Pedicure of the week and inexpensive Essie "watermelon" dupe

Wet n Wild "Lady Luck" $0.99 (photo taken outside in natural light)

I have been lusting after Essie's "watermelon" for awhile now but as you know by now if you read my blog I just can't bring myself to spend eight dollars on nail polish, so if you are looking for a great budget friendly alternative you must check out Wet and Wild's Lady Luck. Be warned though, while the Wet n Wild polishes are certainly lighter on your pocketbook they are a lesser quality (ie most if not all of them require at least 3 coats for full opacity vs the Essie polishes that tend to be opaque in 1-2 coats) However in my experience they do have decent staying power with a good topcoat so it is still worth working with their more watery formula.

wet n wild "Lady Luck" $0.99

"Lady Luck", a vibrant magenta with a slight shimmery blue undertone is NOT and exact dupe for Essie's Watermelon which lacks the oh so subtle blue shimmer but color wise it is very very close, so much so you would have to have both side by side under bright lights to see any difference. And at $0.99 vs $8.00 it is much lighter on the wallet.

So go pick up a bottle of "Lady Luck" today. I think this color looks amazing on the toes and is one that could very easily compliment all skintones. Thank you so much for reading and have a great week!

Inexpensive Essie Nail Polish Dupe

It's time for another inexpensive Essie nail polish dupe. After scoring yet another Essie polish at Ross for $3.49 I discovered another dupe to share. Today we are comparing Essie's "pop art pink" with wet n wild's "tickled pink" a beautiful baby pink shade perfect for the pink in a french manicure. I would not say it is an EXACT perfect dupe, in fact if anything the wet n wild is actually more pigmented and is opaque in two coats versus the three coats it took Essie, but it is pretty darn close. The Wet n Wild is just slightly darker at full opacity. I'm excited to try the Essie though with a french manicure since I might actually prefer the more sheer formula for the pink base of a french manicure since I feel it gives me a more natural looking nail. I have got a few Essie shades at Ross now, which at $3.49 versus the $8.00 they are at regular retail it is quite a great deal and overall I'm liking them. Not well enough to ever pay $8.00 for them.....but still....I'm liking them ;) So if you don't have a Ross near you or you can't happen to find any Essie polishes there try out this pretty wet n wild dupe. It's at every drugstore and is only $0.99. You can't beat that :)
click here to buy this Essie polish
click here to buy this wet n wild polish

New Inexpensive Essie Nail Polish Dupe

This is just a quick blogpost to talk about an inexpensive polish dupe. The wet n wild shade has been one of my all time favorite shades for many years now. It is a classic old school movie vixen fire engine red, almost an orangish red. It is pretty long wearing, easy to apply, and is fully opaque in two coats, and costs a mere $0.99. I spotted this color at Ross this weekend since once in a blue moon you can find Essie Nail Polishes (which usually retail for $8) for only $3.49. I loved the color and snapped it up, and I realized when I got home it was literally the exact same color as my beloved Wet n Wild favorite. So if you love the glamour of a glossy red nail but can't afford the $8 price tag of this beautiful Essie shade just reach of this inexpensive $0.99 dupe. The quality is still very good so you don't have to worry about sacrificing quality for price. Thanks for reading! Have a good week!

pedicure of the week: Sally Hansen "Pacific Blue"

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Pacific Blue"

This week I did something a little different, and that is just using a plain color with no design using a new color that I really love. Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue is a very popular color this spring/summer season and I absolutely love love love it on my toes. I can't stop staring at them. It is the perfect bright (but no florescent) blue cream shade that I think will be flattering to most skin tones. It has a really great formula and was actually pretty opaque with one coat (but I did two just out of habit). I was pleased with this formula in particular because I have had problems in the past with the Sally Hansen xtreme wear line being pretty streaky. The one thing I will say about this polish is it does come off a little darker on the nails then in the bottle which was slightly disappointing but it is pretty minimal. I highly recommend this shade and now all I need is for summer to actually come here in Portland so I can show off this color in sandals! Thanks for reading have a great week.

1) Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Pacific Blue": $2.99 most drugstores
click here to purchase this polish
2) NYC in a new york minute "Grand Central Station" #202: $1.99 most drugstores
click here to purchase topcoat

Nail Polish Collection: Part Two REDS

For part two of my nail polish collection I will be listing and briefly reviewing all the reds. Remember these are just my personal opinions about my personal experiences with these colors and brands They are not set in stone :) 

Color Description and Brief Review

1) China Glaze: "Social Animal" $4.00-$7.50 at Ulta, Sephora, Sally Beauty Supply or online:

The prices of China Glaze nail polish can vary greatly depending on where you purchase it. It tends to average in the $5-$6 dollar range but can be a little more or a little less depending on where you buy it. This particular color is one of only two China Glaze colors I have in my collection since I usually never spend more then two to three dollars on polish. But I actually purchased this at a local swapmeet in Bremerton California when I was there visiting my brother for $1.50. Honestly considering this is one of the so called high end polishes I thought it was just ok. The formula was good, not streaky, and it applied opaque in two coats, but the main problem I had was that it stained my nails really bad even with a base coat. I would most likely not purchase China Glaze again unless I REALLY loved the color since I have gotten equal or better results from lower end polish.

Click here to purchase China Glaze Social Animal 

Click here to purchase China Glaze for $4 

2) Wet n Wild "Rouge Rouge" #414A: $0.99 Most drugstores

The color comes off a lot truer in the swatch on the nail then it did in the bottle picture sorry for that. This is the color I used in my "Mickey, Goofy, and Snoopy oh my" nail of the week blogpost. click here to view the blogpost like I said in that blogpost it used to be my absolute go to color for literally years. I haven't worn it in awhile before this week but it is a good classic to have. It is a classic fire engine red that is absolutely beautiful and sophisticated. It is very long wearing and applies completely opaque in two coats. The one thing I hate about this color is that it does get gloopy halfway through the bottle but that is easily resolved by adding a bit of nail polish thinner, which is a product any nail polish aholic should own. Click here to purchase nail polish thinner. This particular bottle I have had for well over four years and it is still completely useable. I would definitely recommend it and will definitely purchase it again.

Click here to purchase Wet n wild #414A Red red

3) Sally Hansen Extreme Wear "Red Carpet" #390: $2.64-$2.99 at most drugstores or target

Im not a HUGE fan of the Sally Hansen Extreme Wear but I LOVE this shade soooo much. For those interested it is an exact dupe of China Glaze Ruby Pumps. It is a beautiful red with finely milled red glitters giving off a shimmering glitter effect with not as much bling as a traditional glitter polish. The only downside is that it takes 3-4 coats to apply opaquely, but I love it so much I would still repurchase it.

Click here to purchase Sally Hansen Extreme Wear "red carpet" 

4) Wet n Wild "Jezebel" #463: $0.99 most drugstores

This particular shade was one I didn't actually use very often to I decided to add some medium sized glitters to give it a little more dimension and kick and I really like the effect. I love wet n wild polishes but would most likely not repurchase this shade. 

click here to purchase Wet n wild in Jezebel 

5) Icing Nail Polish in a bright neon red it is a mini size and I purchased it as part of a set of five neon colors in a $5 for $10 sale at Icing

Icing colors were quite a surprise for me. I mostly bought them because they were so cheap so my expectations were not very high. For those who don't know Icing is a store in the mall that is kind of like Claire's for grownups. The whole set of five neon colors was only $2 since I bought them on sale. The formula is actually really excellent and applies opaquely in 2 coats. The neon colors are matte, which I hate, but the finish can be easily changed with a good topcoat. This particular shade I didn't care for too much and I have never actually worn but I liked the others I got in the set and I would recommend the brand as a whole.

I hope this was helpful and thank you for reading! <3

Nail Polish Collection: Part One GREENS

I am one of those nail nerds that enjoys looking at other people's nail polish collections on youtube in my spare time haha embarrassing but true :) So I decided to upload my rather modest collection by color. But instead of just showing the color I will be showing the color showing the swatch on the nail, giving you the price, telling you where you can buy it if you like the color, and most importantly telling you if you should buy it or not. Because there are a few colors I have that I definitely would not repurchase. Remember these are just my opinions and what worked or didn't work for me.

