MY collection.

Hello all,
So, one of the first posts I ever did on here was showing you my then polish collection and my nail polish rack I had just made. In case you never saw it, here it is. I often get asked how I keep all my polish and I love seeing how others keep theirs. Well, needless to say, that rack is beyond full. It is bursting at the seams. I remember when my goal was to fill it up! Seems like just yesterday.... I am currently trying to decide if I should get a melmer/helmer or build more racks. I say "more" because I would need at least another 5 for what I currently have and it is no doubt going to keep growing, we all know that!!! But I thought I would show you guys how my collection is stashed currently. Its a bit of a hassle, as you will see I have polish EVERYWHERE!!! Anyhow, lets have a look

So, to start off, here's how my rack looks now. I try to put all my indies on it, but they're not all there. I had to move all the OPI's and most of my Essie's to a drawer. So anyhow, these aren't my favourite polishes, as most tend to think, since it is on my rack. These were mostly what was first on there and it stayed, except for some moving around.

HAHA! I TOLD YOU its was "bursting at the seams" I had to add those white pieces you see because the shelves are so heavy and I was scared they would fall but I have had no issue! Actually quite surprising and this has been up for over a year and filled to that extend for at least 8 months!!

On the absolute top, I have things that came in boxes and kept them in and a few random polishes.

Under that is China Glaze (some of them) and all my strippers and small polishes.

Then its an all indie shelf, including my beloved Manglazes and Whimsies:)

Then some Essie's (stress on SOME) and more indies:)

Then some NOPI's and OPI's. Mainly the whole "Modern family" collection and some "Selena Gomez".

The next two are really random. Some Juleps, zoya's, Daisy, Maybelline NYC, Layla's, Butter London, Up Colors and NFU-OH and a few others. 

Then , at first, when it was just so full that I couldn't add even one more polish, I got this bucket:)

As you can see, there is really no order to this. There's Nubar, NYC, Sally Hansen, Revlon and a bunch of other randoms.

THEN, this got full. I absolutely never wanted to put polish in a drawer at first. Which is why I am contemplating a melmer/helmer. It's great for storage and has a lot of room and keeps things neat and all in one place, but I like having my pretties out for all to see:) But, OPI and Essie being the two brands I have the most of and would need a few racks just for them, I made a drawer just for them and eventually had to add more to it.

Here's a closer look at what's in there...

As I said, OPI's and Essie's. AAHH.... Just look at the rainbow of colors:) Makes me so happy to look at... Yea  I am weird....

Then some Sally Hansen, NYC, Sinful colors, China Glaze and Billie.

And the rest of my NOPI's. That pair of pants is there because it stops the polish from moving all over the place when strategically placed:)

So, that's all my polish you say? NO, not yet....

I always have this section of my bureau with at least 10 polishes on it. Its usually new ones that I still haven't swatched yet. Or polishes I am planning on using.... Or polishes for swaps:)

The drawer full of polish is from this cabinet I have...

and as you can see, all the shelves are full of boxes and nail related items. On the first shelf is, you guessed it, some polish...

As you can see, I am not too organized. I keep all the boxes because I do a lot of swaps with other girls. Apart from polish, I also have all my "tools", meaning stuff i use when doing my nails. I keep it all that in this 

IT is also a mess, but an organized mess, to me. In it I have all my nail wheels. Every polish I get, I swatch on these so I can easily see what a polish looks like. I rather have sticks and plan on switching to those but for now, this is what I have. Each wheel is numbered or named. I try to keep it all together by brands but sometimes I cant....

I also have these nail wheels for art. I practice on them or see if two colors go good together or whatnot. Stuff like that....

This is the rest of the stuff in there.

Here's a closer look at the contents....

Some stickers, glitter, beads, sliced fimo slices, stripping tape...

Fimo canes, rhinestones, art pens, glitter, book of stamping plates, stampers...

Paint brushes for nail art or mixing colors, franken bottles, my nail soakers and some nail foils.

I keep all my stamping plates in this old photo album (the Christmas thing). I have aver 20 of them so instead of having them loose all over the place, I have them in here so I can easily see them and get to them.

SO there you have it. Its a mess, but its a beautiful mess:) And ask me for any bottle or any nail art item and I can find it in less than a minute:) It may look and be disorganized to others, but to me, I know where everything is. But , as I mentioned I still need to change the way I have my polish set up. I want them to be all together, not all over the place and preferably have them showing. But I have to see if I would even have enough room. I have about 500 polishes, if you're curious, this is my stash, so I would need at least another 4-5 racks and I know my collection will only keep growing. AND I am such a hoarder, uh...I mean collector, I have a hard time getting rid of any....LOL . So racks, although better for what I want, takes a lot of room. Anyhow, something for me to think about. 

So, how do you keep your collection? I am curious and would love to hear what seems to be more popupal. Racks or helmer/melmers?? What do you think of the way I have mine set up?

Anyhow, I know I didn't show any polish in this post but it is still polish related. Hope you enjoyed it. Till next time.....

                  XXOXOX

Zoya Phoebe

I have a really quick post for you guys today. The beautiful and gorgeous Zoya "Phoebe"
 It is a bright blue matte polish, from their Mod matte polishes. I had heard that it was difficult to work with before I got it, and I had heard right. Application is on the streaky side. Took me three coats to get it looking even. As you apply it, it just goes on uneven and doesn't look good. However, the next day, when it is all settled I guess, I found it looked a lot better.

The only thing with matte's is that you can't add a top coat or it will take a way the matte look. Some people will apply the polish, then pot a TC and then one last layer, but I didn't. As you can see on my tips, wear does show quickly.

