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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Go Pink Wednesday and a Celebration!


As October comes to a close so does our weekly Go Pink Wednesdays manicure. We have really enjoyed finding information to help you and those you love be more aware of Breast Cancer and how you can help yourself and those around you.
Image Credit: Paule Attar Salon & Spa
We wanted to end the month with a celebration of sorts. Every year there is a celebration of sorts in the form of Breast Cancer Walks. The number of walks done in the United States every year is immeasurable. There are several large groups that do yearly walks across the nation in major cities, namely The American Cancer Society is celebrating 20 years of walks and estimates they've had over 8 million walkers in those 20 years, with over 1 million in 2011 alone according to their FAQ page.
These Breast Cancer Awareness walks are inspiration as well as awe inspiring. Many survivors as well as their loved ones, co-workers, kids, pets and strangers come out to walk alongside each other in solidarity. The walk symbolizes many things to many individuals but the bottom line is hope.
Image Credit: expressnightout.com & Lea Pool

 Hope for a future without the disease, hope for a future with their loved ones, but truly and simply hope for more tomorrows.

A close friend of Dom's, Tiffany Kyees, had the chance to participate in the Team In Training Nike Womens Marathon event to run/walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society a couple weeks ago. While we have been focusing on Breast Cancer Awareness, cancer in general deserves to be known and fought against. Her personal journey to raise money, awareness and personal triumph is amazing and just as important. She celebrated her participation by wearing a purple tutu along with asorted purple gear. Tiffany shared some personal thoughts about her journey that you can read HERE. When asked about her experience she had this to say,
Tiffany running during the event!
Image Credit: Tiffany Kyees
"Such a beautiful and amazing experience. I highly recommend people doing a team in training event at some point in their lives. There was a woman there who ran and pushed her cancer fighting son in a wheelchair and a woman that spoke at our inspiration dinner who spoke of her bone marrow donor and how she got to meet him. They are like family now and he even flew out to San Francisco to run the race next to her! Such special stories!"
Jessica Mojica of Bakersfield pushes her son Nathan Garcia,
who is suffering from stage 4 brain cancer

Image Credit: Tiffany Kyees

We wanted to show this hope for tomorrow as well as the celebration and inspiration that the walks symbolize in our last manicures for October. Many walkers dress up in silly pink costumes, pink wigs, tutus and other outlandish and fun pink inspired outfits. These manis are our outlandish pink outfits... We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed creating the crazy, over the top manis.


Dom created her everything but the kitchen sink mani with a base of Sinful Colors Snow Me White, Orly Artificial Sweetner and Rimmel London Posh Pink. She used a bit of flocking powder, some fimo hearts and flowers as well as some rhinestones and what you have is one heck of a celebration mani!

Sinful Colors - Snow Me White, Orly - Artificial Sweetner &
Rimmel London - Posh Pink
Sinful Colors - Snow Me White, Orly - Artificial Sweetner &
Rimmel London - Posh Pink

E created her outlandish mani on a bed of OPI - Kiss Me On My Tulips and an accent nail to include Dollish Polish - I'll Have What She's Having. The rest includes: loose glitter, rhinestones, nail decals, and star glitter.


OPI - Kiss Me On My Tulips (indirect sunlight)
OPI - Kiss Me On My Tulips (direct sunlight)

Hopefully you've enjoyed our participation in the Go Pink Wednesdays... Please don't let the Breast Cancer Awareness end with October. Continue to check yourself and remind loved ones as well. It really could save a life... one that you might cherish as much or more than your own.

with love and hope for a cancer free future,

and



Drip Mani Tutorial with Cult Nails!

Hey there :) Happy Halloween Eve!

Dom & I have been participants in the Go Pink Wednesdays campaign to bring awareness to Breast Cancer through pink manicures on wednesdays during the month of October. It's been a great experience and I've loved coming up with pink themed manicures; however, it's also my favorite time of year! Once I started thinking about how I could incorporate the two, pink BCA & Halloween, I knew I had something I could really enjoy! Well my favorite pink/halloween-ish manicure was my Pink Drip Mani. It seemed several of you really loved it as well so here we are... a tutorial!


