Author: GingerlyPolished

Affordable nail polish + makeup blogger

Wet N Wild ‘Rebel Rose’ Collection

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I seem to be in this pattern of finishing and putting up a review of a limited edition Wet N Wild collection right as they’re releasing a new one. I’M WORKING ON THAT. (If you haven’t seen, they have a collection called Crystal Cavern coming out soon. I’m so excited). Honestly, I’m gonna blame moving (and procrastinating, I moved a month ago) for this getting pushed to the back of the drawer. So here it is, and I’m going to be more timely with reviews coming up.

I’ve said it before, these posts are long and take a lot of work so maybe I get intimidated. But I’m always so satisfied and happy when they’re up and I just hope this can help out someone else looking to buy the collection! I’ve gotten a new motivation and passion for reviewing, so I can’t wait to just post even more reviews (and in a more timely basis) – and hopefully be on a more set schedule by the end of this summer.

So thank you for always being patient with me. I just want to be able to fully use the products and give the most thorough review I can, and I can only hope it helps you a little bit in your buying process. I’m buying this makeup anyways, I might as well talk about it for someone else.

Let’s talk about it already, shall we?

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Sally Hansen x Jelly Belly Shades

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PURCHASED

Happy Easter everyone! I didn’t go home this year so I hung out with friends for a lovely brunch, and gained a sunburn just having my arm out in the sun for that hour. Redhead probs. My mom sent over a huge box of Reese’s Easter eggs and more, so I can’t wait to eat too much of it and feel terrible about myself. What are your Easter plans? If you want a break from your family, or just something to read while you’re in a food coma, we, of course, have some nail polish to talk about.

Another Sally Hansen post! They’ve been putting out so many interesting things lately, so I’m having so much fun trying out their different lines and collections. I’ve loved their Crayola collaboration collections, so when I started seeing pictures of these, I got so excited, and knew I had to hunt them down. Now I have been lucky enough to receive some PR from Sally Hansen, but I purchased these items myself. (It’ll be in the corner now to make it obvious, even though most items I purchase myself). 

There are 11 total shades. I picked up 7 of them that interested me the most!

I found these cute little duo packs – they had the glitter crellies that I most wanted as well as another shade for a good little deal, so I picked up all 3 that they had. And just look how cute they are! These would have been perfect little Easter gifts. I also picked up the last glitter crelly ‘Strawberry Cheesecake’. The last 4 shades I passed on were creams: ‘Blueberry’, ‘Green Apple’, ‘Very Cherry’, and ‘Island Punch’ (a light purple).

You can find the duos for $6.50 or all of the individual shades for $4 on Target’s website (which is where I got these! Some of the shades and duos are now on sale as well!). You can also find all of the duos on Ulta’s website for $7.99 and 6 of the individual shades for $4.99. I’ve also heard these have been found at Walgreens. These are where I can find them personally, though they may appear in various drugstores around you!

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All of these shades have the Jelly Belly logo printed onto the cap, as well as printed on the bottle. I’m a sucker for all of their collaborations, and I can only hope they continue doing more of these!

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Now let’s get into all of these shades!

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Sinful Colors ‘Naughty Nudes’ Collection

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It snowed today. SNOWED. in APRIL. Can it just not. And then it’s supposed to get up to 65 on Tuesday. So who knows what’s even happening down here. But you know during the hours where it was just blizzarding, I took my time to just veg out and work on some posts. What Sundays are really for.

Including finally finishing up this post. Well, I had originally written this post before I moved, and I only had 8 of the 9 shades. But then a lovely person in the Sinfully Polished Group on Facebook found the 9th shade for me and sent it to my new apartment, so I had to wait for that 9th shade! But now we can finally talk about these bad boys!

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Sinful Colors came out with a bang in 2019, releasing so many new shades right after another. And as they are my favorite brand, I had to snatch them all up. There will be lots of reviews of all of them coming up, so stay tuned for that!

Let’s get right into the first review. This is the ‘Naughty Nudes’ collection, and it features 9 shades of different “neutrals”. These are now permanent, so you’ll be able to pick them up at anytime. They are exclusive to Walmart (since I don’t have a reliable Walmart near me – city life I had them ferried in from a wonderful person in the Sinfully Polished Nails group) but they’ve been found all over the place in various Walmarts. These are the traditional $2 each. Let’s get into the swatches of these beauties!

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Sally Hansen New Miracle Gel Shades + New Matte Top Coat

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HeyOOOO it’s been a while since I’ve posted a full actual review! It was a busy week or two and I’m still working on settling into a new schedule and getting through the mountain of products that I’ve stashed to review, and I’m ready to just drop post after post, y’all.

