DEAL ALERT!! Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss @ Ulta

I was at Ulta today, cuz I like to go there just for kicks~

lol, not really.  I just wanted to take advantage of their 40% of Physicians Formula sale to get a Happy Booster blush.  (My first!)  While there, I spotted this display for Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss.

All of the lipglosses in this display come with a $2 off coupon that is immediately usable at the register.  Regular price is $7.49.  BUT, Revlon is also 40% at Ulta this week!  That comes out to around $4.49.  With the coupon, you end up paying $2.49 for one lipgloss.  If you didn't get to take advantage of last week's epic Revlon deal at CVS, this is a great alternative.  Of course, it's only on the Colorburst Lipglosses, but still a great deal! (40% off sale ends Saturday, Oct. 1st.)

And you know me, I had to take advantage of this deal, and walked away with one in Papaya.  Another first for me, as I haven't tried the Colorburst Lipglosses yet.  That plus my Happy Booster blush put me at $10, so I got to use the $3.50 off coupon.  That basically made the lipgloss free.  Score!! :D

Wishlist Wednesdays (02)

Notice anything different?

I changed my layout a bit!  Did a little re-vamping, but nothing too big.  Unfortunately, disqus got messed somehow, when I changed the layout.  It's fixed now, but I lost a few comments here and there...I'm so sorry if I don't reply to your comment.  It just got lost...but please feel free to comment again! :)

Now onto my wishlist, FASHION EDITION!

I love dressing up and shopping, but I don't always have the funds to do so. :(  I wish  money grew on trees!!  But it doesn't, so most of the time, I end up just window shopping and adding things to my wishlist, especially now that we're changing seasons.  I did this recently on a trip to the mall.

Some of the things I've been wanting for the fall/winter season:

wrap bracelet from F21

I definitely want more accessories, particularly bracelets like this wrap bracelet.  I've been seeing a lot of "arm parties" happening in the blogging world, and would love to be able to join in.  Unfortunately, my wrists are a bit too skinny for bangles and bracelets usually sold at places like F21.  They just fall off...so these wrap bracelets are the answer to my problem! :D  Also, any stretchy bracelets work too.  And I'm glad H&M has XS/S bracelets, cuz those work too.  Can't wait to have my own arm party!! :)

tan oxford booties from F21

I have been wanting oxford booties for the longest time!  In this specific color range too!  I have several black ankle boots and booties, but not in other colors, so I'm looking to branch out.  And, I just feel like these oxford booties would look great with fall outfits!

I'm also lemming some dark brown knee high boots and more scarves!  I love scarves! :D

Anything you're lemming for this fall/winter season?

Essence - Gagalectric (@Holografics.com)

Something I learned recently: duochromes are so hard to photograph correctly!  I can't capture all the colors and gorgeousness of this polish!  This is Essence's Gagalectric, which I recently purchased from Ulta.  It is from Essence's @Holografics.com.  They call it a holographic, but it's really not.  It is actually a very light lavender duochrome that flashes blue with a little bit of green mixed in.  It's very sheer, but still very pretty.  I picked it up thinking I might not like it because it looked like it could be sheer, but decided to give it a try anyway.  Glad I did!  While it my be very sheer, since even with 4 coats you can still see a bit of VNL (visible nail line), the color makes up for it.  It is just so pretty!

the bottle, in sunlight

in shade

in shade

in shade

in sunlight

I think these pictures don't do this polish justice!  You can definitely see the duochrome in the bottle in these pictures, but not on the nail too much. :(  Just imagine the nail flashing just like the bottle, and you'll probably have a good idea of how the polish really looks in person!

Formula and application were great with this!  Not too watery or too thick, and no streakiness.  It is, however, very sheer, as I mentioned earlier.  I used ORLY Bonder as my base coat and applied 4 coats to achieve this opacity.  No top coat.

Hope you enjoyed this~ the first of many swatches from my Ulta haul! :)

HAUL: Nail Polish from Ulta

Hi, I'm Kristine, and I'm a nail polish addict! xD

Ulta had an AMAZING deal today...Buy one, get one free on butter LONDON polishes.  I definitely could not pass this up, so I stopped by after class today.  The Ulta catalog said there was a limit of 2, and I took that to mean a limit of using the deal two times.  Looking online, that's what most other people thought too.  But I got to the store and the SA told me the limit meant a total of 2 polishes.  Whatever, just getting 2 for the price of 1 is an amazing deal on it's own...but it was hard to pick colors!  I have so many on my wishlist!  But this is what I got:

indoors, no flash

indoors, flash

I think this picture shows the true colors better...

As you can see, I did not just walk away with only butter LONDON, lol.  In addition to the butter LONDON polishes, I picked up 1 Revlon polish, 2 Essence polishes from their holographic collection (but they're not, they're actually duochromes), and 1 Maybelline polish.