Let me preface this tutorial with a few things though...

What you DON'T need:

  • Doubt
  • Nail art abilities
  • Skill/talent
  • any special tools


Never doubt yourself... I am no more talented than you and if I can do it, so can you! Nail art is just that, art. Art is subjective and in the eye of the beholder. Never feel like it is an achieveable skill, it is always within you, just believe. Again, no special skills or talent is necessary for this look and many others, just a little patience would help! Lastly, in my opinion there is no real need for any special nail art tools. Do they make life easier? Yes! But truly they are not necessary as long as you look around and get inventive with the tools available to you. 

What you DO need:
  • Two polish colors- preferrably two that are very different
  • General items like acetone/polish remover, cotton balls, paper towel
  • A round tipped item to make dots
    • ball point pen
    • toothpick 
    • pencil eraser 
    • bobby pin
    • or if you have a set- Dotting Tool
  • A thin brush or item to draw a line with
    • toothpick
    • orange stick/cuticle pusher
    • pencil
    • or if you have one- a brush or nail art striper
  • A picture or some sort of visual idea of what you'd like your drips to look like
  • Base/Top Coat


I tried to include as many pictures as possible to cover how you, our lovely reader, might learn best from the tutorial. Below are singular photos. As a side note I had some technical difficulties like my camera battery was acting up, the daylight was fading fast and a demanding toddler LOL... so some of these photos aren't the best quality and some clean up in the final shot was a little lacking, so please forgive me :)


STEP 1

Start with a base color, fully base/top coated and dry. I chose my favorite green, Cult Nails - Deal With It from the summer release, CoCo's Collection. This green is slightly sheer and I am a crazy person with VNL (visible nail line) so I did 3 thin coats in this photo. This polish is a dream to work with, builds nicely and clean up is a breeze. As a side note... this is the perfect Halloween type green. I just love it! Plus the beautiful shimmer is just too much!!


STEP 2

On your base place anywhere from 1 to 3 dots on each nail at varying levels with your contrasting other color. For this mani I chose Cult Nails - Nevermore. I like to refer to Nevermore as the best black ever. It is seriously shiny, beautiful in ONE coat and quick drying. If you never buy another Cult Nails polish- buy Nevermore... I promise you won't be disappointed!!

This step takes a smidge of consideration. The part that makes the drip look so interesting is how different each one looks. I also try to be aware of where my previous dots were so I don't accidentally repeat a dot pattern.


STEP 3

This step is pretty simple in the fact that all you need to do is draw a line from your dot to the edge of your nail. The line does not need to be thick and works better if it isn't as thick as the dot. Don't worry about how thick or clumpy the paint looks... it'll smooth out with top coat.


STEP 4

Ok... first I apologize I did not take a separate step 4 photograph as I got distracted and before I knew it was almost done and onto step 5 before I remembered! SO SORRY! :(

So this step is the one that looks the hardest but is really the easiest in my opinion. What you're ultimately doing is connecting the lines. I do this by drawing a curved line from one line to the next. Almost curved lines like a spider web? Don't go too far down since you'll want room to do the final detail work. That way if you decide to make the tip of your nail look like it has been dipped more then it's just adding.... ****REMEMBER**** less is more in this particular look... the artistry is in the details so work in small amounts. You'll want to keep those lines as curved as possible to achieve that true drip look.


STEP 5

In this step you are simply finishing up the edges, filling in the empty spots where you have curved lines and putting on your final touches. This is the part where you want to really look at your drips and consider how you want them to look and what sort of nuances do you want to show. In the steps 3/4/5 I added partial drip lumps on my middle finger and a couple of separate drips on the pinky & middle fingers. You'll want to go on the sides of your nails lightly with your tool so the drips have the appearance of continuing off your nails. This is the messy and unfortunate part. You'll get paint on your fingers and into the edge/crack of your nail. This is where a good clean up regimen will be needed. The black looks lumpy and clumpy but I promise it all levels out with a good top coat. (side note: the clean up brush I use is a concealer brush made by e.l.f.  and $1, available at Target)


FINISHED!

Clean up the edges of your nails and top coat!

3 thin coats of Cult Nails - Deal With It, drips in Cult Nails - Nevermore
base coat Duri - Rejuvacote & top coat of Seche Vite
I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and it helps you achieve your desired drip mani :) Let me know if you need any assistance or if there is a step that isn't clear :) Be sure to post your drip manis to the fan page on facebook!

xo & Happy Halloween,


Friday, October 26, 2012

All of These Awesome Indies, What's a Girl to do?

Amy Milder is the brain behind Literary Lacquers and her love of polish and books birthed this awesome new indie line! I had a chance to chat with Amy a bit about how her line started and really have enjoyed getting to know her! When I get a chance to try out  new indies, I love to hear the story behind the line and get to know a bit about the maker. So, here is a bit of my conversation with Amy Milder.

Dom:  Why Literary Lacquers?
Amy:  I wanted a way to combine my two biggest passions, books and polish. I grew up reading and I'v never stopped. I read (on average) 3 books each week.

Dom: What is the significance of the name?
Amy:  I love the alliteration! It's like a poem.

Dom: Do you remember your first polish experience?
Amy:  I have two early polish memories. The first time I remember wearing polish was when I had received one of the those Tinkerbell makeup kits as a very little girl. The kit had scented powder, a ever-so-slightly tinted waxy lip balm and pink nail polish. I loved that stuff. My other memory was of visiting relatives, I think I was about 6 or 7 years old, so this would have been the late 70's. My older teenage cousin painted my fingetnails for me with a W'n'W polish that was dark blue with glitter. I didn't know that polish came in blue or with sparkles! My mother only had red and pink. I thought my cousin was soooo cool. I saved my allowance and talked my mother into taking me to Woolworths in the Cherry Hill Mall (NJ represent!) and bought my very own blue glittery polish as soon as I could.

Dom: What made you want to make polish and how did you get started?
Amy:  I have a unique sense of color and texture. I am what's called a synesthete, to me, sounds have color. When I work with characters or quotes to create polish, I record the passage and play it back to see what colors and textures the words sound like to me and create the polish from there. I started working with micas and pigments in the late 90's when I was working with melt-and-pour soap. One of my polishes now (Jealous Oberon) uses the exact same mica that I used for my first melt-and-pour creation (gold sparkle from TKB). I also worked doing stained glass and mosaics in the 00's, which gave me a deeper understanding of color, reflection and translucency, but boy did THAT trash my fingernails and hands ... I still have scars from the cuts! In the past few years, my love of polish has grown and once the indie polishes started appearing, I believed that I had something original and interesting to bring to the market. I got stuck in the Great Polish Base Drought of '12 and had to wait and wait and wait to get enough base to even consider production and sales, but that gave me time to work on my formulations and dream!

Dom:  Love-In-Idleness, inspiration?
Amy:  The inspiration for LII came directly from the play Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.
Act II, Scene I

Oberon:  Yet marked I where the bold of Cupid fell.
It feel upon a little western flower, 
Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound.
And maidens call it "love-in-idleness."
Fetch me that flower. The herb I showed thee once.
The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature it sees.

This little flower, love-in-idelness, or western wild pansy, creates a potion that causes all the trouble for the young lovers and Titania in the second part of the play. In the world of this play, love is not rational or a matter of choice, rather it is something that happens to you. Once the potion is used EVERYTHING gets mixed up. Soon, both Lynsander and Demetrius are both in love with Helena and completely disinterested in Hermia and Titania has fallen in love with the laborer, Bottom (whose head has been changed into and ass - of the donkey variety - by the mischievous Puck). Hijinks ensues!

