Nars Zulu ends 2011 with a bang!

It feels like it was just yesterday when I started the red, gold and green series for the holidays and here we are looking at the end of another year. The past few days have been ridiculously crazy with the party a day schedule we've had, coupled with my poor honey bunny catching a virus (Such a lousy time to be sick! We hope he feels much better before the new year starts. And that he doesn't pass it on to me.) and hacking away every night. I've been piecing blog posts together whenever I have free time (I keep my promises!) and today I saved one of my newer acquisitions to end the series with a bang. In truth, it's one of the best deals I've scored nail polish-wise this year and it's one of the more (in?)famous polishes in my collection. Without further ado:

Say hello to NARS Zulu!

Nail Art Wednesday: Red Jelly and Gold Glitter

Sometimes, especially when I'm pressed for time and can't change my polish, I like to jazz up what I already have on with glitter or flakie top coats. It's fast, easy and it looks like you put in a bit of effort even if you really didn't. It's also a great way to ease yourself into doing (and sporting!) nail art. While I had Sweet Tart on, I remembered the nails I had seen from a Sephora Holiday 2011 email (I'm weird like that. I find I notice people's nails even more since I've begun blogging.) so I decided to do my own take on it.

The idea.

The result.

Orly Sweet Tart whets your appetite for more holiday sweets.

How was your Christmas? I hope it was as happy and wonderful as can be! It's actually still Christmas as I write this post while watching the NBA Christmas Special (MIA vs. DAL and if you're curious I'm rooting for the Mavs because Nowitzki >>> LeBron; nevermind that MIA is now 30 points ahead, boo) in the background. So if I seem strangely disjointed as you read through the post, you now know why. (P.S. I haven't been on Twitter lately either as it's been one party after the other and I had to sneak away to write this post so we'll keep this short and sweet-ish.)

Moving on, if you're still craving more sweets after all the Christmas treats you've, no doubt, stuffed your face with, today's polish will only serve to whet your appetite.

Sweet Tart for my sweet!

China Glaze Glittering Garland celebrates an early Merry Christmas!

Diets be damned, the coming weekend promises at least 3 days of buffet-style dinners and lots of family fun. Then, of course, there's the gifts to be given (and received!), candy canes and chocolate to be had and lots of peppermint mochas. Right after which will be the chaos of Boxing Day (I'm on the look out for a new camera but so far the Boxing Day flyers I've seen haven't looked very promising..). The only thing that would make this weekend all the better (and probably a whole lot crazier) would be a lot of that wonderful white stuff that you see drifting over your screen. It's undoubtedly bound to be a crazy busy weekend, so I truly hope your Friday is treating you well. While we're at it, let's enjoy this calm before the storm with a bit of glass-flecked magic from China Glaze:

Like green foliage on a Christmas tree!

Nail Art Wednesday: Red, Gold and Green Checkered Nails

Are you as excited as we are that Christmas is almost at hand?? I know, I know, there's probably still a ton of stuff to do, but let's not forget the reason for the season. Maybe a breather or two and a nice cup of peppermint mocha should calm the holiday-weary soul. And while you're at it, how about another take on the perennial colors of Christmas:

Get into the spirit!

China Glaze Ruby Pumps takes you away from holiday induced stress

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With 7 days left before the big 2-5, I'm fairly certain that tempers are fraying and the stress of the holidays might be getting to you. If not, I applaud your cool, calm composure (grace under fire!) or your unbelievable case of procrastination ("oh, I can still do it on the 24th"). Either way, I'm of the mind that when things get more than a little crazy, I wish I could either stop time for a bit to catch my breath or click my heels and transport myself to anywhere quiet. That last bit brings to mind one of the best know red jelly and glitter polishes of all-time (incidentally also perfect for your holiday mani):

That right there is the reason why it's so popular and timeless.

Nubar Reclaim helps you reclaim the (holographic) magic of the holidays

How awesome is it that it's 9 more days till Christmas?? We've hit the single digits in the countdown! *squeeeee!* I sincerely hope you have at least half your shopping done (or about to be done this weekend), all your decorations up and at least a good idea of the dinner menu by now because 9 days is really cutting it close! Although, who am I to talk when I've just finished all my cards (finally!) and they'll be mailed tomorrow. I know they're not going to make it, but it's the thought that counts. :D If your Scrooge needs some cheering up or to take your mind off all the things that still need to be checked off from the long Christmas To Do list, take a few minutes and let this green holographic weave some of its Christmas magic:

Reclaim some of that Christmas cheer with Nubar Reclaim!

