Oops.

Haven't I told you, internet, that whenever I say "I'm not really buying much nail polish right now," something happens in my brain and I go crazy and buy one millionty nail polishes?

It happened again.

I've had a shopping list in mind for Transdesign involving a couple of the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection, the two new OPI Serena duos and some New York Summer colors. Cookbook mentioned she was looking at RBL Bikini Bottom and I suggested NYS Hot Baby Blue as a (much) cheaper alternative, which got me thinking that I would like HBB as well and perhaps also Super Violet.

Well, Transdesign is out of everything. Out of the Pirate colors I want, out of the Serena duos and out of Hot Baby Blue and Super Violet.

So I set my list aside and thought I would just wait until Transdesign restocked, oh, EVERYTHING and until then I'd just continue my nail polish diet.

Except...I had some PayPal money and I really did want OPI Not Like The Movies...so I bought it...and then I also bought OPI Mamma Mia and Movin' Out.

Then today at lunch I couldn't stand not having the American Apparel neons anymore. I work close to an AA store so I went there and made them mine.

I got Neon Red and Neon Purple and, for some reason that I still can't explain, Dynasty. It's not that it isn't a nice color but whuh...whut was I thinking? I should have bought Neon Orange instead. Temporary insanity.

Then - because once you're in the rabbit hole you might as well go all the way down the rabbit hole - I went to Walgreens. I don't live close to a Walgreens anymore so I haven't been to one in months, and it was like Walgreens pulled out all the stops for me. They had the Sally Hansen crackles, the new Hard As Nails colors, new Complete Salon Manicure line, the new Revlon that's a supposed dupe for Chanel Black Pearl (and the Wet 'n' Wild eight-pan eyeshadow palettes, but that's a post for another day) - just everything that could possibly tempt a nail polish, um, collector like myself.

I did practice some restraint, however. I chose the red crackle (Cherry Smash) and a light blue, called Barracuda, from the CSM line.

Ooooooooh, Barracuda.

I also have a tale to tell you about some long-lost Milani colors, but I'll save that for another post, too.

Nina

Hello there, sorry it's been a while. As promised I haven't been buying much nail polish lately but I've been having a great time rummaging through my collection. I've also completed a few swaps that were a lot of fun...recently I was able to send someone a number of surprise extras that were on her wish list, and I love doing that.

Anyway, I did make an exception to my no-buy the other day...though I have to say, it's not so much a strict no-buy as it is a not-really-feeling-anything phase. I do really want some of the new Essie colors but not badly enough to run out and pay $8 each for them. But in any event I received an email from Sally Beauty informing me that I only needed to spend $2 to receive my 15% off bonus coupon for July, so naturally I made a point of stopping by on my lunch break this week. Now to be honest with you I had other, hair-related purchases in mind, but as always I perused the polish selection. I found this screamingly neon Nina that's blowing my mind:

YOWZA. These pictures are disappointing because you can't see just how BRIGHT the polish is, or the amazeballs GREEN SHIMMER in it, but it's all there. Dries matte like a true neon, so I used Seche Vite to give it shine. If you're familiar with the China Glaze Poolside collection (I don't own any of them because China Glaze doesn't seem to work well for me), it's very similar in color to Flip Flop Fantasy.

Different lighting.

I can't wait to wear this as a pedicure, honestly.

Previously I was wearing another Nina, Tutti Frutti from the Hard Candies collection.

Bright pink jelly with silver flecks. Not quite 100% opaque, but I didn't have any problems with a visible nail line.

I really love Nina polishes and I hope they keep coming out with new colors and collections. For less than $4 I'm happy to experiment.