From butter LONDON, I really wanted All Hail the Queen...that was the one I wanted for sure.  My second one was up in the air, until I actually got to Ulta.  I just picked one from my wishlist, on the spot, haha.

Then I went looking around, cuz I wanted to use my $3.50 off coupon.  My Ulta does not let you use it on butter LONDON cuz they consider it a premium brand, but I've read other Ultas do let you...Anyway, I saw the Revlon polish and Maybelline polish, and I got so excited because I've been wanting these.  I haven't seen Royal Cloak (from the Masquerade collection) anywhere until now!  So glad to find it!  And then, I've wanted Autumn Leaves since I saw it on Nouveau Cheap...it's super pretty, and looks like a duochrome.

revlon royal cloak & maybelline autumn leaves

And finally, the Essence polishes...

I wasn't planning on getting these at all, until I saw them in person.  They are very pretty duochomes...and I don't know why the collection is called Holographic.com, because they are definitely not holographic.  Really loving the one on the left!

But that's not the end!  I stopped by Ulta again after my last class of the day...it was close to closing time, and a lot of the butter LONDON polishes were gone by then.  But they still had one I wanted: Knees Up.  So I got that one, along with British Racing Green...which I hadn't expected to get, but am growing to like.  Went a bit crazy with polishes today, but I was saving up for the butter LONDON polishes since I saw the catalog. xD

They all look like great fall polishes, and I can't wait to swatch them!  I have lots in my queue for swatching now, haha.  Stay tuned for those!

Also, I was planning to swatch and review some lippies, but I got sick last week, and haven't wanted to wear any makeup for fear of contaminating it with my germies.  But I'm happy to say I am getting better, so I'll be trying to do those swatches and reviews soon!

Did you end up getting anything from the BOGO butter LONDON deal?

Thrifting Adventures

Yesterday, I decided to do a little a thrifting.  I have never really gone thrifting before, except for shopping at a Salvation Army once, so I decided to make a day of it.  My Salvation Army experience was pretty good, so I had high hopes for the day.  Unfortunately, my hopes were not met.

Since I'm pretty much starting from scratch and don't know any good thrift stores in the LA area, I decided to start with the "bigger" ones, like Goodwill.  I went to a Goodwill that's a bit further away from where I live, hoping that there would be better finds.  No such luck!  I found this dress that was too big, but I liked the print and was willing to reconstruct it into a nice shirt.  But I couldn't get over the pricing...I felt like their pricing was pretty expensive!  $7.99 for the dresses!  For 5 dollars more, I could probably get something new from Forever 21 or H&M.  It was the same thing at the next place I went to, "Out of the Closet".  Found a dress there I kinda wanted, but it was $8.50!  And it was from Target's Xhilaration line, which I could probably get a new dress from for a few dollars more.  =.=;;  I know that they're trying to make some money for a good cause, but it's still a bit pricey for used items, IMO.  And besides, Salvation Army was not that pricey, that one time I went!

I don't know...maybe my expectations were too high, hoping for to get some super cheap steals.  But I always hear people finding such great deals, really cheap.  Shirts for $1 or 2, dresses for $3.  What thrift stores are they shopping at?!  I guess I need to do more research!

Have you guys been thrifting before?  What was your experience like?

Also, if you know any thrift stores I should check out in the LA area, let me know! :)

SWATCH+REVIEW: OPI - My Address is Hollywood

When I first saw OPI's fall collection, Touring America, the colors didn't really appeal to me.  The only one I wanted was My Address is Hollywood, and I mostly wanted it for the name, lol.  I don't really wear pinks, and if I do, it would be pale pinks (that are work appropriate) or hot pinks.  But this pink is really pretty.  It's a dusty rose color with subtle shimmer.

Of course now, after looking at swatches, I want several other colors.  It also doesn't hurt that I love the names of the colors in this collection!  Be on the lookout for more swatches for this collection, as soon as I can pick up the others that I want... :P

Jesse's Girl Julie G Collection (Part 2) - Beauty Guru, Girl's Night Out, Stilletto

Look what I have!  More swatches of the Julie G collection! :)  These are the other 3 polishes that I got from this collection. (You can see the first 3 swatches here.)

First up is Beauty Guru:

in the shade, natural light

in sunlight

This is a dusty orange creme that is still quite bright, if that makes any sense.  Love this color!  And I don't own anything like it, so it's a great addition to my collection.  The formula and application was terrific!  Applied 3 coats + Seche Vite top coat.

Next is Girls Night Out:

in the shade, natural light

in sunlight

This is a straight-up-blue creme that is gorgeous.  Again, don't own anything like it.  I have a lot of teals and a few navys, but no blues like this.  This one also had a great formula and great application!  Applied 3 coats + Seche Vite.

