NOTD: Different Dimension Ghost of Jupiter

Different Dimension Ghost of Jupiter. This is such a cool opalescent glitter bomb and I adore it! 2 coats, very easy to work with. My favorite part is unlike most holos or glitters it looks good in both the sun and the shade. One of my best recent purchases and I kind of want the rest of the collection now...

Recent Wax Reviews

The Scented Squirrel Fall Festival Donuts: this is a lovely sweet cranberry and cinnamon sugar donuts blend. Moderate throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: A-. Might repurchase.

BHG Roasted Coconut Pumpkin: this is a  wonderful rich pumpkin bakery and creamy coconut blends. Moderate throw for 12+ hours. Overall grade: A. Would repurchase.

The Scented Squirrel Cream Soda & Candy Fluff: I'm not a huge candy fluff fan generally, but I like this blend well enough. It's a sweet, powdery candy scent with a touch of fizz and creaminess from the soda. Moderate throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: A-. Might repurchase.

The Scented Squirrel Huckleberry Mexican Fried Ice Cream: a pleasant berry and bakery blend. Rather light throw for about 6-8 hours. Overall grade: B. Probably wouldn't repurchase.

SGA Fall Yoga Pants By The Fireside: I love this blend! To me the cider and caramel notes are most prominent with a touch of marshmallow fireside. Fairly strong throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: A. Would repurchase.

SGA Florida Citrus Whipped Cream Cake: one of my SGA favorites! A delicious, well balanced blend of strawberry, orange, vanilla cake and sweet whipped cream. Strong throw for about 10-12 hours. Overall grade: A+. Would repurchase.

NOTD: Hoodies, Leaves & S'mores

Since Pahlish has been getting a lot of love recently I figured I'd wear this one today. This is two coats. It was fairly easy to work with. I like it but am not in love. The sparkles are pretty but the green color is a bit too swampy for me. It was overcast; wish I could have gotten sun pics.

Fall Fun Series Top 10 Fall Melts & Black Friday Hauls

I hope all you readers have enjoyed the fall fun series posts from myself and the other participants. I'm quite sad that this is the last Fall Fun Series post; I have gotten so much joy out of writing and reading these posts! I have made several new online friends, learned about some great new vendors and products, and tried many new activities and blogging techniques that I probably wouldn't have otherwise.

A heartfelt thanks to Julie of The Redolent Mermaid blog and Deb of It's Always Something for organizing this fun series and also to the other wonderful participants.

Without further ado, my top ten favorite fall melts of 2016! 

In now particular order:

Sassy Girl Aroma Pumpkin Honey Chai, I-Hop and Florida Citrus Whipped Cream Cake

The Bathing Garden Brown Sugar Cream Rose Bouquet

BHG Vanilla Cookie Crunch

Cosmic Gems Tea Time

Candy Panda Midnight Snack 

Lake Providence Lodge Breakfast At The Lodge 

Glitterati Pumpkin Pecan Waffles Marshmallow Fireside 

Pocket Full Of Peonies Peppermint Sugar Cookie Royale 

My home has definitely smelled heavenly these past few months!

As a brief Thanksgiving wrap up, my holiday celebration was wonderful. The food was exceptional as always and it was so nice to spend time with family members. I have melted a favorite scent every Thanksgiving for the past few years: BHG A Thankful Harvest.

This morning I had absolutely no plans to brave the crowds and the cold for Black Friday bargains, but I did wake up early to help hubby get off to work so I did a little online shopping. I browsed several sales but surprisingly did not end up buying any wax. Nothing really spoke to me and I think I am nearing maximum wax capacity anyway. 2 big storage bins and a tin full of wax in my tiny space is sufficient for a couple years, I'm sure.

I almost pulled the trigger on a Goose Creek Candle order (60% off all candles and 50% off all wax melts, no code needed) but I do have plenty of candles and ended up rethinking it and closing my browser.

The one thing I did succumb to was some fabulous nail polish deals. Zoya has 70% off with code YAY which is by far the best sale deal I've seen. I do already own many Zoyas that I love, so I didn't go too crazy, but I am excited about the 6 mini polishes and 2 lipsticks I got for under $20 shipped!

