hautelook – Adventures in Polishland

Tag: hautelook

Try it on Tuesday: Orly Rock Solid

Posted on August 14, 2012August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

I wasn’t planning on participating in Try it on Tuesday this week, as I had hoped to do a mani upgrade with a gradient. Unfortunately, my last mani got all messed up (my fault!), and I couldn’t stand to look at it anymore. Thus, here I am! I asked my Facebook followers which brand I should try out today, and they voted for Orly. I think they made a great decision!

Rock Solid is my first Orly polish. I bought it on HauteLook using credits and only paid $0.45 for it! This polish is actually from the Mineral FX Fall 2011 line, so it’s like I went dusty hunting online for this one. Rock Solid is a dark grey polish with small holographic glitters. I used two coats to achieve full opacity. The formula is a dream to work with– no streaks whatsoever! It also dries rather quickly. For once I didn’t use a topcoat, either, as I love the look Rock Solid has. The finish is a bit textured. This may sound silly, but it looks and feels like a rock, only not in the “I found it in my backyard” sort of way. Instead, it is stunning! The glitter shines in the light, and changes color as you move your hand. The grey also has a silver undertone. It’s beautiful!

I’m not usually one for dark colors, but I’m loving this one! I can’t wait to wear it more in the fall and winter. I also love the Orly cap and brush. The cap is a soft, grip material. That way it doesn’t wiggle around in your hand when your painting your nails. The brush is also awesome. It’s thin, but holds a lot of polish. No mistakes or globs here! I hope to get more Orly polishes in my stash.

If you’re not an HauteLook member, make sure you join HERE. They have sales on nail polish all the time!

Monthly Nail Polish Haul: July Edition

Posted on August 1, 2012August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Adventures in Polishland is dedicated to fabulous and affordable nails. At the end of each month, I show you the polishes I purchased, and the good deals I got on them. I rarely pay full price for anything, and that includes nail polish. Although I did go a bit overboard in July (33 new bottles!), I only paid a fraction of the retail value for all my new polishes. Get ready to see this awesome haul!

Polishes I bought at retail stores in person, left to right:

Anise in Miss Inspector and Bronzed Babe. You can purchase Anise polishes at DSW stores for $6 each. Typically they are on sale for buy one get one half off, so these polishes came to $9. I had some money left on a gift card, so I only paid $6.96 for these two polishes! You can read my review of these two colors HERE.
China Glaze in Hook and Line and Mahogany Magic from the Hunger Games Collection. I bought these two polishes at my local Sally Beauty Supply store on clearance. I paid a total of $6.58 for both, but they retailed at $8.99 a piece when they came out! Sometimes patience is the key to getting the colors you want.
Elle in Surfer Babe. I scored this beautiful blue at Kohls for FREE when my mom let me use her Kohls Cash. Usually Elle retails for $10. If you go to Kohls, keep an eye out for coupons near the display. When I went there were $1 off coupons available! See my post highlighting this polish HERE.
NYC in High Lime Green. I bought this polish at CVS and used a coupon for $0.50 cents off any NYC purchase of $1.79. Lucky for me this polish was exactly $1.79, so I only paid $1.29 for it! I found this coupon on a store display also, so be sure to keep an eye out for those at CVS, too.

Polishes I bought through Blog Sales or Swap Groups, left to right:

I purchased Deborah Lippmann in Pearly Queen and Oh! You Pretty Things from Diana over at Polish Monster. As a special surprise, she threw in Miami Spirit from the new Wet ‘n Wild Fergie Collection! I paid a total of $15 including shipping for all three of these polishes. What a bargain!
I purchased all three Jesse’s Girl polishes (in Center Stage, Cupcake Frosting, and Confetti) from a special Blog Sale. A few months ago, a member of the nail blogging community passed away. As a benefit to support her family, her daughter was selling her polishes. I sent her a total of $22 including shipping, and asked her to throw in a few mini polishes that hadn’t been sold yet with the three Jesse’s Girls. I was completely surprised when I got the OPI Spiderman mini collection! From left to right is Into the Night, Number One Nemesis, Just Spotted the Lizard, and Your Web or Mine? Not only did I save a few dollars off the retail price, but I helped a family in need. See my post featuring Your Web or Mine? HERE.
The mini on the far right is Sephora by OPI in I Don’t Bite. I purchased it from a Swap Group on Facebook. A mini from this brand typically retails at about $5, but I paid only $3 including shipping.

Polishes I bought on Copious using credits first, left to right:

e.l.f. in Royal Purple. I paid only $0.54 for this gorgeous polish that retails at $2. See my blog post featuring it HERE.
Matte.n.a in Film Noir. My first matte polish! I got it for just $0.01 with my credits, though they typically sell for $2.25.
piCture pOlish in Citrus. I got this beautiful orange for a mere $0.13 even though they retail at $9.50. I’ve heard great things about this brand and I can’t wait to use it.
Pretty & Polished in Forest Phire. My first indie purchase, and I only spent $0.30! Minis from this brand usually sell for $5.25, so I got a great deal.

