It's $1.99 Snowman Time!

I mentioned last week that I spotted the infamous $1.99 Snowman nail polishes at my local Rite Aid, and since I had some +UP Rewards burning a hole in my wallet, I decided to get a few and show them to you. (For pics of the display, click here.)

These polishes do not have names. That's kind of how it always is with super cheapie seasonal polishes though, right? So let's start with the one I was the most excited to try:

Holographic Glitter Snowman (retail: $1.99 at Rite Aid, 0.5 oz)

So here's the deal with the holographic glitter snowman. The glitter is pretty dense, but not dense enough to create that smooth, holographic look on the nail that I was hoping for. BUT, in certain lights, it does have more of a holographic look than what you see in this picture. So...it's better than other more chunky holographic glitter polishes I have purchased at the drugstore, but it's not perfect.  Also, it's sheer, so the look you see above required three coats, and I needed to use two coats of top coat to remove the bumpy texture (even after two coats of top coat, I can still feel the glitter a bit, but it's not terrible).

Since this polish is basically holo glitter in a clear base, I decided to try layering it over the limited edition holiday polish by Wet n Wild, Toast.  Toast is a metallic silver, so I though it would be fun to see how it looked with the holo glitter on top of it.

The two pics above were taken after two coats of Wet n Wild Toast, followed by two coats of holographic snowman, and then one coat of top coat.  So here's the deal: I was hoping that the silver foil base would really bring out the holo effect of the glitter. BUT, in real life, the holo effect is much more apparent (and prettier) when I wear the holo polish alone.  The silver metallic polish sort of flattens the holo glitter and makes it more dull. Boo! I'm so bummed about that since I layered and layered like a mad woman and ended up disliking the results.

Bottom line: don't expect a continuous holographic effect on your nails if you pick up this polish. But for what it is, it's quite fun, and kind of makes your nails look like a disco ball! In fact, I have received more compliments from strangers on this polish than any other in probably the past year.  Weird, huh? 

Note: I am DEFINITELY going to have to use the foil method to remove all this glitter, top coat and metallic polish. I've talked about the foil method here in the past, but I think it's worth repeating. For removing stubborn glitter polishes, nothing beats the foil method. For a great tutorial, check out the lovely Elvira's post here.

OK, so here's another snowman polish I purchased last week:

 Metallic Green Snowman (retail: $1.99 at Rite Aid, 0.5 oz)

(excuse the chip on my ring finger--I did the dishes right before I took this pic and battled a stubborn casserole dish. I'm afraid the casserole dish won.)

Mr. G can't stand this polish. Why, you ask? Well, he said it reminds him of a car color that used to be popular in the early 90s, and he always hated that color.  Guys, right? To me, this metallic polish just screams minty holiday green and I LOVE it. It's smooth, cool and refreshing! Plus, this polish only required two coats for full opacity and I didn't have much trouble with brush strokes, which is a miracle for me and metallics.  

I also purchased a lovely purplish-lavender cream, which I will show you later in the week.  I was THIS CLOSE to also purchasing a pretty pastel mint green snowman, which looks like it could be a nice Chanel Jade dupe, but I have so many pastel mint greens that I just couldn't justify getting another one.

So, do you already have some of these seasonal snowman polishes?  If not, are you excited about finding them at your local drugstores? I'd love to hear from you!