Color Club Halo Hues Collection Part 1 - Swatches & Review

So Color Club has finally jumped on the bandwagon of holographic collection that has swept the nail community... gradually... over the past many years. As far as I know the crazy really started with China Glaze's OMG collection from 2009, aka 1 year before my sudden nail polish passion exploded into existence.
I'm sorry that these pictures aren't particularly clear. I don't know what's wrong with my settings. They're the same as from when I took my pictures of the China Glaze Hologlam collection. I think there was something on the lens of the camera. In any case M had to use it to photograph his leg for documentation and legal purposes (and ew factor 2 years down the road purposes).
Anyway, on to this collection!! As Color Club split this into two parts, so shall I!

All of these are pictured without top coat. Ain't nobody got time fo' dat!

 This is Angel Kiss, a teal-blue with decent holographic-ness. I selected two pictures for this color originally, but when adding watermarks I ended up accidentally saving over one of them with this. So here we are! One picture! This is two coats.

This is Cherubic, which almost gives me mannequin hands! You know, minus the holographic rainbow. This is two coats, which has full coverage even though on me it doesn't look like it.. I'm going to have to do a comparison between this and Love 'Em/Leave 'Em, a tan holographic from a previous collection that I can't remember off the top of my head. I just remember that I bought it almost two years ago. This is two coats.

Next up is Blue Heaven, a very light baby blue with some awesome linear holographic-ness. I have in my notes that the brush on this one was wonky. The curve was uneven (imagine a J shape in the curve of the brush) and as a result a nice application near the cuticle area was hard on this one. This is two coats.

So here I have a predicament. I cannot see any difference on camera between these two colors. I was on the verge of assuming that I was sent mislabeled duplicates of one of these colors when I stuck the brushes next to each other under sunlight and was able to see that Cloud Nine is in fact more purple than Halo-Graphic. So... have fun trying to tell these apart LOL. Each of these were 2 coats.

Harp On It is just a typical grey holographic polish. I really like the holographic on this one. I think it's the strongest of all the silver holos I own. This was two coats.

The formula was nice and even, albeit a bit quick-drying as all holographics are. I'm a sucker for all things shiny and sparkly so I'm glad to've added these to my collection of fantasmical holographic sparkles. Stay tuned for part 2 of the Halo Hues collection!

Rosegirls - Zucchini Bread Noel

OH MY GOD!! AFJSKFLASFJASIALS I had a nosegasm while melting this. YAAAY!!! *cough*... anyways...
Cold Sniff: 2/3 I liked this and I couldn't pick up on that tortilla chip note I've always picked up on with Zucchini Bread blends. However, I was still wary that the tortilla chip was just waiting until I melted it to explode all over my nose and incapacitate me.
Warm Sniff: 3/3 Oh my gaawd! NO TORTILLA CHIP SMELL!! A ZUCCHINI BREAD BLEND THAT I LIKE!! I can actually smell what is supposed to be the zucchini bread in here! And it smells amazing! Plus this blend itself is very pleasant on the nose. I'm a vanilla lover, and it just so happens that this ZB is very pleasant, so I'm a happy camper! I wonder if I don't smell the tortilla chip note because this is a creamy ZB blend. I'm not entirely sure which version of ZB I've been melting this entire time.
Throw: 3/3 This filled the entire house and most of the yard with it's creamy goodness. Yummm...
Melting Power: 3/3 This is still melting strong and as I type this it's been about 20 hours since I threw it in the warmer. 
Scent Strength: 1.5/3 Very background-y and sets a nice pleasant baking mood in the house.
Repurchase: YES! Good thing Rosegirls is opening up on the 27th... or maybe not so good... Buahahaha!

Candles From The Keeping Room - Pink Sugared Cranberry

Cold Sniff: 2/3 I really don't smell the cranberry too much here. It's pretty much just a Pink Sugar blend.
Warm Sniff: 2/3 I pick up more on the cranberry, but this is still predominantly a pink sugar tart. I like pink sugar by itself, so this was pleasant anyway.
Throw: 3/3 M says he smelled this from down the street when he was coming home from work. So... safe to say this threw well.
Scent Strength: 2/3
Melting Power: 3/3 This lasted around 30 hours before the scent died off. I'm impressed by the power of Carol's tarts. This is a good first choice for me!
Repurchase: Probably not, since this wasn't really a pink sugar and cranberry blend. I'll still melt the rest of this, though :) I look forward to hopefully making my first order with Carol when she reopens in May.