Also peep in this post, my brand new lighting setup. I knew it was time to upgrade and make it even better, and I’m just so glad I did. It’s so much more even and consistent and will be able to really show the polish as it is. I’ll be talking all about this in a post about improving and the new motivation for my blog, and I’m so excited for everything to come.

But enough about all the reviews I’m going to do, let’s just talk about this one right here shall we?

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Sally Hansen was so kind to send over another box of polishes over to me, and I’m still so floored. I’m still so grateful, and it’s so wild to me that a big brand like this wants to send me items!

As always, just because it was sent to me, I will still give my honest opinions and a thorough review, but I’ll always be transparent when something was provided for my review. I’m always so thankful that I’m given the chance to try even more polishes for you guys!

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So let’s get right into what we’re going to be looking at today. These are 6 of their new Miracle Gel shades. The Miracle Gel formula promises to be a gel-like finish without requiring a UV lamp. They promise to be longer lasting than normal polishes especially when paired with the Miracle Gel top coat. Now, I don’t wear my polish for long periods of time, between constantly changing it up and swatching, I only ever have a color on for a couple of days tops, so I can’t tell you about the claims for longwearing or durability. But I can still show you the colors and the formulas.

Also included is their new Miracle Gel Matte Top coat. It promises a “soft matte” finish over any of the Miracle Gel shades (or any other polish in general) and to be as durable as the normal Miracle Gel top coat. Again, I can’t talk to the lasting power of this, but I’ll be showing how it mattifies and the look over the 6 shades I received.

It’s in the same style of bottle as all of their Miracle Gel shades, with an opaque black finish and a matte label.

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Let’s get into these shades already. I have the polishes swatched and shown with their normal finish, and then with 1 coat of the matte top coat over them.

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Untried Month: Essie March

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Every time I take a little break for whatever reason – this time was moving – I miss posting and reviewing items so much! It’s always a good little reminder of how much I still enjoy doing this, and love trying out new things for you guys! And now I’m fully settled and ready to get down into reviewing again.

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To get back into it, I have another month of Untried Polishes to talk about! If you haven’t seen this project before, either here or Instagram, or haven’t seen my other post (see January’s here), every month this year, I’ve picked a brand and wore untried polishes from that brand. And at the end of the month, I do a lil summary post of all the ones I wore! March was all about Essie.

I only got through 4 polishes this month, so definitely not as many as I hoped to. I wore one at the beginning of the month, and then didn’t wear the last 3 until the last week of the month – when I wasn’t able to swatch before I moved, and was just wearing polishes before they got packed up. It was a busy month, and I got in a little rut of not wearing polish too much. But the last week I was enjoying setting aside a portion of my night to relax and just paint my nails, and I know I’m going to keep that up!

I thoroughly enjoyed that week of new polishes, and as always, I love actually using my collection and trying them, so I’m determined to get better about it now that I’m settled and able to use them more. I’m also going to be able to get fully back into my destashing project, so using the polishes will help me decide if I truly love them or want to pass them on. So let’s talk about them now!

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Profusion ‘Wanderlust’ Palette Review

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Have I mentioned I’m moving yet? Only on every other post? Well it’s a big deal, okay. Well, I’m mentioning it again because I’m currently packing up my entire life right now, after work and on weekends when I have time. So that means my posting is going to get a little lighter for these next couple weeks until I’m fully settled. I swear I’ll miss you all, and wish I had more hours in the day, but I’ll post as I can and have time!

I can’t wait to get back to a more regular schedule, and can really get into it once I’m settled and happy in my brand new apartment. I hope you can hear my excitement. I’m going to have more sunlight and open space, and I’m just ready to get out of my garden (aka basement) apartment. So if I’m a little MIA, don’t fret. I’ll be back soon from a brand new location (15 min away from my current one).

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It’s a makeup review! I have said that I want to post more about makeup on here, especially eyeshadow palettes (my true fav), and so here we go. I don’t know what it is, but I was thoroughly intimidated by this review for far too long (maybe it was the amount of shades and making sure I had used them all), but I wanted to make sure I really knew what I was talking about. I don’t know, I felt afraid that I wouldn’t give enough information or good enough information. It’s something I’m slowly getting past, and I know it’ll get even easier the more of these I do!

So here’s to many more palette reviews to come.

