I think I've found a new favorite nail polish: Sally Hansen's Virtual Violet. I really really really love this shade, it's bright and near-neon without being neon; it's got a high-shine finish that mimics metallics without having most metallic polishes' traditional fragility; it's got a duochrome effect; it's...it's just amazing, that's what. Less than $5 a bottle, fast drying, and absolutely gorgeous. I wore that color for five days before removing it - and I removed it so that I could do manicures with other colors I have. I didn't use a top coat, and yet there was minimal tip wear and only one chip. This stuff Stays Put!

Morgana Cryptoria released over a dozen new vegan lipstick shades earlier this year - gorgeous duochromes and lush, rich jeweltones. She's got at least two eyeshadow collections in the pipeline as well: the Murder Mystery collection (which includes Jaded Peacock, one of the colors I used in my look on Monday) and one whose name I've forgotten. (Because that's how my brain works.) When I saw the pictures of the new lipsticks, I was hopeful that they'd all be eyeshadows, as well: particularly Dianthus and Gilded Ballerina. While she is tentatively planning on releasing corresponding eyeshadows for many of the 2011 lipstick shades, Dianthus and Gilded Ballerina (and many of the other reds including Roses and Violets, Gilded Cerise, and Very Strawberry) will not be released as eye colors because they contain a non-eye-safe colorant. The others may be released as standalone shades. I'd be interested to see Violet Banana, Shifting Violet, Plumeria, Fire in the Sky, Gilded Brown, Tangerine Twist, and Sunset Peach translated as eyeshadow colors. When Morgana does release the new collections, she'll be marking down the currently-available eyeshadows to make way for new inventory. If anyone's looking for suggestions, might I suggest shades from the Get Medieval collection? Lapis Lazuli, Agincourt, Concubine, Beowulf and Joust are all excellent. (I have no idea if those particular shades will be sold at this sale price the owner's mentioned. I just know that those are some really excellent colors that I like a lot.)

Fyrinnae was closed for a bit, then open but not selling eyeshadows, then closed again, then opened again...but not selling eyeshadows or blushes. Then closed, then opened selling everything, and now...closed again. The posted turnaround time was still high when it was opened - so if you've been anxiously waiting to place another order, you may have to wait a bit longer. I placed an order toward the end of February, though, and it was processed and shipped in about a week...fairly good, considering the posted notice of a 26-28 day TAT. Currently, though, there is only one person handling all the office and lab duties (according to the 3/7 update on the site) so patience is going to be required for a while yet. I liked the fact that the turnaround time was posted on the front page (in a different font color, so it's easy to spot even if you come straight to the site and start skimming), I like that most times they've closed they posted updates with "orders made before X date have all shipped", and I liked that they gave a contact email almost every time they've closed.

Aromaleigh is selling its colors in super-amazing-deal grab bags to clear out final inventory: 20 bags, each containing 1 teaspoon of product. The plus is that these are an excellent price: $16!! The downside is that you can't specify color choices, even loosely. International shipping is also high-priced: to avoid lost packages and ensure delivery, she is only shipping via international priority mail with a signature required for delivery. Thus, international shipping even for one grab bag will be $30-35. This is done to protect her from further losses, because these grab-bag prices are incredibly low and during previous clearance sales thousands of dollars were lost due to international packages being reported as not reaching their destination.

The latest Buxom kit has come out - Buxom Swinger Girls - and I think I'm going to pass. Yes, it's pretty, and yes, it's buxoms (and I'm a buxom addict) but it's all pinks and neutrals. I have all the "soft shade" buxoms I want, so while this kit would be excellent for someone who is either new to BE or prefers softer lip colors, it doesn't interest me. In other news-of-all-things-Buxom, I read on BE Addicts that Skipper was released through QVC UK in full size!! Skipper and Marina are my two favorite shades from the Sailor Girls collection, and I was mildly disappointed not to see either of them - in fact, none of the SG colors - come out in full size. Turns out that two of them did...just not in my country.

It's March. I've only been using nail polish extensively, and kinda-sorta following that scene, for about a year now. But I would have thought that since we got the "spring" collections promoted in late November / early December and released in January, that by March we'd start hearing about more of the summer collections!! But I haven't heard much that's new. China Glaze released promo pics of its summer collections in late January, and Zoya has only hinted at their summer collections - nothing definite other than "there's a new blue and there's a new green". Some etailers have notes about when new collections will be out, so I do have an idea that China Glaze does have a summer collection in the pipeline. But other than a few beauty blogs mentioning the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection (mostly an attraction because of its silver crackle polish), I haven't seen as much talk on the blog circuit, compared to the activity levels last year. (Or am I just derelict in my reading?)

Speaking of crackle polish, people are still going utterly wild over the crackle polishes. I wasn't interested in them because to me they don't look "crackled" as much as "shredded". And while I thought that Kelier might have a crackle polish I could love, the entire crackle-polish trend simply is not for me. I've tried it, I don't like it, the end, next trend. (Well, though, that's a good thing. I can't glom onto every new trend or I wouldn't be able to do things like pay my mortgage or eat or take care of the cats.)

I've recently received orders from Cherry Culture, BeautyJoint, Fyrinnae and Aromaleigh - so I'll have lots of new items to share with you all. That's part of what's filling up my blogpost-schedule going out through September. I'm waiting on a very small order from Shiro, my first order with Lost in Makeupland (who's having an excellent giveaway with a chance to win a 50% discount code, or $50 in products - so go enter!!), and another order from Sassy Minerals.

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