4 on 1

I spent way too much money at my local Ulta last week, but now I have oodles of new colors for fall!  (12 new shades, plus a nail art pen.  I realize I might have a problem.  At least I'm not into drugs or trash television.)

So this posting has four different polishes in it.  Surprise surprise, I got bored with my claws.  And my mother's.  Did Mom's nails in a lovely green shade that I will be posting later in the season.  My mother is one of the elderly mad (she owns it, fabulously), and gets strange looks now when she wears flip flops because her nails are always crazy colors thanks to my extensive collection of lacquers.  We live in the South, so it's normal to be wearing sandals well into November.  The old saying for how warm our fall and winter usually is "If you haven't broken into a sweat in your new holiday sweater, it was a cold winter."

Anyway!  Here is today's featured nail art.  This picture was taken with my phone outside on a sunny day while walking through the parking lot on my way into work.

The color for most of my hand was "Date With the Night" by essence. It's a really inexpensive brand (read, $1 kind of cheap) that is really really good.  It applies opaque with one thick coat, but I feel strange with only one coat so I used two to make sure it was completely opaque, and dries in under 2 minutes.  On top of that color is Essie's "Matte About You," one coat.  I've been hearing about matte colors and top coats for over a year and had never gotten around to purchasing one, but I think the top coat has become a great investment.  I've instantly doubled my color inventory.  At first I was weirded out by it, but it's actually a good "day polish" or you could use it to tone down a really bright color if it's seasonally inappropriate.  Love it.
  The accent nail is Essie's "Your Hut or Mine," again with the two coats.  That polish is an opaque shimmer that is almost a coral pink, but just barely.  I was so impressed with that one that I put it on my toe nails (don't worry, I will spare you the sight of my hooves.  Dancer's feet aren't always the nicest things to look at, although my feet are actually kind of pretty IMHO).  Let me preface that I am actually very pale for the beginning of fall as I am a sun worshiper.  This color made my feet look TAN!  Highly recommended.   On top of that is Orly's "VIP" pink glitter.  Glitters always come out grainy, so I loaded up on the top coat.  Having the matte on all of my nails except for the accent nail really made the glitter pop, and I got nice reactions from my female coworkers.

Essie "Your Hut or Mine" actually came in a sample size 4pc set, but that set was $17 US.  Orly "VIP" was $3.50 US, and essence "Date With the Night" was $0.99 US.  Essie "Matte About You" top coat $10 US.