I also went hog wild at Color4Nails sale, 30% off with code THANKS30. I got several pricy indie polishes that I had be lemming for a long time. I spent more than I would have liked but saved $32 and got free shipping, so I'm justifying it. I am incredibly thrilled about these polishes!

Most of my Christmas gifts for others were ordered weeks ago and are slowly starting to arrive, so hopefully I am done with major shopping for the season.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend! Did you score any great Black Friday deals? What have been some of your favorite fall home fragrances?

If you too are sad about the conclusion of the Fall Fun Series, please check back Friday December 2nd for my Holiday Gift Guide post!

Thanksgiving NOTD

A little festive turkey and leaves nail art with some autumnal colors.

So many colors! Thumb is Color Club Cosmic Fate, Index is Elle LDL #223, Middle & Ring are NYC Sidewalkers, Pinky is WnW Fergie Gold Album.
Turkey colors are Cult Nails Swanbourne, OPI SPF XX, OPI San Tan-tonio, Essie Russian Roulette, Avon Suddenly Sunny.
Gold leaf stickers are from Vinyl It Up.

Recent Wax Reviews

Glitterati Volcano Lemon Biscotti: this is a wonderful sweet lemon and warm bakery scent with a hint of other mixed fruits. It had a fairly strong throw that lasted a good 10 hours. I really enjoyed it! Overall grade: A. Would repurchase.

Glitterati Pink Petticoat (pink sugar + coconut + cotton candy). This is a very nice sweet scent. The pink sugar and coconut are prominent. It had moderate to light throw for about 6 hours. Overall grade: B+. Might repurchase.

The Scented Squirrel Amish Friendship Bread: A warm, fresh sweet bread scent with a nice touch of strawberry. It smelled delicious; I would have liked it to be a bit stronger. Moderate to light throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: B+ might repurchase.

Starry Skies Snookums (strawberry + candy cane+ sugar cookies): this was a delicious and unique blend; I got all the notes on cold sniff. When melting it had a moderate to light throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade B+. Might repurchase.

SGA Goodnight Lover (pink sugar sweet lavender cotton candy frosting.) A great and relaxing sweet blend; all the notes are noticeable. Fairly strong throw for about 10 hours. Overall grade: A-. Might repurchase.

NOTD: Smokescreen Dupe

I wanted to dupe Vapid Smokescreen (not my pic). 

My version is 1 coat OPI Nein Nein Ok Fine and 1 coat SH Let's Get Digital. I am mesmerized by it! Couldn't stop staring at the shiftiness! LGD is a wonderful polish; makes almost anything look amazing. Anyway, I think this is a very satisfactory dupe.

Fall Fun Series: Thanksgiving Menu & Traditions

I always look forward to Thanksgiving every year. My family and in-laws all live within a few miles of each other so we all gather together at my husband's grandparents house. Let me tell you, they have been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for nearly 60 years and have perfected it! Absolutely scrumptious.

Here's the menu: always the same every year.

Oven roasted turkey 

Handmade stuffing 

Mashed potatoes 

Yams with marshmallows

Green beans with bacon

Fruit salad

Pillsbury crescent rolls 

Canned cranberry sauce 

Desserts are usually pumpkin pie, apple pie, and a delicious oatmeal strusel crunch cake.

Here's a photo from a few years ago.

As for traditions we all just sit around the huge dining table and talk for hours. Some very funny and interesting stories are usually told. A good time is had by all. This photo is from last Thanksgiving, taken under the handcrafted grape arbor in hubby's grandparents' garden.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods and traditions?

Recent Wax Reviews

CLK Aunt Minnie's Molasses Cookies: This is a great vanilla cookie scent with just the right amount of syrupy spice. I like that the molasses note is not too overwhelming. Moderate throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: A-. Might repurchase.

CFTKR Vanilla Sugar Waffle Cone: This is absolutely heavenly! One of my favorite scents from CFTKR. It smells just like sugared waffle cones in an ice cream shop. Strong throw that lasted all day. Overall grade: A+. Would repurchase.

Beezy French Baguette: (previously reviewed). So realistic; smells just like fresh, yeasty sourdough bread baking. Super strong throw that lasts all day. Overall grade: A+. Would repurchase.