Nail Art Wednesday: Gift Wrapped Nails

Today I have more Christmas-inspired nail art to get you in the Christmas spirit! I'm actually still in the process of writing out all my Christmas cards (I know, I know, I don't think they'll make it in time either, but that's procrastination for you) and I still have a stack to go through. But when it comes to gifts, I like to pride myself in being one heck of a gift giver. That's assuming I know the giftee well enough and have had enough time for reconnaissance. See, the trick is to pay attention. Throughout the year, everyone will tell whoever is willing to listen what exactly they like. People like to talk about themselves that way, whether they realize it or not. (Little trick I've learned: In most social settings, when in doubt or at a loss for words to keep a conversation going, usually asking what the other person thinks or anything that pertains to them is enough to keep the awkward silences at bay.) Once you have this information, getting the perfect gift is easy. It then becomes a waiting game to make sure I get the best deal and sometimes, when I'm lucky, I have my entire shopping list all checked out even before December hits. (As of this writing, I am officially done for a week now with all the shopping and the gift wrapping. Okay, enough gloating.) Anyway, on with the nails!

Gift wrapped with ribbons on top.

Zoya Isla is the one red to rule them all.

Don't you just love it when something as simple as changing your nail polish color or putting on a bright lipstick can up your confidence level and make your day seem just a little better? While I'm all about the blues (music and color but that's about it), red holds a special place in my polish loving heart. It's such a classic color that matches just about anything and can be worn at different occasions and most places (if your workplace denies you the joy of sporting red nails, I feel your pain). A great red polish is a wonderful way to add a pop of color to an otherwise drab winter outfit. It's definitely a great way to join in on the Christmas spirit! Starting the week right, we're taking a look at one of my all-time favourite red polishes:

Zoya Isla in all its lit from within gorgeousness.

China Glaze Lighthouse

Yellow isn't really my color. I can't pull it off the same way I can't do a pastel peach. (Both shades come out looking weird with my skintone.) But in continuing with the red, gold and green series we'll be doing all month long, I find myself reviewing a yellow anyway.  Before I picked this up, I had only one other yellow in my collection that I primarily use for nail art purposes. Well, two if you count a color changing polish I have from In the Mood (will do a review on that when it gets colder! :D) that's yellow when warm and orange when cold.  So when I asked Mr. J to help me pick out a color when I was last at Sally Beauty, he picked this yellow, rationalizing that I didn't have a lot to begin with. But where does it fall in with the red, gold and green part of the deal? Well, this one can pass for gold with the bling of glass flecks and microglitter.

See what I mean?

Indulge without the Splurge: December 8, 2011

How's your Christmas shopping list looking like? I've got only 3 more presents left to shop for and I am DONE. Yesssssss. I can finally focus on trying to figure out what to bake for the holidays. I think the usual spread of cookies are out as Mr. J isn't allowed to eat much by way of sweets, so I've been thinking about doing something savory instead and saving the cookies as giveaways for friends and co-workers.  But if you still have a ways to go before being done with all the shopping (or maybe you're looking for more presents for yourself, hehe), I've got some great deals and warehouse sales that might interest you:

• Urban Outfitters wants you to save up to 70% off their regular retail prices! Shop online or look for one near you here.
• Guess is offering 25% off purchases when you spend $100 or more until December 18, 2011. The sale is on in stores and online, not valid towards the purchase of gift cards.
• Smart Set Canada is giving out a $10 savings card with any purchase.  The card is redeemable on any purchase from January 19 - February 8, 2012 with no minimum amount needed to spend in order to redeem the savings. The card may not be combined with any other promotion or toward the purchase of pink sticker items.  Click here for more information regarding this offer.
• Jacob Canada is offering 40% off the regular price of all merchandise.  This excludes the new collection, lingerie and beauty products.  Also not applicable at Jacob Outlet stores and online prices reflect the discount.  Offer valid for a limited time only.
• Le Chateau Canada is offering a printable coupon for 30% off all boots, coats and sweaters.  Not valid at outlet stores or online.  Coupon expires December 11, 2011.
• From December 6 until December 13, American Eagle has all sweaters & sweatshirts 40% off. Discount applies to both online and in-store.  No coupon or code is required as prices all reflect the discount. 
• Receive a free sample of Skyn Icelandic Relief Eye Cream from the Bay with this printable coupon.  Present at the Skyn Icelandic counter at The Bay to receive your sample. Valid until December 18, 2011.
• Save 40% off select styles at Banana Republic. Valid in store, until December 14, 2011.
• Save 30% off all boots, coats & sweaters at Le Chateau with this printable coupon. Valid in stores, until December 11, 2011.
• Save 50% off almost everything online at Yves Rocher. Offer excludes everyday low priced items like Beautiful Buy products, Culture Bio, some gifts and some new items. Valid until December 21, 2011.
  

