Heaven Nail Lacquer is waiting for you...

I got so many questions about where, exactly, I bought my Heaven polish. I felt a little guilty, because I was waiting til I could get there and snap a few pictures to tell. What can I say, I wanted to share all the colors, not just one! So... the big secret is out. If you're looking for lots of fun colors at completely affordable prices, go to . . .

You read that right. Go to the cosmetics department at your local Albertsons grocery store and pharmacy. I bet you didn't know they had an extensive cosmetics department! The only way I knew is because I have a family member who used to manage the cosmetics department in her local Albertsons. She would bring me the most wonderful things all the time.

The interesting thing is that the Albertsons cosmetics department isn't managed by any old grocery store manager. No, they realize that cosmetics are important to women, so their departments actually are staffed by cosmeticians! So you really should stop by and look to see what's there... you might be pleasantly surprised.

Oh wait, I did that for you! Now, let me preface this by saying that just because these were found at my local store doesn't mean they'll be at all stores, but I know that this is a concept Albertsons is proud of across the board, so I bet you might have more luck than you might expect. So, your mileage may vary, keep your seatbelts on, and let's see what I found!


First off, let me describe the scene for you. My husband and son had taken me to the store, since I don't drive anymore. I take a bit too much medication to trust myself behind the wheel of a car, so where I go, they go. Unfortunately, I don't think they wanted to be with me as I photographed the cosmetics department with my giant Nikon D50 camera. We walked in together, but immediately parted ways as I loaded up my buggy with my purse and camera bag. I hauled out my planner and my pen so that I could take notes on the various offerings.

Oh yea, I looked like a freak.

But I did it for you guys, so that's ok. The first thing I did was spin through the cosmetics aisle, jotting down brands as I saw them. I didn't photograph everything, so you'll have to use your imaginations! First thing I saw was the HUGE perfume/fragrances case. Lots of good stuff in there, but I didn't look long. Directly across from it was the Prestige display. I think they're cheap but decent cosmetics, but don't quote me on that.

Right next to them was the NYX display, and let me tell you, I LOVE that display. I want to take their glitter palettes home with me! Plus their eye shadows, and glitter liners, and glitter powders, and... can you tell I'm a bit of a magpie? Unfortunately, there were no NYX nail products. *sighs* Maybe one day...

A quick run-through of other brands, so I don't spend all my time on brands and skip the good stuff- there's Almay, CoverGirl, Revlon, L'oreal, Maybelline, and Wet N Wild. I think you guys can guess what's there, for most of that, right?

So, the good stuff. First off, there is the complete line of Sally Hansen products: Complete Salon Manicure, InstaDri, DiamondStrength, Maximum Growth Plus, Hard as Nails Xtremewear, Hard as Nails, HD, Color Quick, and the Nail Art Pens. Whew, that's a lot of Sally Hansen! But wait! At the very end of the cosmetics aisle, after huge clearance section, there are a few displays of other things. And way up on top of the shelf is the Sally Hansen Limited Edition Complete Salon Manicure polishes display. Once again, they're out of the Hidden Treasure, go figure. Someone in this town knows it's good stuff! Remember, when you're looking for something, look all over. Stuff might not be where you would expect it to be!

Next to the huge Sally Hansen section is the jackpot... for me, anyway. Unfortunately, I only got three of the rows in the shot to the right, but don't worry, I got all four rows in closer shots. As far as I can tell, Heaven Cosmetics are made by the Blue Cross Beauty Products company, but that's as far as I can figure. I absolutely love the stuff, though, if the one bottle I have is any indication. They have all sorts of shades, sheers and pinks, work-appropriate colors, vampy darks, neons, and some amazing glitters!

I have a bottle of Heaven Nail  Lacquer in Ruby, and it's amazing. It's a red jelly with dense silver glitter that becomes a deep, gorgeous color in 2 coats & a topcoat. Love it love it love it!

Here... look at the Heaven colors and tell me they aren't well named...

Those neons... I don't think it's possible to get a decent shot of neons when you're using your camera on automatic. My poor camera acted like I asked it to time travel or something! But you get the idea, yea? Sweet, sweet colors. I want more. I want all the neons and all the glitters and all the brights... umm...

*clears throat* Oh yes. Sorry about that. Moving right along...

Then there's Sinful Colors.I think most of you are familiar with them, right? You can click the tiny picture, but I think you can tell they carry a few different shades. Three or four, at least!

Then came the display that startled even me! Did you know that Albertsons carries OPI polishes? I know I didn't, but I do now! I'll be honest with you, it looks like the rack hasn't been updated in years, but I don't know. Are there any colors I should look for? ;)

Here's a closer look, see if you can pick out anything interesting! Most of what I saw was red and pink, lots of red, lots of pink. But looking toward the bottoms, I think I see some darker colors. Wouldn't it be fun to find an original bottle of My Private Jet there? You know, stranger things have happened. Imagine the joy of telling your friends that you just happened to find it tucked in the back of a rack someplace!

Also, there is an absolutely enormous section of artificial nails, tips, and sets to do your own. Fingernails, toenails, whatever you want, they've got it. They've also got a great selection of nail art stickers and things. Click the pics to make them bigger, and drool at all the stuff. There are even the cool files and sanding blocks!

Finally, there's one more section I want to tell you about before I close this absolutely enormous post. I swear, I've been working on this since 10pm? But it's worth it, I hope. Remember, every shop that sells stuff like this will have a clearance section. this goes for shops like Walgreens and CVS, for WalMart and Target, even for grocery stores. Albertsons seems to stash all their clearance cosmetics at the end of the aisle, in big yellow buckets tucked into the shelves.

The last time I was there (a few weeks ago), I found several of the snowman nail polishes, a halloween version of the snowman nail polishes, and several other polishes that looked delicious! Even today had quite a selection of goodies! Just look!

So look around, you never know WHAT you'll find! It might be that polish you've been wanting for ages! And if it is, tell me, I want to hear all about it!