I literally dreamed this polish. I fell asleep thinking about what I wanted it to look like an saw it as a finished product in my dream. I woke up and scribbled in my dream journal and then built the formula from there. I wanted to use the iridescent glitters to add the sense of magic and mystery. I also wanted a polish that didn't require bright light to show it's beauty. The glitters in L-I-I look fabulous inside, especially under fluorescent lighting like the ones I have in the office of my day job.

Dom:  Are you a collector of polish and if so what is your most prized polish?
Amy:  I am a collector. I've refrained from counting my stash because I am in serious denial about the number of bottles I own! I am also guilty of "They're not he same, they're SIMILAR" syndrome, especially when it comes to blues and purples. My most prized polish? It's hard to pick ... The polish that really kick started my obsession is Deborah Lippman's Across the Universe, but I wouldn't say it's my most prized ... Even thought it's a little cliched, I'm going to have to say Lynnderella's The Glittering Crown. It's gaudy, it's a pure unadulterated and unapologetic glitter-fest and I love it!

Amy is really an interesting woman with some awesome inspirations and ideas!  Not only is she a super artistic and passionate woman but she is also environmentally conscious! All of Literary Lacquers packing materials are 100% recycled and her Green Wrap is recyclable and compostable!

Love-In-Idelness was my immediate favorite from Amy's collection and I knew that I had to have it. She has made two versions, one with hex and one without. I opted for the no-hex version and couldn't wait to get it in my little hands! Amy describes the polish as,  a very complex polish, with a light purple base; jam packed with fairy magic and iridescent glitters of many shapes and size and purple square glitter. It is beautiful!  I tried a couple different variations with this polish and I hope you like them!  For all the photo's below I used Beauty Secrets Base Coat and Orly Glosser as a topper.


Love-In-Idleness in full sunlight
Love-In-Idleness in full sunlight
Rimmel London Wild Orchid w/ 1 coat of  Love-In-Idleness in full sunlight
Jelly Sandwich w/ OPI At First Sight and Love-In-Idleness in full sunlight
This polish is amazing and paints like a dream.  I did not have any problems with application and the build was awesome. With three thin coats this polish reaches full opacity and the depth of this polish could not be captured in photos!  It is just beautiful and I love it!  

Luckily, for those of you who have yet to try Literary Lacquers, there is a sale currently going on thru November 5th.  With the code 100FBLIKES you receive 20% off your order!   So get shopping ladies!

You can find Literary Lacquers at http://www.etsy.com/shop/LiteraryLacquer 
You can also like Literary Lacquers on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LiteraryLacquers



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Go Pink Wednesday and Male Breast Cancer Awareness!

In the past few weeks we've talked about why it is so important to be aware of how fatal and real Breast Cancer can be and the statistics involved. We also gave you step by step information on how to do your own self breast exam and how to be the most supportive person you can be to an affected loved one. Today we're going to discuss something you may or may not have known about; Male Breast Cancer.

The Mayo Clinic defines Male Breast Cancer as cancer that forms in the breast tissue of men. Though breast cancer is most commonly thought of as a woman's disease, male breast cancer does occur.

Furthermore, did you know that male breast cancer can occur at any age, though is most common in older men. The Mayo Clinic also noted in their definition that men diagnosed early have a good chance for a cure; however many men delay seeing their doctors if they notice a change, unusual symptoms or symptoms such as a breast lump. Because of this wait and see mentality many male breast cancers are diagnosed when the disease is more advanced.

That's right... our male loved ones are at risk too! Breast Cancer is already scary enough with a statistic of 1 in 8 women will be affected, but to add to that the men in our lives is just that much more tragic!

Through research I found that, according to breastcancer.org in 2011 there were 2,140 male breast cancers diagnosed. Which means less than 1% of all breast cancers occur in men. So from a statistical point of view a man's chances of male breast cancer are 1 in 1,000.