Polishes I bought online, left to right:

Julep in Yumi, Lynn, America, and Alfre. I got all of these polishes for FREE! The first three were in my July Julep Maven Box, which I had a free credit for. In that box I received a voucher for another free polish, and I picked Alfre! I love the Julep Maven program. Did you know that you can get your first box for one penny with the promo code COLOR2012? Join HERE and read about my July box HERE.
Orly in Rock Solid. I purchased my first Orly during a sale on HauteLook. I had credits to use, so I only ended up spending $0.45! HauteLook has all sorts of sales, but there is often nail polish from all different brands. Join the site for free HERE.
Zoya in Rea and America. I originally purchased Zoya’s Trixie to get America free during the Fourth of July sale, but when it arrived I realized it was a dupe of a polish I already had. Lucky for me I was able to swap Trixie for Rea in a Swap Group! I did have to spend a little extra for the shipping, but I ended up with both of these Zoyas for just $9.95 instead of the full $16. You can purchase Zoya polish HERE and read my entry about America HERE.

Whew! Did you make it through all that with me? If so, here is the most exciting part! While I did spend $66.21 this month, if I did not use credits, buy sale items, and coupon, the retail value of all these items would be $205.24! That’s right– I saved $139.03! How is that for fabulous and affordable?! For all of these 28 bottles listed above, on average I paid $2.36 per polish. Woo-hoo!

Before I close out this post, I wanted to add in some “bonus” polishes that I purchased through Little Black Bag. I can’t really estimate how much I saved on these polishes, since they came along with other items in a monthly subscription, but I definitely got a good deal on them. Retail value of these five polishes is $77. Left to right, the colors are: ncLA in Hollywood Hills Hot Number & Miss Sunset Strip, and Michael Marcus in Brilliant Sand, Fuchsia Have a Good Time, and Paradise Pink. You can join Little Black Bag HERE.

Please note that this post does not include polishes I received as a gift, as a giveaway win, or as a product to review for my blog. My purpose is to show you how to get great savings on nail polish.

Monthly Nail Polish Haul: June Edition

Posted on June 30, 2012August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

I’ve noticed that many other nail bloggers include this type of post at the end of each month, so I decided to do the same. This June has been a very special one for me and Adventures in Polishland. Though the blog began in April, it wasn’t until this month that I really took it to the next level. I got involved with the nail blog community, created a Facebook page, and even made it to 73 followers and over 1200 page views. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful support I’ve received! With that said, I would like to show you the polishes I purchased this month, and the deals I got on all of them. Don’t forget, Adventures in Polishland is dedicated to fabulous and affordable nails!

Left to right, here are all of my June scores!

Jordana Glitters in LA City Nights. I purchased this for just one penny on Copious because I had $10 in credit for signing up. You can sign up HERE and read my post about the polish HERE.
Fabulous Nails in 104 (white). I purchased this for $2.95 on HauteLook after applying a credit I had earned. You can sign up HERE and read my post about the polish HERE.
Julep in Susie (a beautiful mint green) and Niecy (a creamy bright pink). I got both plus pedi creme for just one penny! Julep Maven is a monthly subscription that typically costs $19.99, but you can get your first month for a penny be entering COLOR2012 at checkout. You can always skip a month if you don’t like the selections or don’t have room in your budget. Join Julep Maven HERE. You can read all about my first Maven box HERE.
Revlon in Impulsive and Siren. I got these just a few days ago at CVS. Both are originally $5.99 each, but with coupons I only spent $4.98 plus I got $4 in Extra Care Bucks to spend on my next purchase. I haven’t tried out these polishes yet, but stay tuned for them in coming posts!
Sally Hansen HD in Byte and Laser. These were also a CVS purchase, getting both polishes on clearance for a total of $3.47! Read my post about Sally Hansen HD HERE.

In all I purchased eight polishes and paid a grand total of $11.69! How awesome is that?! All I did was use discount websites, special sales, and coupons. That’s what I call fabulous.

What polishes did you purchase this month?!

Make Your Neons POP!

Posted on June 22, 2012August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

This season neon colors are definitely in. I first tried this trend out back in April (see that post HERE), but I felt as if I needed a highlighter color on my nails once again. Yesterday I received the white nail polish that I ordered from the Fabulous Nails sale at HauteLook, so I decided to do a mani using the trick my friend Eve taught me a couple years back. If you want to make your neons shine brighter, simply begin with a white polish! Believe me, you will love the result!

I began with two coats of the white. This was my first time using Fabulous Nails, and it didn’t excite me too much. The coats were quite streaky, and the color wasn’t opaque. Thankfully for this mani the white didn’t have to be perfect, because I was placing another color on top anyway. Make sure you let your white polish dry before you put on your next color, or the polishes might smudge and blend together. I decided to top the white with Did I Dye it Too Blonde? by Spoiled. I used two coats of that polish as well. Now my nails are definitely popping! Below are two pictures of my mani. The first one is without the flash, but to give you an idea of how bright my nails really are I took one with the flash as well. What do you think?