Brown And Copper Skittle Manicure - 14 June 2015

Finally, after over a week of major ups and bigger downs in our home and in our lives, here is my latest skittle manicure.  I used five different brown and/or copper colours, and I am amazed at how well they went together.  Here are the products I used:

Now to some photos of my manicure, taken in artificial light at BigW and outside, but with light cloud cover, and just a touch of sunshine.

  

                      Under Artificial Light at BigW                                   Outside In Shade

Outside Under Light Cloud

I started with one coat of Pretty Serious "Rock On" Strengthener on all my nails, and a second coat on a couple that are still very thin and fragile.  Then I put one coat of OPI Natural Nail Base Coat on them all.

On my pinky fingers I used Model's Prefer "Double Shot" creme polish, which looks like a really dark brown in the bottle, but with two coats on my pinky nails it looks black, so I was a bit disappointed, because I wanted it to be brown to fit with the rest of the colours I used. However, it was very easy to work with, and I had excellent coverage with two coats.

On my ring fingers I used Grace-full Nail Polish "And My Axe", which is a dark red-brown jelly packed with holo, silver, gold, copper and bronze glitter.  In real life, just looking at it on my hands, I seemed to have full coverage with just two coats but, thanks to my hubby buying me a smart phone with such good photographic ability, I realise now that I should have added another coat, and perhaps done a bit of dabbing.  Like all my Grace-full Nail Polish, it looks amazing under any lighting, but especially under artificial light and in the sun.  Unfortunately it was cloudy yesterday, so it was very hard to get any photos in full sunlight.  That's the problem with living in Tasmania in winter.  Unfortunately this polish is no longer available, but there are heaps of other wonderful polishes available.

On my middle fingers I used Pretty Serious Cosmetics "Seasonal Sunset", a rusty, jelly-base colour packed with gold and copper glitter. In real life it is a real glitter bomb, and it was so hard to get a a photo that did it justice.  It goes on like a dream, and I only needed two coats to get fantastic coverage.  I probably could have had enough cover with just one good coat, but I wanted it to look good for the swatch, so I gave it the extra coat. This polish is also no longer available, and was a gift from a dear friend who knew that I wanted a bottle of it and that I hadn't known about Pretty Serious Cosmetics when this colour was available.  Thank you, Therese.  I absolutely love it!

On my index fingers I used Shades of Phoenix "Fred's Courage" from the Shades of Potter Collection, which is a burnt orange, autumn-leaf coloured polish.  It went on really smoothly, with full cover in two coats, but when I put the top coat on it bubbled, and got worse overnight.  I was so disappointed, because the colour is amazing, and I was so looking forward to using it.  I will definitely use it again with a different top coat.  The Shades of Potter Collection is wonderful, and I can't wait to try the other colours in the collection.

Finally, on my thumbs I used one of the new Ulta3 Autumn/Winter Metallic Collection polishes, "from the mine", which is a gorgeous copper, metallic glitter bomb with a textured finish.  I also added just one coat of this polish to my pinky fingers to try and take some of the starkness off the colour on them. I don't normally like rough finishes, but with just one coat of top coat this was not so rough that it catches on things, and I love it. All this collection is beautiful, and I just had to give this one a try.  If you haven't tried these polishes yet, get to your nearest Terry White Pharmacy and find them as soon as you can.  There are five in the set, and every single one of them is just gorgeous. 

I finished off with one coat of OPI Natural Nail Top Coat, which gave everything a lovely glossy finish.  However, as I mentioned earlier, it made the polish on my index fingers bubble, but not any of the other polishes.

So, there you have it for this post.  I'm really pleased with how the colour combination worked out and my nails are growing once again, although they still have a long way to go, thanks to both the Pretty Serious Nail Care treatments I am using, "Rock On Nail Strengthener" and "Cuticle Hero Super Hydrating Cuticle Oil".  They are really great, and I'm so glad that I discovered them, and was blessed with some items from this range by a lovely friend of mine.  Thanks, Chris, you know who you are.

I'll be back again soon to show you my birthday present stash from my hubby, and a couple of other great finds.  Thanks for visiting, and I hope you'll come back soon to see what I have to share with you.

