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Just a Little Dangerous Nail Polish & a Day in Augusta

lifeintheme Augusta, beauty, Mani Tuesday, nail polish, travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Last weekend I had an opportunity to go to Augusta on business. I was delighted to go because one of my college friends lives there. I spent Friday night at her place and painted my nails a dark purple called Just A Little Dangerous from Sephora by OPI from her nail collection. It is a dark purple creme, and it was very smooth.The wear time is good too. Unfortunately, Sephora and OPI have parted ways, but you can still find bottles of Sephora by OPI at TJ Maxx sometimes. 

While I was in Augusta, I had lunch at the fabulous Boll Weevil. This cute hole-in-the-wall is known for their generously-proportioned cake, but I thought their fresh salad was delightful as well.

The Boll Weevil is conveniently located near the Augusta Riverwalk. Since it was a perfect spring day, I popped some allergy medicine and took a nice stroll. The pollen there was kicked up into mini-tornadoes by the wind, but I bravely soldiered through my walk with the help of my friends, the bees. 

Gorgeous, right? I also did a little shopping. I accidentally spent too much at Ulta. I bought 3 lipsticks/glosses despite the fact that I have enough lippies to last me until I retire. I guess it’s like buying shoes. Shoes are easier to buy than pants, so shoe-hoarding happens. Anyway, I’ll share my lippie haul at a later date. Have you ever been to Augusta? What did you do this weekend? Let me know in the comments.

Mani Monday: Four-Leaf Clovers on Butter

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Artsy, right?

It’s a very exciting time of year for makeup hoarders lovers of America. It’s Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty Sale. For 21 glorious days, there are special flash sales on high-end products. Last Thursday, Butter London nail polish was reduced to a mere $9. I was in a panic all that day, worrying that my store (which is always out of everything) would run out before I got there. However, they had plenty of bottles left when I arrived.

I bought Hardwear PD Quick Topcoat, which is way too long of a name for a topcoat. I really needed it because I used up my CND Speedy Topcoat on my glitter nails from last week. Hardwear usually retails for $19, so I got it for more than half off. Plus, it is 0.1 ounce larger than Speedy, which sells for $8.50. I also decided to buy a mate for my topcoat, a basecoat called Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat.

Ivy League (L), Emerald City (R)

Ivy League (L), Emerald City (R)

I honestly wasn’t expecting much because I sometimes feel like topcoats are like shampoo. You can find one that you really love, but one day it just stops working for you. However, I am really loving this combo. After my Piccadilly Green manicure flaked off, I painted my nails with cheap $3 Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish in Ivy League. This color is shimmery and semi-sheer. I then painted four-leaf clovers on my thumbs in Emerald City.

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Making a four-leaf clover isn’t that hard. First, make sure that you have a minimal amount of paint on your brush. Then make four dots in a circle on your nail. Try to make the dots kind of uneven to make the leaves look more realistic like my first attempt.

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Jono’s attempt at being artsy at the mall. The lighting is too icky for good pics there. 

My left thumb was my first attempt. I made the dots too round and close together. It looks like a schoolkid painted it for art class. The right thumb’s dots are spaced farther apart and are more free-form. This makes the clover look more natural.

My new topcoat and basecoat have really made this manicure last. This Sally Hansen nail polish usually only lasts a couple days on me. I didn’t notice any chipping until after I cleaned the bathroom today, which is day four. Four days is double my usual wear time for these greens. So far I give Butter London two green thumbs-up.