Birthday Splurging: Rosegirls Sampler!

Bah, this post was supposed to've been finished on Sunday, but M got attacked by a dog on his way to work and we ended up in the ER until 2 am Monday morning. This furthers my theory that bad things happen to him whenever I'm not around LOL. Anyways, I managed to snag one of the sampler flash sales that came up in early March and this box got to me in time for me to figure out what I wanted to buy 8 ounce bags of come the March opening.

Strawberry Cotton Candy: A super sweet blend that's heavy on the strawberry but different than what I thought it smelled like when we opened the box. When we got the box we could smell a very strong strawberry cupcake scent, and when initially going through the scents we thought this one was it. Now that I'm smelling it I don't pick up on the cupcake scent anymore... :( so we have to figure out which one it was now!
Serendipity Smoothie: I can smell the serendipity here, and it's toned down by the smoothie. Super creamy and pleasant.
Strawberry Serendipity: Man, people weren't kidding when they said Rosegirls has some of the best strawberry blends around! This is a perfect mix of the two scents, and I can still pick up on the berry part of the serendipity.
French Toast Pudding: I pick up on some cinnamon and butter here, but not much else. We will have to see how this smells once we melt it.

Sunny Days: A lemony-fruity blend. I'm still on the fence about this one; it's a bit too heavy on the lemon for me on cold sniff.
Tropical Passion: Another fruity-berry lemony blend. I'm going to, again, see this later. I guess I'm not much of a tropical fan LOL
Pumpkin Chai Bread: This has a very strong cinnamon and bread note. I hope this smells like that tea I drink (vanilla chai... yumm!!) when I melt this. Of course, with my ever-growing list of must-melts, it could be a while before I get around to this.
Sweet Lemon Confection and Vanilla Bean Noel: This smells like lemon drops! I don't really pick up on anything else on cold sniff.

Berry Lovely Birthday Cake: When I handle the bag I pick up on that cupcake scent I kept smelling while everything was in the box, but when I smell it I just pick up on a sweet bread and berry scent. It's pleasant, it just got my hopes up that I found that strawberry cupcake scent we kept smelling. Y U TEASE ME?!
Zucchini Bread Noel: Oh my goodness. I don't pick up on that tortilla chip note!!! I DON'T PICK UP ON THE TORTILLA CHIP NOTE. Could I have found a zucchini mix that I like?! Into the melter you will go as soon as I finish up with this post!
Siren's Song: A berry mix... I can't really come up with words to describe this so I'm asking M. His words: Water. Like, literally. When I smell it I taste water. But it smells like... *sniffs* a spring breeze, which is like water. I can smell the dew off of the grass... *sniff* Me: I say this is fresh! LOL.
Florida Key Lime Pie and Serendipity: Mmmm... serendipity and lime. This is a bit heavy on the serendipity on cold sniff.

Romantic Island: Soapy sweet goodness. Am I supposed to think of a shower after my first rump in the sheets with my new hubby at our exotic honeymoon location? Cuz that's what this makes me think of due to the name LOL.
Chunk My Donut Cuppa Cake: This smells exactly the same as Pumpkin Chai Tea... now that I think about it I don't smell any pumpkin in the other one! I wonder if that one was mislabeled...
Creamy Baked Zucchini Bread and Royal Sweet Potato Pie were reviewed in my Destash From Lauren post.

Caramel Dipped Pears: I guess I'm not much for scents that are close to things that are healthy for you. I like the caramel but the pear scent here is not for me. M loves this, of course!
Sweet Lemon Confection and Marshmallow Smoothie: Very similar to Sweet Lemon Confection and Vanilla Bean Noel. I'm okay with this one. M says he doesn't like it because "There's no marshmallow in here... *sadface* they got my hopes up."
Apple Eclipse: I smelled this one thinking I was going to be hit with apple. I really don't smell apples in here. I may actually like this one!
Faith, Hope, Love: I just realized what this was when sniffing it just now. It's a dupe of Candy Mountain by Lush, which I happen to LOVE! Good thing I got a bag of this to support the cause Jenny was donating to. I don't remember what it is now... but it made me feel good about buying wax so I got it :D


So I have a small order I'm waiting on from their March opening - a sampler pack and 2 bags. I'm probably going to be on a Rosegirls melting spree so I have a better idea of what I may or may not want on April 27th when they're opening with a large pie sale for Jenny's birthday!

