Vacation Polish Haul!!!

I'm baaaaaaack!!   I hope I was able to keep you entertained while I was away on vacation.  I had to scrounge for some swatches and had the very appreciated help of some wonderful guest bloggers to get me through the trip.

I did manage to get some shopping done, albeit not as much as I wanted to.  I didn't get to really explore the outlets or get to the mall - I was too busy trying to catch up with old friends and letting LO meet everyone.  In terms of nail polish, I was only able to go to Wal-mart and Big Lots - nothing really exciting but I very rarely get to go to those stores when I'm in LA.  Here are my scores from those two stores:

Walmart Kiss Nail Art and Polishes

Walmart Maybelline and Hard Candy

Big Lots Colormates - that purple has iridescent shimmer!

I also picked up Duri Rejuvacote but then ended up giving it to one of my BFFs because she needed something for the peelies.  I'll have to find it another time.  My other BFF was very sweet to pick me up some Bettinas while in Puerto Rico and a Lisa Watier while in Montreal.  I wish I knew about Bettina when I was in Puerto Rico - I got married there five years ago and this BFF got married there three years ago.  Each time I walked by the display and thought, meh, I already have those colors.  I wish I knew how great they were for watermarbling at the time!

Bettina and Lisa Watier

Once I got home, my nail mail was all waiting for me.  First is my order from Rescue Beauty Lounge's Blogger 2.0 collection:

Rescue Beauty Lounge Blogger 2.0

And then a new polish from Pipe Dreams, and Lemony Flutter.  I hope it's as good as everyone says it is for the cuticles!

Pipe Dreams and Lush Lemony FLutter

And then my swap items from a sweet fellow TPFer that I found on MUA.  For some reason I recently decided I needed all the polishes from the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection, and she happen to have some other polishes that I wanted to check out.  My OPI Pirates collection is now complete!

Swap polishes OPI and China Glaze Hologlams

That's it for tonight!  I would do a swatch but I still haven't unpacked my bags.  I've taken off my nail polish - I was wearing Enchanted Polish Beautiful Rule Breaking Moth for the last half of the vacation and during the wedding.  It lasted really well for the entire time I wore it up until today while I was at work, in which two fairly large chips ensued.  If I have any energy left, I'll try to do my nails rather than going nekkid.  Heaven forbid!! 

Hard Candy Crushed Chromes in Amethyst, Lava, and Raisin

How was your weekend lovelies?  I hope you were able to get some fun and rest.  I caught up on some of my shows and took quite a few naps with LO.

I have the rest of the Hard Candy polishes that I picked up while I was in NC, and looking at them, it looks like I really liked the Crushed Chromes collection.  I also picked up Black Tie Optional but it's not swatched here.  I'll save that for a later time.   Meanwhile, check out Crush on Tin, the first Crushed Chrome I tried.  

First I have Crushed Amethyst, a violet foil with silver flecks.  It was super easy to apply and two coat was enough for opacity.  No topcoat in these pictures.

Crush On Amethyst

Crush On Amethyst

Crush On Amethyst

Crush On Amethyst

Crush On Amethyst

Next I have Crush On Lava, which I think is the star of all the Crushed Chromes, if not all of the Hard Candies that were released.  It's a stunning duochrome foil that shifts from orange to red to purple in the right light.  I think that MAC Bad Fairy or Accessorize Pink Spice might be close dupes, but this is much easier to find and cheaper too.  Two easy coats for this as well, no topcoat.

Hard Candy Crush On Lava

 Crush On Lava

Crush On Lava

Crush On Lava

 Crush On Lava

 Crush On Lava

Lastly I have Crushed On Raisin, a pretty pink foil with gold flecks.  I really liked this one, surprisingly, but then again, I really love pink and gold together.  Formula and application were similar to the others, two coats and no topcoat.

Crush On Raisin

Crush On Raisin

Crush On Raisin

Crush On Raisin

Crush On Raisin

Crush On Raisin

I loved the easy application of these considering they were foil like.  There were no brush strokes visible once dry and the polishes weren't thick and self leveled really well.  Next time I wear these, I want to matte them out.  My favorite is a tie between Crush On Tin and Crush On Lava, followed by Crush on Raisin. Are you impressed with these as much as I am?

Hard Candy Gummy Green Swatch And Review (Over Wet 'n' Wild I Need A Refresh-Mint)

Try as I might, I could not resist picking up more than one polish from the new Hard Candy display.  The other night, I showed you Crush On Tin, and tonight I have a cream glitter called Gummy Green.  This is in line with the new trend of black glitters suspended in cream bases, except it's a bit more distinctive with its contrasting silver glitters.  The base is a milky light green crelly, and I found the formula to be really nice.  There was no pooling or uneven glitter spread upon application, and I used only 1 coat over Wet 'n' Wild I need A Refresh-mint.  Two coats probably would have worked fine and would give the mani a little more depth.  I used a layer of SH Insta Dri to add some smoothness to the mani.

Hard Candy Gummy Green

Hard Candy Gummy Green

Hard Candy Gummy Green

Hard Candy Gummy Green

Hard Candy Gummy Green

As a bonus, I have pics of Wet 'n' Wild I need A Refresh-mint by itself.  This is two coats followed with a layer of topcoat.  I found the formula to be really great for a cheapie drugstore brand.  There was no streaking or pooling and the polish self leveled itself really well. 

Wet 'n' Wild I need A Refresh-mint

Wet 'n' Wild I need A Refresh-mint

Wet 'n' Wild I need A Refresh-mint

Wet 'n' Wild I need A Refresh-mint

I really love both looks, and will probably try Gummy Green on its own sometime.  I really didn't want to pick up a creamy black speckled glitter, but for $3.99, how could I not, especially in comparison to the new Deborah Lippmanns and Illamasquas that look similar.  Have you tried any of the speckled creams yet?

Hard Candy Crush On Tin Swatch And Review

So did everyone have a great April Fools day?  Anyone pull off a prank or get taken by one?  I really loved the Zoya Grassy Nails and almost believed it, especially with the increase of textured nails.  Scrangie had my loling for a bit as well with her post, and I liked that she was able to poke fun at herself for taking such a long haitus from blogging.

I have a swatch tonight of Hard Candy Crush On Tin from their Crushed Chrome Collection.  I think that collection may be my favorite of all the Hard Candy collections that were released, but overall, the all the new polishes are truly amazing and innovative for a mainstream brand.  Way to go HC for doing their research! 
Crush On Tin, a tobacco-y bronze fleck black polish, doesn't seem to be getting as much love as some of the other polishes, and so I wanted to show you how pretty it can be.  Initially I thought it would be another dupe for a Englands Beauty Never Fails or China Glaze Immortal, but instead it surprised me because it has not just the bronze flecks but silver flecks as well in the blackened base.  In daylight, the colors play off each other and reflect green and orange.  It's really a very complex polish.  I used two super easy coats - the formula was really amazing for being only $3.99.  No pooling or dragging, it was nice and buttery.  I finished with a layer of Poshe to hasten drying.

Hard Candy Crush On Tin

Hard Candy Crush On Tin

Hard Candy Crush On Tin

Hard Candy Crush On Tin

Hard Candy Crush On Tin

I really liked this shade and I think it's the sleeper of the entire collection.  I hope more people start to give this shade some recognition and pick it up, it's just too pretty to miss.  Which color is your favorite from the new Hard Candy releases?  If you're interested in picking some up, they're now available on the Wal-Mart website.