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Essie Serene Slates Collection

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I’m currently typing this up at my little desk while people walk around and view my apartment. Is that weird? Maybe. But it’s cold outside and I’m not leaving. Although it has proven my theory that it makes people view apartments a lot faster.

I feel like I look like a real blogger right now. Laptop at desk, Starbucks drink in hand, typing rapidly these important words. We can all pretend here.

Also like a real blogger, (a la Temptalia, my actual idol – if you haven’t read her blog yet, go on over and see the masterpiece that it is), I think I’m going to start posting my hauls and products I’m getting in, as well as swatches of the product before I post the full review. Obviously this will be more for makeup than nail polish, but this way you can see what products I’m buying and what I’m currently testing out, as well as getting an idea what’s coming up to the blog! It helps keep my content going, and if you see something that really peaks your interest in a haul, I can work on posting about that first! I just want to get you more consistent content and show you what I’m playing with.

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Alright, should I also be a real blogger and stop rambling already and get into the polishes? Yeah, probs. Alright here we go.

This is the Essie ‘Serene Slates’ collection. It’s a collection of 9 cream and shimmer shades that are all various tones of mainly grays and other neutrals. I was honestly so excited to get my grabby hands on this collection, because I am all here for grays. They’re all I wear fashion wise. And they so nicely match the weather outside – just all gray. It’s perfect for this weird period between winter and spring where it’s just cold.

I picked these up from transdesign.com! Let’s get into the shades.

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Sally Hansen Mega Strength Polishes

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You know, somedays you feel like you’re an adult that’s getting it together – after all I found a new apartment and I’m working on setting up everything to move in April. But then you leave a pot of spaghetti sauce warming while you write a nail post, and come back to a beautiful display of splatter across your kitchen as it popped and bubbled, and it brings you back.

It’s not my fault that important nail posts always take priority. Some people just don’t understand our love for polish. I digress.

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It’s a later night post for you all (see me cleaning pasta sauce from all over my kitchen above, pushing it back a little) But I especially wanted to get these beauties up. They’ve been staring at me from their little box just waiting to be used. These are the new Mega Strength polishes from Sally Hansen. They came to be a polish with a strengthener that “strengthens and fortifies” nails.

There are THIRTY new colors in this Mega Strength formula (I know, 30!), and they retail for $5.99 at Walgreens, CVS and Ulta ($4.49 on Target’s website). They’re a variety of creams and shimmers, as well as what looks like a couple glitter shades.

I have 6 of the new shades to show you today! I did receive these from Sally Hansen to try (see my full post about that here) but these are all my honest thoughts and reviews.

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My First PR Sample – What Does This Mean?

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It’s just a little talking post today. I’m feeling a little introspective and thoughtful, and just wanted to chat with you guys.

What about?

Well, something exciting happened over here. Over a week ago, a box arrived on my doorstep. It was a box that I had been expecting to come, but I still couldn’t believe it when it actually showed up. I’m not going to lie, when I got the email asking if I wanted to try the product, I thought it was an elaborate hoax and now someone out there had my address. But it was really them, and it really showed up.

As you can tell from the picture above and the title: I got a PR Sample from Sally Hansen.

What’s a PR Sample? It’s a sample that companies will send out, to bloggers and YouTubers, of their product, for that person to test out and talk about. I got a free box of polish from Sally Hansen. They either saw my Instagram or my blog, thought I had a good thing going, and wanted to send me something to show and talk about, whether positive or negative.

It’s still wild to me.

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They sent on over a box of their new Mega Strength polishes – 6 of the shades, a top coat, and their hardener, in this cute little orange box. There will be a full post coming up on these polishes (in the next couple of days) and I’ll talk all about them. But first, I want to talk what this box means for me, and for you all reading. I just want to reflect a little.

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At this point, I’ve been writing on this blog for almost 3 years now (this summer will be the anniversary), and I’ve purchased far too much polish, and will continue to be purchasing too much for years and years to come.

I went into this all because I loved beauty and nail polish. I had tried and failed a couple of times to start a blog, and during the summer of 2016, I said screw it and finally just went for it. I just wanted to talk about something I loved so much. I didn’t have friends in real life really that were as crazy as me about beauty as I was, and I just wanted to talk about it. I just wanted to tell others if something was bad, or good, or just plain fantastic. I wanted to let others know about something before maybe they purchased it too. I was buying it and using it anyways, why not let others know about it?

