Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day to all of my US readers! As many of us enjoy our day off today having barbeques and relaxing with family let's not forget the reason for this holiday. Let's not forget to honor all of the men and women who have lost their lives for our country as well as the ones who are still serving, as well as their families. Your sacrifice for your country does not go unnoticed, as I am sure it seems at times. I just want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to each an every one of you.

I decided to try needle marbling today and see if I had better luck with it than with water marbling. I am not 100% happy with it but I think over time I can actually see myself getting better at this technique. I think water marbling may be a lost cause for me. If you haven't seen the needle marbling technique (also called a dry marble) you can look it up on YouTube, there are several tutorials on there.

I wanted to do a patriotic marble so I decided on red, white and blue (of course LOL.) I think it ended up looking like the "weathered" stripes of our flag. It also reminds me of a watercolor painting. I used Milani White On The Spot (my favorite white), Zoya Sooki and Zoya Ibiza. I added a few rhinestone stars on my ring finger and topped it all with Seche Vite.

What do you think of my first needle marble? Weathered flag, watercolor or just "needs more work?"

Ultimate Silver Holo Comparison Post

One more share of a comparison post today! My friend Sheila at Pointless Cafe did a comparison of several silver holographic polishes and it is very informative! Check it out here!

And for a teaser photo:

The Ultimate Black and White Glitter Guide

I usually don't create blog posts just to share someone else's blog post (I usually share them on Facebook and Twitter) but this one is so informative that I thought everyone should see it.

My friend Sarah at Chalkboard Nails has an obsession with black and white glitter and has created a comparison post with 20 of them! Click here to be taken directly to her post.

As a teaser here is one of the photos from her post:

Guest Post by The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance with a Cancer Tribute Mani

I was contacted by a representative for Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance and asked if I would be willing to do a guest post on how women are affected by the effects of cancer, as well as other illnesses, and how keeping up a normal makeup routine can make you feel better about yourself and give you a more positive outlook on your diagnosis.

I decided to add a manicure to my post in honor of all the cancer patients, survivors and victims out there. Mesothelioma, to the best of my knowledge, does not have a dedicated "month" or "ribbon" as many types of other illnesses do so I decided to add a manicure in honor of a couple of different types of cancer. If you haven't heard about the "Go Gray in May" awareness it is to raise awareness for brain cancer (although some sources site it as awareness for strokes, which is also very important.) I then added a pink ribbon for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Illamasqua Raindrops

The following is the guest post from The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance:

Beyond the Diagnosis: Finding Identity Again Through Beauty and Fashion


Illnesses that change a person's appearance can have a demoralizing impact on self-image and self-esteem, according to a report on the Radcliff Publishing website. It does this by making the person in question feel as if she is losing the person she used to be. Women who are facing mesothelioma or other types of cancers, the loss of self often starts with the loss of hair. These same women find that they are stigmatized in ways that people who have more “hidden” illnesses like heart trouble don't face. In these cases, a woman can regain her self-confidence and self-esteem by doing something fairly routine to most women...by adhering to a makeup and fashion routine that reminds her of who she is at heart and helps to look and feel more like herself.


People Become Their Diagnosis


People like labels. She's funny. She's smart. She's good at math. She's a cancer patient. The thing about the diagnosis is that people start to get treated as one and the same. According to AcuMedicine.com, a diagnosis is a fiction, meaning that it's only part of who is a person is. It is not something that a person should take to heart, much less become with her whole being. But this often proves difficult when other people around her remind her that she sick. They can see it. Her appearance betrays her. But it doesn't have to.


Finding Strength Through Beauty and Fashion

Nowadays, there are plenty of resources out there that will help a woman dealing with a serious medical challenge. There are even makeup classes that teach a woman how to hide some of the effects of an illness. But even more importantly, these tools remind a woman of the snazzier part of herself. For a while she may forget that she's the gal who can't wait to wear her favorite pair of shiny red sandals to the summer barbeque or that she has really beautiful eyes—made all the more so when she adds a bit of eye shadow and some liquid eyeliner. These physical elements give her some of her sass back and help improve her mood and outlook on life. And according to Live Strong, how positive a person is about their prognosis directly contributes to a person's ability to recover from an illness, whether it’s a prognosis of mesothelioma or moving away from a bout of winter depression.


The Ritual of Makeup and Clothes


Many things go berserk when a person is facing an illness and life becomes a series of unpredictable events at times. Having something to do that a person can look forward to and that makes her feel good can give her back an element of control. The University of Chicago reports that women who faced a cancer diagnosis often got a new lease on life when they allowed themselves to pick up their eyeliner pencils again. While some of this has to do with looking more like their normal selves, it also has to do with the ritual of putting on pretty makeup and choosing nice clothes to wear. Rituals help give people a part of their identity—something very important to someone who feels as if she's lost it for some reason.


Moving Forward


While makeup and clothing aren't a cure for sickness per se, they do play a vital role in the way a person recovers from the challenges she's facing. Maybe more importantly, she not only gets her sense of identity back, but she remembers what it's like to have fun and to put on her dancing shoes. All of these things offer some welcome relief to someone who might begin to feel like she is the illness she has rather than being a person—a whole person—who happens to be living with an illness.

Illamasqua Raindrops!!!!

If you couldn't tell by the title of this post I am super excited to finally have Illamasqua Raindrops! Raindrops was exclusive to the UK and has been discontinued for awhile. I had given up hopes of owning it but two polish angels and one sweet surprise later and here it is! ♥

Raindrops is a light grey with scattered glass flecks. It is much prettier in person than it is in my photos. Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE the rain. Arizona isn't exactly the ideal place for someone who loves the rain. LOL But this reminds me of exactly how the sky looks when it rains so at least I can dream of it.

The formula was very smooth and easy to work with. I used 3 coats for full opacity but you can still see slight VNL on my pinky. I think next time I will layer it over a grey creme to conserve the yummy goodness. Now for way too many photos (hehehe) in sunlight and indoor lighting.

Isn't she lovely? Do you have Raindrops?

As I stated earlier this one is discontinued (I would suggest keeping your eyes out on eBay and blog sales if you want it) but other Illamasqua polishes can be purchased at Sephora.com and Illamasqua.com.

Milani Morning Coffee, Dark Coffee, Chocolate Sprinkles and Signature Gold - Swatches, Review and Stamping

This post has a lot of content and I am getting it up much later than I had planned so I am going to get right to it. :)

I wanted to put all of these gorgeous browns into one mani so I put them into a gradient. Unfortunately my gradient skills were lacking last night so I decided to add some stamping. I'm glad I did because I think the gold looks amazing over the browns. Plus I found another polish that is great for stamping! I will post some individual polish photos and then another pic of the final look.

First up is Morning Coffee. This color is amazing. I must apologize for my photos on this one. I was playing around with my lightbox and the photos didn't turn out very well. Unfortunately I didn't know this until about 30 minutes ago. LOL This is such a lovely creme, so creamy and smooth. Much like morning coffee. *wink* The application was amazing and it is shiny on its own. This is 2 coats and no top coat.

Up next is the other coffee-themed creme, Dark Coffee. Might as well put those together, right? This one is much darker, no cream and sugar in this one! Amazing application and as shiny as a jelly but with the opacity of a creme. This is 2 coats, no top coat. Please excuse the doggy hair in my nails, again I did not notice this until about 30 minutes ago.

Next we have Chocolate Sprinkles. I LOVE this one. It has a gold shimmer that makes it look like it is lit from within. Another 2-coater with amazing application but this one does have a top coat to help bring out the shimmer.

The last one I have for you tonight is the polish I used for stamping in my finished mani. My hands look blue in these pics, it was the only way I could make the color of the polish turn out correctly. Every other way was too brassy so please forgive the blue hands. This one is also a "wear test." I had this on for almost 24 hours without top coat for these pics. You can see it wore very well, especially for a foil. Two coats and no application issues.

And one last look at the finished product.

Milani polishes retail for $4-$6 and can be purchased at drugstores, grocery stores and online at MilaniCosmetics.com.

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. All opinions are my own. See my disclosure tab for more information.

Dandy Nails Like Disco Lemonade - Swatches and Review

I am a little (okay, maybe more than a little hehe) obsessed with Dandy Nails polishes. It is, by far, my favorite indie brand. The quality is amazing, the formula is always superb and the customer service is amazing.  I received 3 of them in the mail today and couldn't wait to start showing them off!

I have one of her newer creations, Like Disco Lemonade, for you today. I just HAD to have this one. Come on, it's GREEN, how could I not get it?  LDL is mostly a dark green glitter but there is also black, bronze and holo glitter mixed in (and probably more that I just can't pick out in all the gorgeous bling.)

I decided to do swatches over different colors so you could get a feel for multiple looks. I had no problems with application and it is not an overly rough glitter. If you layer it over another color and only use one coat of LDL you can get away one coat of top coat.

For ALL photos I used 3 coats of LDL by itself (over my bare nail) on my index finger, one coat over Zoya Apple on my middle finger, one coat over Illamasqua Viridian on my ring finger and one coat over Milani Black Swift on my pinky. It is SO MUCH PRETTIER in person. My pictures do not do it justice.

Isn't this a stunning polish?! I knew I would like it but I didn't expect to love it as much as I do. You can see my other Dandy Nails posts by clicking in the links here:

You Set My Soul Alight

Colorblind

Through Glass

Come Out and Play

Look Around

You can purchase Dandy Nails at her Etsy shop HERE. She is currently on vacation so make sure to follow her Facebook page for updates!