Have a great week, and God bless you!

Hugs

Christine

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

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

burnt orange Autumn leaf coloured polish.

An Amazing Gift from a Very Dear Friend!!! 5th June, 2015

I have to let you know that my faith in humanity has been partially restored, and it's so nice to know that there are beautiful people out there still who care about others, and who are willing to show they care.  I received an amazing gift package from a friend, who I've only met recently, and I can't believe how generous she has been.  Thank you so much, Therese, from the bottom of my heart!  You are one very special person, and there should be more people like you in the world.  If there was, the world wouldn't be the hell hole it is today.  Here is a picture of the items Therese sent me, with more details of the polish and other items below.

 

As you can see, this stash is amazing.  There is a beautiful card with a lovely message, two awesome bottles of Pretty Serious Nail Polish, "Seasonal Sunset" and "Generally Dangerous"; two lots of striping tape (gold and hot pink); two water transfer decals which look like postage stamps (unfortunately I didn't think to take them out of the package so I could show both of them) - one shows famous European landmarks, and the other one has the word "SHOES" written all over it in different sizes and fonts; two black acrylic bow decals with holographic glitter on them; two pretty, multi-coloured, bow decals with diamantes in the middle of the bows; two silver butterfly decals with holographic rhinestones all over the wings; two gold butterfly decals with pink, yellow and holographic rhinestones on their wings; one sheet of purple floral transfer decals; and one sheet of pretty blue, yellow and white flower sticker decals. 

Here is a photo of the two Pretty Serious nail polishes:

It was extremely hard to get a good picture of "Seasonal Sunset", but it is a dark burnt-orange jelly base that leans a little towards brown, with tons of gold and orange glitter in it.  It is definitely my kind of colour - in fact, I'm starting to fall in love with browns and oranges, especially with glitter and shimmer in them.  The other polish, "Generally Hazardous", fits the bill completely, and is a wonderful orange creme with a really gorgeous golden shimmer through it.  I can't wait to try this on my nails, and I think these two polishes will go together really well in a skittlette manicure, so I might give that a try one day soon.

Overall, this beautiful gift completely blew me away.  I didn't think that people like Therese, and Christine, another friend that sent me a beautiful care package of Pretty Serious products that I shared with you recently, still existed.  I know the nail art community are extremely helpful and encouraging, but this takes that to another level, and is unbelievably kind and generous.  Thank you both for making me realise that there ARE some beautiful people left in the world.

Well, that's enough for this post.  We have been dealing with a few disasters this week, and I am physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted.  I'll post some more news very soon once I've taken some photos of some new nail mail, and also the details of an amazing, humongous prize I won yesterday.  I'll take photos when it arrives and do a post then. Will be doing another manicure this weekend, too, so will have that to show you as well.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you'll come back soon to see what I have to share with you.  Don't forget to sign up to receive emails when I have a new post, and please leave comments, even if they are complaints, so that I can continue to improve my blogging.

God bless you, and have a wonderful day!

Hugs

Christine

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

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

More Retail Therapy Arrived Today 14 May 2015

I just had to share with you the wonderful polish stash I received from Hayley at Emily de Molly, an Australian Indie Polish maker, whose products I absolutely adore.  I purchased three of them, and the other one Hayley added as a bonus gift.  She also included some cute, oval-shaped silver decals. Thank you so much, Hayley.

 

"Serenity" is described as green leaning blue creme/jelly with different sizes of copper, lavender and turquoise glitter.  I can't believe how beautiful this polish is, and the name fits it perfectly.  Click on the name to be taken to the website and more photos.

"Absent Minded" is described as a purple jelly with iridescent glitter that flashes from blue to green, along with different sizes of copper, blue and red glitter.  This polish in real life is so gorgeous, words can't describe it.  You really have to check it out for yourself.  Click on the name to be taken to the website and more photos.

