"After this one, you're gonna need a root canal..."

Hey!!! How's everyone doing? School and work have taken over my life...again. But don't worry, I still seek refuge in nail polish!

Back in February, I talked about Hard Candy Sky...guess what, Hard Candy is now available at select Wal-Marts! For those of you fairly new to nail polish, Hard Candy was a huge trend back in the '90s with their out-of-the-ordinary pastel polishes. Urban Decay also came to prominence around the same time (coincidentely, UD has also released new polishes, albeit minis).

I heard the news back in August, so I started stalking a few local Wal-Marts. Sorry for the low quality pics, I only had my Blackberry on hand.

9/17/2009 :(

9/24/2009 :D

Lava: red/gold glitter; slightly orange-y redFishnet: red creme

Pretty in Punk: hot pink creme

Date Night: mauve-pink glitterHypnotic: dusty pink with gold shimmerSplendid: sunny yellow creme

Sweet P: lime green glitterEnvy: blackened green shimmer

Frenzy: teal cremeMr. Wrong: purple/gold foil-ish microglitterMr. Right: blurple shimmer

Hot Pants: hexagonal and small glitter in a purple jelly baseRumor Mill: vampy purple creme (similar to OPI LPAD)Break Up: hexagonal and small glitter in a translucent white base

Sugar Daddy: white with gold shimmerThe End: black creme

I only bought Mr. Wrong and Envy, the two standouts of the collection. Envy reminds me of satin sheets...it's a rich, blackened green similar to Wet 'N Wild Craze Morbid but more of an emerald green sheen. Mr. Wrong is unlike anything in my collection...it has light purple and gold flaky microglitter which gives it a foil-like texture. I have a feeling I may end up impulsively buying Lava in the future since I have a weakness for red glitter polish. I didn't really feel any of the cremes; Splendid and Frenzy look nice but they remind me too much of Zoya Pippa and Color Club Bizerk Turq. That, and I'm not much of a creme person.

The rings suck. I think it was just thrown in for familiarity with the old brand. They're made of hard plastic and do not stay on the cap securely. I'm guessing they added shrink wrap to secure the rings and to keep those pesky tweens from "sampling" the polish on the display or on themselves.

The makeup line looks REALLY tempting but I'm on a strict no-buy. I told myself if I won Chanel Holographic on eBay, I would be on a 2-week no-buy and on restriction for another two weeks. This is my only indulgence for now! I hope you find Hard Candy at your local Wal-Mart; I hear it was only released in 3000 stores. Keep your eyes peeled!

The crown jewel of my collection...

I don't say that statement lightly. During my hiatus, I've accumulated quite a few amazing HTFs, but this one takes the cake. I mentioned back in February that I had a line when it came to spending on a nail polish, but I crossed it and then some for this. I had Essie Starry Starry Night as my main lemming because I never thought I'd actually get the chance at Chanel Ciel de Nuit.


Ciel de Nuit was born from a Seventeen magazine/Chanel contest back in 1997. They revived the contest last fall with Haute Chocolat winning out. I clearly remember seeing this color in Seventeen but it was too expensive for 12-year-old me. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), the 24-year-old me decided to throw caution in the wind when she saw it up on eBay. I spent an insane amount for this...if you're curious, look at recent eBay auctions for this color. It will make you gasp in horror.

I own 3 polishes similar to Ciel de Nuit and I'm sad to report that none of them live up to it. Both Jessica Twilight and Naturistics Crystal Blue Pearl are jellies but lean closer to indigo/violet. Maybelline Twinkle Twinkle is more blue but isn't a jelly.

For some reason, a few John Mayer lyrics came to mind after looking at this color in person for the first time...

"I know you're mine, all mine, all mine
but you look so good it hurts sometimes..."