Aaaaand, I am continuing my trend of tardiness. Woo Hoo! Do we expect anything else from me at this point in time? Uh … nope! So, I am marking myself as “meets expectations” and putting myself in for a standard 3% raise.
For today’s post, I have my February PPU order to share. The theme for February was Wild Animals, and that is a theme I can get behind. I loved seeing all the creative takes on it when I browsed the site during the sale. I have given up on pre-browsing, because I generally don’t have the time or energy for it. I ended up finding three polishes that I could not live without, which I considered a pretty great victory for me. I say this because my Helmers are overstuffed, as y’all know, and I usually find 10 or more polishes I feel I “must” have when I shop PPU. This is one reason I no longer shop the sale every month.
‘Ard as Nails, Flamingo is a “coral jelly base packed with iridescent flakes”. This polish had a good formula. It was somewhat more sheer going on than I expected, but I was very happy with 3 coats. The inspiration for this polish was, of course, the Flamingo — that most fabulous of birds!
In the past, I have not been much for corals. I feel my heart softening toward them somewhat at this point, so maybe even old ladies like me can learn to love new things. I find I am still particular about the base color shade, and it can be hard for me to end up with a coral I enjoy when I am online shopping. There are so many fantastic swatchers out there, and all the makers do a great job of trying to depict color accurately. But corals can be tricky, and I’ve found they are one color I need to see in person to know whether I like them or not. (I have the piles of corals that I have destashed as testament to this truth!) This one was a winner for me. I love the base color, which is lively and bright with more of a reddish-pink leaning and just the right touch of golden orange. And y’all know how much Mama loves iridescent anything. These flakes are giving me life every time I look at them!
Inspired by the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, this is Mane Squeeze. It is a “deep blue base with slight holo sparkle, full of orange/red micro flakes, silver holo micro flakes, and aqua/cyan magnetic pigment”. This has a nice formula. I found it easy to apply, and I liked the opacity in 2-3 coats.
We have a total “Swatching Fail” with this polish, y’all. This is a magnetic, and I was in such a rush when I swatched it that this fact completely escaped my attention. I did not magnetize it for any of my photos – Womp-Womp. I know, I know. I suck as a polish-loving person … and all of that.
But, on the bright side, just look at how gorgeous this polish is – and it’s not even magnetized! I mean, if that’s not a case of “snatching victory from the jaws of defeat”, then I don’t know what is. If you’re like me and not totally sold on magnetics, this polish is going to give you so much joy even if you don’t take the time for magnet action. I love all the glimmers of red and the shimmery sparkles of icy, light blues.
Lastly, we have Sweet & Sour Lacquer, Take the Leap, which was inspired by tree frogs. This is a “lime green jelly with a pink/orange/gold/green shimmer”. I liked the formula for this polish. You are seeing it at 4 coats in my swatch photo, which is the way I wore it when I manicured with it. You can still see the barest hint of VNL, but it was not distracting for me in real life.
Y’all!! This polish was my absolute favorite out of all my purchases. And that took me by surprise. I mean … you did notice there was a blue in my order, right? And y’all know Mama’s aaaaall about the blues. But this polish took me by storm. It is such a perfect combo of greens and golds and oranges and reds. Ugh. I can’t even. I wore this for around a week and a half, and it instantly went onto my 2024 favorites list.
THE WRAP-UP:
So, y’all already know what I’m going to ask you down here in the “wrapping it all up” section: Did you buy anything from the February PPU sale? If so, what … and do you love it? I’m so, so happy with the polishes I got from this sale. I’ve already had hours of enjoyment from two of them in full manicures, and I’m looking forward to wearing the third one soon. (It’s the magnetic that I forgot to magnetize. So … if I remember to do that and grab pics of it when I wear it, I will add them to this post.)
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