In the shade

You can certainly see the brush lines and that is what I meant by it being difficult as you apply it. It is hard to get it to look even.

In the sun

But all in all, with a bit of work, this polish is beyond worth the effort. It is just gorgeous! I love it so much! I also have "Veruschka" which is another Zoya matte and it's not as hard to work with, maybe because it is a darker shade, and just as lovely. I definitely want some more Zoya mattes!

So, that is that. Just a quick post and hope you guys enjoyed it:) 

Revlon "Moon candy" polishes.

So, have you guys seen the new trend of chunky pieces of glitter used as a top coat?? You probably heard them called "Flakies"?  I have seen them all over lately and they make for a very pretty top coat. Well, Revlon has a whole line of them called "Moon Candy" and I had to get most of them.  I have heard some say these are more " iridescent shards of glitter" that what actual "flakies" really are. I think they're just gorgeous and that's what matters:). Revlon explains them as "Cosmic 3D effects for out-of-this-world nails!" They come in the same shape as their nail art pens, but these have a color on one end and the glitter on the other end. A creme color and its matching glitter. I decided to do a different color on each finger. The whole set consists of eight different duos but I used five. The five I used are, from my thumb to my pinky..

Thumb:  "satellite", which is a dark, maroon red creme, almost a blood red, with iridescent, gold and pink flakie glitter in a light clear, pink base.

Index: Meteor", which is a real dark, green. The best way for me to describe this green is as "army green" and, with iridescent, minty green  flakie glitter in a light, clear, green base.

Middle: "Galactic", which is a a navy blue creme with iridescent, aqua blue flakie glitter in a light, clear, blue base.

Ring: "Orbit", which is creme, dark purple with iridescent ,lilac flakie glitter in a light, clear, purple base.

Pinky: "Eclipse", which is a burgundy colored creme with iridescent pink and purple flakie glitter, in a  light,clear, pink base.

So, the whole point of these are to first, use the creme as your base, and then add the matching glitter (or you can change them up) as the top coat. Again, this time the longer version, Revlon had this to say about them "Revlon Nail Art Moon Candy™ allows you to get a gorgeous, iridescent effect inspired by outer space. The holographic glitter top coat is illuminated by the dark cream base coat, giving your nails a multi-dimensional look. The dual-ended package gives you everything you need to create a fun, cosmic look. " 

"Cosmic" really is a great word to use to describe the look. With me, "Orbit" especially gave me "Galaxy" looking nails. Anyhow, lets have a look, shall we?

                                                                       Indoors

Outdoors

In the sun, they really glisten.

I just LOVE the shards of glitter:)

See what I mean by it look like "Galaxy" nails?

So, overall, I really did like these. Especially "Orbit" because, as I mentioned, it really makes for "galaxy" nails in a bottle. My only complaint would be that they are on the small side. I only used one on each nail but I did do a full mani with another one I own and by the time I did all ten fingers, it was more than half gone. I really like the look so I am heavy handed with it, but even though, it did go a bit fast. But, I have six of these at the moment and that is not stopping me from planning on getting the remaining ones I am missing:) 

What do you guys think of these? Do you own any? If so which ones? IF not, which ones would you love to own?

Revlon polishes are available at most drugstores and vary in price. Usually from 5.99$ to 9.99$, here in Canada. These moon candy polishes were 8.49$ each. All polishes are purchased with my own money and all reviews are my honest opinions. 

Essie "Mint candy apple" and f4polish "Splat"

Warning!!! This post may make you crave mint chocolate chip ice cream!!!

HAHA!! Ok now that you have been warned, I can continue! In all seriousness, every time I looked at this mani, it made me think of and therefore crave mint chocolate chip ice cream. So, make sure you have eaten dinner first.

I have a really simple, quick one for you guys today. I actually did it a while back but never posted it because I didn't get the best pictures but, went through them again and decided to share a few with you. First the polishes I used were..

Essie "Mint Candy apple" : A cream mint green pastel. A tad on the thick side so only took two coats to get an opaque finish. This color was on my wishlist forever. I had seen so many gorgeous swatches and was just swooning over it. I was so happy to find out that Essie re-released it with other colors and are making them a part of the core line. So, I quickly got my hands on it and "Lady like" which was the only other re-released polish that I did not have and I must say, it certainly did not disappoint. It is perfect for Spring, obviously, but I think it is one of those colors that is great all year round and can be used in so many ways. If you don't have it, you certainly should. Even if you have some that are close to it, China glaze "For Audrey " is often compared to it, I would suggest getting it. But that's just me and I love Essie. I believe I own more Essie's then any other brand. Just go have a look at my stash and you will see how many I have:)

F4polish "Splat": this is another polish I wanted for a while. At first, you only saw it with indie makers but recently China Glaze released "whirled away" with their Cirque du soleil collection but they are a tad different. "whirled away" has big white circles. Well, before I keep going, "Splat" is, as described on their etsy page ,"Is a clear base with various shapes and sizes of white and black matte glitters and silver holographic glitters."  

It is a great topping for many manis and goes well with so many colors.

Anyhow, let's get onto the pictures. As I said, I didn't capture the best pictures but it is what it is....

I love the tiny holo glitter in it. That's what makes this one different than others out there. You will see this combo in a lot of the indie makers, but they all vary a bit. Not all of them have the holo glitter. Many are just black and white. Some only have the bars, some only circles.

As I said, just a quick post. You know me, I usually have a lot more pictures, lol. But, what do you guys think of this combo? Did it awaken your sweet tooth?? Craving mint chocolate chip ice cream? I am all over again!!!! Well hope you guys enjoyed it:) Till next time:)

                                                                                          xxx