SMPolish "Fairytale Collection" Part 2 - Pastel Colours - Just Released 31 July 2015

Just as a reminder, and in case you didn't see my reviews of the first part of this collection, here is how this came about.

I was thrilled to be asked by Shakeela Meer, the maker of these unique polishes, and a really new member of the Aussie Indie Polish Maker community, to help her name this collection, and was then really honoured when she asked if I would be her official "namer" for her polishes in the future.  I couldn't believe it, but of course I said "Yes, please!", and now I am an official member of the SMPolish team.  I will be choosing a list of possible names for each polish in each collection, and in some cases the actual name of the collection, and then Shakeela will make the final decisions on the name for each polish.  So, as you can imagine, I've really had to put my thinking cap on and go back to my childhood memories with this collection (and this is really a long time ago for me, so it was a big ask).  It's just as well that I have always been a bookworm, right from early childhood, so my memory didn't take too much jogging to bring back so many wonderful memories of the fairytales I enjoyed way back when.

The Fairytale Collection is described by Shakeela thus: "Each polish in the listing is made up of either creme-jelly bases or shimmery bases with the addition of both complimenting and contrasting glitters. This collection covers any occasion from everyday simple to a night out, from party to vacation, from tea party to wedding."

As with the first part of this collection, I used OPI Natural Nail "Glitter Off" Base Coat and OPI Natural Nail Top Coat on all my nails for the swatches below.

Now it's time for me to review the second part of the SMPolish "Fairytale Collection - The Pastel Colours", and I hope you will like these as much as I do.

 

 

The first polish in the Pastel Colours part of the Fairytale Collection is "The Shadow", a charcoal grey "crelly" polish with holographic micro-glitter and tiny black and purple glitter.  This polish went on very smoothly, and I used three coats for my swatches to achieve the full "crelly" effect I wanted.  The finish was quite rough because of the glitter, but just one coat of top coat was more than enough to give a smooth, shiny finish.  This muted polish is very elegant and would be suitable for almost any occasion.

The inspiration for the name of this polish came from the pulp fiction magazine series "The Shadow Magazine", primarily written by Walter B. Gibson and first published on April 1, 1931.  Now, I know you're going to say "But this isn't a fairytale", but the hero of this series, "The Shadow",  just seemed to fit this polish so perfectly - shadowy, mysterious, with lots of hidden depth, so I suggested it as one of the options for this polish to Shakeela, and it's the one she went with. 

 

The second polish in this part of the collection is "Thumbelina", a pretty pastel, but very shimmery, blue polish with holographic micro-glitter and tiny bright blue and pink glitter.  This polish was very easy to work with, and I have used three coats in my swatches so that the full "crelly" effect of this polish would be shown.  Once again, the finish was rough, but one coat of top coat was more than enough to smooth it out and give a lovely shiny finish.

The inspiration for this nail polish came from the fairytale "Thumbelina", written in 1835 by the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, and published in his book Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection.  For some reason, when I saw this colour I immediately thought of this name, perhaps because I've always loved pastel blue dresses on little girls, especially with polka dots, and that's how I envisioned "Thumbelina" dressed this way - hence the name.

 

The third polish in this part of the Fairytale Collection from SMPolish is "Violetta", a gorgeous, pastel purple polish , with lots of holographic micro-glitter, and tiny bright pink glitter.  The polish went on very smoothly, and I used three coats so that the true "crelly" effect would show in my swatches.  The finish was a little rough because of the glitter, but just one coat of top coat solved that problem.  I really like this polish, and I think it is my favourite from this part of the collection.

I'm really not sure where the inspiration for this name came from, but many fairy tales and folk tales have heroines that aren't actually given names, and I'm sure this would be a wonderful choice for some of them, and the colour just seemed to scream out for a name like this.  I suggested it as one of my selections for this polish, and this is the one Shakeela chose - perfect, I think.

 

The fourth polish in this part of the collection is "The Sea Maiden", a beautiful aqua "crelly" polish with a smattering of holographic micro-glitter and bright blue and aqua glitter.  This polish was one of the easiest to work with, and went on very smoothly.  Two coats was all I needed to get full coverage and to give the "crelly" effect I wanted.  It was just a little rough, but one coat was all that was needed to give it this beautiful, glossy finish.  The overall effect of this polish is just gorgeous, and I'm not usually an aqua polish fan.  I think you will definitely love this polish if you buy it.

The inspiration for the name of this polish came from a Scottish fairy tale, "The Sea Maiden", part of a collection by John Francis Campbell, published in 1890 in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, and listing his informant as John Mackenzie, a fisherman, near Inverary.  I thought this name was perfect for this polish, and really portrayed the colour beautifully.

 

 

The fifth colour in this part of "The Fairytale Collection" from SMPolish is "Buttercup", a pretty, shimmery pastel yellow polish with bright aqua and pink glitter.  The polish went on very smoothly, but I really did need three coats to get full coverage and to achieve the "crelly" effect I wanted.  There was plenty of glitter, and I didn't have to fish for any at all.  Just one coat of top coat was all I needed to give the polish a lovely, shiny, smooth finish.  This is quite pretty, but doesn't do a thing for me on my nails because of the colour of my skin.

