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The Indie Shop Atlanta: wacie.com Event Coverage

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Welcome back, reader! If you’re part of the indie polish community, you likely heard about The Indie Shop event that took place in Atlanta this past weekend. If not, just imagine a craft fair with nothing but nail polish. The Indie Shop, presented by Envy Lacquer, brought polish makers and polish addicts together in one place for a few hours of shopping and socializing. I was lucky enough to go, and of course, I took photos.

My journey to The Indie Shop starts at a MARTA station, Atlanta’s rapid transit system. I was a little too optimistic on how quickly MARTA could get me from downtown to Buckhead, and I actually ended up being an hour late to the show and missed the early VIP shopping window. As a result, a few things I wanted to grab were sold out before I even got there. I love mass transit, though, and I make it a point to use it when I’m travelling around a new city.

I was really surprised by the crowd size. I got there a bit after 11:00; these were all early access shoppers. Every booth had shoppers, and every maker was busy talking to customers, and not just about polish; I overheard conversations about drunk accents, Doctor Who, and tattoos, among other things. Though The Indie Shop is a pop-up store event, it was very much a social event also.

The Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer event exclusives

I met a lot of new people and I had the opportunity to try a lot of new brands. The only maker there that I was really familiar with was Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, and while I’d heard of most of the others, I didn’t own anything they’d made. If you can believe it, this is the first time I’ve owned anything from brands like KBShimmer, Colors by Llarowe, and Bliss Polish. I tried to get something from every maker — I felt rude chatting someone up at their booth for ten minutes and not buy anything — but my card got declined most of the way through and I missed out on a few makers. I didn’t get to Joy Lacquer, Envy Lacquer, KBShimmer, or Pampered Polishes, unfortunately. I really wanted one of those KBS rainbow scrubs.

Scratch-off cards were a big part of the event; they contained discounts for the event and individual online shops.

Overall, I had a fantastic experience at The Indie Shop, and if Boyfriend ever allows me to return to an event like this, I’d love to go back. I spent so much, though, that I doubt I’ll get to do this again as a shopper. Maybe Wacie Nail Company will be a vendor at some point! Sometimes it seemed like the makers were having more fun than the customers anyway.

I loved Crystal Knockout‘s booth, and I think theirs was my favorite. They had a wide range of products, from polish to body to handmade jewelry. They had these holographic Luna from Sailor Moon earrings that I totally regret not buying. And they’re from Florida!

Turtle Tootsie Polishes

These mani bomb cupcakes were irresistible.

Bluebird Lacquer. Lou was my favorite maker to talk to, she was super cool!

Let’s have a look at my haul, shall we? This was the first time I’d bought any polish in a year, and I’m happy to say I broke my no-buy in the most epic way possible. Fifteen of the polishes below were included in my VIP package, and I bought fifty more. I’m also trying mani bombs for the first time, as well as indie wax tarts.

These are the contents of the VIP bag. Since I was late, I didn’t look inside first, and I ended up with some dupes.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer: These Be Rubies, Fairy Favors, Siren’s Fever Dream, Starlight in the Gloom, Elfdan Thrall, The Cedar Forest, When the Nights Grow Cold, The Siren’s a Callin’, Green’s Alexandrite With Me, The Color Box

Dainty Digits: Stream of Enchantment. There were two versions, a light and a dark.

Bluebird Lacquer: Realm of the Fae, It’s Fall Over Me, Shine Bright Like a Rhinestone, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Looking Spritely, plus wax tarts, soaps, and acetone additive

Chaotic Glitz Polish: House Gnome, Mythological Mushroom, The Dryad, The Xana, plus mani bombs

Colors by Llarowe: One Precious Daisy, Ruel Ghorm, Once Upon a Time, Guardian of the Forest, Genofeva of Brabant

Pahlish: Hempstock, Holland 1945, Raggedy Man Goodnight, Invisibility Cloak, Golden Afternoon, Go Ask Alice