There are a bunch of warehouse sales that are happening at the International Centre in Mississauga so for all of you west of GTA, you're in luck! Among the sales happening are Parasuco, Fruits and Passion, Crocs and Umbra. Great place to grab some gifts for Christmas! For more info, click here.


Go, go, go ahead, Indulge! Happy (Christmas) shopping!!

Nail Art Wednesday: Peppermint Candy Inspired Red and White Nails

One of the best things about the holidays are the Christmas treats that we can all rely on to appear every year. Now, I'm not particularly fond of eggnog (I'm thinking I have yet to taste a really good recipe for it and the one you buy in cartons just aren't the best) but the gajillion chocolate treats that pop up each year are definitely a big hit! One of my favorite drinks from coffee shops is their cafe mocha (no surprise there), but with a dash of peppermint, it suddenly says "Happy Holidays"! Isn't it funny how certain food/tastes convey different events? Like turkey is to Thanksgiving, so is peppermint is to Christmas! It happened that I was munching on a peppermint candy cane while brainstorming ideas for holiday nail art. This is what I ended up doing:

Peppermint Candy Canes and Peppermint Candy inspired nails

Truckload Tuesdays: Hail the Nail Mail and a note to all my lovely readers

You know that saying that goes: when it rains, it pours? That's exactly how this past week was. After griping on Twitter about how long it's been taking my Models Own order to get to me while (it felt like) everyone else has already gotten theirs, and awaiting other similar packages, I finally get ALL of them last week! I do have to say that I have a sneaking suspicion that our mailman is either lazy or not all there. A few weeks ago, I got a package that he(/she?) jammed into our mailbox so well that Mr. J and I needed some quick thinking to get it dislodged. Enter a couple of screwdrivers and a lot of pulling. Luckily, while the box was decimated, the contents were perfectly fine. Now, just last week, instead of dropping off the packages at the door, I get mail notices that say I'd have to pick up my packages at the nearest post office. You have to understand that we live only about 2 minutes walking distance from those mail boxes. So, yeah..

Anyway, I'm just really, really ecstatic to finally get them all in one go! :D

Mail love from Mary (aka Mellinail). I'm really grateful she found my first Chanel for me!

I love how eco-friendly and snug this packaging was.

The Super Powers Collection. That blue is my new all time favorite blue.

Some "magic fish food" to whet your polish appetite.

I thought it was funny that it came in such a huge box!

The Beetlejuice Collection. Not as duochrome-y as I thought, but still pretty good.

I also got the Kobo eReader I got last Cyber Monday but Mr. J promptly gift wrapped it and told me I couldn't play with it till after Christmas before I could get any photos. That's one more thing to look forward to, then! Don't you just love it when the universe conspires to make it feel like Christmas came early?

-----------------

I've been putting off announcing this as I've been hoping I can get around circumstances. Hammie insists that I must admit defeat though when I realize how busy things will get and how much scrambling I've yet to do to get the house in order. No, it's not anything particularly bad. It just so happens that my in-laws are coming over to visit for Christmas and will be staying with us till the end of January. I doubt I can do new swatches once they arrive (they'll be here next Wednesday!) so I've been doing swatching marathons when I can to make sure I'll have enough material to use while they're here. So the bad news is that I might not have swatches of the polishes I featured above until early February (which is probably for the best as the Super Powers Collection won't be available till February, anyway). I might not also be as vigilant with the Indulge without the Splurge posts, depending on how busy things will be. While I will be scaling back a bit, rest assured that you'll still get the polish posts every Monday and Friday, as well as the nail art posts on Wednesdays. 

We do hope you'll understand how crazy the holidays can be, especially with family over. So let us be the first to wish you a very happy, crazy and fun Christmas season!

Nubar Prize is a win to any sparkle fiend

The weather forecast calls for some cooling temperatures, especially at the start of the week. I doubt that'll make any grumpy, Monday-hating anyone do a 180. In fact, I'd think they'd feel vindicated. "See, I told you so." But I've never been one to wallow in bad thoughts. That's just not the best way to go about life. So I figured, why not start the week with some holographic awesomeness from Nubar to perk things up?

Scattered holo makes Monday blahs go bye-bye.