"A Beautiful Mistake" is unfortunately no longer available on the site (I think I bought the last bottle), and I say unfortunately because, now that I've seen it in person, I want another backup bottle.  It is the most amazing red jelly, with different-sized red and iridescent glitter.  I am in love once again, and can't wait to try it  out when my nails are ready.  I think it would be a wonderful polish for times when you try a red polish on your nails, and it's not really what you were hoping for.  One coat of this polish over the top, and Voila!  Perfection!

"Regal Beginnings" is the polish that I received as a gift from Hayley, perhaps because it was the last one, as it is now sold out. I have to admit that it is not a polish that I would have purchased after just looking at it on my computer screen, but now I've seen it in person, I can't believe how wonderful, and different, it is.  The more I look at it the more I like it, and I can't wait to try it out, perhaps on a feature nail as part of a marbled manicure, using all the colours that are used in this particular polish.  It is described as a medium purple jelly/creme, with different sizes of gold, blue and black glitter. I would actually describe it as a pale lilac, but what's in a name? 

All Emily de Molly polish is 5 free hand-blended, custom nail polish (Toluene, Formaldehyde, TSF resin, Camphor and DBP free).

I'm afraid the photos don't really do justice to these polishes, but if you check out the photos of the ones that are still available on the Emily de Molly site, there are some great photos of swatches there that will give you a better idea of their true beauty.

I also received another parcel from Catch of the Day, which is a set of three OPI Top Coats called "Sheer To The Top" Top Coat & Glitter Trio.  Sorry the photo isn't as clear as I would have liked, but with the plastic in the front of the box it was hard to get a good picture.

 

The description on the back of the box says "Top it shiny, top it matte, or for more drama, top your manicure with glitter!  The perfect finishing touch is yours for the choosing!"

Top Coat - dries nails to the touch in one minute, completely in five, with just one to two coats.

Matte Top Coat - matte protection for all OPI shades! For velvety finishes and oxidized shimmers that fly under the radar.

So Elegant - Black & Chrome confetti add sophisticated drama to this glitter.

These three top coats were a real bargain on Catch of the Day, and I just couldn't resist buying them.  Firstly because I love the OPI Top Coat, and have used it a lot in my manis on my blogs.  Secondly, I needed a good matte top coat, so thought I would give this one a try.  Thirdly, I loved the dramatic look of the black and chrome glitter in "So Elegant", and I'm sure it will be used with all sorts of base colours in future manicures.

Thank you for visiting my blog, and I hope to be back soon with even more retail therapy stashes, my Mother's Day present, which I'm getting tomorrow, and anything else that comes up along the way.

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/

All polish was bought by me, my opinions are unsolicited and I have not received any payment of any kind.

My Latest Purchases From Grace-full Polish as promised - 26 April 2015

Sorry for the delay, but I've had a very busy week.  I can't believe it has taken so long to put these up, because they are absolutely awesome.

I have eight bottles of polish to show you today, all made by Theresa Carter of Grace-full Nail Polish in Port Sorell, Tasmania.  These polishes are all hand mixed, and 3 free, which means they don't have those horrible nasties so many of the mainstream polishes have.  Unfortunately I still cannot swatch any polish, so all I can show you are the bottles.  If you want to see some swatches, just click on the name of the polish, and it will take you to the link on the Grace-full Nail Polish site.

Here are the first four polishes I want to show you, which were in the first order of the two I'm featuring today:

 

 

 

The first one is "Christine", which is "a gorgeous rich teal with shimmer and flakie sparkle", which I just had to have, of course, because my name is Christine.  However, the main reason I bought it is because this is such a beautiful teal shimmer polish in any light, and photos just can't do it full justice.  The shimmer effect is amazing.  It is on sale on the site at the moment, so I don't think it will be around for much longer, because I think it has been discontinued.  So, if you like the look of it, you'd better get in quick before it is all gone!

The second polish I have to show you is "Mandy", which Theresa describes as "a deep blue that has purple undertones, lighter blue micro flakies and blue fantasy flakies that have sparkling effects and a glamorous look", and that's exactly what you see when you view it in the flesh.  It is such a vibrant blue, unlike any I've found anywhere else.  It also is on sale, and probably is on the discontinued list, so it is another one you should hurry and grab now before it, too, disappears forever!  This polish was a free gift to help cheer me up, and I'd just like to say thank you to Theresa for being so kind and thoughtful.  I can't believe how generous and encouraging all my nail art friends and the Aussie Indie Polish makers have been to me since my nail disaster 5 weeks ago.  They are really such a wonderful group of people, and I'm so glad I've met them all, and am making new friends daily since joining some of the Facebook groups.