The name for this polish was inspired by the fairy tale "Buttercup", a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Chr. Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe and published in 1845 in Norske Folkeeventyr, a collection of Norwegian folktales and legends.  The hero, Buttercup, is described as being so named because he is "plump and fat, and fond of good things", and I thought that description fitted this nail polish perfectly.  It just reminded me of a beautiful tub of butter with pretty glitter all through it.

 

 

 

Now we come to the last of The Fairytale Collection Pastel Shades, "The Enchanted Maiden", a gorgeous, bright pastel pink "crelly" polish, with a scattering of holographic micro-glitter and tiny bright pink and blue glitter.  The polish went on beautifully, and I used three coats to get the full "crelly" effect, and I wasn't disappointed.  There were just a few bumps in the finish because of the glitter, but one coat of top coat soon fixed that problem, and gave a beautiful, glossy finish.  This polish is a very pretty pink, but unfortunately didn't suit my finger colour.  However, on someone who can wear pastel pinks, especially bright ones, it would look great.

The name for this polish was inspired by "The Enchanted Maiden", a Portuguese fairy tale collected by Consiglieri Pedroso in Portuguese Folk-Tales in 1882.  I envisaged a gorgeous maiden, in a pastel pink dress, sprinkled with fairy dust, and thus the name of this polish was born.

So, I hope you have enjoyed seeing all these lovely polishes in this new collection from SMPolish, and that you will visit Shakeela's store to check out this beautiful collection, "The Fairytale Collection", very soon.  Shakeela also has a couple of other lovely collections available, and has great plans for more wonderful polishes in the very near future.  Please support this new kid on the block in the world of Aussie Indie Polishes and encourage her to continue in her endeavours.  I know she'd love to hear your comments, too, regarding the type of polishes you would like to see her produce, and any other nail products that you think she should add to her store.  Sign up on her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SMnailpolish?fref=ts to be kept up to date with what is happening in her store.

Thank you for visiting my blog, and I hope you will be back often to see what I have to share with you about what I've been doing with my nails, how they are going in their recovery from my chemotherapy last year (2014), and any nail art ideas I've come up with lately.

Have a wonderful day, and may God bless you with an abundance of His mercy and grace.

Hugs

Christine

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

Words of Life and Hope

http://wordsoflifeandhope.blogspot.com.au/

 I received 5ml sample bottles of all these polishes to help me choose their names,
and to enable me to do an honest review and to do swatches of the polishes.

Amazing Blue Grace-full Nail Polish Manicure and Nail Care Update - 10 July 2015

Firstly, I'd like to show you just how much my nails have improved since my last update regarding the damage to them experienced because of my accident with some nail glue.

 

Back on 9th May 2015

 

As they are today.

As you can see, they have grown quite a bit, and I haven't had a break at all since I started using Pretty Serious "Rock On Strengthener" on them at all times.  Even without it, after I have removed my previous manicure, they definitely feel quite a bit stronger.  As you can imagine, I am VERY happy about that.

Now, on to this week's manicure.  Please forgive the polish left on my cuticles and fingers, but I stuffed up the middle finger on my left hand when I was cleaning up and had to photograph my right hand nails, and I am right-handed, so cleaning them is a lot harder for me and I still haven't mastered it.  They actually look pretty good in real life, but my camera picks up every little error or flaw.  I'll get there eventually - as the saying goes "practice makes perfect", and because of the nine weeks that I was unable to do my nails I lost some of my newly-learned skill (SIGH)!

Today I am showing you two amazing polishes from Grace-full Nail Polish that have been crying out to me to be used together ever since I bought them.  It is a lot simpler than my past few manicures, but I really wanted these two to stand out on their own because they are so absolutely AWESOME!  I've never worn dark blue before, and now I don't know why, because it looks fantastic with my skin colour.  You can be sure that I will be buying more colours like this in the future.

 Outside in Shade

The two Grace-full polishes I used for this manicure are "Mandy" and "Eboni".  Neither of them are still available, unfortunately, but you may be able to get some from a friend or through a stash purchase if you are lucky.  Also, Theresa may even make some more like these again in the future.  I certainly hope so because I have completely fallen in love with both these polishes and this colour.

I started my manicure, as usual, with one coat of Pretty Serious "Rock On Strengthener" on all my nails.  Once that was completely dry I added one coat of Grace-full Nail Polish Base Coat to all nails.

Next I painted three thin coats of "Mandy" to all my nails except for my middle nails, on which I only applied one coat of "Mandy".  Then I painted two coats of "Eboni" on my middle nails, and added a little bit of dabbing to make sure I got some of the stars on each nail.  I didn't have to fish very hard because the polish is really loaded with all the glitter included in it.