Jior Couture: The Foulest Stench, Opal, Stevonnie

Bliss Polish: Up in Atlanta, Secret Groves, Fairy Castles

Crystal Knockout: Pegasus Landing, Magic in the Mist, Dryad Charms

Turtle Tootsie Polishes: VIP in Atlanta, Immortal Imp, Cherry Blossom body scrub

Ever After Polish: Woodland Nymph, Rollin’ With My Gnomies, Andromeda, Dark Forest, Magically Delicious, Peach Fuzz, Enchanted Brook, Unicorn Approved, Bold and Unwavering, Popular

Poetry Cowgirl Nail Polish: Faerie Whispers, Faerie Wishes She Could Be Here, VIPs Talking With the Trees, Find me a Four-Leaf Clover. Got the last one because it came with an extra bag of glitter. Like I’m going to pass up glitter.

Everything I saw there was gorgeous, but my favorite exclusives are Poetry Cowgirl’s Faerie Whispers and Color by Llarowe’s Genofeva of Bravant. Other favorites include Bluebird’s Shine Bright Like a Rhinestone, Pahlish’s Invisibility Cloak, and Baroness X’s Sakura Skies from the Color Box. I’m looking forward to swatching these guys in the future; I’ve had to shake up my Swatch Sunday schedule after buying all these, so you’ll get to see some of them soon.

Oh, and remember how I said I had some extra bottles of things? It just so happens that wacie.com‘s fourth anniversary was the same day as The Indie Shop, so look for a giveaway in the next few days. I’m putting together a package that will include a few things from my Indie Shop VIP bag, some Wacie Nail Company exclusives, and some other fun things I can find. I think you’ll enjoy it.

I bought these polishes myself.
Yes, all of them.

Empties Roundup: January 2017

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Hey reader! It’s the first Empties Roundup of the year! This was an exceptionally good month for used-up products, and I’m irrationally excited. Let’s take a look! I know you want to see all these cut-up tubes.

Carol’s Daughter Sacred Tiare Restoring Hair Mask

I loved this stuff. It was very rich and really did lovely things for my dry, damaged, all-over-the-place hair. The gardenia fragrance was very strong also, which was probably my favorite thing about it. I’ve replaced it with the It’s a 10 deep conditioner, which I don’t like quite as much.

Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy Shampoo

I’d heard good things about Organix’s keratin stuff, and I like their stuff in general, so I gave this a shot when I started straightening my hair. The plan was to just keep using my beachy wave shampoo until it was gone, but I’m glad I didn’t wait. My hair was a lot smoother after straightening with this shampoo compared to the beachy wave stuff. I might repurchase, but I also might move to that L’Oreal sulfate-free stuff everyone is talking about.

Formula 10.0.6 Best Face Forward Foaming Cleanser, mini size

I’d never heard of this brand before, but when I was vacation shopping last year, I found this in a travel set in Old Navy; it came with this cleanser, a small bottle of toner, some cleansing wipes, and a small tube of mud mask, all in a TSA-sized bag. I’d used most of this while I was travelling, and only recently pulled it out to finish it up. I liked it; it foamed, but didn’t make my face feel too dry after. I’d consider rebuying.

Evian Brumisateur Facial Spray

This marks the first time I’ve ever used up a press sample. I’m a little sad it didn’t last me until the summer, when I would like to use it for basic refreshment. In its last days, this spray served as a skincare refresher; I sprayed it on my skin when my skin felt dry, reviving my moisturizer a little. I may repurchase, but I’m also looking into other facial mists, so we’ll see.

Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean Foam Cleanser, mini size

This was another one that was in my travel bag that I just needed to finish up; in this case, the cap broke and the product was going to dry out if I didn’t. I like these really dense and foamy cleansers, but this one felt harsh and stripped my skin. No thanks.