Now onto "Eboni", which is described as "a dark purple galaxy, similar to O Holy Night but in purple with silver holo stars, violet hex and squares and rainbow iridescent glitter."  I bought this polish for 2 reasons - firstly, because it is the name of my cat (if you change the "i" to a "y"), but mostly because it is soooooo AWESOME!  The photos leave a lot to be desired, because it's almost impossible to show it in pictures.  The swatches on the site are really good, though, and will give you a better idea of what it's like.  It's like looking up into the sky at midnight when you are out in the open away from artificial lighting!  I am dying to get this onto my fingers, and the wait is really depressing me.  A friend suggested swatching these polishes onto swatching sticks/wheels, but I WANT TO SEE THEM ON MY NAILS!  Please pray that my nails will hurry up and grow out so that I can start painting them again.

The last polish in this section is "And My Axe", which unfortunately is no longer available.  It is a beautiful brown jelly, loaded with copper, gold, pink and holographic glitter of various sizes and shapes. It truly is a unique polish, and it's a shame that it has disappeared from the site, because once I'd received it I would have loved to have bought another bottle.  I'm going to see if I can talk Theresa into bringing it back sometime soon.

Now to the next four polishes, which are from the second purchase that I'm featuring today:

 

 

The first of these polishes is "Tiffany" (which is the name of my other cat), and is a polish that Theresa added to my order as a special thank you gift, and to cheer me up.  Apparently it was a polish she made for her friends for Christmas, and I'm sure, if I was one of her friends who received it, I would have gone into raptures, and would immediately declare Theresa as my BFF, because that is how I felt the moment I saw it.  It is a beautiful red/gold microglitter, holographic colour-shifting polish, and is mind-blowing. I haven't been able to stop looking at this polish since I opened my package, and my husband kept laughing at me, because I kept picking it up and moving it about under the light, and/or in the sunlight, and saying "I can't believe someone would be so kind as to give me this!", or "OMG! This is soooooo AWESOME!" The pictures above were taken in natural light, but here are a few other photos I took under artificial light to try to give you a better idea of it's beauty:

  

As you can see, this one was a very hard one to catch the real effect of on camera.  I just wish everyone could have a bottle of this amazing polish.  You really have to see it to believe it!  Thank you so much, Theresa.  You made my day!!!!

The second polish in this section is "Love's Bouquet", described as "a deep purple jelly full of violet, fuchsia, red, garnet, lilac and purple glitters in various sizes."  This one is so gorgeous, and the flashes of colour when you move the bottle are fabulous, but it also is on the discontinued list, and is on special, so check it out on the site before it disappears forever.  Don't miss out, now!  Be quick and check out the beautiful swatches on the site so you can get a better idea of its true beauty!

The next polish in this section is "You Have My Bow", which is from the "Fellowship Collection", and Theresa describes it as "inspired by Legolas Greenleaf and named after the pledge he makes to Frodo that begins the fellowship. This jelly has a leaf green base and is packed with different green glitters in hexes, triangles and dots as they represent both woods of the elves and his last name, and a sprinkle of small gold glitter to represent his blond hair."  This is the green jelly polish that I wish I'd had for St Patrick's Day (if I'd been able to do nail art for St Patrick's Day sigh!).  The green is sooooo green, it's like looking at the clover in your backyard lawn just after the rain, with the sunshine reflecting off the raindrops on the leaves.  It also appears to be going to disappear soon, because it, too, is on special, so you must grab this one if you love to celebrate St Pat's Day!  I'm sure you'll regret it if you miss out, so don't wait too long!

