Swatch - We're In It Together - Essie

Hello everyone!  I wanted to post up a swatch for everyone.  With this being Breast Cancer Awareness month, there are a lot of new polishes and makeup palettes to remind women up the importance to get routine checkups.  Essie has one display with four polishes that I blogged about here.

I did a swatch for the color I liked the most from the set, which is called "We're In It Together".  This is a "shimmery, iridescent pink", which in the bottle looks to have a shimmer between purplish blue and reddish pink.  It is wonderful to look at in the bottle, they way it would sparkle in different light.  That sparkle doesn't transfer to the nails very well though.

I found the polish to go on very oddly and very thin.  To get a serviceable look to it, I had to use three coats before the polish was opaque.  The polish would pool at the sides of the nail and into the cuticle.  Sadly the shimmer only is seen in very certain, very up close lighting.  Otherwise it looks like baby pink polish on the nails.

Here is a swatch of the color:

Here is the color in the bottle:

Under the flash of the camera, one can see the sparkle of the shimmer on the nails.  I would still have gotten the color as it has it's purposes, but as a baby pink polish I am sure there are some better and less expensive polishes out there.  I would pass on it, unless you are like me, and like to collect the new collections that come out.

This collection of Essie polishes can only be found in stores and retail from $7.75 - $9.00.

Texas Girls - HEB Deals - Essie Update

Last night, reader Krystl discovered a coupon at the HEB website for $2.00 off an Essie product.  Essie products retail for $7.75 at HEB.  Recently I have found coupons attached to the Essie displays for $2.00 off.  The coupons are for HEB only, but they say manufacturer coupons at the top.

While talking about the deal on Reddit, it was suggested that the coupons may be able to be used together.  Technically, the printed coupon is a 'B' coupon which normally stacks on to a manufacturers coupon.  We were curious if this would work, since they are both HEB Only coupons.

Today I tried it and, surprisingly, it worked for the two Essie polishes I purchased.  Now there is a bit of a catch to this.  I asked the cashier, a very nice gentleman who was very patient, to scan the coupons that I found in the store first.  Those came off without a problem like regular manufacturers coupons.  The first printed 'B' coupon worked without a problem, but the second one gave us some issues.  After two tries, the cashier simply overrode for the coupon.  The printed coupons do come up as 'Big Savings' coupons, but the in-store ones do not.  The point can be argued that they should stack.  It worked for me.  But like all coupon deals, your mileage may vary on how it works.  But give it a shot!  Essie products for $3.75 or $5.75 is better than the $8.00+ it retails for at other stores!

Update - Texas Girls - HEB Deals

Thank you so much, Krystl (a reader and fellow Random Acts of Polisher at Reddit), for sharing this link for a coupon at HEB that can be used on any Essie Nail Polish or Treatment!

$2 off Essie Product

They also have these coupons at the store.  I have seen them attached to the Essie displays at random so keep your eyes open for them.

Thanks again, Krystl!

Essie Breast Cancer Awareness - 31 Days of Pink

Essie is doing a neat little countdown of days in October, with "31 Days of Pink".  Each day wear a different color of pink.  You can find out more here.  Essie has a new collection out this month with four pink shades to help raise awareness.  While I can not find any information about sales of the four shades going to charity, the Essie websites does say that they have made a donation to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer foundation.

Has your life been touched by someone who has had Breast Cancer?

Breast Cancer Awareness Displays - Nail Polish

October is creeping up on us and with it comes Breast Cancer Awareness month.  There are pink colors popping up all over the place in my local drugstores, so I thought I would take a moment to share what I have seen so far with you.

The first sighting was ORLY "Cancer Schmancer Movement" set.  The set includes three glitter polishes all in the pink family.  Each polish comes with a small pink ribbon clasp attached to the bottle.

Cancer Schmancer Movement Display

Embrace

Be Brave

You Are Not Alone

The next set I have is from Essie.  I didn't grab a picture of the title, just the polish, and here that is.

There are four shades in this set:  Good Morning Hope, Check Up, We're In It Together, and I Am Strong.  All varying shades of pink.

That's it so far for the nail polish.  Stay tuned for new makeup displays!

Weekend Hauls CVS, Walmart, and Ulta

Good afternoon on this lovely football Sunday.  My husband and I just got back into town from visiting his mother, so I thought I would sit down and post some haul pics.  After getting some football in, I am hoping to post up some deals for this coming week.

While we were out I was able to pick up a few different items.  Mainly just quick buys that caught my eye.

On Friday night we hit a CVS Pharmacy in order to pick up some essentials for the weekend.  While there I spotted two bottles of Essie that I thought were beautiful and this Seche Vitte I had not seen before.

The red Essie is Wrapped in Rubies.  It is a beautiful reddish burgundy color.  In the bottle you may notice a gold shimmer.  This does not translate to the nail very well, but the color is very lovely on the nail.  Hopefully I will have some swatches of it later in the week.  The turquoise Essie is Trophy Wife.  I was very intrigued by the shimmery color in the bottle.  I am really excited to try this one out!  Lastly the Seche Vitte bottle is called Natural.  I purchased the bottle because it is states on the bottle "matte finish nail treatment".  This is a good lesson to read the box the product comes in.  While I was hoping this was a matte topcoat, it turns out to be a basecoat.  Which is disappointing as I have been on the lookout for a good matte topper.  I will still use it, just have to continue the search it seems!

On Saturday night we stopped by Walmart to get groceries and I could not help to hit the polish aisle.

I have gotten into the habit of buying travel sized lotions when I see ones I have not tried before.  The travel sizes are cheaper, but the same product and you never know what you will find.  While at Walmart I purchased the Nivea Creme, Sauve Advanced Therapy, and Nivea Soft.  As I have fairly dry skin I am always on the search for a moisturizer that does not leave my skin feeling slimy.  The nail polishes in the pictures are Revlon Scented Parfume.  The lighter purple shimmers silver and has more of a blue tone and is called Not So Blueberry.  The other polish is a shimmery pink hued purple called Grape Icy.  These are supposed to be "scented when dry".  I have not tried them out yet to see if that is truly the case, but I will give a full report when I do!

On our way back to Austin today, I talked my husband into stopping at Ulta.  Probably the most dangerous of the stops as I can spend a good deal of time in that store.

Ulta is having a sale on China Glaze, if anyone is interested.  All collections are buy two get one free!  I bought three, a teal shimmer called Deviantly Daring, a beautiful rosy pink called Sex on the Beach, and a silver and purple duochrome named No Plain Jane.  I love duochrome polishes, so the No Plain Jane was a must have as soon as I saw it.  I thought the pink was just fabulous in the bottle and had not looked at the name until I wrote up the blog.  The Ultra brand polish is called Jaded and is a dark green shimmer which looks like it is a duochrome silver, but I am a little skeptical about that.  By the way, the Ulta polishes are still on sale for $2.00.  The small Smashbox bottle is Photo Finish Foundation Primer.  It states that it is Hydrating and as I mentioned I am horribly dry, so when I saw this I wanted to give it a try.  The little bottles of primer are on sale for $10.00.  The lipstick is Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Sugar Plum.  It goes on very smooth and has a nice texture.  After swatching it, I am a little worried it might be too dark though.  I will have to try it a little more and see.  Lastly, I purchased Revlon's Just Bitten Lipstain in Instinct.  I have not tried it yet, but will give a full report when I do.

That is the hauls for the weekend!  Talk to ya'll soon!

Heather