Closet Full Of Wax - Cranberry Pomegrante Cotton Candy

Cold Sniff: 3/3
Warm Sniff: 3/3
Throw: 3/3
Melting Power: 3/3 almost 48 hours of a very solid scent. I'm so glad I loved this scent!!
Scent Strength: 1/3 This was still a very background-y type scent.
Repurchase: YES!! This smelled EXACTLY like a perfume I've had forever! It's called Cotton Candy by Juice Bar. I remember putting this perfume on in elementary and then wanting to eat my arms off. This is a super super sweet scent, so if you don't like sweet scents this may not be for you

Victoria's Designer Creations - Black Cherry Paradise

Cold Sniff: 2/3
Warm Sniff: 2/3
Throw: 3/3
Melting Power: 3/3 18 hours
Scent Strength: 1/3
Repurchase: Yes, if I ever make my first order from VDC. The only tarts I have from Victoria are ones I've gotten from a destash, and I've heard a lot of mixed review on her TAT, customer service, and overall experience. I guess I'll just have to order some day and see if I am one of those lucky ones who get to order without a hitch.

Closet Full Of Wax - Vanilla Buttercream

Cold Sniff: 2/3
Warm Sniff: 2/3 I could swear something in here smelled like serendipity.
Throw: 2/3
Melting Power: 3/3 20 solid hours
Scent Strength: 1.5/3
I liked this one. For some reason when I think of this I think of a super waxy smell, but according to my notes there wasn't an issue with a waxy smell. I know one of the tarts I bought from CFOW had a waxy smell... I guess this just wasn't the one I was thinking of.
Repurchase: Yes! I enjoyed this, even if I was confused by that almost serendipity-like smell I picked up about halfway through melting this.

Birthday Splurging: Nail Polish Edition!

I've spent all of the bright sunlight hours of today taking pictures and preparing for some wonderful new posts that are upcoming, as teased by this picture above. Now that the sun is going down and it's no longer bright and sunny I want to take a moment to share another part of my birthday splurge before beginning a massive Spring Cleaning project. Now that we've officially gotten everything we need for the house (minus a kitchen table, but we have little TV trays that we can eat off of, and they save space because they can fold up) we've needed to clean and organize and since I know M isn't going to do it, I'm taking this evening to do it while he's at work. Here is essentially all the nail polish I've gotten over the past month in celebration of my BIRTHDAY!!!
These are just listed in chronological order of when I got them.

China Glaze White Cap, Blue Sparrow, Tree Hugger, and Designer Satin.

A 4-pack from China Glaze in purple shades intended to assist in creating an "ombre" manicure. I really just liked the colors. The colors included are Sweet Hook, Spontaneous, Grape Pop, and Crimson.

The China Glaze Holographic Collection in Astro-Hot, Infra Red, Not In This Galaxy, OMG A UFO...

...Sci Fly-By, Don't Be a Luna-Tic, Take A Trek, Strap On Your Moonboots...

...Get Outta My Space, When Stars Collide, Cosmic Dust, and Galactic Gray.

China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, Shocking Pink, Purple Panic, and Flying Dragon.

China Glaze In The Lime Light, Turned Up Turquoise, and Get Carried Away

China Glaze Scattered & Tattered, Razzle Me Dazzle Me, Grafitti Glitter...

...Mosaic Madness, Bling It On, and Glitz 'N Pieces.

China Glaze Tranzitions collection in Split Perso-nail-ity, Duplicity, Altered Reality...

...Modify Me, Shape Shifter, and Metallic Metamorphosis. 

Finger Paints Owlin' At The Moon, Fishin' For Fun, and Are You Hoppy?

Color Club Halo Hues 2012&2013 Collection in Cherubic, Halo-Graphic, Cloud Nine...

 ...Harp On It, Angel Kiss, Blue Heaven...

...Kismet, Cosmic Fate, Miss Bliss...

...Beyond, Eternal Beauty, and Over The Moon.

Phew! Everything except the Halo Hues from Color Club were on sale in one way or another, so overall (Color Club nail polishes included) I paid less than $3 per bottle, which is a steal in the nail world.

Alrighty, break time over! Time for me to begin the dreaded process of cleaning and organizing the entire house!

