Bargain of the Day (BOTD)

You really can't get much cheaper than today's BOTD:

N.Y.C.'s In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish

Available everywhere (drugstores, box stores, some grocery stores), this new line from N.Y.C. will cost you a whopping $1.99 a bottle. The colors are gorgeous, the bottles are cute, and the formula really does dry quickly. The staying power is quite good for a drugstore brand (of course it's not OPI but that's a hard formula to beat). You can give OPI a run for its money though if you use a good base coat (try Orly Bonder) and a good top coat like Seche Vite's Dry Fast Top Coat, which is arguably the best top coat in the world.

Nail polish brushes are a thing of personal preference. It really depends on what your nail bed is like--wide, narrow, flat, concave? I personally like the brush in this line because it's on the wide side and it's squared off at the end which gives a nice, clean application. But...YMMV.

The best thing about this collection (aside from the price) is the color selection. I currently own "Chinatown", which some may say is borderline goth. I love it though, because this is the closest I could ever come to wearing black nail polish, without wearing black nail polish. It's a deep, dark blackish-purpleish-blueish charcoal with a just a teeny tiny subtle shimmer. I think it's simply gorgeous on short, well-manicured nails. It's literally my only attempt at staying fashion-forward these days, and it sure feels good to spend $1.99 instead of $23.00 on a bottle of Chanel Blue Satin.

I also own the shade "Canal Street" which is a deep, vampy crimson with a little more shimmer than "Chinatown". Again, gorgeous on a short, well-manicured nail.

I should note that this is a new collection so it might not be in the regular N.Y.C. section of your local CVS or Target. So look for a counter display if you're having trouble locating it.