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.

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/

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 Retail Therapy Over Last Three Weeks - 18 April 2015

As promised, I have some photos to share with you of some of my retail therapy purchases over the last three weeks.  Some were ordered before that, but most have been bought since my nails got so badly damaged.  I am happy to report that my nails are slowly recovering, and the Revitanail products I'm using seem to be working really well, which is a huge relief.  However, it's probably going to be about 6 weeks before I can do any nail art, which is driving me insane.  Hence the retail therapy.

Firstly, I have a stash of new and used polish I bought from a friend I've made in the Just Nail Polish Sales (Australia) Facebook Group.  If you live in Australia, are mad about nail polish, and you haven't already joined this site, please check it out.  It is a fantastic group, everyone is so friendly and you can pick up some real bargains, and possibly even some polish you may have been searching everywhere for.

This stash is mainstream polishes, but they are all gorgeous.

Next, I'd like to show you two beautiful polishes I got from Emily de Molly, an Australian, 5-Free, Cruelty Free and Vegan Friendly, Indie Polish maker.  They owner, Hayley, can only directly ship to Australia from her online store, but she has several international suppliers who stock her products for those who live overseas.  Just check her "stockists" list for your nearest supplier.

These two gorgeous polishes are "Restless", which has a metallic teal base, with a mix of colour shifting shimmer, flakies and micro glitter, and apparently gives full coverage in two to three coats; and "Cosmic Forces", which is a dark purple/plum jelly with lavender holo dots and hex and pink dot glitter, in lots of different sizes.  You might have to fish for the larger dots because they tend to drop to the bottom of the bottle, but it will be well worth it for the results.  "Restless" is still available at the moment, but it is on the discontinued list, so you won't be able to get it for much longer.  

The bottles are sitting on some gorgeous cat nail vinyls, which unfortunately I cannot show you the details of because they don't show up in the photographs, but you can check them out here if you are interested.  They really are amazing, with 60 cat stickers and 30 cat stencils.  Each cat design has the reverse image as well, which is often not the case with nail stickers and/or transfers, etc.  Also, Hayley, was kind enough to include some lovely silver, square nail decals, shown in the photos, as a thank you gift.  I can't wait to see what she may have coming up for sale in the future.  I'd love to buy every single one of her polishes, but I simply couldn't afford to.  The range is awesome, and so are the colours and finishes.  Please check out Hayley's store, or one of her suppliers, real soon.  You won't be disappointed, I assure you.

Next, I have two beautiful polishes from ella+mila, another 5-Free, Cruelty Free and Vegan Friendly Indie Polish maker, this time from the USA.  They ship internationally, which was a real plus for me, and they are beautifully packaged.

k

These two polishes are just gorgeous, and will be perfect used in the same manicure.  The one on the left is "Entice Me", from the "Dream Collection".  It is a beautiful dusky mauve, which just a hint of shimmer.  The one on the right is "Honeymoon Bliss", from the "Love Collection", a gorgeous very soft pinky/lavender polish.  It is very hard to describe, and I couldn't quite catch the colours on my camera.  They came in cute little boxes (shown in photo), and were very carefully packed so they wouldn't get damaged.  I can't wait to do a mani using these two beautiful colours.

The third lot I would like to show you are two amazing polishes from KBShimmer, an Indie Plolish company in the USA.  I bought these from "Harlow & Co", who ship to Australia, and I can definitely recommend this company. (Please excuse the cat hair in the photo - it is one of the inherent problems found when living with two cats, and I didn't notice it until I loaded it onto my blog.)

The polish on the left is "Goldie Rocks", a yellow gold metallic polish that has a linear holo sparkle.  It is absolutely gorgeous, and the photo doesn't really catch the holo effect, unfortunately, but you should get full cover in 2-3 coats.  The polish on the right is one I have been dreaming of getting ever since I first saw it blogged online - "Men Are From Mars-ala".  This is a wonderful earthy, red-brown shade which, when indoors, is rich and warm, and outdoors or in bright light features a linear holographic finish. The photo simply doesn't do this justice, as I couldn't pick up the amazing holo effect, but if you click on the name you will be taken to the "Harlow & Co" site where you can see fantastic photos and swatches of it.  These two colours would also be awesome used in the same mani, which is what I hope to do once my nails have recovered.

Well, that's it for today, but I will be back soon to show you some more of my recent purchases, especially the two lots I bought over the last couple of weeks from "Grace-full Nail Polish" in Tasmania, Australia.  They are absolutely amazing, and I want to do a special post on these in the next couple of days.  

Please let me know if you have enjoyed seeing the pictures of my recent purchases, and I hope you'll come back soon to see what I have to share with you.  You may follow my blog if you wish by filling in the boxes at the top right-hand side of the page.

Have a wonderful day, 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/

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/