*THUMP*

That would be the sound of me falling off the no-buy wagon LOL.  Taken alone, none of these small hauls would be that bad ... but then I put them all together, and the 9 little piles turn into:

Kind of a lot.  I'll give you the details on colors, but even though each purchase has it's own little story, I'm going to try & keep this post from getting out of control long LOL.  The groups above are numbered in the order that I purchased them =)  A couple of these are from the end of February, while the most recent is from just today.

Batch #1 - Top row:  Nina Ultra Pro Velvet Revolver, Velveteen Rabbit, Viva La Velvet, Velvet Underground.  Bottom row:  Velvet Seas, Vintage Velvet, Emerald City, Savvy Gotcha Grape:

I HAD to buy this stuff.  Had to.  I had a $5.00 coupon (from renewing my Sally card) & it expired on that Sunday.  It would have been like throwing money out the window!  Then, when I walked into Sally's, what do I see but this entire Crushed Velvet collection on clearance - all 6 colors!  Had to be meant for me.  HAD to be.  Then I kind of poked around & spotted a couple of others that wanted to come home with me ... I only spent like $20.00, including a new nail file (not pictured) for Grandma for her upcoming birthday.

Batch #2 - Maybelline Pie In The Sky & Goody Plum Drop:

I had to get these because the spring Maybelline Sweet Thing collection won't be around forever ... I am still on the lookout for the green, Minty, but I love the blue & the purple.  Then when I got to the checkout they were on sale ... so I kind of hit another Walgreens the next day....

Batch #3 - Maybelline Denim Dash, Grape Times, Sally Hansen Emerald City (a backup bottle since I seem to go to this green a lot for nail art), Zip, & Opulent Cloud:

The prize of this batch, obviously, is OC.  MONTHS I've been lemming this, waiting "patiently" ... or not so much LOL.  There was a small, empty display at the front of the store, and I was discouraged, but I checked the back aisle out of  a sense of obligation & found this bottle!

Batch #4 - Claire's Chunky Purple, Chunky Blue, Twinkle Twinkle & Red Carpet:

I went looking for the mood polishes ... and came up empty.  They only had the pink, which I had ZERO interest in.  But I couldn't walk out with nothing to show for my efforts (right?).

Batch #5 - Top row:  Claire's Glam & Diva.  Bottom row:  Happy/Earthy, Peaceful/Confident, Innocent/Daring & Calm/Wild:

Finally got my Mood polishes =)  I've already worn one of them, but I'm like 3 NOTDs & 2 guest NOTDs behind right now.  Hopefully I'll get caught up over the weekend so you can see =)

"Batch" #6 - just OPI MPJ =)  Which already had its very own post a few days ago, due to its sheer awesomeness, so I'll refrain from posting it again here LOL.  I don't even know the name of the nail salon that I picked this up in, I just know it was across the aisle from Claire's.  Real pics of a full mani will be coming I think as soon as the sun is reliably out again =)

Batch #7 - Top row:  Icing 7th Inning Stretch, Putty Concrete, Paparazzi.  Bottom row:  Peacock, Lady Luck (matte) & Jens Pick:

Lady Luck is the color I actually worn on St. Patrick's day.  With topcoat added of course.  I really liked it, and I'm looking forward to trying out the rest of these too - especially Paparazzi.  I've been on the lookout for that since I saw it on blogs like last fall, although I wouldn't quite classify it as a hardcore lemming.

Batch #8 - Top row:  Cyberspace, Hi-Tech, 3D.  Bottom row:  Hi-Res, Digital & HD:

You will never guess where I finally found the Milani holos - well, actually I guess you don't really have to guess, since I'll tell you:  The grocery store!  Yes, Cub Foods had a shiny new Milani display that had already been hit pretty hard, but still had all 6 colors.  I almost fainted LOL, I swear I was shocked.

Batch #9 - Top row:  Borghese Stellare Notte, Wet 'n' Wild Blue Moon.  Bottom row:  Sally Hansen Wet Cement, Going Green, Pacific Blue & Purple Pizzazz:

This was purely retail therapy ... I couldn't find any shoes at DSW LOL, so I went across the street to Walgreens.  I had my fingers crossed for Minty, but still no luck.  But Stellare Notte was a pretty nice find =)  & the nail files on the side were on sale for only $0.99!  For a double-sided glass file that's a deal.  So I got one for me, one for Mom & one for Tee =)

So ... I guess I can't keep calling this a no-buy.  I've had a few too many "oopsie" moments LOL.  And I haven't even made my planned online haul yet ... I'm forcing myself to wait until I've done my taxes ... otherwise I'd probably push those off even longer LOL.  But there are several spring collections that I don't want to pay full retail for.  So the plan is to do the taxes tomorrow, and place my order tomorrow night, and find some time in between for posting ... and comments.  Since I find myself up way too late already to think about tackling them tonight.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette