Polished Indulgence is turning 1! [GIVEAWAY!]

Can you believe it? I know I can't! It only seems like a few weeks ago when we claimed our tiny bit of the interwebs to write about our burgeoning passion for all things nail polish (among other things, of course). Back then, we thought, okay, I thought it would only be a phase that would last a few months, tops. Fast forward some 365 days later and we're still going strong! Better yet, we've gotten to know so many lovely people from all walks of life that are brought together by a common love for nail polish. We've been lucky enough that we can count you as friends (and real life friends, even!). Apart from that, we've learned a whole bunch of stuff (hey, you never really stop learning) and stretched our creativity muscles (excuse the iffy metaphor) in a bid to keep up with our Nail Art Wednesday promise. All in all, it's been a great year where we have so much to be thankful for, most especially for all you dear readers. Every comment, weird search words that make us giggle, Facebook like, Twitter follow, pin on Pinterest and GFC/Bloglovin'/Networked Blogs/RSS subscription is cherished. Truthfully, just knowing someone out there is actually reading the posts that we've put a lot of thought and effort into writing is enough to make our day. So, in essence, YOU make our day. And in a bid to express our gratitude, we're having a giveaway! (Woot!)

(Image Credits)

We're calling this the Dupe Giveaway. Let me explain why: Polished Indulgence started under the premise that indulgence and luxury doesn't have to come with a high price tag. If you can get the same look for a lower price, why not? If a cheaper alternative outperforms a luxury brand, isn't that all the better for our wallets? We've tried to put a premium on value vs. price so in the same vein, we'd like our first blog anniversary giveaway to promote that same principle. We're not made of money ourselves (none of these items are sponsored), so we've rounded up a host of little luxuries to aid your indulging:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And as infomercials would say: But WAIT, there's MORE! As an additional thank you to my fellow Canadians, we've decided to up your chances by adding another set of prizes just for you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once again, thank you for sticking it out with us. We hope to see you around in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest. We cannot stress this enough: YOU ARE AWESOME.

Revlon Facets of Fuschia

I'll be honest. I'm not a big fan of black nail polish. Sure, it's edgy and classic, like the LBD (that's "little black dress" if you've lived under a rock all this time) but it's just so...dark. I do like vampy colors that are dark, like navy or blood red, just not full on black. Call me biased but it could very well have been because my mom used to always say black nails reminded her of dead nails. Not a very flattering thought, really. Unless you're a zombie.

When I picked up Carbonite, I ended up getting one other polish that caught my eye. I think I might have found the one black polish that'll make me change my mind.

Very rock chic, no?

Revlon Carbonite

Whoever said "ignorance is bliss" clearly was ignorant. The first time I got my hands on a limited edition, hard to find nail polish, I didn't get it. Why? Because I didn't know it was so coveted and I was still sane enough then to think that the 6 bottles of polish I owned was already more than enough. I only realized my folly when I've gone down the rabbit hole of polish collecting. Gosh Holographic was the one that got away, all because of ignorance.

I've been following the trends and the limited release news since. When Chanel released Graphite, word came soon after of a Revlon dupe: Carbonite. While I wasn't inclined to drop $25 (or even more in CDN) for a single nail polish, I did want to get my hands on the more affordable option. I knew it would be a limited release and once it hit the shelves down south, it had all the US beauty bloggers talking about it. Since these products usually take at least a couple months to cross the border, anyone who knew anything about polish was anxiously waiting to see it on displays.

 Not this Carbonite...

Imagine my excitement when I saw a brand spankin' new Revlon display at my local Rexall with bottles and bottles of Carbonite! (Okay, more like four bottles. But it was a full display!) Now that I have my hands on this elusive find, is it worth all the hype?

...THIS Carbonite!