"Mandy" is a deep blue that has purple undertones, lighter blue micro flakies and blue fantasy flakies that create the most wonderful colour effect.  I haven't been able to stop looking at it since I put it on because it is so beautiful.  It went on a little patchy at first, but I had good coverage with two coats.  I only added the extra coat so that I could get the full effect of the polish in my swatch photos.  The finish is slightly matte and a little rough, but just one coat of top coat was enough to smooth it out and really make it shine.

"Eboni" is a dark purple galaxy jelly with holographic silver stars, violet hexagonal and square glitter, and rainbow iridescent glitter.  It went on really well, and two coats and a little dabbing to make sure I got some stars on each nail gave me just the amount of jelly effect I wanted.  I used a layer of "Mandy" underneath it because I wanted to give it a more blue effect, and it worked really well.  The finish was quite rough because of the larger glitter and stars, so I had to use two coats of top coat to smooth it out, but that is quite normal for larger glitter anyway, so it was not a problem.  

I finished my mani with one coat of Grace-full Nail Polish Quick Dry Top Coat on all nails, and an extra coat on my middle nails.  The finish is so smooth, and has a beautiful shine.  This really is a lovely top coat which I definitely recommend.

The overall effect of these two polishes together just blew me away.  It doesn't matter what kind of light I'm in, they shine, shimmer and sparkle like sapphires, and my middle nails look as if I've deliberately done a galaxy nail art design, and are just gorgeous.  Once again Theresa from Grace-full Nail Polish has come up with two superb polishes, and I just can't get enough of her products.  I wait with baited breath every time she is working on a new collection or special edition polish, and I know that there will always be so many of them that I want from the collection that I won't be able to afford them.  It's times like this when I wish I was still working.  So, please check out her site and you'll see why I'm addicted to this wonderful Aussie Indie polish brand.  Here are some more photos in different light situations that will show you just how gorgeous these polishes are and why I just had to use them together.  I even managed a macro of "Eboni", which really shows its beauty, but please ignore my horrible clean-up job.  I will get better, I promise!

   

   

   

On another note, I am going through some pretty tough health problems at the moment which my doctor thinks are a result of the combination of my chemotherapy last year and the massive doses of antibiotics I had going through three drips in my arm when I got double pneumonia after my second dose of chemo.  I had shocking diarrhea from the chemo, but it got a whole lot worse while I was on the antibiotics, and even after I left hospital, I was still on very strong antibiotics for over a month.  I was already suffering from lactose intolerance, and thought I had this pretty much under control, but over the last few months I've been having problems with just about every meal I ate.  It appears that I now have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and I've been to see a dietician, who has put me on the FODMAP Free Diet developed by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia (see http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/), who are doing intensive research into this particular problem.  I've only been on it for 3 weeks so far, but already I'm starting to work out that the foods that are big no-no's with this diet have been causing all my gut problems, and some of them very badly.  

This diet has very extensive food restrictions, and I'm finding it very hard to come to grips with, but if it works I don't care.  My brain is in meltdown from researching recipes and information on IBS and this diet, and from having to read all the labels on food packaging to make sure that none of the restricted foods are in the products.  One of the hardest things I've found is the fact that I can no longer eat garlic or onion, because I used to use this in just about everything I cooked.  However, I'm learning how to use herbs and spices, and other hints and tips I've found, to provide flavour to my recipes.  

If you suffer from IBS, I really recommend that you check this site out (http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/), and download the app as well.  I have found the app is amazing for when I'm shopping, because it enables me to check just what I have to look out for on labels, and also what I can and cannot eat if I'm not sure.  It has a shopping guide, too, and you can even make up a shopping list with it.  There is a lot of information on each of the foods you may be having problems with so that you understand why it is happening.  The diet is only meant to be short-term initially (6 weeks to 2 months), and if your stomach has settled down by then you can start trying to introduce the different foods to see just which ones are causing you trouble.  From what I've experienced so far, they all are, but I'm hoping that, once my gut has recovered, I will find that I can still eat some of them after all.

Well, that's all from me today, and thanks for visiting. I would love to hear what you think if you would like to leave your comments, and I hope you will come back often to see what I have to share with you.

Have a wonderful week, and may God bless you!

Hugs

Christine

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

My Nail Art Journey
http://chips48nailartjourney.blogspot.com.au/

I was not paid in any way, shape or form for any of the products mentioned in my blog.
All products were bought by myself and my comments are honestly and freely given.

Lyme Disease Awareness Giveaway Prize I Won - It's Awesome!!!

   

Finally I've managed to find time to show you the Lyme Disease Awareness Giveaway Prize I won a couple of weeks ago, and received last week.  It's so awesome, and I was blown away from the moment I opened the box!  Once you read what was included in the prize you'll realise why it has taken so long for me to get around to writing this post.

 

Alinta, the owner of the Polish and Paws blog website, ran this giveaway as a way of raising awareness of the fact that the Australian Government still does not recognise the fact that Lyme Disease exists in Australia, despite numerous TV documentaries and current affair segments on the subject; despite the fact that most doctors know it exists and are treating thousands of patients here; and these patients are literally living a hellish existence, simply because they can't afford the treatment they need and the government won't provide it.  Please check out the link to Alinta's blog post on the subject here, and please start helping us to raise awareness of this horrible disease and make the government sit up and take notice.  This is a major medical emergency in this country and needs to be fixed NOW!

