Polish Comparison: MAC "Abalone Shell," Sally Hansen "Cafe Au Lait"

Today's nail post is a nail comparison post, which I haven't done in a while. I will be comparing MAC's "Abalone Shell," one of my favorite nude polishes, and Sally Hansen "Cafe Au Lait," which I think is a very close dupe.

I have actually owned "Cafe Au Lait" for almost as long as I have owned MAC "Abalone Shell" (which is what- almost 3 years now?). I let my sister borrow it for a long time and when she gave it back to me I noticed that it really did resemble "Abalone Shell." But since I really don't like the Sally Hansen Salon Manicure line, I threw it into the back of my polish collection and forgot about it.

Since I made the 2013 New Years Resolution to buy less polish, I have been digging through my collection and stumbled across "Cafe Au Lait." I put it next to "Abalone Shell" and was amazed how close the two colors are. Almost dupable from viewing through the bottle.

NOTD: Butter London "Fiver"

Today's notd is for Butter London's "Fiver," a pale minty/seafoam green.

Book Haul (Library Edition): May 25, 2013

Second visit to the library this month. This time, I really could've used Matilda's wagon.

In my last library haul, I checked out 8 books and was able to finish 5 of them in three weeks. I found it was especially difficult because I also have purchased books that I want to get to as well. This faces me with the dilemma of library due dates versus what I actually feel like reading.

I recently went back to the library and checked out 15 books (plus 1 e-book and 1 dvd).

As I walked out of the library with my plastic bad loaded to full capacity, and several books in arms, I realized I have reached the highest level of book hoarding. There is no way I can finish all 15 (in addition to the ones I renewed from the last haul) in 3 weeks. But I'll admit, when I unloaded the bag on my bedroom floor and spread them all out, I was filled with great zeal at all my choices. I really got a great selection this time and it's going to be so much fun getting to decide which ones get read first.

I'm going to start this haul by including what I renewed/returned from my last book haul.

NOTD: Essie "Tart Deco"

I think this is the longest I've gone without an update.
Sorry about that! Been really busy yesterday.

But today I have a notd for you. Essie's "Tart Deco" is an old favorite of mine. It's a creamy coral with strong orange and pink tones.

NOTD: Zoya "Stephanie"

Today's notd is for a polish I got from my friend, dafinepolish, for Christmas, Zoya's "Stephanie." The exciting part is that polish name is my name too. (:

Polish Comparison: OPI "Tickle My France-y," Essie "Lady Like," China Glaze "Dress Me Up"

Though I promised a comparison with Zoya's "Neely" with other mint polishes, I seem to not be able to find my Essie's "Absolutely Shore" (the one polish that I really want to compare it to), so I'll have to put that off for now.

Instead, I have another comparison you with a selection of mauve polishes: OPI's "Tickle My France-y," Essie's "Lady Like," and China Glaze's "Dress Me Up."

NOTD: China Glaze "Re-fresh Mint"

Today I have another mint notd for China Glaze's "Re-fresh Mint." I would say that out of all the mints that I own, this one is the truest mint green polish. It's not too bright, too green, too blue, too grey, too anything. It is simply mint.

Ruby Oliver Quartet: A Book Series Review

This review contains NO SPOILERS. Enjoy! (:

Today I have for you my first series book review for E. Lockhart's Ruby Oliver Series.
I believe that I first heard about this series through John Green. He mentioned in passing, either in a video, on twitter, or someone other way in which I follow that man. I added it to my "saved items" in my Amazon cart, and there it sat for probably 6+ months. I finally bought it near the beginning of 2013 and read each subsequent book in the series in the following months.

Series: Ruby Oliver Series
Author: E. Lockhart
Book #1: The Boyfriend List
Book #2: The Boy Book
Book #3: The Treasure Map of Boys
Book #4: Real Live Boyfriends
Genre: YA Contemporary/Chick-Lit
Published: 2005-2009
Link: Goodreads








Here's the formatting of this review:

1. Introductory Comments
2. Mini reviews for each book (all spoiler-free)
3. Book standings
4. Final verdict

So, without further ado, let's get on with this review.

Bloglovin

 Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Very short post here, but I've been meaning to do this for quite some time.
Bloglovin is an easy way to follow all the blogs (blogger, tumblr, wordpress, etc) that you enjoying reading.
So you've been enjoying my blog so far you should go follow me on Bloglovin. (:

Happy Sunday.