CLK Cherry Pipe Tobacco: (previously reviewed). This one is more cherry/musk to me. It's very pleasant and warm but I don't get much tobacco from it. Moderate throw for about 10 hours. Overall grade: B. Probably wouldn't repurchase.

Candy Panda Vanilla Chai Tea: This smells incredible on cold sniff! Just like my favorite sweet chai tea drinks. The throw wasn't quite as strong as I'd hoped for, but still noticeable. Moderate throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: A-. Would repurchase.

Starry Skies Caramel Pumpkin Swirl: This is a great BBW dupe! Warm gooey caramel and cinnamon spiced pumpkin. Moderate throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: A-. Would repurchase.

Supertarts Mr. Freeze (eucalyptus & peppermint): This has been a life saver for me! I was feeling sick and it really opened my sinuses. It's a pleasant cooling, minty blend that had strong throw all day. Overall grade: A+. Would repurchase.

Tiffany Candles Sinus Relief: This is a pleasant minty blend but the throw wasn't as strong as I thought it would be. I haven't had great throw from the few Tiffany scents I've tried. Moderate to light throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: B.  Would not repurchase.

NOTD: Zoya Alicia

NOTD: Zoya Alicia ++

2 coats. This is such a pretty and special polish! I love how it's silver with a touch of gold and iridescence all at once. Easy to work with too.

Instagram Giveaway Winner

A huge thanks to everyone who participated! The winner of this fabulous prize box is @lo_temp!

Fall Fun Series: All About Candles

I love the ambiance a candle adds to a room; they really are so cozy this time of year! I just stocked up on some of my fall favorites a couple of days ago in fact. I snagged more of the 719 Walnut Avenue Pumpkin Waffles and Caramel Cinnamon Roll candles before they are gone for the year. They are two of my favorite scents and excellent performers; for just under $5 they can't be beat!

I also get really excited when Walmart brings out the winter and Christmas themed candles; I grabbed this Cookies For Santa which does smell delightfully of vanilla sugar cookies on cold sniff. There was also some sort of coffee scent that was sold out, so I will have to keep looking for that one.

I have also been melting this new Walmart Spreading Holiday Cheer candle which smells delightfully of spiced oranges; the throw is moderate to light.

As for Bath And Body Works candles; I only currently have two. I am waiting on Black Friday or the semi-annual sale to stock up on more. As much as I love their candles, we all know they're ridiculously overpriced and I can barely even swallow paying half price. My two beloved Pumpkin Coconut candles that I got on sale a couple months ago served me very well this fall; the throw of this scent never disappoints me, and sadly the last one is almost gone. I also have this new Winter Rose candle which is a refreshing change from a lot of heavy bakery scents. It is a nice perfumey and fairly realistic rose with moderate throw. I think most floral lovers would enjoy it. I don't know what makes it "winter" but whatever.

If you don't like to burn candles but love some of the classic BBW home fragrance scents, you're in luck! BBW recently released a line of wax melts! Of course they too are outrageously expensive; even on "sale" at 3 for $12 I paid $4 per ounce! That is a travesty considering most wax averages around $1 per ounce and Walmart clamshells are even cheaper at $2 for 3 oz. If you intend to buy these melts you are definitely going to want to stack sales and coupons. I have not melted any of mine yet so I will have to report back on throw. I had read that the Vanilla Bean Noel melt was rather lightly scented, so I passed on that one even though I love that scent. I would think the Mahogany Teakwood, Marshmallow Fireside and Caramel Cinnamon Swirl would have fairly strong throw since their candle counterparts do. We shall see.

Last but not least, if you would like some much more inexpensive and good quality wax dupes of BBW scents, many wax vendors carry them. Two of my personal favorite vendors for BBW dupes are Starry Skies and Beezy.

Starry Skies carries a huge variety of 1.5 oz scent shots for $1.25. Some of my favorite BBW dupes from her are all the pumpkin blends and some of the fresher scents like Leaves and Sweater Weather. They are spot on dupes and I usually get moderate to strong throw from them.