To start with, here are pictures of the box when it arrived in the mail, and after I had just opened it.

   

Now to the details of what was in the box, and close-up photos.

Firstly, I discovered the Grace-full Nail Polish Limited Edition "Lyme for a Cure" polish, made specifically for this Giveaway's prize winners and, unfortunately, no one else, and another polish from Grace-full "Navy",  which is also unfortunately no longer available on the site.  "Lyme for a Cure" is absolutely wonderful, and unfortunately my photos don't do it justice, but when I actually use it in a manicure very soon I'll try and do better.  "Navy" is also gorgeous, and has so much glitter in it that it sparkles like sapphires.  Please check out the Grace-full Nail Polish site to find out what other amazing nail polishes Theresa, the owner and maker of Grace-full Nail Polish, dreams up and puts together for all her many, many fans.  I, for one, am completely addicted to her polish, as you will have discovered if you have read any of my previous posts when I've featured some of them.

   

Secondly, there were two Emily de Molly polishes; "You're not that great", a lime creme with holographic, lime and turquoise glitter with a blue shimmer, and "Queen of the sea", a green creme with gold to green shimmer; and three Emily de Molly Stamping Plates.  The two polishes are just beautiful, and the holographic glitter in "You're not that great" is just amazing.  This is another polish brand I am addicted to, and there are some absolutely amazing polishes coming out very soon, as well as the ones that are already available. I can see that I'm going to be kept very poor in the near future :) The designs on the stamping plates are fantastic, and there is a lot of variety.  The plate numbers are EDM06, EDM10 and EDM12.  Thank you so much, Theresa, for donating these gorgeous polishes for such an important cause, and especially for the limited edition polish.

   

Next, there were three Powder Perfect polishes; "Christmas in a Tropical Climate" (no longer available); "Four Poster Bed" (no longer available); and "Addictive Personality" (on special, so may disappear soon), which has a soft pink base with a crelly formula, and glimmers of navy, turquoise, pink and coral glitters will shine through as you layer the polish. My photo just doesn't do any of these justice because I had to take them under artificial light.  The weather here in Kingston, Tasmania has been so overcast, and wet, that it's been almost impossible to get decent photos for weeks now.  I'll try and do better when I use them in a manicure.  Thank you so much, Jacinta, for donating these lovely products for such a wonderful cause.

But wait!  There's more!  Next there are three polishes from EP Polish Company; "Lahni", "Waveryley" and "SPF+Sparkle HOLO Top Coat".  The blue and green are a lot brighter than the pictures show, and are actually neon colours, and the holographic effect of the top coat is just gorgeous. Unfortunately the store appears to be closed at the moment, but I think it is only while they get some more polish made.  If you click on the company name it will take you to their Facebook page, and you will be able to find out just what is available and when there.  Thanks so much to EP for donating these three lovely polishes to this cause.

 

But wait!  There was still more!  The next items I found in the box were three of the new Ulta3 Autumn/Winter Metallic Collection; "galaxy", " 24 carat gold" and "moon dust".  I have completely fallen in love with this set of five awesome polishes, and have actually bought a second bottle of each of the five polishes in the set, and now I have three bottles of these three.  YAY!!!!!  I used the copper one, "from the mine" in my last mani (see previous post), and it is just amazing.  If you have a pharmacy that sells these polishes, check them out - you'll want to buy them when you see them in person, I'm sure!

 

But there was even more!  The next thing I found in the box was a bottle of Peita's Polish "Cuticles be gone", which is pretty much self-explanatory. Peita's Polish has a very good reputation in the world of Indie polish, so please check them out.

 

But wait once again!  There was even more!   The next things I found in the box were some green cancer awareness ribbon vinyl stickers from She Sells Sea Shells in the UK.  Her range of nail vinyl stickers and stencils, and other nail art items, is terrific, so please check out this site.  You can buy these Awareness Ribbons in nine different colours, and there are 40 in a pack.  Then I found a set of four very fine nail art brushes, for find detailed work, and some gorgeous silver and gold decals in twelve different designs (see close-up below).  These are going to be great to use in my nail art in the future.

   

Then I found even more - three gorgeous sets of nail art transfer decals from Nailed Kit - Nail Art Made Easy in the USA, shown below.  These look terrific, and I'm going to trying to decide what I can try them out on as soon as possible.

And last, but definitely not least, there were four miscellaneous manicure and nail care items - a tube of Cuticle Balm from Powder Perfect in "Birthday Cake" fragrance (which smells scrumptious, and not too overpowering); a Two Birds Cuticle Oil Pen Dispenser with a lovely, light, lavender fragrance; a nail polish removal pen, and a hang-nail remover tool.  Please check out the Two Birds site, because they have some wonderful polish and nail-care products.

 

So, that's my amazing prize!  You can imagine how surprised I was to find out I had won this, and I was still pinching myself to make sure it wasn't a dream until it actually arrived in my hands.  