LaRoche-Posay Anthelios 60, sample size

I was about to throw this away because I’d had it for a while and thought it was expired. When I saw it expired in February, I knew I had to use it up. I’m actually really impressed by it. I have bad sunscreen habits because every sunscreen I’ve used before now is a white, goopy mess, but this one was different. This one was light, had a pleasant smell, and absorbed into my moisturizer very quickly. I may purchase a full size.

GlamGlow ThirstyCleanse Daily Hydrating Cleanser, mini size

I got this in an ipsy bag, and I kept it in my travel bag until I ran out of cleanser in the shower and had to dig it out. I’ve heard so many mixed reviews of GlamGlow products that I didn’t have high expectations for this, but it wasn’t too bad. My skin felt clean but not dry after, which I liked. The tube, though, says it foams, which I did not find to be the case. I wouldn’t mind another one of these tubes, but I don’t know if I’ll actually buy one.

Sheet Masks: Utena Puresa CoQ10 Mask and The Creme Shop Drink Up Skin Hyaluronic Acid Mask

So it’s not a secret that I went on a huge sheet mask binge recently. It’s time to use some up! The CoQ10 mask was one I already had, and the penguin mask is new. Before I would just rotate all the different masks I had so I used a different one every week, but now I’m trying to listen to my face and give it what it wants. Also, I found out what I look like as a cartoon penguin. Verdict: frightening.

Skinfood Pore Control Fresh Apple Essence

These are from my Roseroseshop haul. Even though they’re packets, I’m reviewing them as a single entity. I liked this stuff; it had a nice scent and made my skin feel moisturized and balanced after application. I feel like it did help with my skin’s oil production a bit, since I notice a lot more oil since I’ve run out. I think I will purchase this in a full size in the future, but not this time; I’ve replaced it with the 3W Clinic’s placenta essence.

Miscellaneous Packets

More stuff from the haul! I only have quick notes about these. The Origins Drink Up Intensive mask was really nice to use; you have the choice of washing it off or wearing it overnight, and I chose the latter. It was still moist and sticky when I woke up, though I had some trouble sleeping with it on; I was afraid to roll over and soil my pillowcase with it. The Skinfood watermelon mask pack was awesome; it was strongly scented of watermelon, and made my skin feel soothed and refreshed. The Skinfood aloe sunscreen was also very nice; it was a lightweight sunscreen like the LaRoche-Posay. I’ve only used this packet, but I look forward to trying the others.

Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Hand Cream

This was good stuff. It was a lightweight lotion that absorbed quickly into skin and had a very nice fragrance. I don’t feel like it lasted very long though, because I was constantly reapplying. I replaced with Proclaim’s Coconut and Macadamia Oil hand lotion, though this is almost gone as well.

Trader Jacques Savon de France, Oatmeal Exfoliant Ginger Almond

So Trader Joe’s is still a bit of a novelty here; there’s one store across town. Boyfriend bought this for me on one of his solo trips there. It was a pretty nice soap actually. It was creamy, it foamed well, and lasted a pretty long time. It contained big pieces of oatmeal, which probably isn’t effective as an exfoliant, but I liked it anyway. I’ve replaced it with a tea tree patchouli soap I bought in Hawaii.

SheaMoisture Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Energizing Hand & Body Scrub

You know I love these scrubs. This was pretty typical of the SheaMoisture sugar scrub; it’s abrasive (but feels good) and leaves an oily sheen on my skin. I will always repurchase these.

JĀSÖN Gentle Basics Day Lotion

I bought this because it was on sale at Target. The lotion consistency was on the thin side and took a longer time than usual to work into the skin, but I did feel moisturized throughout the day. I’m not sure I’ll repurchase this, but it wasn’t bad.

NSpa by Nirvana Spa Exotically Creamy Coconut Body Mist

I have compeletely gotten out of the habit of using body spray. I used to be an addict like ten years ago, but I’d always forget about it and it was the last thing I used up in a Bath & Body Works buy — the lotion and shower gel would be gone long before — so I stopped buying it. I got this in a set as a gift; the shower gel is in my shower now, and the spray, when I remembered to use it, didn’t last as long as I thought it would.