Birthday Splurging: Destash from Lauren!

So as everyone knows by now, my birthday was on April 3rd. In the weeks (read: month >_>) leading up to my birthday I bought quite a few things with the thoughts of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SELF!!" So stay tuned over the next few days while I share with you all the lovely things I got (some of which I cannot truly share with you until much later... they haven't arrived yet D: ).
Lauren posted a destash in late March and I snatched it right up, just like I did her first destash (What's that? I'm crazy? I have a problem? Naaaaw, you crazy!). So here I am to share this with you guys as I epically failed at sharing the last destash I got from her! Don't kill me, please.

First off we have Rosegirls!! And I'm going to include cold sniff reviews... because I am silly and never write them down when I do my melted reviews on wax and more importantly just because I want to. HA!
Kaelyn's Banana Bubblegum: Fruity bubblegum! Banana-ey bubblegum! I like using exclamation points!!
Royal Sweet Potato Pie: I smell cinnamon here, and what I'm assuming is the pie part. It smells really good!
Creamy Baked Zucchini Bread: Okay... I'm unsure about this one LOL. On first sniff I smelled something I recognized as bread. Then I sniffed again... and I smelled this icky B.O smell that one of my classmates in elementary used to always have?? I'll have to cut a super tiny piece of this and melt it to see what it is I really smell.
Chocolate Desire: I smell an almost alcohol-y note here, but underneath it I think it's a white chocolate that I smell. Lauren I will hurt you if when I melt this it's that disgusting coco scent! YOU BETTER NOT BE YANKING MY CHAIN! Upon further reflection, I think that alcohol-y note is supposed to be vanilla. Either way, my hopes are suuuuper high on this one.

 

Ava's Country Cupboard - Fireplace: This smells like burning wood! Ohmaigawd! I've always loved that smell!! Ughhaslkfjaskldaj <--- nosegasm AND I believe M will love this as well! This could possibly be a win-win scent!!

Closet Full of Wax - Vanilla Buttercream Bear claws: I like this a lot better than the Bear Claws scent all by itself. The VB tones down those notes I found iffy in the Bear Claw. Win!!! 

Closet Full of Wax - Buttercream Crunch: I almost pick up on something cinnamony here, so I think one of the Christmas blend tarts may have been near this one. However, I'm seriously shoving this tart up my nose and I still smell it. So I am confuzzled.

Jack Be Nimble Candle Creations - Blackberry Crisp: This smells like one of those Hubba Bubba pieces of gum, though I can't remember the flavor. In any case, I want to chew this, even though a small part of my brain tells me that would be a bad idea. This is also a vendor I've never tried before, nor heard of before. I'm intrigued about this vendor now!

 Sniff My Tarts - Pumpkin Mallow Latte: I hate you, Lauren, with a very loving passion. This is an awesome coffee smell! I don't really pick up on the pumpkin but it's a very authentic latte coffee smell! I want moar :(

Ollie's Soaps - Pink Vanilla Butter Fudge: Before even reading the name I sniffed this and picked up on the Pink Sugar. I'm not quite sure I pick up on the vanilla or butter fudge in this, but that's still okay because I like pink sugar all by itself.

Streetman Candle Co. - Caribbean Breeze: Mmmm... tropical is really the only description I can come up with. I've never tried Streetman, as they closed before I could get in an order, but I'm looking forward to smelling this in action!

Lil' Kitchen Candles - 16 Candles: A generic candle smell, but not in a bad way. It's very pleasant to my nose.

Lil' Kitchen Candles - Circus: An almost fruity concoction. As a side note, how cute are these Hello Kitty/Easter Egg tarts?! I love them!

Lil' Kitchen Candles - Momma Can't Bake: All I can pick up is a cake scent. I should really look at the websites while typing up my thoughts so I know what I'm supposed to be smelling... oh well!

Lil' Kitchen Candles - Pink Sugared Bread:  I like this combination, but it's really hard to describe.

The Happy Little Bee - Caramel Cafe: Mmm... coffee. Mmmm... caramel. Me gusta. 

The Happy Little Bee - Unicorn Toots: *insert giggles about the name* This smells like an apple-y shampoo I used to have, but it's not a bad apple. I actually kind of like this one. We shall see if the apple remains this subtle while melting.