That statistic may seem more comforting against the 1 in 8 chances for women, but stop and think about how many men you come in contact with. I bet you've known or will know at least 1,000. Think of all your school buddies, friend's husbands/boyfriends, co-workers, neighbors... These numbers are very real and very scary.

So... what have we learned from the previous posts? EARLY DETECTION!!!

The Mayo Clinic lists these as symptoms:

  • A painless lump or thickening in your breast tissue
  • Changes to the skin covering your breast, such as dimpling, puckering, redness or scaling
  • Changes to your nipple, such as redness or scaling, or a nipple that begins to turn inward
  • Discharge from your nipple

Just like the other posts.... be aware and help your loved ones stay safe by asking them to examine themselves, stay alert to their body and be informed.


Now... on to this weeks Go Pink Wednesday Breast Cancer Awareness manicures!

It's seems that Dom went a bit CRAZY with the rhinestones this week, but it is all E's fault! She made a suggestion and Dom just ran with it. The base color is China Glaze Hang-Ten Toes which was a great pink for summer as well as Go Pink Wednesday! For the added sparkle she went a little drag queen-esq with the jewels. We like the final product and hope that you do as well!

China Glaze - Hang-Ten Toes
China Glaze - Hang-Ten Toes


This week E went pretty casual and cool with a dusky toned pink from Revlon called Cafe Pink and a pretty, sparkly holo glitter from Studio M called Magic Attraction. The ribbon stamping is from Vivid Lacquer's plate VL001 stamped with OPI Kiss Me on my Tulips.

Revlon - Cafe Pink & Studio M - Magic Attraction
stamped with OPI - Kiss Me On My Tulips, indirect sunlight
Revlon - Cafe Pink & Studio M - Magic Attraction
stamped with OPI - Kiss Me On My Tulips, direct sunlight

xo,

&



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

New Indie Love for Chirality


Amanda Duron is a self professed nerd with an amazing husband and a recent diagnosis that changed her life. Starting her new indie line of polish appealed to her creative and intellectual sides as well as filled her time while dealing with life's struggles.  I got a chance to have Amanda answer a few questions about herself and her new line.

Dom: What got you interested in polish and eventually helped you decide to make it? 
Amanda: I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma earlier this year which is a rare form of cancer. I was forced to take a leave of absence from school which pushed any sort of plans of graduation, setting up a practice, or having children back further than I wanted it to. Needless to say, it was a bit depressing. I was also stuck inside a house for many months unable to go anywhere unless it was to get nasty chemo injected into my body.  This sort of unhappy state caused me to revert to some of the hobbies I used to enjoy several years back, particularly nail polish. So much has changed thanks to social networks and the increase in indie nail polish. After awhile, my nerd side kicked in and I found myself intrigued by starting my own indie polish line.  The rest is history!

Dom: Where did the name for the line come from and what does it mean?
Amanda: Since I'm an Optometry student, the first year of school is pretty much nothing but science courses. One of the courses that ended up being fun was Organic Chemistry. Because I'm such a nerd, I would continue reading up on the subject outside of class and learn about various other aspects, like Chirality, which usually refers to molecules that are non-superimposable mirror image.  LOL, very nerdy!  Plus, I think it's a very pretty sounding name.

Dom: What made you do holos first?
Amanda: I don't know why but holos really appeal to me. I think they're beautiful, and I really wanted my first line of polish to set the standard for what fans of nail polish can expect from me.

Dom: What are some of your inspirations?
Amanda: This is going to sound corny, but my husband is my inspiration. He pushed me these past six months to fight this cancer. And then, pushed me to start this line. He's been such and inspiration that I now call him my muse. I don't know why but the first couple of times I tried making polish, they were disastrous. But, whenever my husband is around, I wind up making the polish that you now see on my Facebook page and Big Cartel store! Plus, he lets me test them out on his nails, which amuses me.