And the last polish I have to show you today is just wonderful.  It's called "Trudi", and is another beautiful explosion of glitter in an amazing jelly polish.  Theresa describes this one as "a deep magenta jelly base with Fuchsia diamonds and dots, orange hex and gold squares and large dots."  I couldn't believe the colour of this one when I saw it, and it just blew my mind!  The different size and shape of the glitters are so amazing, and I fell in love AGAIN!  You really should check out the photos on the site to get a better idea of just how beautiful this polish is.

I really don't know how Theresa comes up with such beautiful polishes time after time after time, and I didn't think she could top the ones she already has on her site, but she has just proven me wrong.  Her latest collection, the Fireside Collection, is so fabulous it set my heart beating the minute I saw the teaser swatches on the Grace-full Nail Polish Fan Group page on Facebook. (You really should join this group if you want to find out what's coming up.  It is a closed group, so only members can get to see the sneak previews, etc, but it's very easy to join).  Then, when Theresa finally showed us the official release photo of the set, ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE in the group, I think, fell completely and utterly in love with them all.  I have purchased the whole collection, and they may well be the first lot of polishes I review when my nails are ready to be polished again.  So, keep an eye out, or better still, check them out right now at Grace-full Nail Polish "Fireside Collection".  If you do end up buying some of Theresa's polish, please let her know that you heard about her site on my blog, and also let your nail art friends know about her site, too.  It doesn't get me anything at all, except the pleasure of introducing someone else to some of the most beautiful polishes available, and to think they come from my beautiful home state of Tasmania makes me so proud.

Well, that's all for today.  I'm sure these photos will give you all something to think and talk about, and I hope you love all these polishes as much as I do.  Since discovering Aussie Indie Polish makers online I've become even more addicted, if that is at all possible.  At the moment just about every one of them is putting out new collections, and trying to choose which one to buy now, and which ones I can wait a pension day or two for, is very, very hard. 

I will try to show you some photos of my new polishes as they arrive, and of course, Mother's Day and my birthday are both coming up soon, so who knows?  Maybe I'll be blessed with some more wonderful polish.  My nails are growing slowly, are looking quite good, and I only have one more week of this first 28-day treatment program, so I may even be able to try to swatch some polish next week.  It will depend how strong they are.  If they are still too weak, I'm going to wait a week or so and then repeat the program for another month.  I would rather suffer from withdrawal a bit longer than risk damaging my nails again by starting swatching and/or doing nail art too soon.  I must say that retail therapy has helped a bit, but having all these beautiful polishes just sitting here looking at me, and begging me to try them out, is driving me quite spare.  Oh, well, better to be sure than sorry.

I hope you'll come back soon to see what else I have to show you, and that you will let your friends know about my blog. You may follow my blog if you so wish by filling in the boxes on the top right-hand side of the page.

Have a wonderful week, and God bless you all.

Hugs

Christine

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

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 all with my own money, except for the two cheer-up gifts, and my opinions are given freely and without bias.

My Christmas Nail Polish Gifts

Hi, everyone.  Today I'd like to share with you all the great nail polish sets I received for Christmas this year.  I really was spoilt by my wonderful husband, Trevor, and my beautiful daughter, Meagan, and her family, and I want to thank them all for being so generous.  So, here are the nail polish gifts they gave me! I received several other lovely gifts too, but this blog is about nail polish, so I won't bore you with those :)

The first one is the "ulta3 Advent Calendar" my hubby bought me at the end of November.  As you can see, there is an amazing mix of 24 mini polishes, and would you believe I didn't already have any of them.  I was amazed! It was great fun opening the little window each day throughout December to see what the next colour would be.  I felt just like a little kid does when he/she opens his/her Advent Calendar and receives a little treat of some kind.  Silly me!!!