Grand Hyatt Kauai Anara Spa Cocomango Massage Bar

This is the nicest hotel soap I’ve ever used. It had some dried leaves in it that exfoliated, and had those round nubbies on one side that feel really good when you wash with the bar itself. Those wore down pretty quickly, but the soap quality was very good, the scent was strong, and my only regret is that the hotel did not have more I could have stolen.

That’s the roundup for January! Be sure to tell me in the comments what you used up and if you’ve tried any of the products I emptied out. This was a good month for me and empties, I think next month will be good too!

I bought these products myself, except for the ones that were free samples.
And except the Evian facial spray. That was sent for a review unrelated to this post.
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Empties Roundup: December 2016

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Hey hey, reader! We have one last thing to cap off 2016, albeit a bit late: it’s the Empties Roundup for December! It’s a quick one this month, so let’s get started.

Hotel Soaps from Paya and Bath and Body Works

Confession: I steal the toiletries from hotels. I know it’s kind of chintzy, but they always come in handy. Sometimes I end up in a hotel that doesn’t supply it for me, and what then? Good thing I had those 400 tiny bottles of shampoo in my suitcase, right? Soap’s not a practical one to carry around, so I decided to use them up in my shower at home. The Paya one is from a hotel in Hawaii, and the Bath and Body Works ones are from a Best Western. Did you guys know B&BW do the toiletries for Best Western? I had no idea. There was actually a fourth soap that I didn’t get finished in time, you’ll see it at the end of this month most likely.

Hickory Ridge Organics Shower Butter in Balinese Coffee

I used this as a solid exfoliating body scrub, and it was delightful. It didn’t last long, maybe five uses at most, but I loved it every time. The bottom layer was made mostly of the solid coffee bits, which made it a bit rough at first, but as I kept using it, it got gentler and more creamy. The coffee bits were hard to wash off sometimes, especially early on in the bar. It was so nice though, incredibly moisturizing and left a nice creamy sheen on my skin. I can’t wait to rebuy this.

Batiste Dry Shampoo, Original Scent, mini size

I bought a lot of these to take on vacation when I went to Hawaii, and this is the last of them. This wasn’t my favorite dry shampoo; it was easy to overdo and left a white residue. Wasn’t bad for travelling, though.

Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash, mini size

I got this in an Origins 500-point reward from Sephora. I had it in my travel bag with the rest of my stuff, but I ended up taking it out when I ran out of my full-size cleanser and I didn’t have a backup. I rather liked it. It left my skin feeling clean, though a little dry and stripped. I know this is a turn-off for a lot of people, but when my face feels oily and dirty one hundred percent of the time, I welcome a bit of drying cleanser. I’m thinking about buying a full size of this.

Shea Moisture Hand and Body Scrub in Lavender and Wild Orchid

Yep, this again! This is my favorite scrub in one of my favorite scents. Get used to seeing these.

And that’s it, the last Empties Roundup for 2016! Did you notice it’s mostly travel-size products? I hope to travel more in 2017 and work on my pile of stolen hotel toiletries. I’ve already got a couple ready to go for January’s roundup.

What did you finish up this December?

I bought these products myself.
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Empties Roundup: November 2016

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Guess what, reader? It’s finally time for the Empties Roundup for November 2016! I don’t know about you guys, but November was a rough month for me. I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, I wrote a novel for National Novel Writing Month, and between those two things a lot of my other responsibilities were neglected. I even neglected my poor blog, and I’m still catching up. Better late than never. Enjoy the empties!

JP Orange Spice Hand Soap

This is what you get when you send Boyfriend out for hand soap. Like you kind of expect him to get something nice, because by now he should know what you like. Instead, he spends the least amount of money possible. This soap smelled all right at least, but it took a lot of product to finally come to a lather — how else am I supposed to know my hands got clean otherwise? I replaced this with some L’Occitane soaps I found in a thrift store. Yeah, you read that right: thrift store soap is better than this.

