CVS, Walgreens and Target

The other day I went on a total ManPolish-esque stalking of some hard to find nail polishes, including Essie's Good as Gold and Sinful Color's Winterberry.  I also needed a few other items so my friend and I began the store hunt.


The first stop was CVS.  I needed a new concealer, as my beloved Maybelline Mineral Power is currently quite a bit too light for my skin and is working more like a highlight than a concealer (never a good thing).  Now I know I could get a concealer at any store around and could probably have gotten this same concealer somewhere else for way less, but hear me out.  I wasn't sure what shade I needed to match my skintone, and CVS has an amazing return policy where you can return opened beauty items with a receipt for a full refund or exchange.  So whenever I'm not sure what shade of face makeup I need, I always buy it at CVS because if it's the wrong shade I can exchange it or return it.  Just a little something to keep in mind if you're trying out new things.  I ended up getting Maybelline Super Stay Concealer in Cream.


I also needed more of my topcoat.  Lately I've started using NYC In A New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in Grand Central Station.  It's a clear polish, not a top coat, but it dries as fast as my Seche Vite without the high price tag, smelly formula, and the shrinkage of Seche.  I've already gone through the majority of a bottle of Grand Central Station and for only $1.99, I happily picked up two more bottles.

Unfortunately, I didn't find the Essie Limited Edition Mirror Metallics collection at CVS, so we headed over to Walgreens, where we had some better luck.  Not only did I find the Mirror Metallics collection, but they also had the shade I was looking for, Good As Gold.  If you're wondering, the whole reason I wanted this polish was for stamping.  Chrome colors tend to stamp really well and it's actually quite hard to find gold chrome shades.  You can easily find a gold foil from most polishes, but the tiny shimmers in foil colors don't stamp as well as a straight out chrome.  Since my now discontinued Sally Hansen Color Quick Pen in Gold Chrome is running low, I wanted to pick this polish up while I still could.  Unfortunately, my Walgreens didn't yet have the display with Winterberry, but that's okay.  That will be another hunt on another day.


I also needed a new bottle of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On.  I use this polish for tons of different things.  It's a great base for water marble, sponging, or to layer under a sheer polish, as well as working really well in nail art and as a stamping polish.  Since Walgreens is running a buy 2, get 1 free sale on Xtreme Wear polishes, I picked up three different colors.  Of course, a new bottle of White On, since mine is getting really low (and thick, which makes it even better for stamping) and I also picked up Violet Voltage and Posh Plum.

Last, my friend and I headed over to Target for a few things.  I had checked CVS for NYC Show Time Volumizing Mascara in Waterproof but they were out.  Luckily Target wasn't, as this is quite a nice waterproof mascara and it's only a few bucks!  I also was in need of more acetone, as my current bottle is nearly empty from all the manicures I've been doing lately.  I also picked up some sponge tip eyeshadow applicators, which I needed for some nail art I wanted to do.  Last, I picked up a pack of powder puffs.  I have found that this is one of my favorite ways to apply powder foundation.  I get more coverage than I would with a brush and the puff usually fits right into the compact.

So that's it!  We had fun wandering around and shopping and I was really happy to find Essie's Good As Gold so easily!  And just so you know, I tried it out yesterday and it does stamp very well so if you're looking for a gold stamping color, you may want to check it out!