The colours are, starting at the top left hand corner, and reading left to right: "bright me", a lovely orange shade; "disco fever", a gorgeous red glitter in a clear base; "orchid", a beautiful deep purple shimmer; "emerald inten-city", a pretty green with a hint of blue; "pot of gold" - lots of gold glitter in a clear base; "lily white" (no description needed); "bon bon", a gorgeous, VERY pale apricot/peach shimmer (really hard to describe); "palette play", a lovely purple; "over the rainbow", which is an awesome rainbow of glitter in a clear base; "tahiti", a bright coral/orange shade; "glamour puss", a lovely silver shimmer; "blue marlin", a lovely mid-blue; "gold rush fever", a lovely gold shimmer, "new year's eve", a brilliant blue glitter in a clear base; "strawberry sundae", which is a lovely mid pink; "luck of the irish", a gorgeous bright green glitter in a clear base; "sizzling red", a lovely deep red; "lilac bloom", a lovely pale lilac/grey shade; "twinkle toes", a bright silver glitter in a clear base; "black satin" (no description needed); "pale dahlia", which is a lovely beige nude; "block it out", another lovely blue; "fruit tingle", an amazing beautiful, bright pink shade; and "pacific fever", a beautiful deep sea green shade.

Next is the "ulta3 "Colour Your World" Christmas 2014 Cube Collection", given to me by my hubby on Christmas Day.  This very quickly went onto my "Christmas Wish List" when I saw it at Terry White's Pharmacy. There were several colours in this set that were the same as those in the Advent Calendar, which was a pity, considering how many colours ulta3 make.  However, the Advent Calendar bottles were only 5ml minis, so this just meant I now have some full-size bottles of those colours (YAY)! They are: "lily white" (no description needed); "lotsa fun", a beautiful, very dark purple/blue with a little shimmer; "fruit tingle" (see above); "tahiti", a lovely coral/orange shade which is really bright and colourful; "pale dahlia" (see above); "lilac bloom" (see above); "sizzling red" (see above); "atomic oj", which is the most awesome bright orange I've ever seen; "gold rush fever" (see above); "emerald inten-city" (see above); and "silver grey", which really doesn't need a description.

Next is the "TBN Paint Tin Christmas 2014 Collection", also given to me by my hubby on Christmas Day, which has 14 different shades, all of which are great.  Some are fluoros, some are cremes, and there is even a glitter. As you can see, the packaging was really unique.   It looks like a plastic can of paint. The top and bottle are metal and the side of the can is clear plastic.  It really caught my eye when I saw it at my Terry White pharmacy, and I quickly added it to my "Christmas Wish List" :)

The colours are: "Crystal Clear" (no description necessary); "Skinny Dip", a wonderful beige/grey nude shade; "Mel-function", which is an amazing brilliant lemon-yellow fluoro; "Desperately Seeking Sue", a lovely orange fluoro; "Little Miss Mila", a lovely bright lipstick pink; "Give Me Moore"; a lovely scarlet red shade; "Cotton Candy", which is a gorgeous pale pink/mauve shade; "That's What She Said", a gorgeous lavender shade; "Jess-able", which is a beautiful rich purple; "Frog Prince", which is a lovely bright green; "Dream Catcher", a sweet pale baby-blue shade; "Rain On My Parade", a bright, mid-blue fluoro shade (picture is pretty close to true colour); "Black Beauty" (no description needed); and "Meteorite", which is an amazing glitter composed of different size black, white and holo glitter in a clear base - you really have to see this one to appreciate what it looks like.  It's awesome!

And last, but definitely not least, is the "BOE Presents MIDNIGHT Collection" of nail polishes and caviar beads that my daughter bought me.  The photo was taken with a flash, so unfortunately there is some glare, and we had to take them out of the box to photograph them because of the plastic window on the front of the box.  There are no colour names or numbers for the polishes, but there is a beautiful pale mauve shimmer, a lovely dark pink creme, a wonderful pinkish-purple shimmer, and a silver shimmer.  They are awesome! There are also two bottles of rainbow caviar beads, one bottle of cerise beads, and a bottle of silver beads.  They even added a tiny little black funnel to use to put the caviar beads back in their bottles after using them (this will come in handy for my glitter collection as well).  This is a beautiful collection, but when I contacted BOE to see if they could tell me what the colour names and/or numbers were, they told me they were one-off limited edition polishes, and won't be made again.  Such a pity, because they really are so beautiful.  So, if you see one at BigW, grab it before they disappear for ever.  You won't be disappointed.