Thank you so much, Alinta, for running this Giveaway promotion, and I hope you are feeling OK.  I will be continuing to promote awareness for Lyme Disease as much as possible on Facebook, Twitter, etc, and hopefully the government will wake up to themselves and admit we have a very big problem, which they have to deal with NOW!

I'll be back in a few days with my next manicure, and until then, thanks for visiting, and I hope you'll come back often to see what I have to share with you.  You can follow my blog by filling out the boxes at the top right-hand side of my blog if you so wish, and I'd really appreciate any comments you may wish to make.  All suggestions will be accepted with much gratitude as I try to make my blog interesting enough for people to visit.  I'd also appreciate it if you would share a link to my blog with your friends and colleagues so that more people with cancer, going through chemotherapy, can be encouraged to look after their nails before they start their treatment, and hopefully will avoid having the same damage occur to their nails that happened to mine.  After all, that is what I started my blog for, and if it helps even just one person I'll be happy.

Have a wonderful day, and may God bless you!

Hugs

Christine

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

Words of Life and Hope

http://wordsoflifeandhope.blogspot.com.au/

Pretty Serious Cosmetics Polish - My Latest Purchase and RAOK - 27 May 2015

I just had to come back and tell you about some more gorgeous polish I received last week, as well as three fantastic nail care products.  Some I bought, some were a Random Act Of Kindness from a dear friend I've made online through her blog and interaction on Facebook.

However, firstly I'd like to tell you that I hope to be able to do my first mani, after 9 weeks of going naked due to the nail glue disaster, this coming weekend.  Finally my nails have all grown past the nail bed, so it's safe to polish them again.  You have no idea how chuffed I am to finally be able to plan a manicure and, because I've done so much retail therapy to help me recover, I think I'm going to have to do full skittle manis for the next few weeks so that I can feature all the amazing polish I've accumulated.  I also think I may have found a place where I can buy storage cabinets for my nail polish, and if I have, I will share the news with you when I get them.  I saw one in my doctor's surgery treatment room, and it is exactly what I've been looking for, but the nurse couldn't remember exactly where she bought them.  She thinks it may have been from one of the hardware stores, so I'll be checking out Mitre 10 and Bunning's ASAP.  Please pray that I can find some, because the situation is becoming desperate.  I'm nearly drowning in nail polish and nail art supplies and tools, with nowhere to store them.

Now, on to the polish, and the nail care, that I received last week from Pretty Serious Cosmetics. Three of these products I purchased myself, and the other three were a RAOK sent by Christine of the Serenity Nails blog, for which I thank her so very, very much. I didn't know people like her existed any more, but I've made some amazing friends since starting my blog, and following other people's nail art blogs, and I've found they are all so helpful and encouraging.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

As you can see from the photos, all Pretty Serious Cosmetics nail products come in beautiful boxes: nail polish in gorgeous purple boxes, and nail care in gorgeous blue boxes. To start with, I'll tell you about the polish, and then I'll go on to the nail care products.

The first polish is "VT100", is described by Kaz, the owner of Pretty Serious Cosmetics and maker of these beautiful polishes, as a "fabulous emerald green filled with golden micro-glitter!".  I found it too hard to really capture the beauty of this polish, but if you click on the name, it will take you to the page on the store's site where you can see more photos.    It will open in a new window and take you there straight away. This is the green I've been looking for to use on St Patrick's Day, and probably at Christmas time, too.  Oh, and it's on special at the moment, and I think is going to be discontinued, so if you want some you'd better get there right away before it all disappears!

The second polish is "Kashmir", described as "a dark red based purple jelly with golden and copper microflakes, colour shifting purple to blue glass fleck and red opal flakes." Designed by Christine from the Serenity Nails blog, but made by Kaz.  The colour and shift is just soooo complex, and amazingly beautiful, and I was blessed with this polish by Christine herself, as part of the RAOK she asked Kaz to add to my order.   Check out Christine's amazing swatches on the Pretty Serious Cosmetics site by clicking on the name once again. It will open a new window and take you there straight away.  You can also see her review of this polish on her Serenity Nails blog here.  Her blog has been such an inspiration to me since I started doing nail art and looking for ways to repair and continue to look after my nails, and I know you won't be disappointed by her reviews, etc there.

The third polish is "CGA", which seems to no longer be available on the site.  I bought it while it was on special, and it has been discontinued, so unfortunately you won't be able to buy any, unless you can pick some up somewhere online in a destash or from a friend.  The only way I can describe "CGA" is as a pink/lavender creme with a blue-green shimmer.  It is just so pretty, and I wish it was still available. 

Now on to the Nail Care items from Pretty Serious Cosmetics.