Now that we know a bit about Amanda, let's move onto the POLISH! The first collection from Chirality Nail Polish consist of four amazing holographic lacquers. When Amanda sent me the set for review I immediately ordered my two favorites! After swatching the collection I realized that I needed them all! For all of my swatches I used Beauty Secrets Base Coat, two coats of polish and Orly Glosser for the top coat.  I was also lucky to get a day of beautiful sunshine so, all the shots were taken outside in full sunlight!

The back story's that Amanda uses to describe her colors are amazing so I will add them for your reading pleasure!

"In the woods, a killer stalks a group of young, nubile women. They've come off as lost, injured, and scared of what goes bump in the night, and the killer could not be happier. Little does he know that these ladies are far from lost, far from injured and very far from scared. Morning is coming quick, but not quick enough, because these ladies are ready to strike. They're ready to turn the tables on this killer and attack just before dawn."

Just Before Dawn is a super pretty fall orange base with a subtle linear holo effect.  I am not generally an orange kinda of girl but this polish is nuts.  It painted like a dream and with two coats I was able to get full opacity.

Just Before Dawn 
Just Before Dawn
"The Symbiote is an alien life-form that came crashing down to Earth in search of female host to ooze over them and bring forth from its newfound owner a devilish and mischievous side she never knew existed. Once the Symbiote takes over, she owns the night."

The Symbiote is an amazing charcoal black holo that I could not stop looking at once I had it on! Again, I had no issues with application.

The Symbiote
The Symbiote
"A lonely scientist is working to compose the ultimate love potion. While working in her laboratory, a freak accident involving copper, or Cu2+, infuses to our heroine to create an electronically charged Siren. Who says elements from the periodic table can't be beautiful?" 

Cu2+ is an ridiculous blue, with a hint of teal, holographic polish. Application was flawless and this one is a favorite for sure!  

Cu2+
Cu2+
"Purified in the waters of Lake Minnetonka, Apollonia is the pure definition of sexuality and beauty. She's a no-nonsense kind of girl who will scratch her way to the top to get what she desires. Her voice is strong and can be heard by everyone, even through the rain."

Apollonia is my favorite of the entire collection. Mostly because I love purple but also, something about wearing a polish with that description makes me feel like a sexy beast! LOL! The application rocked and man oh man, I did not want to take this one off!

Apollonia
Apollonia
Well, there you have it!  Chirality is amazing and I cannot wait to see what Amanda comes up with next!  Tell me what you think.  Which one is your favorite?

You can find Chirality Nail Polish for sale at http://www.chirality.bigcartel.com
You can also like Chirality Facebook Fan Page at https://www.facebook.com/chiralitypolish?fref=ts



Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Go Pink Wednesday and Supporting Your Loved One Tips!

So we've covered the statistical data that supports how important it is to stay on top of your breast health as well as a tutorial on Self Breast Examinations. Today we have some great tips on how to be the best supportive person to your loved one during and after their diagnosis and treatment. The statistics are real; 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer, because odds are you'll either be the patient or the support system.

When tragedy strikes someone near and dear to us it can be difficult to not get swallowed up in our own grief. After all, it is human nature to be self centered. There is no recrimination in the facts of humanity, just honesty, and when something so horrific strikes a loved one we go through a grieving process too. However, there will be personal time for that. The most important thing you can be is a supportive loved one. But before you bound off to play Dr. Oz or even Dr. Phil there are some really great resources on how to be the best supportive YOU to your loved one.

These tips on how to be a supportive person for someone fighting Breast Cancer are according to SheKnows.com:

LISTEN AND BE PRESENT: It is important to be a good listener. Someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer is afraid, angry and uncertain. Listening to these fears and being present with them, even in silence, can be a source of great strength for the person fighting cancer. Allowing them to express their anger and fears also demonstrates that you will be there to support them through it all, rather than abandoning them when times get tough.

