Chanukah in Florida (aka PRESENTS!)

Just got back from Chanukah in Florida.   My sister was back from college and we got to see our grandparents in addition to some great 80 degree weather.  Plenty of time for nail related activities in between swimming and lounging.  I got my sister to try some Mermaid To Order and she likes it! Success.

So this year for Chanukah my family is doing a mixture of philanthropic and consumerist gifts.  For four nights we each contribute a charity (mine was Kiva.org, go check it out!) and for the other four PRESENTS!!!!  My wish list was practically all nail stuff:  Deborah Lippman Bad Romance, Seche Vite top coat, a real nail rack so I don't keep everything in a shoe box...

I ended up with a great haul of nail related products (which I then hauled back home on the plane).

I received a Sephora by OPI top coat, a beautiful makeup case from Sephora, a nail polish wall mounted rack, and...drumroll please...a 2011 Holiday Collection Sephora by OPI color Chestnuts About You!  I saw the color when it first came out at my local Sephora but all that was left was the tester and I wasn't that desperate yet.  Three Sephoras and a month later I was nearly prepared to go for whatever was left but the Aventura Mall came through and my parents were nice enough to get me the full size color.  Here it is on the left in the bottle and on the bottom left on my nails.


I got it on the second night and ended up wearing it for the whole vacation, kept in place by my new top coat.  It's crazy how much my old nearly out OPI top coat had turned into a  gloppy mess; the contrast was very clear.  Review of the color:  In this picture it looks quite similar to the Already Famous mini but the tone on this is much warmer, with a more of a pink wash.  It is subtly golden pink with lovely shimmer and just one coat is enough for a solid color.  I'm really happy with it and it would work for throughout the year, not just the holiday season.



Just a peek at my other gift, which I am using to hold my nail polish until the nail rack arrives from Amazon.  It's a great big makeup train case covered in a diamond shaped quilted pattern in a shiny black from Sephora.  It has two layers of racks and large under space.  I'm in love...


Well that's it for the Holiday Haul, I'll get back to the Wonderland minis after I finish studying for exams (which I should be doing right now....oops.)