2 of my favorite Beezy BBW dupes from my most recent order were French Baguette and Blueberry Pumpkin Patch. They are hyper realistic scents and always have super strong throw! They are only $1.85 for 2 oz.

What are some of your favorite fall and winter candle scents? Where do you like to purchase your candles?

NOTD: Future Royal Dupe

Trying to dupe Emily De Molly Future Royal? (Not my pic.)

This is pretty dead on! My version is 2 coats Top Shelf Lacquer Wild Orchid Cocktail, 1 coat of Revlon Cosmic Flakies and 1 coat of a prototype polish from Little Pea Soaps called Radiant Plum. It's a flakie jelly sandwich; looove it!

NOTD: Pretty Pinks

CC Miss Bliss, Formula X Revved Up and Pacifica Wonderland.

Fall Fun Series Vendor Feature: The Scented Squirrel

The Scented Squirrel , operated by husband and wife pair Jess and Patrick has been around for less than four months, but is rapidly growing and expanding their product lines. They offer ready to ship 2 oz scent shots for $2 and 3 oz clamshells for $3.25 as well as various other adorable wax shapes. They also have pre-order themed wax samplers monthly and are even going to be selling a special wax advent calendar to be released this Saturday November 19th.

Recently they had expanded their product line into body care, including lotions, whipped sugar scrubs, body sprays and bath bombs.

I have ordered their wax over half a dozen times and and have been quite pleased with it. The customer service is outstanding; I always receive my orders in less than a week and the items are carefully packaged and always arrive in perfect condition. I keep repurchasing because Jess comes up with such unique scent blends and they always smell wonderful. I generally get moderate throw for a good 8 hours or so, with her bakery scents usually being the strongest. I have also tried one of the body sprays in the scent Kaleidoscope Eyes which is "vanilla sandalwood, patchouli and blood orange." I love this unique blend. It starts out heavy on the tart blood orange on my skin and has a sultry, musky, spicy dry down. The scent lingers for about 30 minutes on my skin; fairly average results for a body spray. 

I will happily continue ordering from The Scented Squirrel and I look forward to trying her expanding line of body care products! If you are interested in trying The Scented Squirrel wax and sugar scrub, as well as many other fabulous vendors, check out my giveaway on Instagram @thriftypolished

Have you ever tried The Scented Squirrel? What are some of your favorite wax and bath and body brands?

NOTD: Queen Of Hearts

This is Different Dimension Pygmy Kingfisher and Cupcake Polish Apple-y Ever After, both of which are stunning 1-2 coat polishes with super smooth formulas. Love them so much! PK is a gold/iridescent rainbow holo and AEA is a red holo with scattered gold holo sparkles. Heart stencils from Polished Vino Vinyls.

Recent Wax Reviews

Southbound Soap Co Red White & Blue (blueberry cream, cherry, marsmallow, birthday cake): To me on cold this smells like Strawberries & cream with touches of blueberry and cherry. It is delightfully fruity when melting and had strong throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: A. Would repurchase.

VCS Bold Eyes & Red Lips (melonade + Sex On The Beach): This had a sour fruity note on cold that I didn't really care for. Fortunately when melting it was a more pleasant sweet fruit and lemonade combo. I got moderate throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: B+. Probably wouldn't repurchase.

The Scented Squirrel Chocolate Cupcake: this was a great, realistic semi sweet chocolate aroma with a touch of espresso. Smelled good enough to eat! Moderate throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: A-. Might repurchase.

LPL Vanilla Butter Cookie/Glazed Orange Cake: a yummy vanilla, orange and warm bakery combo. Moderate throw for about 6 hours. Overall grade: B+. Might repurchase.

Live Love Wax Co The Sparkly Unicorn (cream soda + fruit loop + crunch berries): a creative and well blended scent! Definitely fruity cereal with a touch of fizz; it works surprisingly well. Moderate throw for about 8 hours. Overall grade: A. Would repurchase.

The Scented Squirrel Sweet Squirrel (cinnamon sugared pralines): a very realistic smelling cinnamon sugar aroma. Not quite as strong as I'd like it to be though. Moderate throw for about 6 hours. Overall grade: B+. Might repurchase.