BE A FACT FINDER, NOT AN ADVICE GIVER: The initial diagnosis of breast cancer can lead to shock and anxiety. It is helpful to support the individual by gathering facts about dealing with the disease, treatment options, and community resources, such as support groups. However, helping your loved ones find information is different from giving them advice about choosing their treatment or plan of care. Listen to them as they talk about their options and be helpful by finding more information as they desire, but don't give out unsolicited advice.

BE SUPPORTIVE OF YOUR LOVED ONE'S DECISION: A myriad of decisions must be made by your loved one in relation to the treatment process. Your loved one will not make these decisions lightly and it is important to be supportive of their decision, even if it is not the road you would have chosen.

LAUGH: Remember the old adage "laughter is the best medicine"? Don't be afraid to laugh and have fun. Living with cancer and supporting someone with cancer can be stressful, and learning to laugh together can help get you through the tough times that you will face.

ACKNOWLEDGE THE GRIEVING PROCESS: The diagnosis of breast cancer for a woman attacks her very femininity and many of the treatment options continue in this attack. It is normal to go through a grieving process related to the feeling of this loss of femininity. Be supportive by listening to her anger, fear, and uncertainty and don't be afraid to hug her and touch her.

GATHER A SUPPORT NETWORK: A variety of support groups are available to individuals living with breast cancer, as well as for individuals supporting a loved one with breast cancer. This is one of those times where you can't do everything alone. Ensure that you have a positive group of supporters surrounding and uplifting you as you care for your loved one and don't take on more than you can realistically do. Joining a support group is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of strength which will be invaluable to you and your loved ones throughout this difficult time.

HAVE SOME FUN: Go do something fun! It is vital to focus on more than just the disease, because your loved one is so much more than a diagnosis. It is important to do something fun – plan a girl's night chick-flick movie marathon (or horror flick marathon if that is more to your liking), or, pending your loved one's energy level, go out to the park, go to a game, take a walk, or go out to dinner. It is OK to laugh and have fun

BE YOURSELF: It can be challenging to know what to do or say when supporting someone living with breast cancer, but it is important to be yourself. Being genuine shows your loved one how much you truly care about him or her as an individual, not a disease. A warrior has strength and is prepared to fight through the challenges. Living with breast cancer requires the strength, steadfastness, and determination of a warrior; yet it cannot be done alone; it requires an equally strong and driven group of warriors who will support their loved ones through the highs and lows -- never giving up and never letting go.

Two other great resources we found for more tips on how to be a great support system for your loved one are:

HealthyWomen.org: This is a great and quick resource for some Dos and Don'ts for your role as your loved one's support system.
Caring.com: A really great resource for 7 more tips to be the best and most supportive person to your loved one.
I really liked all three resources and they're all very real and honest in the best and honest way to support someone. Please take a look at all the resources, it could mean saving a life!

As always, to show our love and support here are our Go Pink Wednesday for Breast Cancer Awareness manicures!

For this weeks mani Dom wanted to do something a bit different and unexpected. She recently stopped by JoAnn's Fabrics and grabbed an A La Mode brand flocking set. The process is not as hard as it seemed. A bit of wet polish and some flocking powder is all you need to achieve this look. Dom was really excited to do this mani! Even though it is a messy mani to do, it really allows an infinite amount of creative ideas as well as just plain fun! We hope you like it!

Rimmel London Posh Pink, W'n'W Tickled Pink, Sinful Colors Snow Me White & Flocking Powder
This mani is flocking awesome!!!  ;)

Continuing with a little nail art in support of Go Pink Wednesday and the upcoming Halloween holiday, E's mani is a fun and funky shredded tape mani! She used MAC - Ice Cream Cake as a lovely pink base, Cult Nails - Nevermore for the accent nail and shredded tips with a dash of Pretty and Polished - Punk'd Up Betty on the accent nail. Tape manis are easy to do and can really take an aging mani through another week of awesomeness! A tutorial on E's methods can be found HERE. This was a lot of fun and we hope you love it!

