USA Haul!
28th September, 2011 - Posted by Emily - 11 Comments
Yes you read that right, this is a USA haul! No I haven’t visited the United States – wouldn’t that be awesome! What I have done though is sent a little shopping list to Alexandra, a relative of mine who lives in the US and she’s brought them back for me! I’m so excited! Since I live in Europe but read American blogs I always get so envious when they’re showing products I can’t get. We only have a tiny handful of nice brands here but most of the better ones we do have (like OPI and Essie) cost more than twice what they do in America! Ouch.
So yeah after months and months of longing for these brands I’ve finally managed to get my hands on a few of them. All thanks to Alexandra! Thank you so much for doing this, I’m forever grateful!
Here’s what I got:
- China Glaze in: Flip Flop Fantasy, Re-Fresh Mint, Peachy Keen, Frostbite and Strong Adhesion Base Coat
- OPI in: Coney Island Cotton Candy, Bubble Bath and Tickle My France-y
- Sinful Colours in: Rise And Shine, Mint Apple and Unicorn
- Revlon Scented in: Grape Icy, Gum Drop, Peach Smoothie, Beach and Ocean Breeze
- Claire’s Mood Polish in: Confident/Peaceful, Earthy/Happy, Bored/Excited, Funky/Fabulous, Loved/Lonely and Relaxed/Hyper
- Orly – Galaxy Girl
- Essie – Van D’Go
- Sally Girl mini glitters
- Select-a-Style fimo wheels
- Nail Art steel balls
- EOS lipbalm in: Sweet Mint, Honeysuckle Honeydew and Lemon Drop
From left to right: Strong Adhesion Base Coat, Peachy Keen, Flip Flop Fantasy, Re-Fresh Mint, Frostbite
Ahhh Finally more polishes from the Up and Away collection! I still wish I had all of them but these two (Peachy Keen & Re-Fresh Mint) were my favourites. I’m rocking Re-Fresh Mint on my toes, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Flip Flop Fantasy is so pretty too, yay for neons! I asked for the Fast Forward Top Coat but Alexandra got me the Base Coat by accident. Not that big of an issue since I needed a new base coat anyway and I’ve read some rave reviews on this. Still on my wish list is For Audrey! One day…
From left to right: Tickle My France-y, Bubble Bath and Coney Island Cotton Candy
My first ever OPI’s! Can you believe it? I felt like such an inadequate blogger for not having OPI in my stash. Now I do! My favourite by far is Tickle My France-y. It’s such a gorgeous shade, not quite nude and not quite greige either. I love the finish of it, it’s super shiny. The other two are a bit on the sheer side, though still pretty. The OPI brush is a little too big for me, maybe because I’m not used to it but I prefer a slimmer brush. I know many people love it though!
From left to right: Peach Smoothie, Grape Icy, Gum Drop, Ocean Breeze and Beach
Since I didn’t own any scented polishes I was quite keen to try these. I’ve been having a lot of headaches lately so I haven’t exactly been excited about the smells of these but maybe once I feel better I might like them more. Some of the shades are extremely sheer which is a little disappointing. I thought Revlon polishes would be a lot better formulated!* My favourite so far is Peach Smoothie and my mum is head over heels in love with Ocean Breeze and Beach which I mostly got for her so that’s good!
*edit: someone kindly informed me the sheer formula is not the case with the rest of their polishes like their Fast Dry line. That’s a relief!
From left to right: Rise And Shine, Mint Apple and Unicorn
Sinful Colours is a brand we do get in Belgium albeit very scarcely. They are sold for €6 which is about 8 US dollar, they are 2 dollars or less in the United States. How criminal is that? Makes me so angry since these are great polishes! I know many bloggers love these since their range is good and they’re cheap but still good quality. They’re really nice and pigmented, I wish I had more of these! I really like the bottles too.
From left to right: Relaxed/Hyper, Loved/Lonely, Confident/Peaceful, Happy/Earthy, Bored/Excited and Funky/Fabulous
I was most looking forward to these, they’re called mood polishes. They change colour by temperature! So when you put your hands in either cold or hot water they will look different accordingly. The effect is strongest with the green polish, Happy/Earthy. The rest of them are very subtle and some don’t have any effect whatsoever (Loved/Lonely). Regardless of this effect all the colours are very pretty!
From left to right: Sally Girl Minis, Orly Galaxy Girl, Essie Van D’Go
In my list were the Jewel FX by Milani. I think she got the Sally Girls instead, they’re pretty (and so adorable!) but unfortunately the glitter effect is not the same. I’m really glad I finally own an Orly, and Galaxy Girl at that! It’s absolutely gorgeous! So is the Essie but I haven’t tried it yet so can’t comment any further.
