never realized how many little samples of perfume I was getting in all of my online orders. I will use every single one of these.

Haul and NOTDs; No buy.

China Glaze Strawberry Fields on pinky, ring, middle and pointer finger. OPI DS Reflection on thumb. It doesn't look that different in the picture,but the OPI is so much richer in real life.

One coat of Wet N Wild Black Creme and Matrix-inspired random squiggles with Finger Paints Go Van Gogh!

Today's Haul: B&BW Japanese Cherry Blossom Shower Gel and Bubble Bath, B&BW Into the Wild Body Scrub, B&BW Charmed Life Lotion, OPI DS Reflection, cosmetic bag that came with the Charmed Life lotion.

Also, I have come to a point in my life where I realize spending money on stuff like this isn't really something I should be doing. I'm now on a no-buy until my birthday, when I will order $50 from Sephora and The Body Shop. I will replace things I run out of, but there should only be a couple things I run out of between now and February, things like toothpaste and contact solution. I will spend gift cards, but I will not buy beauty products somewhere like CVS where I can buy things I actually need, like mouth wash and medicine and food. I have money, but I don't have money, you know? So no buy until February.

EDIT: Except Birchbox. I will still spend my $10 a month on Birchbox. It is so worth it, and it is a controlled expense. I can only buy one Birchbox a month, and I know I'm to cheap to buy the full size, so I don't feel bad about getting my Birchboxes.

August Birchbox and NOTD

Two coats of OPI I'm an Aqua-holic on the tips, one coat of Orly Fifty Four all over, and one coat of Orly Sec'n Dry. I used the Nailene French tip guides and I'm really liking this combo.
My August Birchbox was a little disappointing. Other people got Smashbox Photofinish and facial masks...I got a hair mask, facial cleanser, blinc eyeliner and eye treatment pads. I'm now vowing to not look at what other people get in theirs until I get mine :) Still totally worth the $10, though, because in all honesty, I have been on a really big get-rid-of-dark-circles kick, and I almost bought a hair mask at Target the other day.

NOTDs (pic heavy)

Companion Cube-inspired nails with Zoya Kelly for the pinky, middle and pointer fingers and OPI Skull and Glossbones and Orly Cotton Candy (I think, anyways) for the accent finger.

Portal-themed toes with Sally Girl Hottie for the orange and China Glaze Frostbite for the blue.

China Glaze White on White for the base and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue Away for the dots (foot picture again, sorry!)

Orly Halley's Comet

Finger Paints Go Van Gogh!

OPI Fiercely Fiona

Orly Razzle

China Glaze Flying Dragons (Neon) for the tips, topped with Orly Fifty Four

OPI Skull and Glossbones

OPI Sparkle-icious

Sorry about the lack of posts. I've been a lazy bum lately, plus I've been working 8 hour days :)

Haul, NOTD and a googledoc

So, in my uber boredom today I went to a Walgreens, a Rite Aid, Marshall's and 3 CVS's. Yes, I was that bored. At the second CVS, there were quite a few 75% and 50% off items, so I picked a few of them up. (sorry. I took this picture with my iPhone, which quite honestly is better than my digital camera.)

Left to Right: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Lavender Cloud, SHCSM Yellow Kitty, Sally Hansen HD Lite, SHHD Pixel Pretty, Essie Coat Azure, Essie French Affair 

I could not believe these babies were 75% off. I LOVE the Complete Salon Manicure line, but they are so gosh darn expensive. They are getting a little cheaper, though, as they're only five-something at WalMart, where I think they used to be around $7. I couldn't help but get Yellow Kitty, just for the name. It looks REALLY similar to Orly Lemonade, so I'll do a comparison post tomorrow when there is sunlight.

The HD polishes were also 75% off, and I'm glad I snatched these two. There were a lot more, but I'm trying not to buy dupes/near dupes. 

ESSIE. I LOVE YOU. The blue, Coat Azure, was pretty when I thought it was a simple creme...then I realized after I got home that there is a beautiful silver shimmer to it. 

1 coat China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat, 1 coat Borghese Mezzanotte, 1 coat China Glaze Fairy Dust, 1 coat Seche Vite.

Also, in my obsession with nail polish, I've typed up a list of all of my nail polish, base/top coats and cuticle oils. I googledoc'd it, so you can find it here. I'll try to keep it updated. If you have any swatch requests, go ahead and email/comment and I'll try to make it happen.

Sally Beauty mini-haul and NOTD

So. I printed out my New Year's 15% off coupon and went into Sally Beauty. I  have a gift card, so thankfully I am not spending "real" money.

China Glaze Atlantis
Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Thinner
Mini Orly Nailtrition
Seche Vite w/ free nail decals

I have been lemming Atlantis since I first saw it a few weeks ago. It is everything I love: Blue, green, glitter and holographic. I almost had a heart attack when I saw it on the Treasures (I think, I'm not exactly sure) display. THEN, I saw a mini Nailtrition, which I've been dying to try but could not bear to fork over ten dollars for something I may be able to live without. It was next to a super cute Orly Valentine's Day-themed display with four different (but not new) pinks. As I mosied over to the Seche Vite, which I needed to buy anyway, there was a little pad of tear-off coupons that were good for a FREE CHINA GLAZE POLISH WITH PURCHASE OF SECHE VITE! Best coupon ever, right? I wanted/needed both and there was a coupon for them! So I picked the Seche Vite with the free nail decals because I love free stuff and I really like nail decals, no matter how tacky they look.

Seche Vite package and decals

Close up of nail decals. Sorry about the flash reflection. I was trying to get rid of the shadows, but it didn't work out too well, haha

Needless to say, I was VERY happy on my way home because I got the PERFECT polish FOR FREE. Plus free decals. I seriously love Sally Beauty. *sigh*

Anyhoo, I did my nails a couple of days ago (maybe Sunday night? I'm not quite sure) and procrastinated taking pictures until this afternoon. There are a few chips/bits of tip wear, but I've worked eight hour days yesterday and today, and the job I have while I am at home usually completely destroys my nails within ten minutes of clocking in. I think this manicure has proven to be stronger than most.

This is two (perhaps three) coats of China Glaze Shower Together, a beautiful greenish-blue creme with an even better name. I then put on a coat or two, depending on the glitter distribution, of China Glaze Fairy Dust. I topped it off with a coat of For Rhinestones Only top coat. I think I was trying to channel the goodness of ChG Atlantis when I was doing this manicure, and I like the result a lot, but I have Atlantis now, so I don't think I'll be repeating this one. I am very impressed with the wear on this, though. I'm not sure if it was the top coat or the glue-like quality of glitters, such as ChG Fairy Dust, but this mani was lucky to survive two minutes at work, let alone 16 hours.