Pretty Serious "Rock On" is a nail strengthener described as "just what you need to revitalise weak, peeling, break prone nails. This amazing formula strengthens the nail without hardening to allow for flexibility and minimised breakage. No more brittle nails here!"  As you know, my nails are really weak and fragile from my chemotherapy last year, and I have tried so many products that claimed to strengthen my nails AND protect them while doing so, none of which have lived up to the "protection" side of things.  However, with my first application of "Rock On", my nails were immediately stronger, and I haven't had a chip or break on them since last week.  Before that I was getting chips, peeling and breaking constantly throughout the time I've had naked nails while waiting for them to heal.  So, you can imagine how amazed I was to find them feeling so strong and flexible straight away.  Some of my nails are really thin, and were still a little too flexible, so I am using 2 coats of "Rock On" on them.  Of course, I know the permanent strengthening TREATMENT part of this product won't really take effect for at least 2 months or more, but at least I know that they will be protected while I'm waiting for the old nail to grow out.  I just wish I'd discovered this product when I first started doing my nails back in September/October.  So, please check it out if you haven't already done so.  You won't regret it, I'm sure.  Christine of Serenity Nails has done a wonderful review of this product, with instructions on how to best use it, and anything else you need to know about it, here.

"Cuticle Hero" is one of Pretty Serious Cosmetics' newest nail care items, and is described thus:
"If you need something a little more heavy duty than our Cute Cuticles range, then look no further. Our new Cuticle Hero is the hero your dry cuticles have been holding out for! Created from a blend of spa quality massage oils, Cuticle Hero will save the day leaving you with a smile and a delicate orange scent."  This product contains nut oils, so people allergic to nuts should beware.  I have been using this on my nails and cuticles ever since receiving it, and they simply slurp it up as though they are dying of thirst.  It has the most delicate citrus aroma, which hasn't affected me at all, even though I'm normally allergic to perfumed products, which give me asthma.  I've used it at least 3 times a day, and most days even more, and you can see by the level of the oil in the bottle in the photo, which I only took today, you only need a very small amount on each cuticle, so a bottle this size would last you for ages.  Find out more information on the site here.

"Harden Up" is another of their newest products, and Kaz says "We ain't got time for weak, puny, brittle nails! Get this strengthener on your nails right now! Harden Up helps thin, overly flexible nails find their inner strength. It's time to Harden Up, princess!"  I haven't tried this product yet, but if it is anywhere near as good as their other products that I have tried, I'm sure it will do my nails the world of good.

"Cuticle Hero" and "Harden Up" were part of the RAOK Care Package, and are definitely an amazingly thoughtful gift, for which I am very, very grateful.  Thank you so much, Christine.  You'll never know how much your generosity has touched my heart.  You are an angel sent from above, and I'm so glad that we met.

Pretty Serious Cosmetics is an Australian based company creating cruelty free and vegan products, and they ship worldwide, so nobody need miss out on any of their wonderful products.  I, for one, will be buying many more items from them in the future, and am really looking forward to receiving another package from them as soon as I can afford some more.  As I use these products for my manicures and nail art I'll will review them in more detail for you.

I'll be back in a day or two with the details of a stash that I received today, but that's it for now.  Thanks for visiting, and I hope you'll come back often to see what I have to share with you.  You can also follow my blog if you so wish by filling in the boxes at the top right-hand side of the page.

Have a wonderful day, and God bless you!

Hugs

Christine

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

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

Update On My Nails and Latest Arcane Lacquer Purchase 9 May 2015

Today I have an update on how my nails are recovering from the disaster I had with some nail glue and acetone nearly 2 months ago (see earlier post for more information), and also some photos of my latest purchase from Arcane Lacquer.

Firstly, here is a photo of my nails as they are today. Please excuse my ugly hands, which are partly the result of age, but also from losing a lot of weight over the last couple of years, and of course there is no way to get rid of the excess skin.  If anyone knows of a way of improving them I'd be very grateful for your advice, because I hate looking at them as they are now.  I slather them in hand cream throughout the day but, although they feel nice and soft, they look horribly wrinkly and OLD!

 

As you can see, my nails are coming along pretty well.  The nails on my right thumb and left pinky are only just growing past the nail base, as are the nails on both of my middle fingers.  Also, many of them are still lifted off the nail bed, the most obvious of which are my two index fingers, but I'm hoping that they will recover as they get stronger and healthier.  Most of the horrible brown, flaking tips caused by my chemotherapy last year are finally growing out, and the nails behind them are a lovely, healthy pink. My cuticles are looking so much better, and so are my nails, so I'm starting to feel a lot better about the way things are going. 

So, if I can keep them safe for another week or two, it looks like I might be able to start painting them again very soon.  I'm waiting for a new strengthener I ordered to arrive (Australia Post up to its usual standard), and this one is supposed to actually strengthen them immediately as well as treating them, so it should be amazing.  More on that when it arrives and I've given it a try.  In the meantime, I'm using Sally Hansen Miracle Cure on them every other day, and continuing to use my Jojoba Oil, Revitanail Keratin Strengthening Serum and Nourishing Oil, and Revitanail Hand & Nail Cream throughout the day, especially after washing my hands.

I have so many new nail polishes in my stash that I am dying to try out, including the two beautiful Arcane Lacquer polishes below.  This are another Indie Polish brand that I am very quickly becoming addicted to.