Finally finally finally I own a nail polish thinner! I’ve been longing to try this for ages since I own many polishes that are too thick and goopy to work with. This is my holy grail seriously. I cannot live without it now! It’s honestly saved many polishes already. If you can get your hands on a nail polish thinner go buy it, it’s a must-have!
Since I sent my list before I knew Born Pretty Store I included fimo slices and steel balls. I now own both already but this wasn’t an issue since I don’t have many fruit fimo slices and she got me an entire wheel full of fruits! They’re very pretty so I’m really chuffed. Also I go through a ton of steel balls so these will be put to good use!
These will look familiar if you read blogs or watch youtube hauls. They’re the much raved about lip balms by EOS. I asked for three and I got Lemon Drop, Honeysuckle Honeydew and Sweet Mint. My favourite is Lemon Drop! I really like the packaging, it’s fun but a bit bulky so they don’t really fit that well in a small purse. Also the Sweet Mint burns your lips! It’s really strong, I can’t imagine there’s people that actually like this sensation. It’s definitely too strong for me though it smells really nice!
All in all I’m extremely pleased with my USA haul and I’m so grateful to Alexandra for going through all the trouble! Thank you so much!
Also I am happy to say I have found a new theme, I’m currently in the process of editing it to suit this blog, there will be a few elements you will recognize so it will feel familiar but be completely new as well! The pictures will be bigger (finally!) so once the new theme goes up it might take some time before all the old posts and pictures will be the appropriate size.
Posted on: September 28, 2011
Filed under: Haul, Nail Polish, Purchases
11 Comments
attackedastoria
September 28th, 2011 at 11:36 PM
Awesome haul! Re-Freshmint, Peachy Keen, and Van D'go are some of my favorite pastel polishes ever. I love the EOS balms too, I don't know what I'd do without mine. I'm always shocked by how expensive polish is overseas! It's a shame because Europe has some lovely brands I'd like to try.. ah, the frustration of polish addiction.
Emily
September 28th, 2011 at 11:49 PM
Do you have a sweet mint EOS one? How do you feel about the cooling sensation? I keep wondering whether it's me that's being weird about it and other people are fine with it haha. Yes it's a true shame we have to pay such a high price. We have Catrice & Essence but that's just about the only thing there is. It's good but doesn't compare to what you US girls can get their lovely manicured hands on!
kayleigh
September 29th, 2011 at 2:27 AM
GREAT haul!! I just got some of that same polish thinner and I looooove it! Although I find it only lasts so long… I use a few drops and the polish is good, but then I have to use it again because it gums up again. But hey, it's better than it not being thin at all! Enjoy all the new polishes!
Emily
September 29th, 2011 at 2:31 AM
Thanks! Yes I think I have noticed that as well. I read that scrangie fills up the nail polish bottle completely to the top instead of just a few drops. I'm not sure it works since I have yet to try that but like you said, at least it doesn't render them completely useless. I'm so glad I have some thinner in my life now seriously! Thank you! I definitely will, so glad I have some new brands to try now.
attackedastoria
September 29th, 2011 at 6:37 AM
I've never tried the Minty EOS balm, but I find that most things with mint tend to make my lips feel cool and tingle like crazy. I know all my plumping lip glosses have a strong minty tingle to them. I tend to stick to the fruity scents!
Emily
September 29th, 2011 at 12:32 PM
I guess it must be a European thing then, I've never seen minty lipbalm here before so it was a bit of a shocker haha! I had no idea what to expect. Which is your favourite of the EOS balms?
nettej
September 29th, 2011 at 6:37 PM
Just so you know, most Revlon polishes are AMAZING. The scented ones definitely are not formulated as well, but their fast-dry line (top speed)…wow. They are practically perfect in one coat. Even the yellow is almost opaque in just one coat! If you ever get another chance to try Revlon, I definitely recommend it! They are without a doubt my favorite!
Emily
September 29th, 2011 at 7:45 PM
Oh thanks for letting me know! I'm really glad to hear that since the formula on these was definitely not what it should be. I was a little confused anyway since I know these are usually pretty high up there. I'll definitely give them another try
Isha
October 2nd, 2011 at 3:05 PM
Galaxy Girl is ZO mooi!
Ik heb 'm zelf ook en als die op mijn nagels zit, dan zit ik er uren naar te staren.
Het goede aan China Glaze en Orly is ook dat die potjes echt groot zijn, je krijgt lekker veel voor je geld.
Superleuke haul.
Emily
October 2nd, 2011 at 3:34 PM
Hihi dankje!
Heb Galaxy girl nog niet opgehad maar ik betrap mezelf erop dat ik vaak naar het flesje zit te staren haha. En inderdaad die grote potjes zijn echt fijn, Orly is 18ml!!! Echt super!
Margaux
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:31 PM
Amaai zoveel mooie spulletjes!
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