Book Haul (Library Edition): May 10, 2013

Yes! The library doesn't just supply AC, internet, and DVDs.

If you read my last Book Haul then you know I've been going ever-so-slightly overboard with the book buying. And since I told myself I wouldn't buy any more books in May (which I broke already, but hey, it was a fairly priced first printing international copy of Harry Potter) I thought I should really hit up the library.

When it came to finding what books I wanted to borrow, it was mainly the question of: which books do I need/want in my collection immediately, and which do I not care to own (at the moment)? That became the deciding factor.

I ended up getting quite a lot of YA that I see often but don't know much about (Maureen Johnson and Sarah Dessen), in addition to friend recommendations and children's book.

Oh! I completely forgot to include 1 e-book! It was my first time ever borrowing an e-book on my kindle and it was an overall pleasant experience. I borrowed Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief. Unfortunately, they only allow e-books to be "checked out" for a week. Which just means I'll probably stick to picking shorter/easier reads for my kindle from now on.

NOTD: Zoya "Neely"

Today's notd is for Zoya's "Neely" a light pale green with a slight hint of grey. It's slightly too grey to be mint, yet far lighter and brighter than your standard military green.

Polish Comparison: China Glaze "Tinsel Town" vs. OPI "Metallic 4 Life"

Another polish comparison!
I do these at a fairly slow rate. But I figure there are so many nail bloggers serving as amazing polish comparing resources that my promptness on this matter isn't an utmost necessity.

For today's comparison I have two glitters, China Glaze's "Tinsel Town" from their 2012 Holiday collection and OPI's "Metallic 4 Life" from their Nicki Minaj collection. I'm mostly doing this comparison to debunk the claim my friend, dafinepolish, made that these two polishes are a lot a like. Hopefully it will be helpful to others who think the same as well. 

NOTD: Sally Hansen "Blue Me Away"

Today's notd is for Sally Hansen's "Blue Me Away," a vibrant medium blue. I enjoy this Sally Hansen line quite a lot. Its inexpensive, and all the polishes I have from this line is very opaque.

Thirty Seconds to Die: A Book Review

This review contains NO SPOILERS. Enjoy! (:

**Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author. As always, all opinions are honest and my own.

As the disclaimer read, S.G. Holster gave me a free e-copy of her novel Thirty Seconds to Die. Until then I had yet to hear of this series. But I enjoy new book experiences and plunged right into the book.

(photo source)

Title: Thirty Seconds to Die
Author: S.G. Holster
Series: Thirty Seconds to Die #1
Successor: Terrible Lies (not yet released)
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Pages: 364
Published: January 8, 2013
Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Book description (courtesy of Amazon):

"For Lexi, life had always been - normal. But it only took one moment to change everything. Her life quickly becomes the opposite of normal when Ren Miller moves to the small community where she lives. Mysterious, handsome, and dangerously charming, Lexi discovers Ren is no stranger. They've met before - in another life.

When Ren pulls her into his bizarre world of past lives and secret societies, all bets are off. They become the targets of the Sentori, an ancient, secret society who believes it must protect the sanctity humankind by killing those like Lexi and Ren, those who are reborn.

In an effort to protect Ren from the Sentori, Lexi is forced to enlist the aid of the most unlikely of all allies. Her decision ignites a series of events that lead to a heartbreaking decision and a devastating conclusion.

If your life was all you had to give, wouldn't you give it to save the only person you ever loved?

THIRTY SECONDS TO DIE draws the reader deeply into a story of danger and flight, of love and hate, and of the extraordinary power of the spirit - human or otherwise."

Book Haul: May 2013

If you read my April Reading Update and remember how I said I would go all of May without purchasing a book, you're probably wondering why I'm posting a haul.

All these books listed are books I purchased within the last week (to week and a half) of April. However, as online purchases usually go, some orders took a while to arrive at my doorstep.

Some purchases are still not scheduled to arrive for a few weeks. But I figured I'd get on with the haul anyway since a significant percentage of them have showed up and I am eager to dive in.

Judging by the pile you can see why I am trying to go all of May without any new purchases (aside from one new release that would only be painful to put off). I have a book buying problem.

Like I did with my April Book Haul, I'll include a photos of the books so you can see their covers as well. I recommend enlarging the photo since there was quite a large number of books to fit in one photo...

NOTD: Butter London "Macbeth"

Today's notd is for Butter London's "Macbeth," a bright red polish with a pink undertone. In the bottle, it seems like a rather ordinary polish, but on the nails its beautiful.