Now you know why I said I was spoilt this Christmas.  I wasn't expecting all these polishes, and it really made for a beautiful Christmas Day for me.  When you add this to the other gifts I received, including one from my gorgeous granddaughter, Sioned (the first gift she's bought me since joining the workforce), you can see why I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family.  It may be small, but I love them all dearly, and I don't know where I would be without them, and that was even more special whilst I was going through my battle with breast cancer throughout 2014.  Thank you so much, guys.  You have no idea how much I appreciate you all.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, too, and that the New Year will be a happy and prosperous one for you and your loved ones.  My next post will be my New Year's Eve manicure. Until then, God bless you, and I hope you'll come back soon to see what else I have to share with you.

Hugs

Christine

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

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

P.S. I have received no monetary or material gain from my reviews of the products used for this manicure.
Everything comes from my personal stash, all purchased by me, either in-store or online.

Another Christmas Manicure 14 December 2014

Sorry it's been a while (12 days, I see), but I had another disaster this week.

My last manicure lasted 9 whole days with virtually no damage at all.  I was amazed, but I didn't want to bore you with more photos of it. However, I stuffed up royally with my manicure for this week first time around, so I had to take it all off and start again, after I had slept on it and worked out what I had done wrong.

So, today I have a Christmas-themed skittle manicure (with each nail completely different).  Here's the best photo I could get of it - although it still doesn't really do it justice,  it's pretty close.  I love the colours of all the polishes I used, and will certainly be using them again.

I started with 1 coat of Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Base Coat.  I then added 2 coats of Colours by TBN "Dancing In The Forest" on my pinkies, 3 coats of Revlon Brilliant Strength "Hypnotize" on my ring fingers (although 2 coats would probably have been enough), 3 coats of OPI "Alpine Snow" on my middle fingers and thumbs, and 2 coats of ulta3 "scarlet" on my index fingers. I found the OPI "Alpine Snow" rather hard to work with and, if I hadn't been adding glitter and stripes to the nails I used it on, I would have had to add another coat to get a smooth finish.  The other polishes were all really easy to work with, and I only added the third coat on the gold nail to add intensity to the colour.  This is a gold that I will be using a lot, I'm sure, because it is just so easy to use, and looks so amazing.  I think it would be great for stamping and/or water marble manicures, too.

Once my polishes had all dried, I placed strips of masking tape and striping tape on my thumbs. I then added one coat of ulta3 "scarlet" over the nail, quickly removing the tapes before the polish dried.  I'm afraid I wasn't very happy with the way the stripes turned out, because there were a few spots where I obviously hadn't pressed the tape down firmly enough, especially on the edges of my nails.  I discovered last night, after I had finished it, a tip suggesting that I use a coat of top coat on my nail before doing the striping, and I'll try that next time. However, as a first time striping job (where I painted over them instead of using them as the stripes), I am reasonably happy with it.   I then added 2 coats of KBShimmer "Kringle All The Way" to my ring fingers, and 2 coats of ulta3 "disco fever" to my index fingers.  I had to fish around for some large glitter with the KBShimmer, but there is heaps of different-sized glitter in the bottle (red, green and silver in different sizes, and tiny holographic glitter throughout), so it wasn't hard to get some large ones.  The ulta3 red glitter was really easy to use, and also has plenty of glitter.

Finally, I applied 1 coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (Yay! I finally got some!) to each nail, and I'm thrilled to bits with the finish it has given to my nails.  It covered all the glitter beautifully, and dried my manicure so quickly I couldn't believe it.  I will be interested to see how long my manicure lasts with this as my top coat.  I'll be adding another coat, as usual, every other day, and will let you know next time how well it goes.

The damage on my nails is still growing out, and I am nursing another break on my right thumb, but each week there is less of the horrible, dark-brown, fragile, flaking area on my tips left, and more of the lovely pink new growth at the base of my nails.  I am just filing a small amount off each week before I do my new manicure, and my nails are definitely getting a lot stronger each week since I started using the Jojoba oil at least twice a day. They seem to be growing faster, too, which is fantastic.  I'm also using Swisse "Hand Skin Nails" tablets, and I'm sure they have helped, too.

