Island Girl - Big Island Volcano (and some Hawaii pictures!)

Last night I dreamt about Hawaii all night long. I've really had Hawaii on the brain lately. It's probably because I've been watching a lot of Dog the Bounty Hunter lately (Leland Chapman, will you marry me?) and because my friend Krista over Starlet's Nails is in Hawaii right now and has been posting amazing pictures on Twitter. My husband and I spent two amazing weeks in Hawaii last October for our honeymoon, and it quickly became my favorite place on Earth. There is just something about Hawaii that feels like home somehow. I can't wait to go back, and I hope that my husband and I will return several times throughout our life.

In Hawaii (and las Vegas) there are these stores called ABC Stores. If you are in Waikiki, there is a good chance that at any given time there is an ABC store 50 feet away from you. ABC Stores are a combination of a souvenir shop, drug store and convenient store all in one. In the four days that we stayed in Waikiki, I think we went to ABC stores about 100 different times! Anyways, at ABC, there is a brand of nail polish called Island Girl. The polishes are super cheap ($2.99 if my memory serves me correctly) and they have names of different Hawaiian towns and landmarks.  When we were there, I actually didn't pick up any of these polishes so my Hawaiian friend Kathryn over at Blush from Me to You sent me some. Thanks girl!

Today I have for you Big Island Volcano. Not only is Big Island Volcano my favorite of the Island Girl polishes that I own, Big Island is my favorite Hawaiian island, and the Volcano National Park was my favorite place that we visited on our entire trip =) Big Island Volcano is a GORGEOUS turquoise green with some lovely hidden shimmer throughout. As gorgeous as it is, the formula is one of the absolute worst I have ever used. My other Island Girl polishes are not nearly this bad. It was a horrible, streaky mess and did not self level at all, which means I have lots of lovely ridges in my manicure.

So why is it my favorite Island Girl polish then if the formula is so horrible? Well, because the color is AMAZING! The turquoise is so bright it's almost neon, and it just looks fantastic on the nails. And you guys all know that I'm an absolute sucker for anything with hidden shimmer, so there's that too. I did a thick coat of Seche Vite so that helped a little, but it's still not perfect. Despite the ridges and the minor bald spots, I still can't stop staring at my nails. I have nothing else like this color in my collection of over 850 polishes so you better bet that this polish is staying right where it is in my stash. I even want a backup of it!

Here's Big Island Volcano, 3 coats with 1 thick coat of Seche Vite. My pictures aren't the best today so please bear with me here.

And for fun, here are some of my favorite pictures of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Enjoy!

Perhaps a better color for something named "Big Island Volcano" should have been a nice granite grey shade. Oh well, I'm not complaining! 

I hope you all enjoyed today's post. Have you been to Hawaii? If so, tell me all about it! If not, tell me about your favorite vacation spot =)

Sally Hansen Arabian Night

Hello my lovely readers! Those who know me may know that I have a penchant for old, vintage polishes. The older it is, the better it is in my opinion - especially if it is a drugstore brand. Sure, I enjoy vintage OPI polishes just as much as the next girl but if I come across an old Maybelline or Cover Girl polish then I get pretty damn excited. I think it's because these aged drugstore polishes remind me of my childhood. I had SO MUCH awesome nail polish as a kid, which sadly, I eventually threw out because I did not know the wonders of nail polish thinner. I weep a little thinking of all those old Hard Candy, Urban Decay and Sally Hansen polishes that went to waste.

So today, I have for you an old-ish Sally Hansen polish. It is from their now-discontinued Salon line and it is called Arabian Night. Arabian Night is one of my most favorite polishes that I own. It is from 2008, so it's really not THAT old (heck, I have polishes in my stash that are nearly as old as I am) but since it's from a discontinued line, I like to lump it together with my old polish collection.

Arabian Night is a STUNNING deep blue-based purple with amazing golden shimmer throughout. In some lights, the shimmer even has a pink tinge to it. Ack! It's amazing! Application was very straightforward; two coats and I was good to go. It's one of those "hidden shimmer" polishes that I love so very much. When you are looking at it from far away, it just looks like a nice deep purple color, but once you're up close you can see the amazing golden shimmer in there.

So here she is, Sally Hansen Arabian Night. Hope you enjoy! (Oh, and please excuse the nasty gash on my ring finger!)

Have a fantastic Friday everyone!

Orly Royal Navy NOTD

Hello hello! Just wanted to show you guys my nail of the day today. For some reason, I have really been on a blue kick lately, which is really unlike me. I swear this is the last blue for the week!

Orly Royal Navy is from last summer's In the Navy collection, and it is one of my favorite nail polishes of all time. It is a bright royal blue jelly with the most amazing aquamarine shimmer throughout. The shimmer always settles to the bottom, so I have to shake it up for a good few minutes before application. It is a bit of a pain, but it really is worth it because I feel that the shimmer really sets this polish apart. It applies almost like a cream but has that sheer, squishy nature that a jelly has.

I got my bottle at Sally's, but I believe this color is no longer available. I believe many of the online polish retailers still have this in stock for a reasonable price. If you are a fan of blue nail polish, I think this is an absolute must for your collection. I even bought a backup of it when it was on clearance at Sally's, which is something that I don't normally do. That's how awesome it is.

And here are far too many pics of Orly Royal Navy (two coats plus topcoat):

Thanks for stopping by, and hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

-Jacqui