Rimmel London 60 Seconds Camouflage ushers in the Christmas cheer with greens and golds

I don't know about you, but when you combine red, green and gold the first thing that comes to mind is Christmas, my absolutest, favoritest time of the year! (And maybe that song by Culture Club..) So throughout the month, you'll see a smattering of red, green and gold polishes here at Polished Indulgence. We're kickstarting the month with one of my green pretties that has a gold shimmer to it from another cheapie but goody brand that my cousin swears by (a mommy who can only get her nails done if they dry faster than her little boy can climb out of his crib).

[Red] Gold and green, [red] gold and greeeeen...

Indulge without the Splurge: December 1, 2011

How is it December already? I haven't even done my Christmas shopping list yet, let alone started to get anyone anything! Although, with all the great deals from the past weeks, I probably should've. Mr. J and I did manage to score a really good deal on a 40" TV that we price matched at Future Shop to bring the price down to $450 (reg. price: $650). I also (finally!) got myself a Kobo Touch (early Christmas present!) at Walmart for $108 (reg. price: $139.99). So all in all it was a pretty good Black Friday weekend for us. :) Anyway, there are some noteworthy deals still kicking around and here they are:

• Bench.ca Friends and Family Sale: Save 30% on All Merchandise Online and In-Store. Note that sizes, styles and quantities are limited. Free standard shipping is available on orders over $99. The sale prices will expire on December 4 at 11:59pm EST.
• Canada.Forever21.com: Buy 1, Get 1 Free on select apparel & accessories till December 4, 2011.
• Banana Republic: Today through December 4, you can take 40% off regular priced items in stores and online. If you'll be shopping online, enter promo code BRCHOL40 at checkout. To shop in stores, print off this email and present it to your cashier.
• The Gravity Pope footwear is hosting a two part sale event: save 15% on all regular-priced items until December 4, and 20-50% off select fall 2010 footwear until December 24. Shipping is $15 for the first item, $5 for additional items. Shoppers in BC and Alberta also have the option of picking up their items in store, but will still be charged a $10 "transfer charge."
• Town Shoes is running a sale where you can save up to 50% off their fall and winter collection. Maximize your savings when you print off this coupon to save an additional 10% off your first sale item; If you are buying more than one item, you will also save 20% off your second sale item (items that are 50% off or more are not included). This coupon is valid until December 11, 2011. 
• Get Lucky with Aldo: select styles are up to 50% off. Use promo code getlucky75985 to save an extra 15% on top of that! Shipping from is free on orders over $50, and $5 per order when you spend less than $50.
• Save 30% off your entire purchase at The Body Shop.Valid online till December 4, 2011. Also, shipping is free on all orders of $75 or more.
• Receive a FREE sample of Tresor Midnight Rose from the Bay.You must present this printable coupon at the Lancome counter to get your freebie. Valid until December 11, 2011.
  
• Garage Clothing Canada is offering a printable coupon for 25% off your entire purchase or 30% off your purchase when you spend $100 or more.  Valid on all regular, sale and promotional merchandise.  Enter the promo code FACEBOOKOFF or WEBFF at the checkout to receive your discount or print off the coupon above for use in store.  Promotion runs until December 4 in stores and December 5 (6AM EST) online. 
• Shop online at Eddie Bauer and receive up to 50% off all sweaters!
  

 Some warehouse sales that might be worth going to over the weekend:

• Roots Sample Sale
  Get up to 80% off at the annual Roots Sale. This is a cash-only sale. Please bring one non perishable food item to donate!
  
  When:
  December 3-4, 2011
  Sat 8AM-3PM
  Sun 9AM-2PM
  Where:
  75 Tycos Drive
  Toronto, Ontario
  
  When:
  December 1-2, 2011
  Thu 10AM-5:30PM
  Fri 10AM-5PM
  Where:
  1400 Castlefield Avenue
  Toronto, Ontario
• Revlon / Johnson & Johnson Warehouse Sale
  Save up to 75% off Cosmetics and Skincare featuring Revlon, Almay, L’Oreal, Neutrogena, Clean & Clear, Dove, Axe, Garnier, Listerine, and more. Save up to 80% off fragrances from brands like Burberry, CK, Lacoste, Hugo Boss, Givenchy, Tommy Hilfiger, Davidoff, Ralph Lauren, Hummer, Elizabeth Arden, Perry Ellis, Versace, Diesel, Guess and more. Save up 70% off mens and ladies apparel from Haggar!
  
  When:
  November 30th to December 4th, 2011
  Wednesday - Friday 10-8pm
  Saturday - 10-6pm
  Sunday - 11-5pm
  Where:
  International Centre Hall 6
  6900 Airport rd, Mississauga, Ontario
  Corner of (Derry Rd & Airport Rd )

Any good deals that you scored from last weekend's Black Friday/Cyber Monday events? Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Go ahead, Indulge! :)