"Pre taping" MAC - Ice Cream Cake
Cult Nails - Nevermore and
Pretty & Polished - Punk'd Up Betty as accent nails

"Post taping" MAC - Ice Cream Cake
Cult Nails - Nevermore and
Pretty & Polished - Punk'd Up Betty as accent nails and shredding

xo,

and




Monday, October 15, 2012

Zoya Ornate Collection 2012 Swatches & Review *pic heavy*


As soon as I saw Zoya's Ornate collection I knew that I HAD to have it.  This line is right in my ballpark and I immediately called E and laid claim to this review!  I received my collection on Friday and got busy swatching as soon as the sun came up on Saturday!  Thank God that Ohio had a sunny day because these colors in the sun are ridiculous!

Zoya has really been impressing me with their 2012 releases and this time is no different. Ornate is a group of six really deep rich colors. Zoya describes the collection as, "perfect to decorate your nails with stunning jewel tone colors and special effect pigments this season." I would have to say that I agree!  


All of my swatches, with the exception of Electra, were done using Beauty Secrets Base Coat, two coats of polish and Orly Glosser for the top coat.

Aurora is described by Zoya as "plum with a multicolored crystal shimmer". I would say that Aurora is more of a raspberry plum with a bit of holo. Aurora painted like a dream and with two coats of polish, was at full opacity.



Storm, described by Zoya as "black with multicolor crystal shimmer", is one of my favorites. Again, this polish painted flawlessly. The "multicolor crystal shimmer" or as I would call it, holo, is amazing and creates such depth. It looks almost juicy with the Glosser top coat!  




I am not usually a lover of the red hues but Blaze has really surprised me! I love it!  Zoya describes Blaze as "cranberry glitter glam crystal" and that is just what it is! With two coats of polish and the Glosser top coat, this color almost looked like a jelly sandwich all on its own!  




Gold is another one of my not so favorite hues. I just hadn't found one that really looked good with my skin tone. As an unspoken rule, any golds that I came across I would automatically put in a box for my next shipment to E! Thank you Zoya for giving me a gold that I actually like and think looks good on my skin. This polish was a bit more tricky to paint with. Ziv is a "gold foil glitter crystal" according to Zoya and just that description alone should give you a hint on how carefully you need to paint this one. With two coats I had full opacity but the clean up was a bit trying. The little crystals and glitter seemed to get everywhere but the final outcome looked great so it was worth the extra elbow grease!!! 




I am a green girl and when I saw Logan in the bottle my jaw dropped!  Zoya describes Logan as a "green foil glitter crystal" and it is just beautiful. Same rules apply to Logan as did Ziv. With a nice steady stoke and some tricky clean up, two coats of this polish amazed me!  




Last but not least is what some would consider the show stopper of this collection. Electra is a "holo tinsel special effect" and Zoya suggests that you "wear it alone or layer it for extra drama". For this polish I used Gelous as a base and top coat. This was also a bit of a challenge to paint with.  I didn't really need to manage glitter placement too much however, because of the tinsel being what it is, there was some natural overhang that I fixed with a quick swipe of the brush across the tips of my nails.  




And for the extra drama that Zoya describes I did quick swatch of Electra over some basic colors.  I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White, Rimmel London Black Satin, Finger Paints Inkblot Blue and Wet'n'Wild Red Red


Overall, I have to say that I LOVE THIS COLLECTION!  The colors are amazing and the formula is great!  I would recommend this line to anyone looking for something special for this fall and winter season!  All of these products can be found at Zoya.com for $8 a piece or $48 for the entire collection.  

Let me know what you think!  Do you have a favorite color from this collection or any other 2012 Zoya collection?  
This is a free sample given to me by a company. Either directly from the manufacturer or from a PR company. Receiving this sample in no way impacts my review of the product. My views are my own and are expressed as accurately and fairly to the best of my ability.
















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