 

The one on the left is "Glorious Nightmare" and the one on the right is "State of Grace".  It was soooooo hard to get the true effect of these polishes, although the "Glorious Nightmare" photo is pretty close to the mark.  I have two close-ups of them below, and the one of "State Of Grace" shows some of the shimmer and micro-glitter which you can't see in the photo above, but the actual colour is a bit darker. 

  

"State of Grace" is described as a mushroom/taupe creme with a strong gold shimmer and flecks of orange and green, along with gold flakies, although I would describe it as grey. You really have to see this in real life to appreciate its true beauty. "Glorious Nightmare" is described as a deep purple jelly with berry pink, lemon and purple micro glitters. They both are absolutely beautiful, and I can't wait to try them out, which I'll be able to do very soon, God willing.

That's all I have for you today, but I hope to have more very soon when some of my purchases that I'm waiting on arrive.  I hope you will come back often to see what I have to show you, and you can follow me if you wish to by going to the top right-hand side of my page.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day tomorrow, and may God bless you.  For anyone going through treatment for breast cancer, my prayers are with you, and I hope that you come out the other end OK.  My mantra now is "I'M A BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR, AND STAYING ONE".  I actually found a badge with that written on it online, and I'm going to start wearing it everywhere.

Hugs

Christine

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

I was not paid in any way, shape or form for showing you these polishes.
 I bought them with my own money, and my opinions are given freely and without bias.

Nail Recovery Update, BUT New Damage! 10 April 2015

Hi, everyone! I hope you had a great Easter and got lots of rest, and hopefully got time to do lots of nail art.

I thought I'd better touch base and give you an update on how my nails are recovering after the disaster I told you about in my last blog two weeks ago, and also let you know what happened yesterday - another disaster!

Here are some photos of my damaged nails from 2 weeks ago and how they're recovering.

 

As you can see, the two badly damaged nails on the left hand are starting to recover nicely, and so is the thumb on my right hand.  I have been using an intensive recovery regime on all my nails and my hands since all the damage was done, and it is very encouraging to see that it appears to be working.  For the first week I used pure Jojoba Oil, Revitanail Nourishing Oil, Revitanail Keratin Strengthening Serum and Revitanail Hand & Nail Cream. 

After a week, once my nails had stopped hurting so much, I started on the Revitanail Nail Strengthener program, which involves 2 coats on the first day, 1 coat each day for the next 5 days, removing it on the 7th day, and then repeating this for 3 more weeks.  The whole program takes 28 days, and then you can leave it off for a week or two, and repeat the 28 day program again until you are happy with the strength of your nails.  You can't use nail polish over the treatment, so I'm afraid my nails are totally nude all the time at the moment.

As well as the Nail Strengthener, I have continued to use pure Jojoba Oil, Revitanail Nourishing Oil, Revitanail Keratin Strengthening Serum and Revitanail Hand & Nail Cream as often as I can, and will continue to do so in the future, particularly as it really does appear to be working so well. My husband keeps looking at me and saying "Are you still rubbing your nails?", and I just say to him "Again, darl, again!". Nearly every 30 minutes finds me rubbing one treatment or another into my hands and/or nails.  In fact, I find myself massaging my cuticles even when I'm just sitting reading because it has become such a habit. Some of the skin on my fingers has started to peel off, too, caused by the burning from the acetone I used trying to get the nail glue off my nails and fingers. The tips of some of my fingers are still very tender and quite sore, so I'm having to be really careful what I do each day so no more damage is done.

So, that's the good news!  Now to the disaster last night. When I took the nail strengthener treatment off last night, I discovered that I actually had two more nails that were broken right down below the quick, and I felt physically sick.  I couldn't believe it, even though I had suspected for the last couple of days that one of them may be broken.  So, they have now been filed right back as far as I could, and I also filed back my unbroken nails so that they don't look ridiculous.  The broken nails are really sore, too, because of how far down I had to file them. Here is a photo of my right hand showing the damage, and also how some of my nails have lifted off the nail bed due to the damage done from my chemotherapy treatment last year. Most of the nails that have broken have suffered this damage, and that is why they have broken so far down my nails.

  

Now it's back to the drawing board, and onward and upward, I hope! I'm heartbroken that all this has happened just when my nails were starting to grow, and had started to look quite good when polished.  I didn't get to do an Easter design, which I was really looking forward to doing, and it doesn't look like I'll be doing one for Mother's Day next month, or perhaps even for my birthday in June.  Getting my nails in good, strong condition is more important at this stage, so that is what I am endeavouring to do.

I will be back in a couple of days to show you some of my new polishes that I have been receiving in the mail.  Retail therapy is great when you're feeling miserable, and many of the Indie Polish makers have had sales and special offers on over Easter, so I've been busy checking them all out.  It helps to keep my mind off things, too, which is good.  I only wish I had more money to spend, because, after all, a girl can NEVER have too much polish, can she?

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and for those in Tasmania, make sure you keep warm.  It's going to be a wet, chilly couple of days. Please come back soon to see what I have to share with you, and please let others know about my site if you have enjoyed your visit.