I've been having trouble finding a good, natural cuticle oil that uses Jojoba oil as a base that is a reasonable price, but have decided to make my own after I have used up all the treatments I've already bought.  I'm also having trouble finding a good, hydrating hand cream, but I've found some great recipes online, so I've decided to source all the products I need to make my own, and have also found a recipe for an exfoliating sugar hand scrub, and will be making some of that this week once I find some nice jars to put it in.

I'm amazed at how much information there is available about natural solutions to my hand care problems, and I have found suppliers and recipes for just about everything I need to make my own.  I am allergic to perfumed products, and also to a lot of the preservatives and other artificial additives cosmetic companies use in so many of their products.  It's hard to avoid some of them with my manicures, of course, but at least I can with the products I use every day on my skin and nails.

As I used 2 ulta3 polishes this week, I thought I'd mention the fantastic Christmas gift ideas they have available here in Australia this year.  My hubby bought me a wonderful ulta3 Advent Calendar full of mini nail polishes, and so far the colours have been amazing, and I haven't got any of the ones that I've opened the window for, so hopefully I won't have any of them.  There is also a cube of 18 full-size ulta3 polishes, and a large candy cane full of full-size polishes. I think they have a couple of other gift items, too, but I haven't discovered them yet.  Of course, I've put my order in to Santa for one (or more, perhaps) of them for Christmas.  There are some great Colours by TBN gift sets as well, and lots of others around the stores for other brands, so I'm hoping Santa gets the message and is feeling generous.

So, that's it for another week.  I hope you like what I've shared with you this week, and that you'll come back often to see what I've been up to.

God bless you, and peace be with you all!  Have a wonderful day!

Hugs

Christine

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

Words of Life and Hope

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

P.S. I have received no monetary or material gain from my reviews of the products used for this manicure.
Everything comes from my personal stash, all purchased by me, either in-store or online.

Headwear and Gifts for Cancer Patients

I have just received an email from the most wonderful site for cancer patients online.  They have just upgraded their site, and they have every type of headwear you could wish for if you have experienced hair loss during and after chemotherapy, or you may know someone who has. Beautiful hats, scarves, turbans, wigs and accessories, and also beauty products and fabulous gift items to help you or your loved one look good and feel better. Or you can show your support for someone you know who has cancer, and is experiencing hair loss from their cancer treatment, by purchasing one of these wonderful items for them, or even for yourself.

The name of the site is Headcovers Unlimited, and you can find them at http://www.headcovers.com/.

If you are about to go through chemotherapy, or have been through it and have lost your hair, and you want something to make you feel better about yourself whilst going through this horrible trial, please check them out.  I purchased several items from them while I was going through chemo, and five months later I'm still wearing them because my hair still hasn't grown very much.  It's coming, but I've been advised to keep it really short for a while, to strengthen it and hopefully thicken it, too.

Or, maybe you're looking for a gift for someone you know who is going through chemotherapy, or is about to.  There are some wonderful gift items and beauty products on the site, and you could even buy them a scarf, hat, turban or even a wig.  All these things would make your loved ones feel a whole lot better.  Take it from someone who has been there, done that.  I was particularly taken with the beautiful Cancer Awareness jewellery, keyrings and magnets they have in their gift section.  There are some absolutely wonderful items here, and they would make fantastic Christmas presents for the people you care about who are suffering from one of these dreadful diseases.  Cancer is horrible, and so are the treatments for it, but you can help to make it a little easier for them, and brighten their lives, by purchasing one of these beautiful items for them.

Of course, there are others who would love these items as well.  People suffering from alopecia, trichotillomania and other medical hair loss conditions would also appreciate any of these products.  Or perhaps you want to wear one of the gift items to show your support for the people sufffering from all the different types of cancer.  Everyone is catered for here, so I know you will be able to find something you like.

Please, check the site out now.  You will be amazed at the quality of their products, and the range of items available.  Here's the link again.  http://www.headcovers.com/

God bless you, and have a wonderful day!

Hugs

Christine

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

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

P.S.  I have received no incentive in any way, shape or form to promote this site.
I am just speaking from my own experience, not for any gain.