Glitterati Pumpkin Pecan Waffles Marshmallow Fireside: My first time melting the legendary Glitterati for the first time and I now understand the hype. This blend is the most intoxicating wax I've smelled in a long time! Heavy on the smokey pine and sweet marshmallow of MF with a touch of extra richness and warmth from the PPW. If you like these BBW scents you'll love this blend! Strong throw for a good 8-10 hours. Overall grade: A+. Would repurchase.

NOTD: Zoya Merida

A stunning one coat forest green scattered holo; perfect for the upcoming holiday season!

Fall Fun Series: Fall Body Care

I just had some luck on the fall body care front today. I managed to score some scrubs and wax from a popular retailer called Candy Panda that normally sells out very quickly. I purchased scrubs in Marshmalloween (marshmallow fluff), Vanilla Cafè, and Pumpkins In Paris (pumpkin brûlée.) I also purchased wax in  Pumpkins In Paris and Go The F*ck To Sleep (pink sugar, lavender, peppermint.) I am so excited to try these products!

I have some other favorite buys from the last few months to share with you. First I must thank Julie from The Redolent Mermaid blog for getting me addicted to Manor, a fragrance from the indie perfume oil brand Solstice Scents. It is the most incredible woodsy vanilla blend: to me it smells exactly like freshly cut lumber and boozy vanilla extract. It has fabulous silage and longevity for me too; I catch wonderful whiffs of it for a good 6-8 hours.

I also ordered 2 other fragrances from Solstice Scents that I like quite a lot: Rose Mallow Cream and Sycamore Chai. Rose Mallow Cream is a dreamy rose with sweet cream. It lingers whimsically for 3-4 hours. Sycamore chai is like a whisp of woodsmoke and exotic chai spices. It actually has an odd cigarette smoke opening on me which I don't like, but dries down into a beautiful creamy chai scent. Lasts for about 2 hours on me. I would definitely purchase from Solstice Scents again; I think Manor has become a staple in my perfume wardrobe and I would love to try more scents.

I also recently ordered several perfume oil samples from a new to me brand called CJ Scents. This brand was recommended by a perfume forum that I frequent and the site offers 8 vials for $18 shipped. 2 of the scents I chose that were raved about were Vanilla Autumn and Vanilla Autumn Nights: woodsy vanilla and woodsy vanilla with a dash of spice respectively. I can't seem to get enough of this type of fragrance obviously. Vanilla Autumn reminds me a lot of Manor actually, only softer and more fleeting. VA Nights is like Manor + Sycamore Chai. So since I prefer the strength and longevity of the Solstice Scents, I wouldn't need to repurchase these particular CJ scents although they were nice. I tried another of the samples but it turned out to be a floral blend I didn't really care for and I gave it away to a friend. Nothing from CJ Scents has blown me away yet, but I look forward to trying the rest of the samples.

Finally, I repurchased a few favorites and tried a few new fall scents from Haus Of Gloi.Her pumpkin butters are so luxurious and I repurchased a butter in my favorite HoG scent: Satyr. (Another thanks to Julie.) On me it is the perfect exotic musky incense type scent and it's one of the few lotions that lingers on my skin for hours. I also ordered a butter and perfume oil in a scent I had heard raves about: Ghost Puffs. Ghost Puffs is described as "Orbs of buttery popcorn and marshmallow goo, presented on a wooden stick." It definitely smells like ooey gooey popcorn balls and marshmallow, but the scent was a little lighter and more fleeting than I thought it would be. It only lasts for an hour or so on me but is sinfully delicious. I also got perfume oils in Pumpkin Queen and Pumpkin Eater. Pumpkin Queen: "Gentle hay pillows, pumpkin, ripe peaches dusted with clove and nutmeg, dried summer herbs and lastly, a lovely crown of amber." Pumpkin Eater: "Cream, glowing pumpkin, rich vanilla bean and the tiniest touch of nutmeg butter." So Pumpkin Queen is bit more spicy pumpkin and Pumpkin Eater is a bit more creamy pumpkin. Both are glorious and last a couple hours on me. I am always pleased with my HoG orders and will continue to stock up on my favorite scents and products.

Have you tried any of these brands? What are some of your favorite fall bath and body products?