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.

Hammie says Hello!

While I've been obsessing over the more tedious aspects of starting a blog, Hammie's been badgering me to at least say a quick hello to all the wonderful would be readers of Polished Indulgence. He threatened me with a filthy spot in that jaunty little space he owns on the blog. Now, Hammie's a very clean little fella and for him to threaten that, why I had to pay attention!

While I'm more than aware that this may very well be a ploy to get more treats (the more readers we have, the higher the number of possible treat givers), I belatedly realize that I have been quite remiss in welcoming you all to our newly christened blog. Boo Carmela, boo.

At any rate, we're hard at work to churn out some wonderful posts in the coming weeks. We're shooting for at least a bi-weekly updating schedule so definitely look forward to that. First up on our plate will be a couple of nail polishes that are part of a freshly released collection by the Canadian brand Quo in collaboration with nail giant Orly, followed by some cheapie but goodie nail polishes that any nail fiend in the making should consider acquiring.

Before I spill all my beans, I'll end there, along with a promise of great things to come!

P.S. Hammie says he likes treats. Any time. All the time. Please give him lots and lots of treats.