Tiffany Candles - Serendipity: Your typical serendipity scent. I like it!

Fruity Loops: Your typical fruit loops scent! Ah like it!

Ultimate Donut: Cinnamon gingerbread men is what I pick up on. This makes me want to put up a Christmas tree.

Sweet Dreams: This is Lavender mixed with... something. Or maybe it was just lavender. In any case I'm a lover of lavender scents so this will be well loved.

Crabby Candle Co. - Vanilla Lavender: I melted and liked this scent before, so I win again buahaha!

Lasting Scent Candles - Autumn Leaves: This smells exactly like outdoors and leaves and fall and awesomeness.

Victoria's Designer Creations - Serendipity Zucchini Bread Surprise: I wonder what the surprise is. I really smell the ZB here but I'm hoping the serendipity will cancel out that tortilla chip smell.

Sugar & Spice Gourmet Soy Candles - Strawberry Zucchini Cream Cake: I don't actually pick up too much on the zucchini here, so I like it!

Country Christmas: This smells very similar to Vintage Christmas by The Bathing Garden. Long story short, I really like it!

Haley's Heavenly Scents - Witches Brew: Mmmm... cinnamony? Sweet? Candy? I like it, and I've been wanting to try HHS for a very long time now.

The Scented Princess - Rosemary Mint: A typical rosemary type scent. I'm still trying to figure out what the mint part is. Eucalyptus? Spearmint? Both?

Cupcake Candles - Elf Games: Another Christmas scent with a hint of something possibly fruity. I don't want to open the bag until I melt this tart, as opening it requires that I break the label.

Pumpkin Macaroon: Pop tart melts?! Where can I get me some more of these!! This smells like a bready pumpkin pie, which I just so happen to love.

Front Porch - Cotton Candy: Your typical cotton candy scent. Yum!
Granny Smith Green Apple: M will love this one. Me, not so much. *sigh* the things we do for love XD
Family Christmas: This smells like an evergreen tree. I like nature-y scents like this so BAHAAHHA!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls: The cinnamon doesn't seem too overwhelming in this, and I can actually pick up on the pumpkin. I think I win here.

The Bathing Garden - Vintage Circus: It smells sweet and fruity to me! I really enjoy this off cold sniff.
Orange Chiffon Cake: Mmmm... This smells like a cake. And an orange. LOL what do you expect? I like this, though I'm worried that when I melt it the orange will overpower the cake part.
Scentsy - Pumpkin Marshmallow: Would you believe me if I told you this is my first Scentsy bar? Well it is. And oh my goodness is this heavy on the pumpkin. I don't even think I pick up on the marshmallow!

Can-Do-Candles - Vanilla Butter Fudge: Ablegh. This is super heavy on the butter. It reminds me of a biscuit batter/dough smell when the recipe is heavy on the batter.
Dark Spice: Whoooo-ey is this heavy on the "dark." I'm interested in seeing how the different spices show themselves when this is melted.
Peppermint (soap sample): This smells like pure peppermint. I shall use this the next time I shower. I didn't know Can-Do does soaps!

Candles From the Keeping Room - Christmas Kitchen: I smell a heavy peppermint here over all the other scents, so much that I really can't identify what else is in here. Hmmmm!
Cranberry & Chestnuts & Brown Sugar: Mmmm... I like this. I feel like I should be having a glass of milk with this. Although I am surprised about the cinnamony note. Is that the chestnut?
Pink Sugared Cranberry: Can I get this in a smoothie and take it with me to work today? Please? It smells so delicious!
Peppermint Meringue: I don't know what the meringue part is supposed to be but I sure smell that peppermint!
Gingerbread Pumpkin:  Mmmm... Gingerbread cookies mixed with pumpkin? What could be wrong with that?

Sugar Cookie Fluff: I think I want to bake cookies after sniffing this.
Gooey Chewy Kettle Corn: Hmmm... interesting. I smell a predominately butter note in this.
Coconut Macaroon Philosophy: This smells almost like the coconut conditioner that I use! Then there's a floral note hiding in there. I like it!!
Buttery Cake Bites: I don't pick up on butter or cake at all in this one. In fact I really don't pick up on much at all besides a floral note.

Okay... I'm going to go snort a bag of coffee beans and take a shower. My sniffer is pooped, as you could probably tell by reading my ever-dwindling scent descriptions. Stay tuned for more in coming days!