NYC In A New York Minute Scenestealer Grey can gladly steal any scene

You know when something's so bad, it's good? Think stinky tofu (it's not called stinky for nothing but I heard it tastes awesome) or Rick Astley (I apologize in advance to any Rick Astley fans who might be reading this). I suppose the same can be said for Zoolander, the satirical comedy that poked fun at the fashion industry and the models that everyone wanted to be like. I particularly thought Ben Stiller as the slow but well meaning male model, Derek Zoolander, was a riot. And one of his "signature looks" is what immediately came to mind when I saw today's polish:

Blue Steel: "I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is." (Image Credits)

Steel blue shimmery awesomeness.

Nail Art Wednesday: Special Birthday Nails Part 2, Toronto Maple Leafs Nails

Every week in the month of October, we celebrate 1 birthday. This week's birthday celebrant is super duper, extra special. You see, 34 years ago today, the love of my life was born. *goofy grin*

I was originally thinking of doing red based nail art. Not because it's Mr. J's favorite color, but because it's Chinese tradition to wear red during people's birthdays and it would be a great way to honor his heritage. But he's not exactly what you'd call traditional so in the end, I ended up with nails that best describe one aspect of him: a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.

Mr. J is a sports nut. He calls into radio shows on his drive to work to give his two cents on the latest buzz. He puts on baseball/hockey/basketball/football games in the background while we have dinner. He's almost always updated on who traded who, which team is top of the ranks and which coach just got fired. Out of all of his favorite teams, the Leafs hold a special place in his heart. He has figurines, mugs, a throw, shirts..yeah, you get the idea. Never mind that these days any hope of them entering the playoffs is pretty dismal. But you never know, right? While I love my hubby to pieces, I'll never cheer for the Leafs as the Flames will always be my team.

Go Leafs Go!

Fingerpaints Military Green

A lot of Fall's trends this year include predictions of colors that are going to be big during the season. Some said navy and electric blue will be big, along with honest to goodness greys. (I can totally get with that!) Others said gold greens reminiscent of the widely lusted after Chanel Peridot was going to make a splash while I've noticed dusty looking colors in almost every single Fall release. When I last surveyed my stash for on trend colors, I realized that I was seriously lacking in the green department. Shame! Of course, you know I had to remedy that!

FingerPaints' answer to Fall fashion.

Nail Art Wednesday: Special Birthday Nails Part 1, Pastel Skittle Nails

In our family, October is known as the birthday month with birthday dinners every week. It's always a lot of fun, family getting together and all that. Since each celebrant usually picks a different restaurant, it's also a great way to try some place new to add to the rotation. (Or they do a party at home!)This year, we're having one more birthday to celebrate: my niece, Alena, who's turning one on the 8th!

I did a skittles manicure in honor of the birthday girl in fun bright colors. I then stamped animals from the Konad S10 stamping plate in silver and added a holographic glitter layering polish as the final touch.

What I used:

Thumb: In the Mood Devious (cold color)

Index: Nicole by OPI City-Pretty Rose

Middle: Orly Snowcone

Ring: Revlon Garden (from the Spring 2011 mini set)

Pinky: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lemon Dash

Silver stamping polish: Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Pure Silver

Glitter polish: Sally Hansen New Lengths Ceramics in Silver Slightblade

More photos after the jump!

NYC In A New York Minute in Spring Street

We, here at Polished Indulgence, believe that indulging and being polished and put together doesn't have to mean spending a lot of money. There are a lot of great alternatives to high end brands and their offerings. A high price tag doesn't necessarily mean a better quality product. Half the time, you're paying for the brand. Case in point: L'Oreal Group of Companies. Their consumer line includes Garnier, L'Oreal Paris and Maybelline New York. Each has their own niche and fairly affordable prices. Then you have their luxury brands among which include Lancome, Giorgio Armani and YSL Beaute. Ever heard of the L'Oreal Infallible Loose Eyeshadow being very similar to the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadow? Same parent company. Now, I'm not saying they're exactly the same, but I am stressing the fact that you CAN get a similar product without breaking the bank. Huge cosmetic companies usually structure themselves so that they can appeal to both low and high price point consumers to maximize profit. So, why pay them more when you can get something similar for less?

That's exactly what NYC In A New York Minute in Spring Street is all about. It's a great cheery red orange shade that dries fast and shiny even without top coat for only a couple of bucks. How can you go wrong with that?

Just what the nail doctor ordered for dreary Fall days.

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?

Nail Art Wednesday: Gradation Nails

Hammie just challenged my creativity. He knows I shy away from crazy nail art on my own nails, although I do love seeing them on other people."What's stopping you?", he asked. Well, I wasn't so sure what. I used to go to these art classes in the summer when I was younger. Nothing fancy, but I prided myself in being artsy. I haven't done much of anything remotely 'artsy' in the recent years so I've decided to take Hammie on. Hence the birth of Nail Art Wednesdays. I don't promise it'll be amazing, but I will have fun, do my little bit of art and hope you like it. :)
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Ombre has been a huge trend in the past seasons from hair to nails. I was never sold on the hair though, because to me it looked too much like someone had forgotten to get their roots done in a while. Not my cup of tea at all!

But I've always wanted to try the Ombre nails, also called a gradation manicure, that Lauren Conrad sported a couple months ago in this photo from Gettysburg:

I so <3 the blue!

Here's my take:

I noticed my index and middle fingernails looked too close to each other,
so I painted over it with the thumb color in the next photos. XD

Read on to find out what I used and for more photos after the jump!

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!

Quo by Orly Turquoise Moonlight

Bonus redemption weekend at Shoppers Drug Mart starts tomorrow! What do you have on your shopping list? I hope you have at least $10 worth of leeway as I have another polish to show you that needs a place in your polish collection: last post's cousin, Quo by Orly Turquoise Moonlight.

I picked this up same time as Celestial Star and I was telling myself that I could only get one. Polish costs tend to add up, you know? So I did the rest of my shopping, thinking I'd choose later but ended up with these two polishes still my basket when I got to the counter. I just couldn't pick one over the other! Luckily, Mr. J was with me and ended the silliness by telling me to just get both. Best decision ever!

Blue need this sparkle!

Quo by Orly Celestial Star

I was planning to do just one post this week but when I found out about the bonus redemption weekend coming up at Shoppers, I figured it would be best if I did the first two polishes I promised in my line up. I like to think of it as my little bit of public service: increase awareness of awesome must have products that can be had at a discount (or in the case for this weekend: free!).

For the uninitiated, Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM), a Canadian pharmacy and retailer, has a points system that is explained in depth here. Basically, for each purchase you make at any of their stores, you get corresponding points. Once you hit the different point levels, these can be redeemed for cash. Simple, right? Now, what's really great about the system is that racking up points isn't hard at all. Shop only during weekends for really good deals on essentials (Sundays & Mondays are best) or let the shopping list grow (unless you absolutely need it ASAP!) for weekends with 20x the points and special Wednesdays with 18 500 bonus points for purchases over $50. You can also get their MasterCard to double the rate of amassing points. Paying bills and getting back points to splurge on beauty products? Yes, please!

So where am I going with my unsponsored rave about SDM? Like I said above: Bonus Redemption Weekend. Meaning: for every 50 000 points you redeem, you get $100 off (extra $15) and 95 000 points gets you $200 off (extra $30). That's a new fragrance for Fall or an armful of nail polish. And if you're like me who's always on the look out for new pretty nail polish to corral into your stash, then read on after the jump as I have one that needs to go home with you this weekend.

Tell me you wouldn't invite this lovely home.