Hugs

Christine

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

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

Absolute Disaster on 27 March 2015 - DON'T BUY THIS NAIL GLUE!!!!!!

Yesterday I had an absolute disaster with 3 of my nails which I was trying to patch, using a different nail glue to the one I usually use, and here is how my nails and fingers look today!

As a result of this, I want to advise everyone NOT TO BUY THE NAIL GLUE shown below:

and here's the full story of what happened.

After taking off last week's manicure and the patches I had on three of my nails, I still couldn't cut my nails back because they were broken a long way down the actual nail, and not only on the tip section.  So, I set out to put patches on them again before I put on this week's mani.  I had run out of the glue I had been using, which came with the Manicare Nail Repair Kit I bought months ago, so I decided to use the nail glue shown above, which I had bought to use to attach artificial nail swabs to my nail polish bottle lids before I put them up on the shelves.  It said "Nail Glue", so I presumed it would be safe to use, and I had to make a tiny hole with a sharp needle in the top, so there should have only been a small drop of glue on the index nail on my left hand (the one with breaks on both sides of the nail) when I put it on.  However, that is not what happened.  It spread all over my nail, and onto two of my fingers, and then dried instantly.  My fingers were stuck together, but I managed to get them apart, and managed to finish that patch.

I then spent half an hour trying to get the glue off my fingers with acetone, and still didn't manage to get it all off, but I wanted to go ahead and patch the other two nails that needed repairing, so I decided to finish trying to get it off after I had finished the patches.  I had read during the week that micropore tape from the pharmacy is a good alternative to tea bags to use for patches, so I applied some over the splits on the middle finger on my left hand and the thumb on my right hand.  I filed off the excess bit of the fibreglass tape that I used with the nail glue patch, and smoothed off the surface of the glue.  

Next, I added two coats of Sally Hansen "Hard As Nails" original formula nail hardener to all my nails, waiting for each coat to dry before adding the next one.  I then added one coat of Jordana "Mellow Yellow" to all my nails except for my ring fingers, and one coat of Sinful Colors "White On White" to my ring finger nails.  I was planning to do a gold and green water marble manicure for the Cricket World Cup Final on Sunday, 29 March 2015, in which Australia are playing.  However, when the polish finally dried on the patched nails, I noticed that the polish was really rough on the ones I used the micropore tape on.  So, I decided to remove the micropore patches and do them the same way as the one with the glue, and that's when disaster struck.

The micropore tape nails were easy to clean and remove the tape, but when I tried to do the patch on the first nail, glue went all over my fingers again.  I then tried to add some acetone to a cotton swab to try to get it off, but the acetone went all over the nails on my right hand, and I just burst into tears.  Then I tried to use the acetone to remove the glue from my fingers once again, and most of it just wouldn't shift.  I used the foil method with 100% acetone on the two nails with the glue on, and after 15 minutes they still hadn't shifted, so I added more to them, left the remover on for 15 minutes, and the glue hadn't even budged.  I tried again, and again, and finally managed to get the patch piece off, but the glue underneath still wasn't going to budge.  

Meanwhile, all this time, my finger and nails was burning because of the acetone, so I switched to an acetone-based polish remover, and after about 2 hours I finally managed to remove most of the glue, but in the process the nail on my index finger broke right off, and the other break got worse.  That's when I really gave up, and decided to cut all the broken nails off as carefully as I could, and filed the rest of my nails back a lot so they didn't look ridiculous.  I was really crying my heart out at this stage, because I was watching 9 months of careful nurturing and beautiful manicures going out the window, and my nails looked worse than they did when I first started my blog after the chemotherapy damage.  One of the nails even started bleeding, and you can see how badly the tips of my fingers were damaged by the glue and the acetone.

 

 

So, now I won't be able to do anything but nourish, strengthen and pamper my nails and hands for weeks until they start to recover, and start from scratch again.  I am absolutely heart-broken, and feeling extremely discouraged.  I just wish I could find some glue like the one I got with the Manicare Nail Repair Kit to use with the tea bag patches, but I think the only way I'm going to be able to is to buy a whole new kit, even though I've still got half the fibreglass strips left, and the emery board will last for a long time yet.  

This was a horrible lesson to learn, but I will never put nail glue made for false nails near my nails again, especially the one I tried.  After more than three whole hours just to get the two patches off, plus the time taken to put the base coat and polish on, and then take it off, and still picking glue off my fingers, I guess all I can do is start treating my nails and hands with kid gloves, and use everything in my arsenal to repair the damage.  My first port of call was, of course, my Jojoba Oil, but I have other things I can use, so my next few posts will most likely be updates on how my nails are going and how the different products that I use perform. 

I hope you won't give up on me, and that you will come back again to see how things are going.  If I find anything interesting on my travels around the internet I'll let you know, and will also keep you informed about any new polishes I get while I'm waiting to start polishing my nails again.

Bye for now, and I hope to be back real soon.  Have a wonderful day, and may God bless you.

Hugs

Christine

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

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