Tips and Tricks Tuesday- San Jose nail supply edition!

Hi, guys! Today I have a very wordy post that will only be useful to fellow San Jose residents. I am lucky (or cursed) to live in a city with a wealth of nail supply stores, and I wanted to share what I knew about these places for anyone who is interested. Hopefully, if you live in San Jose or will ever visit this part of California, you will be able to use this post to get the best deals and score some great polish!


US Nails is the first nail supplier I found in the San Jose area, and it's still my favorite by far.  It has a great selection of polishes, awesome prices and fairly helpful staff. Here's a yelp page with reviews of US Nails along with the hours and address.  I have to warn you about limited availability of Zoyas there. I once talked to one of the workers there and it appears that with Zoya, they only get one shipment of the new collection and then they're done. This seems to have been how things have worked for a long time. However, they do usually post on their facebook page whenever they get in the newest collection.  They also can be a bit hit and miss with their selection of OPI. Polishes from the newest collections are usually there consistently, but their core line of OPI products often seems depleted. If I could only visit one store out of the 3 in this post, it would definitely be this one.

Find out what the other 2 stores carry, and how they differ from US Nails, after the jump!

Makeup Monday: Milani Easyliner Glitter and ELF Exact Lash Mascara

 

 The world of nail polish has slowly but surely pulled me into the world of makeup over time. I am well on my way to adding "makeup junkie" to my "nail junkie" status.  Whereas I used to only buy and read about polish, I now enjoy reading makeup reviews and watching videos about makeup on You Tube. One of the deficits I've noticed since I've started buying more makeup is that there are so many varieties of makeup, some items just slip between the cracks. They don't have any information, good or bad, out about them on the web. I tend to pick up my makeup at bargain retailers like the Dollar Tree, so oftentimes if I can't find info on a product, I take a plunge and buy it. I've decided to start posting more about these kind of products so that more people like me can find out if makeup is worth buying or not!
     The 2 items I want to share with you today are Milani Easyliner Glitter and ELF Exact Lash mascara, both of which I found at Dollar Tree. In a nutshell, I'd say spend the dollar on the eyeliner but skip the mascara. If you would like to know more about each product, plus see some pictures, jump!

Today marks the end Hispanic Heritage Month!

    

Mexican themed mani for September 16th, sun

     What's that, you had no idea? No worries, I barely did, either, and I'm Hispanic! The only reason I know is because I happened to be watching some Spanish language tv and there was a commercial about it.  Hispanic Heritage Month is from September 15-October 15, if you are curious. I'm actually more embarrassed after learning that it's been around in the US since the Johnson administration! Anyway, I only mention it is as an excuse to post these nails I rocked for  Mexican Independence Day last month. 

Mexican themed mani for September 16th, shade

     Many Americans are under the impression that 5 de Mayo is Independence Day in Mexico, but the real holiday is September 16th.  I think most people in Mexico would have no idea if you asked them about 5 de Mayo, unless they work in a tourist destination.  The holiday there is September 16th.  Just like last year, I rocked some Mexican inspired nails to celebrate Independence Day. 
     Find out what polishes I used in this manicure by jumping. 

Sinful Colors Glitz and Glittered collection-The Case of the Missing Mermaid!

Sinful Colors Gilded compared to a couple of the Deborah Lippmann Mermaid polishes

   Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! I have so much great material to post about, but am always too tired or too busy to sit down and work on it. It just goes to show just how exhausting a group of 5 year old boys can be. I'm working with an autism Kindergarten class this year, and let me tell you, those boys wear me out!! They are all as lovable and adorable as can be, but every day I get home pooped!  On top of all that, my darn computer has been having issues with the internet, so I'm often dealing with a frozen computer when I do sit down at my desk. :( Anyway, enough about me, let me go ahead and share a post that I started working on a while ago and which I think many gals will find exciting! 
  I’m experiencing a weird case of déjà vu. Last year, I happened upon the Sinful Colors holiday collection at the Rite Aid near one of beauty supply places and did a post about it that day at my parent’s house. Recently, I visited the same nail supply store and Rite Aid again, and was surprised to find the Sinful Colors Holiday 2013 collection, Glitz and Glittered. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, I went into the Rite Aid hoping to find new stuff, and that particular store is one of the newest ones in my area and seems to get collections sooner.  However, I hadn’t even seen the Sinful Colors Halloween collection in my area at that point, so I didn’t think I’d find the holiday collection first.     
   As usual, I knew all about the current nail polish collections in drugstores thanks to the awesome Nouveau Cheap blog. Gianna has already done a post about this particular holiday collection. Once I saw the holiday collection in store, I found some really interesting stuff. I don’t have any swatches for you today, but I do have some really interesting information, including the odd case of the missing (Lippmann) mermaid. Join me after the jump for lots of bottle shots and details!