Storage Solutions - Storage Options & My First Melmer

So for those of you not familiar with the term melmer, I will explain. Ikea has a piece of furniture named the Helmer. I am not sure who first got it and thought "this would be perfect for my nail polish stash!" but someone did. It spread like dandelions through the polish world and fast became the bloggers number one choice in nail polish storage. Its metal and it has always felt a little........ flimsy is not the right word but just didnt feel right every time I looked at them (which of course meant on trips to Calgary, New York, New Jersey and the like as IKEA does not have a store in my city. YET. One is being built). Maybe its just the aluminium that puts me off.

Someone later got the brilliant idea to use the scrapbooking storage solution from Michaels. I went numerous times to look at this but they were and are ALWAYS sold out here. So I gave up on that option.

The next option I fell in love with was this solution from IKEA. I planned on biding my time until IKEA finally opened (and a few extra months until the NEW factor died down and IKEA was less zoo-ish). Its called the Alex and it seemed almost perfect.  I say almost because if you see the drawers are not all uniform and the smaller drawers are just a little too small for many brands and the larger drawers are just too big for many brands. So while not perfect for me, the aesthetic was certainly me. I also liked that it come sin two different size options.

Anyways, I came home from seeing a movie with a girlfriend last night (a really really BAD movie) and guess what was lying on my bed! A MELMER!!!! Now for those of you debating or looking at this option let me start by saying its NOT CALLED A MELMER!! I had to laugh out loud when I heard that when my parents when to the craft store to buy it they asked for a melmer. It was nicknamed a melmer online for its the Michaels version of the hELMER.

So after failing to convince my father that it was a "daddys job" to put together, I set off to build it myself. There was no way I was waiting even a day to put it together.

There are a LOT of parts that fit in that little box! EEK!!

I am sad to say that an hour later this was all I had done. But I eventually got it finished (think it took an hour and a half) but I am confidant that the next one should take me 20-30 minutes to build! And yes, I think I need 2 more. Though I FOR SURE need one more!

So now that it was built it went to its new home on my dresser. I just took the mirrored tray with my perfumes on it and put it on the unit and I was all ready to go!

The bottom drawer has all my Julep, Nars, Dior and Chanel polishes. Not much room to grow unfortunately.

The middle drawer has all my Le Metier De Beaute nail polishes, Yves Saint Laurent and Deborah Lippmann polishes and box sets from those three brands. I can add one LMDB and 5 Lippmanns and then that drawer is full too. EEK! Oh! And my one and only RGB polish is in there too!

And the top drawer has my koh, MAC, Cult Nails, Nfu-Oh, Illamasqua, Butter London and Tuff Scents polishes.

This is perfect in aesthetic for me, functional, and it can grow with my always growing polish stash. Sadly, this is what does not fit in the unit.

RGB Camel Swatches & Comparisons

I was very excited to receive my first RGB polish. I already previewed the red on my blog, but that was a friends, not mine (the first polish I've swatched that doesn't belong to me!) So I am very excited to show you RGB Camel. A great classic colour that will put a bit of a twist on the nude nail!

Now when I got this, I was pretty sure it was very similar to a Dior colour I had from the Mitzah Collection. Low and behold, its ALSO called Camel!

Just like the Dior version this is a pale tan colour that has no trace of green (as many camel and tan colours lean green). If anything it leans a little on the gold side, much less so than Dior's take on the colour. If you are familiar with Dior Camel, it is about a shade lighter and a tad more neutral in colouring. Whereas the Dior leans gold, this one barely does so, making it less warm of a colour. Both however are gorgeous!!

RGB Polish in 001 Red

RGB is a brand of nail polish I have wanted to try for a LOOOOONG time. But I had never had the chance to see a colour up close prior to it being in the November Glymm Box. I personally dont have a subscription but a co-worker of my mom got it, and offered to lend me the bottle to try out! And at 16.00 a bottle, the box was cheaper than the polish alone!!The box is only TEN DOLLARS and shipping is free!! Anyways, on to the polish........

This polish was DREAM to work with. It was smooth, flowed beautifully and was that just right consistency. Not to thick, not to thin! I'm seriously in LOVE and need to pick up some other colours. It was opaque in one coat and even without a base coat it DIDN'T stain my nails! A bright red!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!