Orly French Tip Guides

Ahh, the original nail vinyls. I can’t live without these, and I bought another box as soon as I emptied the last one. These are super helpful for French tips and half-moon manis and I will always rebuy them.

Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Super Hydrating Hand Cream

I love Pacifica products, and the blood orange scent could be my favorite. Well, besides all the others. I love everything they make! I actually got this from the Target clearance bin. It did moisturize my hands a lot, but they would occasionally still feel dried out after dishwashing, so I went through it pretty quickly. I’ve moved onto another Pacifica lotion, this one in the Indian Coconut Nectar scent.

Bath and Body Works Shower Gels in Maui and Oahu

I’ve done it, I’ve finally finished up my B&BW shower gels. I may have a few others stashed away somewhere, but these ones are finally gone. I don’t think either of them were too full; Oahu was a good half full, even fuller before I used it to wash makeup brushes a couple times. Maui was mostly done and I think I only got a couple uses from it. I haven’t repurchased any other shower gels; I’m going to see if I can put a dent in my soap collection.

Briogeo Blossom and Bloom Voluminizing Blow-Dry Spray (mini size)

I got this in an ipsy bag forever ago, but I only just started blow-drying and heat-styling my hair, so I’d only gotten around to using it this November. I think I used this up at the beginning of the month, and I really miss it. The scent was lovely, and it left a nice softness and shine on my hair. I bought Not Your Mother’s blow-dry spray when this ran out, and I like that one too, but I’d rebuy this in a second if I saw it on a shelf.

Hickory Ridge Organics Dead Sea Salt Scrubs in Coconut, Spearmint Eucalyptus, and Mango

So of all these products, these are the ones I’m most excited to talk about. These are local-ish products, made in St. Augustine, Florida, which is just a half-hour drive from where I live. Boyfriend and I went to St. Augustine for my birthday this year, and while we were wandering, I found the HRO shop and got a little crazy. I liked these scrubs a lot; the scents were really strong and the oils were plentiful and very moisturizing. My one gripe is that the salt pieces were kind of large and rounded off. I like a scrub with gritty, abrasive bits, and this one was a bit too gentle. Also the labels are not waterproof. That said, I hope to buy more of these on my next trip there. For now, I’m back to the Shea Moisture scrubs.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NW10

I’m pretty proud of this one, too, because this is like three years coming. I loved this foundation, and I’m proud to have used up the whole thing. I don’t know if you can see the fill line; it’s not really a fill line, just the foundation on the very bottom of the bottle that the pump couldn’t get to, and it’s just enough that it just coats the walls of the bottle instead of trickling out if I turned the bottle upside-down. I’m a little sad to see it go. I decided to try NARS’s All Day Luminous foundation when this ran out, and even though I like it enough, I wish I’d just repurchased this one. Side note: I just panned the powder I bought with this foundation.

Castelbel Jasmine and Hyacinth Soap Bar

This was a huge bar of soap, so huge and so egg-shaped that it was really awkward to hold and use in the shower for a long time. Recently I dropped the last little sliver on the shower floor and it broke into a dozen soapy little pieces. I got an oatmeal soap from Trader Joe’s (another Boyfriend pick) out of the drawer.

And there it is, nine days late, the Empties Roundup for November 2016! Have you used any of these products? What did you use up? Let me know in the comments!

I bought these products myself.
Except for the ones Boyfriend bought himself.

Empties Roundup: September 2016

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It’s the end of the month, and you know what that means: Empties Roundup! It’s the end of September, and I’ve got a lot of stuff to share. Let’s get started!

La Lavande French Triple-Milled Soap in Gardenia

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So obviously this wrapper has been empty a long time, you can’t really use a bar of soap without wrapping it. But yes, I did hang onto this wrapper longer than I want to admit just to photograph it and then write about it. It was really nice soap; it lathered well, had a strong gardenia fragrance, and didn’t dry me out. It took me a couple months, probably, to use the whole thing. I replaced it with another soap bar from my shamefully large soap hoard.

L’Occitane en Provence Shea Butter Hand Cream, 30ml tube

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I love this stuff. I love L’Occitane. This was the last tube from a L’Occitane hand cream sampler from Sephora and I’m so sad they’re all gone now. They all made my hands feel so soft and moisturized, and they were the perfect handbag size. My new handbag lotion is Pacifica’s Tuscan Blood Orange because it was on sale at Target.

Model City Cuticle Oil in Cactus Flower

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I’d been using this for so long there’s practically no label left. Believe it or not, I bought three of these bottles and this is the last one. It lasted forever! It did a fanastic job of moisturizing and smelled wonderful. I’m now using an oil from Smokey Mountain Lacquers from my expanding cuticle oil stash.

CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion

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Here’s another product I use on the regular. I know it’s for dry skin, and as such, it makes me feel a bit oily after a while. It doesn’t break me out, so I just deal with it. I’ve decided to try a new one though, Cetaphil’s daytime moisturizer lotion. I’ll probably come back to it if the new one doesn’t work out.

Revlon’s Photoready Powder in Translucent

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Project Pan has its first casualty! This was actually most of the way used-up when I started the project, so I don’t think it counts, but it is nice to use up something. I’m actually undecided on whether I’d buy this again. I really liked it over BB cream; it helped smooth out imperfections that weren’t 100% covered, and made me look more done-up than I was. On the other hand, it wasn’t a setting powder, which was really what I wanted. It didn’t make me feel finished, it felt pretty creamy a long time after applying. For now, I’m using another powder from my stash, Benefit’s The Pore-fessional Agent Zero Shine.

Bath and Body Works’s Butterfly Flower Shower Gel

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Another month, another empty shower gel. I forgot how nice this fragrance was! It’s pretty strong in the shower, but after drying off, it’s really subtle. Of course, lotion in the same scent helps with a fragrance’s staying power, but sometimes I don’t want to smell like a perfumery. Also I’d used up the lotion months ago.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day hand soap in Peony

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I’m so glad I finally tried these! I was complaining to a friend about how hard it is to find a good hand soap. Antibacterial ones break my hands out so bad, and they’re bad for you in general, so I spent a lot of time looking for The Soap. A friend recommended I try this brand out and when I saw this at Target, I scooped it up. I’ve since replaced it with another Mrs. Meyer’s soap, this time in Geranium.

Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Intensive Hydration Hair Masque

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I love Shea Moisture products, and their hair masques and deep conditioners are products I always rebuy. I probably use them more than I do actual conditioner. This one made my hair feel very soft and easy to detangle. It also smells lovely! I loved it, but as I like to try new things, I’ve replaced it with Carol’s Daughter’s Sacred Tiare restoring hair mask.

Lubriderm Advance Therapy Lotion

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This is my favorite lotion. It moisturizes, it smooths unhappy skin immediately, and it doesn’t have any fragrance. The fact that it’s fragrance-free is probably my favorite, because I can use it with any bath product. I hate it when fragrances compete! I have three bathrooms in my house and there’s a bottle of this in each one. That’s kind of a lie, because I haven’t replaced it right away. I bought a JĀSÖN lotion this time because it was on sale at Target.

MAC Prep + Prime Skin Primer

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Another Project Pan casualty that doesn’t quite count, because it was basically empty when I pulled it out. I didn’t expect to have to replace this AND the Revlon powder at the same time, but here we are. I’ve been thinking of trying another foundation — maybe NARS or Kat von D — and so I don’t want to buy another primer until I’ve decided on a foundation. For now, I’m using a backup Smashbox sample I’ve had bumming around, but I’ve already had to cut the tube open, so I’m kind of running out of time. It’s also the last empty I need for a Back 2 MAC lipstick, so I’m not too sad about it.

And there you have it, nine products that have gone to the big beauty counter in the sky. I wonder if I’ll ever have an Empties Roundup this large again. What did you use up this month?

I bought all these products myself.