It's my first time - be gentle

I know that to come nailpolish-conaisseurs, polish is nothing without proper basecoat and most importantly, topcoat. I rarely use basecoat and I have never ever used a topcoat. I wouldn't mind something that makes my polish dries faster and stay on longer, but so far, topcoat has been an expensive affair. All the good ones are expensive and cost more than a polish, which leaves me debating (with myself and my wallet) if I shouldn't just go for color over maintenance?
I always go for color, it's the easy choice. Color is why I love polish, not because I want to keep my nails flawless. I am not really a girl who goes for flawless anyways..

This time though, I went for color and maintenance - it all was on the less expensive side.
Still not as cheap as on Ebay but a lot cheaper than in stores, so I went with it, Nagelglädje at Tradera. 90 sek ($13.80)  for a Seche Vite which usually retails for 120 sek (18.45) in local (as well as online) stores. I know that to you americans, this is still a sum that makes your wallet scream and run for cover, but over here, we're used to it. We get everything a day late and a dollar short pricier.

Now I am just hoping that this little bugger is as good as you all have been saying.

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88 bottles of polish on the...

New month, new post. I'm not dead, nor have I stopped looking for the perfect nailpolish. I know it's out there.
But, there's a but, 3 weeks before my back-surgery, my body decided to give me all it got, and I'm to the point where I thank God for having ultra-short nails or they would have not only dug through flesh, but gotten stuck. So, while I have been made up all pretty like a peek-ture with nails to match, I just haven't had the energy to do anything other than the most important task. Note that I consider putting on makeup and nailpolish two important tasks. I know that some people find that odd and that it shouldn't even be a priority, but it is. Making me look and feel like I have somewhere to go and something to do while I am in reality just sobbing at home, makes life a little easier. I guess we're talking about the outlook on life. Making me look like trash just because I feel like last week's worth isn't going to help.

Now on to the good stuff - what a lot of you guys have been doing lately ; showing your Helmers.
I don't have a Helmer and I am trying to settle on never ending up with one, but seeing as this is the polish I've acquired since April, I should never say never.
88 bottles in all their glory and as you an see, I am no brand-ho.
Along with what was already in my boxes before I started blogging, I have 101 more polishes than I have nails. That's not sane.

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A nice zest for Friday night

Guess what appeared on my front-step this morning? That's right, Zombie zest. I couldn't help myself and hunted it down on the swedish part of Ebay, Tradera. Seller was Nagelglädje, highly recommended by a lot of polishoholics as well as myself.
First time I let a lemming control me.

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Calar me precious

It seems OPI has a thai-sibling. A bastard, not really part of the family. Not even related, but they have the same curves, smirk and appeal, so you just wouldn't know if you didn't have a closer look.

Found this on the swedish part of Ebay, aka Tradera, and had to get them. Haven't seen them mentioned on that many blogs and yet there are a bunch of asian nailart-blogs? I spotted some pages with the old bottles, but not with these.
It's the same font as OPI except this is not Nail Lacquer but Nail Colour. A tiny bit smaller than the OPI bottle and of course, nothing on the bottle-cap. Supposedly the same size, a good 15ml/0.5Fl oz, but weighs less. Has to do with the quality of the glassbottle maybe?
Can't find what shade or number it is unless it's actually the number molded on the bottom of the bottle, which sounds odd and a pricey adventure for a cheap polish. Different labels or print would be a lot cheaper than different bottles for each shade, wouldn't it?
Above you see two of them surrounding OPI's Yes...I can-can!

Yet to try them. Can't wait actually. This is what I love about collection something - the suspense. The eagerness to play with it.

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Oh, no she didn't?!

When I was a kid, the cool girls wore blue mascara. If they were ultra-cool, they wore emerald-green mascara. When that trend re-surfaced a while back, I looked the other way. It was a trend that didn't ring my bell. However, I've always wanted a bright red mascara. Not to use on the whole lash, just the tips. Like an accent. Enough to make people look but not be able to pinpoint what is off.

So, when I spotted this beauty online, I knew she had to be mine. She might not be red but a good wine-color is fine by me. At first I thought it might be a counterfeit but it seems it's the real deal from Smashbox' That's a wrap which is discontinued.

This is my first Smashbox-product ever. I rarely buy high-end make-up simply because I can't afford it. Spending time lusting over things I'll never get just isn't my thing. It just makes you feel like a loser and I know better things to do with my time. But when I stumble upon it for next to nothing, I can't help myself. I paid roughly $7 for two mascaras, 3 eyeshadows and a lipstick, which are all from a collection long forgotten. Atleast the internet has forgotten and swallowed it whole without even a burp.

I guess that when I say I am living in the past, I really mean it!

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Exactly what is downtown brown?

I'm still in my aubergine-phase and earlier today, I realized that not only was my lipstick matching my nailpolish but also my bra.
The colors are somewhat off in the photo (less pink in real life) but it's Essie's Downtown brown (4 layers of this highgloss jelly) and Nivea's lipstick Chocolat Exquis from The Chantal Thomass collection.
The latter I had to hunt down on Tradera as I couldn't find it in the stores when it was launched in the autumn of 2009, but it was most definitely worth the wait. 2 layers of lipstick gives you blackish brown lips while blotted down, it looks like a nice Merlot. I think this may be my new favorite lipstick, which I guess doesn't mean all that much as lipstick isn't my thing. However, I still can't resist a nice dark lipstick may it be purple, brown or black.

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What the taupe is this?

I am not a taupe-kind of girl. Yet I have found myself mysterically drawn to the beige trend. I wouldn't ever buy a polish that color at full prize, but when one was sold on Tradera with a bunch of items I wanted to try, I figured, what the hell?! I didn't buy it at full-prize, I didn't follow the lemmings, I'm a-ok. Except, when I got my purchase, guess what was the first thing I had a closer look at?

You've guessed it and yes Ma'm, it's beige. The color in question is called Autumn Fairytale and is by Lumene but I'd rather call it Old hag's blush or why not Bloody snot? Ah, who am I kidding? I actually like this color on my nails. It makes me feel less up yours! and more up my own.

Nice brush, not very opaque (above is 4 layers and still, not opaque)  and definitely not long-lasting as it chipped before I was out the door, but it's truly a quick one when it comes to drying. It's nice, for you and your grandmother.

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long lost lover

Declaring this, I'm aware it put's me in the que for a show like What not to wear (where Mica Paris will tell me mature women don't do punk), but for 10 years or so, my favorite eyeshadow has been a turquoise from HM. The cheapest of the cheap at $1.8 á piece, more vibrant and pigmented than any  you could find elsewhere. I don't know how many of these I picked up and send to my friends in States and the UK, but it wouldn't surprise me if I was the biggest customer in my town.

Of course, it was discontinued ages ago and when my beloved kid found my beloved (unused, saved for later) eyeshadow stash and played dress-up with it, I was less than happy. So, when I found it and some of it's siblings online, I was ecstatic. Let's hoard eyeshadow like there's no tomorrow, or rather, like I'll be around for the next 300 years!

Unfortunately, when I got them and realized that HM had given the eyeshadow a makeover before discontinuing them and that makeover wasn't just the package, but the shades as well. Same numbers, different slightly colors.The ones marked as Divided eyeshadow are the ones I used to wear and these new ones are duller. All of them are duller. Reading the ingredientlist it's obvious it was intended as it's not the same.

I feel cheated. Not financially as they are still dirt-cheap, but cheated of my dream of being able to wear the same color I wore when I was young and un-hip.

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