I never expected PR. I thought maybe hey, someday, that could be cool, just to be able to show more products. But it wasn’t something I went into this for. I couldn’t put this much time and effort into something just for an end goal of free product. You would be able to tell that my passion wasn’t there.  I went into this simply because I was actually was passionate about it and wanted to help people with reviews. I’ve put a lot of hours and effort into this blog, and I still love it, and I’ll still continue on even if I don’t get a single more free product.

But I got this one. So what does that mean overall? What can you guys expect?

I will admit, I was goddamn excited. I was texting friends who have supported me and this blog from the start and almost screaming. I still smile every time I see it sitting on my desk. I’ll probably keep the box for sentimental reasons. It’s a special thing. It may seem small, just one piece of PR. But it’s still my first. I’ve never gotten this before, and you’ve never seen it over here.

And sure, I get PR from a small indie nail polish brand before this. That’s still there, and I’m still forever grateful for that as well. I never want to minimize that experience, and I’ll still be working with that brand because I love it. At this point, it almost feels like me critiquing and giving points to a friend. I’m just helping out a smaller brand as they continue on.

However, this one is Sally Hansen. It’s a bigger brand and a whole different ballgame. It’s a product you can find in drugstores, and I’m one of a bunch of bloggers that it was sent to. It still feels special in a whole new way.

It means I get to try out a product that I was interested in, but that I honesty hadn’t planned on buying for a while, or at all, because of budgeting.

I know it seems like I buy a lot of makeup and nail polish (because I do), and at this point in my life as a single young woman living by herself in the city with a full time job, I’m able to portion out a part of my paycheck each month for fun purchases. But I’m nowhere near rich, and I can’t afford to buy everything that catches my eye currently. I do hold myself back and pick and choose over some things that I wish I could review, but will pass on because there are other brands that I feature more on this blog. I would love to add on more, and hopefully as my budget continues to grow, I can.

So here’s what it really means: this is just another product I get to feature on the blog, and talk about to you honestly. I’m always honest with you guys, and I never will change that. I have your trust at this point, and I can’t ever give that up, even for more free products.

I was even transparent about this in my email accepting these products. I said I would be reviewing them honestly, and the free product doesn’t guarantee a positive review. It never does, and never will. I’m excited about them, but I’ll talk about the formula and any issues openly.

You might just assume all of this already and think this is a pointless post. It’s just something I wanted to get out there, and emphasize, especially for this very first piece of PR. It’s a policy I’ll continue on with, and if I get lucky enough to continue to receive more, I’ll make sure the same transparency is there with every single company. It’s about you guys, and your trust in me in the end.

It’s just something I wanted to talk about, and I’m glad you’re all here with me and supporting me. Without you guys, I wouldn’t even be here talking about this now.

I can’t wait to talk about even more polish with you all.

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Sista Chic Lacquer ‘Embrace the Pink’ Trio

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As I’ve said in the last couple of posts, I’m still catching up on products to review, and getting through the ones that have collected and piled up on my desk. I was busy during the past couple of weeks with apartment viewings as I tried to find a new place to live. And I got an apartment! The craziness was all worth it as I found a new apartment that I love and I can’t wait to move at the end of March. So now that that madness has died down, I’m back and ready to swatch and get posts out.

I’ve just been feeling inspired you know? I always love swatching and reviewing and talking about nail polish and beauty. But I’m suddenly feeling even more inspired and motivated, and just wanting to get out as many posts as I can. I got lots to talk about, and I just want to show it all to you guys. There will of course be lots of nail polish, but there will also be lots of makeup and other beauty posts coming. This blog will always be mainly nail polish, but I do love all parts of beauty and want to talk about it as well. As always, it’s my blog, and I’m going to talk about all the things I’m loving. I hope you’re all ready for the ride.

Now let’s get on into this polish I’m talking about.

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This newest post to talk about is another collection from Sista Chic Lacquer! If you haven’t seen the other posts, Sista Chic Lacquer is a small indie brand, and really the first indie nail polish brand I got to try. (As always, these were sent to me for my honest review, and I will always give my honest thoughts.)

This new trio is called the ‘Embrace the Pink’ trio and will be releasing on March 1st on the Sista Chic website. This trio has a very special inspiration as well. They are in honor of Catherine Cronall, a fellow Instagrammer, YouTuber and nail polish lover. (Follow her at @mrscronall). She is currently fighting breast cancer, and so Sista Chic decided to honor her with a trio of pinks to support her on her journey, which I love. All profits from this collection will also be donated to the Breast Cancer Foundation in Catherine’s name as well.

It’s a lovely message, and a beautiful way to support her, and all of those women who have to deal with this fight. So let’s get into the pinks.

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