And finally, we have Stiletto:

in the shade, natural light

in sunlight

in sunlight

This is a taupe color with subtle shimmer, creating a gorgeous polish that is work safe.  Since I'm now job hunting, I am always on the look out for colors that are pretty yet wearable in a professional setting.  If you're looking for something like that, I definitely recommend checking this color out!  This one also had terrific formula and application!  Applied 3 coats + Seche Vite.

Overall, I'm loving the Julie G Collection.  The colors are pretty and the formula and application are great!  I only had problems with All Things Girly, with it coming out streaky, but otherwise love it.  Fashion Friday and Stiletto are my favorites out of the bunch, which is funny cuz I wasn't going to pick those up initially.  Glad I did!

All swatches are 3 coats of polish and 1 coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Jesse's Girl Julie G Collection is LIMITED EDITION.  It retails for $3.99, which is $1 more than regular Jesse's Girl polishes.  This collection is EXCLUSIVE to Rite Aid.

Do you have any favorites from the Julie G Collection?

Jesse's Girl Julie G Collection (Part 1) - All Things Girly, Fashion Friday, Mermaid's Lagoon

Today, I have swatches of 3 polishes from the Jesse's Girl Julie G Collection.  I was super excited when I heard that Julie G would be collaborating with Jesse's Girl to release her own nail polish collection.  In case you don't know, Julie is a beauty guru on YouTube and a nail polish lover, creating makeup tutorials as well as nail tutorials.  She was one of the first gurus I subscribed to, when I started my makeup adventure, and I think she's great!

There are 8 colors in this collection, and all were created by Julie personally.  Each color and the name of each have meaning, which Julie talks about in her video.  Though all the colors are pretty, I only walked away with 6 out of the 8.  I didn't get Party Dress, because I don't usually wear red, and Cupcake, because I feel like I have that color already.  Anyway...I actually only wanted two at first: Beauty Guru and All Things Girly.  But after looking at swatches, I decided I liked other ones too, lol.

First up, All Things Girly:

in the shade

in the sun

This was one that looked absolutely gorgeous to me, when I first saw Julie's video revealing her collection.  It is a nice peachy creme color.  Unfortunately, I didn't love it so much on me.  My nails did not want to play nice with this polish, and I ended up with streaky polish on.  It did kind of even out after I applied Seche Vite as a top coat.

Next is Fashion Friday:

in the shade

in the sun

Fashion Friday was not even on my radar, when I first saw this collection.  But after seeing some swatches, I changed my mind.  And I'm glad I did, because now I love it!  It's a bright magenta purple creme, and I think it's gorgeous.  I don't usually gravitate towards this type of color, so I don't own anything like it, but I may need to rethink which colors I pick up, haha!  The formula and application with this one was great!  No problems here!

Last, but not least, Mermaid's Lagoon:

in the shade

in the sun

trying to capture the shimmer

Mermaid's Lagoon was another one that I thought was pretty, but didn't plan on picking up.  I wasn't going to get this because it's a bright teal color that I feel I've seen a lot, and also own a lot of.  BUT, as I saw in several swatch pictures, it has hidden golden shimmer which makes it different!  The shimmer gives it extra depth, and makes it that much prettier.  The formula and application with this was okay.

All swatches are 3 coats of polish and 1 coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Jesse's Girl Julie G Collection is LIMITED EDITION.  It retails for $3.99, which is $1 more than regular Jesse's Girl polishes.  This collection is EXCLUSIVE to Rite Aid.

What do you think of this collection? Have you picked up any colors?   

SPOTTED: Revlon Edgy Elegance Polish Display

I was at Rite Aid earlier today, and spotted this display.  It looked like they had just finished putting out, because they still had a sheet of paper out that showed how to display the nail polish.  So I guess this is another new display from Revlon!  It's called Edgy Elegance, and contains 8 new shades plus a quick dry top coat.  The polishes look like they are all shimmers, and some might even have a foil finish.

Girly & Fierce

Punk & Princess

Catty & Top Coat

Innocent & Downtown

Top Coat & Aloof

These polishes look gorgeous, and I was so excited when I spotted them!  But then again, I'm always excited with new nail polish releases, haha!  I wish I had taken close ups of each bottle, but I was in a bit of a rush, so I just snapped these few pictures.  I didn't even pick up any for myself, and I love Revlon polishes!  Maybe I'll go back later, and try to get close ups. ^^  If I do, I'll definitely edit this post with them.

My favorites are Fierce, Princess, and Catty.  

Are you interested in getting any? 
Which ones are your favorites?

ETA: More pictures! Close ups of the bottles under the cut: