Monday, October 27, 2014

Follow-up To Last Post

Here are the pictures of my nails done on 26 October 2014 using the Essie Breast Cancer Awareness Collection I talked about in my last post.  The picture on the right is the one that is closest to the true colour of the dark pink polish.  It's even brighter and a bit deeper than it looks here.  Absolutely gorgeous!!!!!


I started with the essie "Grow Stronger" base coat, which came as part of the collection, but as you can see, I did not use the pale pink polish, essie "I Pink I Can".  When I put it on, even after 3 coats, I could not get an opaque coverage, so I scrapped it and went all dark pink instead.  The colour was gorgeous, and the polish was quite free-flowing, but I just couldn't get an opaque finish.  Then, as always happens, that very night I discovered what could be a solution to the problem, when I found a tip that said to try putting a white polish on your nail first to make your colours "pop".  I might try this polish again doing that, and if I do, I'll definitely mention it.

The dark pink polish, essie "Pink Happy" was amazing to use.  Even with just one coat it was completely opaque, but I added another coat just to help the manicure last longer. The colour is absolutely gorgeous, and is actually a lot darker and brighter than it seems in the bottle, and it went on so beautifully I would definitely recommend it.

The pale pink glitter, essie "Pinking About You", is gorgeous, but not easy to apply.  I found it tended to clog on the brush, and I worked out that the best way to apply this was by letting most of the polish run off the brush, and then dab the glitter on until I got the coverage I wanted.  The glitter is in lots of different sizes, from tiny little white specks to quite large hexagon shapes, and on the "Pink Happy" polish it actually looks almost white.  It is very effective, though, and I will definitely be using it again.

I finished with 2 coats of Manicare Glam Nails "Nail Art Top Coat" over the two ring fingers with the glitter, and 1 coat of Revlon "Quick Dry Top Coat" on all the other nails.  I will be topping them up every other day with 1 coat of the Revlon top coat, and I will let you know in my next post how long the mani lasts before I have to remove it.

Overall, I was very pleased with the collection, except for the coverage of "I Pink I Can".  I'm fairly pleased with the look of my mani, although my hands still look awful :(, and I will definitely be using all these colours again.  I hope they stay as part of their permanent collection and don't disappear too soon. I'll have to see if I can get some full-size bottles of them all as soon as possible in case they are discontinued.  I will probably use the pale pink for dotting, marbelling, and other forms of nail art instead of as a full nail cover, unless I get good results from using the white beneath it.

So, that's my mani for October 27th 2014.  I hope my next one will be a bit more interesting, because Breast Cancer Awareness Month will be over, and I can start using different colours instead of just pinks.

God bless you, and have a wonderful day.

Hugs

Christine

Words of Life and Hope
http://wordsoflifeandhope.blogspot.com.au/

Friday, October 24, 2014

Essie Breast Cancer Awareness Collection 2014

I almost went into raptures when I received my Essie Breast Cancer Awareness Collection 2014 in the mail today.

The colours are just awesome, and I'm going to use them this weekend when I do my nails for the last week of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  I've seen swatches of the gorgeous pink glitter on both of the pink polishes in the set, and it looks wonderful on each one.  I've really fallen in love with these colours, and that's why I just had to share them with you.

The collection consists of 5ml bottles of Essie "Grow Stronger Base Coat", Essie "I Pink I Can" (which is a scrumptious pale pink), Essie "Pink Happy"  (which is a bright dark fuschia pink), and Essie "Pinking About You" (the most amazing pale pink glitter I've ever seen).  Here are photos of each item in the pack in the order I have listed them.


When I have done my nails this weekend I'll post a photo of them so that you can see how beautiful (hopefully) the colours look together.  (Please don't expect wonders, because I am still a beginner :D and have only been doing my nails for about 2 months now.)

Have a great weekend, and God bless you all.

Hugs

Christine

Words of Life and Hope
http://wordsoflifeandhope.blogspot.com.au/

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

65 Fantastic Christmas Nail Art Designs

Have you been looking for Christmas Nail Art ideas for the festive season?  I've just found a link to 65 Fantastic Christmas Designs that I just know you will love.  You'll find them at
http://www.cuded.com/2014/04/65-cute-christmas-nails/
I hope you find something here you can use.  I've picked up heaps of ideas for my nails over Christmas - in fact I'm going to have trouble working out which ones to use.

Have a wonderful day, and God bless you!

Hugs

Christine

Words of Life and Hope
http://wordsoflifeandhope.blogspot.com.au/

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

30 Easy Nail Art Designs eBook

Today I'd like to tell you about a great Nail Art eBook I found about a month and a half ago which has been a huge help to me with my nail art.  It's by Maria Vlezko from the SoNailicious website.  You can find it at http://sonailicious.com/30-easy-nail-art-designs-nail-tutorials/, and it really is a must-have in your nail art collection.  There are 30 great nail art designs, with step-by-step photos for each one, plus heaps of hints and tips to help you get the best out of your nail art experience.  Here is a photo:
I hope you will go and check it out, and while you're there, also checkout Maria's blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.  She has some terrific tutorials, and lots of nail art ideas, hints and tips.  You will find links on the same page as the book details. 

I don't have anything more for you today because I had a doctor's appointment at the local hospital (my 6-week post-radiotherapy checkup), and he said everything seemed fine, and I don't have to go back for another 4 months.  YAY!!!!!  I also went looking for more nail art supplies at our local large stationery store, and I found some interesting bits and pieces which I hope to feature in the future on my blog for you.

Have a very happy day, and I'll see you again soon (I hope).

Hugs

Christine
Words of Life and Hope
http://wordsoflifeandhope.blogspot.com.au/

Monday, October 20, 2014

The Start Of My Nail Art Journey

It is now 6 weeks since I finished my chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for Breast Cancer (after having a huge lump of my breast removed), but I will be on hormone therapy (or I really should say anti-hormone therapy) for at least another 5 years, and according to the latest research, it could even be for 10 years, to try to stop it coming back again. So I'm on the road to recovery, but I'd like to encourage all you ladies out there, young and old, to make sure you check yourselves regularly for breast lumps, because too many women, especially young ones now, are being diagnosed every day with Breast Cancer of one type or another. Don't just leave it up to your regular check-ups, either, because I was 2 months from having my scheduled breast screen when I found the lump myself.  If I'd waited another 2 months it could well have spread further into my body, and I would have a lot harder, longer course of treatments ahead.  So, ladies, PLEASE DO IT RIGHT NOW!

I'd like to show you what my hands look like at this stage of my journey, as of 19 Oct 2014.  
Here is a photo of both of my hands, and you can see how bad my nails and hands are after all the treatment, and this is six weeks after finishing my treatment.


 As you can see, they look absolutely ghastly.  Unfortunately, today I had to file some of them back because the nail on the middle finger on my right hand, which I have been nursing along trying to save by using patches, finally gave way, as you can see in the photo.
Oh, well, these things come to try us!

Now I'd like to show you close-ups of each hand separately, showing the details of the damage.


So, now I have to repair all this damage.  I wish someone had told me before I had chemotherapy that I should use cuticle oil and/or strenthening serum, a base coat and a top coat on my fingers, instead of just telling me wear nail polish to help to stop them getting damaged. 

Please, ladies, if you know anyone who is going through chemotherapy, or someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer that is going to require her having chemotherapy, tell them the proper way to look after their nails. I would hate for anyone else to go through what I've been through with my nails.  And, my nails are in the process of growing out now that I have learned what to do about them (notice the pinker, softer looking areas at the bottom of each nail).  I wish I'd taken photos when they were first damaged because they were horrible to look at, and watching them start to flake away and pull away from the nail bed was scary, to say the least.

I will keep you updated with how my nails are progressing as time goes by, and hopefully there will be great improvements, especially as I'm going to be starting to use a new cuticle oil treatment containing Jojoba Oil, which I have heard, and read, is simply amazing for damage to nails, and almost anywhere on your body.  Especially on your face and hair, too.  I can't wait for it arrive so I can get started.

I will be posting shots of my nail art results, hopefully at least once a week, and I will also let you know about any great sites I come across during my travels out their in Naill Art World, so please come back often to see what I've found.

Thanks for checking out my blog.

Hugs

Christine
Words of Life and Hope
http://wordsoflifeandhope.blogspot.com.au/




Sunday, October 19, 2014

How My Nail Art Journey Began

I discovered the world of nail art when my nails were destroyed by the chemotherapy and radiotherapy that I went through in the middle of 2014. I was told that I should wear nail polish, but not that I should use a nourishing treatment, or a base coat under my nail polish, or a top coat on top of my nails.  Consequently, my nails ended up brown, flaking, chipped, and peeling away from the nail bed.  I needed help, so I went searching the web.

Thus started my nail art journey, as I quickly discovered the wide world of
NAIL ART!

I now use nail art every week, nourish my nails like there is no tomorrow, and search the web every day for new ideas, hints and tips. What I hope to do on my blog is tell you what I have discovered about caring for my hands and nails, show you my weekly manicure, with details on brands and colours used, and also have lots of links to great nail art sites I have found and fallen in love with.

So, please join me as I start my nail art journey, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I hope to! Who knows where this journey will lead me?  Only time will tell!

Hugs

Christine

(Please check out my other blog below, too.)

Words of Life and Hope
http://wordsoflifeandhope.blogspot.com.au/