I’m back! And here’s the rest of the story.
My plane landed in Sydney on Wednesday morning.
And because my Diamond Cosmetics Oh, Tiff! mani had gotten horribly chipped, the first thing I did when I entered the room was attempt to change my nail polish to Chanel Nouvelle Vague.
This is not an easy thing to do considering that one, I really suck at painting my own nails and two, I had to hurry. I was meeting the other people I was traveling with at the lobby in about twenty minutes and I needed to freshen up, change clothes and give myself a quick manicure.
At one point, someone from housekeeping knocked on my door, causing me to jump. Naturally, I ended up smearing the polish on my freshly painted thumb. I resisted the urge to scream and continued my miserable attempt at a manicure.
My nails were still wet when I left my hotel room. I got into the elevator and on the way down said a quick prayer of thanks that I live in a country where manicures and pedicures are not crazy expensive.
Later that day, my awesome friend Bex (read all about her in this post) told me she needed to drop off something at my hotel. I met up with her very quickly at the hotel lobby because I was rushing off to dinner and CATS (yes, the musical). We traded goodies. She left me with a huge basket of Lindt chocolates (I love love love Pistache!) and a small bag from Pulse Pharmacy.
I didn’t get to check that bag until much later that night. And when I saw that they contained the Ulta3 polishes Bex had purchased for me, I did what any nail polish lover would do. I changed my polish again.
I used Ulta3 Wild Berry, a gorgeous purplish grey.
The next day, after my heavy work day was done, I met up with Bex again and we proceeded with what I believe should be an Olympic event – Speed Shopping in Sydney.
Bex and I hurried from store to store, choosing stuff, rushing over to the cashier, grabbing our bags and moving to the next shop. And we didn’t just buy polish. We bought clothes, adorable trinkets, tubes of PawPaw, colored tape and a TON of Australian chocolates. We did all of this in just a little over two hours. Pretty amazing, considering that Bex is seven months pregnant. She really is a shopping queen.
After a great steak and ribs dinner and after freezing our asses off at the Sydney Opera House, Bex, her husband Erick and their adorable daughter Xean took me back to my hotel.
I had so many bags with me – not just stuff I bought but even more stuff from Bex, Erick and Xean, who I now think of as my Sydney family. I adore them. They are so sweet.
Before I show you the polish I brought home from Australia, let me tell you about the polish I didn’t buy.
I stayed at the Star City Hotel and Casino and in the lobby was a tiny shop selling snacks and – surprise, surprise – Butter London nail polish. I like Butter London (British Racing Green continues to be one of my favorite polishes) and the little shop had a lot of colors, some that are even on my wishlist, but I did not buy a single bottle. Why? Because they were being sold for AUD$24.95, roughly equivalent to P1000. Butter London is available here for just P660.
I checked the MAC and Chanel counters too but didn’t buy any polish because they didn’t have anything I want. I didn’t buy any Illamasqua because sadly, I missed the opening. I was in Sydney only until June 11, Illamasqua opened today, June 21. Rampage, you and I will have to wait.
It was on this trip that I started asking myself the question “Don’t you have that color already?” before buying a polish. And sadly, in most cases, the answer was yes, yes, and yes. And that is why I didn’t buy any bottles of Bloom or Kit. I would probably feel like kicking myself later on but not yet. Because I did bring home close to forty bottles home, a mix of Australian and non-Australian brands.
Ready? Here we go.
BYS was a must on my list especially because Jacie has declared it her favorite. She said, “If there was one brand I’d absolutely recommend, it’s BYS. But all of them are good.”
Naturally, I listened.
These bottles are even more special to me because Bex, Erick and Xean were the ones who got them for me. BYS stockists are mostly in the suburbs so my Sydney family went to Kmart to look for them. What even made them doubly special was the polish box Bex and Erick prepared. When they gave me my polish, they were nestled safely in a box with cute little compartments made with bubble wrap. They wanted to make sure I brought home my bottles safely. How sweet is that?
My BYS haul is a mix of neons, metallic, cremes and jellies.
These are the bottles of Ulta3 that Bex got for me along with the bottles we found together while digging through two Pulse bins.
Ulta3 is awesome and crazy cheap! There was a 3 for AUD$6 deal on them.
There was a mix of Ulta3 and NYC polishes in the bins and Bex got Honolulu for me too. I love this color – I’ve been obsessing over yellow polish lately.
I thought Missha was a Korean brand but I was wrong. It’s also an Australian brand. A couple of finds from Missha, a Korean brand. BR03 is supposedly a dupe for Chanel Particuliere. I will compare them soon.
Mavala gave me the grey fix I needed. I’ve worn Minsk on my toes and I love it.
I also picked up a couple of bottles of Rimmel because I’ve never tried the brand before.
Bex and I passed by Sportsgirl and because I found the bottles of Nail It! hard to resist (the squarish ones, not the crazy long one), I picked up a couple.
I love that font! Yes, I’m a geek.
While going crazy at Cotton On, I was surprised to spot a three-polish set. I picked up packs for me and my friends.
My favorite is the pink one – it’s a crazy Barbie pink shimmer.
I love Australia. It’s a great place for nail polish lovers and it’s made even more special by people like Bex and Jacie who know just how to rock a nail polish junkie’s world.