Color Description and small review

1) Wet N Wild Megalast: "I need a refresh-mint" #218A= $1.99 most drugstores 
This is a beautiful tiffany blue color that applies completely opaque in two thin coats. It is very similar to "For Audrey" by china glaze. This line of Wet n wild polishes features the wide "pro brush" that aims to make application easier. It didn't necessarily work completely on my long thin curved nails but for most people who have smaller thinner nails it will work much better. It is a shade that will flatter alot of different skin types and it is very accessible at most drugstores (Rite Aid/Walgreens/CVS) and online I do recommend this and would repurchase it
Click here to purchase Wet n wild Megalast in I need a refresh-mint

2) Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear "Mint Sorbet" #340= $2.64-$2.99 most drugstores and Target
I purchased this delicate mint green shade at Target mainly to use as a background color to an asian cherry blossom design. I have a few of the Sally Hansen Extreme Wear and they are just ok for me. Not horrible but not my favorite brand. This one in particular was one I had to use the nail polish thinner on that I purchased last week because the cream formula got really gloopy after a few uses. This one took three coats to go on opaquely and tended to be really streaky the first two coats. I would most likely not repurchase this although I do like this color. This brand is readily available in  most drugstores, Targets, Walmart, and online it tends to be a little bit cheaper at target in my experience but it is not available on the Target website.
click here to purchase Sally Hansen Extreme wear in Mint Sorbet

3) Wet N Wild Fast Dry "Teal of Fortune" #228C= $1.99 Most drugstores
I absolutely loved this shade in the bottle. It is a shimmery teal shade that is part of wet n wilds fast dry collection. However when I actually used this I really did not care for it for a few reasons. The first is that even with a basecoat it stained my nails soooo bad. My toenails were so stained in fact that it did not work to buff off the stain which is what I always do if a polish stains my nails, I literally had to let the teal part of my toenail grow out in order to get rid of the stain. Another reason I didn't like this fast dry line is its really not that fast dry. It took three coats to apply opaquely and the third coat took over a half hour to dry. I definitely would not repurchase this again. Wet n wild is available in  most drugstores, online, and at most Walmart Stores.
click here to purchase Wet N Wild Fast Dry "teal of fortune"

4)  Wet N Wild "Sagreena the Teenage Witch" #226 C= $1.99 most drugstores
Yes I did use most of this but it was only for adding green details (like leaves or vines)  to a nail design since I do not have dark green acrylic paint for some reason. But unfortunately the couple tines I did apply it onto the whole nail it performed exactly as the other Wet N Wild fast dry in my collection, "Teal of Fortune" It took three coats to be opaque, it was not really all that fast dry (taking over 30 minutes to totally dry) and staining my nails dark green even with a basecoat. This line was disappointing and I would not repurchase it. It is a beautiful shade though and I was glad I was able to use it in nail art, but as nail polish I would not use it again. I could not find this shade online but it available in most drugstores and Target.

5) Icing Nail Polish: Dark Neon Turquoise (small size)=  I paid $2.00 for a pack of five neon colors in the Icing Store
This color was the most difficult of any of the greens to photograph. Even in the picture I posted it still looks too bright. But in person it is a really gorgeous dark shimmery turquoise. It is a matte finish which I didn't love since I prefer a glossy shiny finish but you can always add a topcoat to change the finish. I was pleasantly surprised with Icing Brand Polishes they are actually a great formula that applies opaquely in two coats and is not goopy or streaky. Icing is a store in most malls that is kind of like Claire's for grown ups. I actually don't have a name for this one because I purchased it in a set of five neon colors as part of icing's 5 for $10 sales they run quite often.  I would definitely repurchase polish from Icing again.

6) Icing Nail Polish "Bonjour" (small size) =I paid $2.00 for the limited edition Paris Collection in the Icing Stores
This Icing polish performed just as well. The limited edition paris collection was a set of five metallic pastel shades. Bonjour is a beautiful soft green with gold reflects. It applied opaque in two coats with no streaking. I would repurchase Icing polishes again for sure!

7) Wet n Wild Wild Shine "Caribbean Frost" #440 C= $0.99 most drugstores and Walmart
The Wet n Wild wild shine line is a classic I have used it since I was fourteen years old. It is long wearing and applies opaque in 2-3 coats depending on the shade. Caribbean Frost in particular applied opaquely in 2 coats. I have actually had this bottle for about 4 years now and it still applies well if that gives you an indication of how good this stuff is. It is a dark turquoise shade similar to the icing one but it is a shimmer rather then a matte finish. I will always repurchase this brand.
click here to purchase wet and wild wild shine in Caribbean Frost
 
8) I purchased this polish overseas for about 70 cents I do not have a name for it and it is not available in the US




So I will be uploading the other colors in my collection along with brief reviews of each one. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :) <3