The Red Arrow

I'm pretty sure most of you don't know that one of my hobbies is archery :)  It is a hobby I picked up a few months ago thanks to a sweet groupon deal.  It's been a lot of fun, a huge stress reliever, and it's actually toning my arms a bit (always a bonus).  My "archer name" (my sister in law tells me I have to have one) is "The Red Arrow" - not to be confused with the muscle-ridden rich boy Green Arrow :P  I picked it because of my red hair, and I enjoy the color red in general.

So this Wednesday, I was *finally* able to purchase my own bow and arrows after having to use one of the academy's over-used bows!!  And (shocker), it's red!

Isn't it just puuuuuuuuuuurty? :D  I get to use it for the first time this Monday - I'm very excited!!

Last night I asked a friend what theme I should do on my nails that was quick and easy, since it was already 9pm by the time I could do my nails.  She suggested archery, since I just got my new bow.  So, I present to you, my archery nails!

I painted the bow and arrow to match mine ^_^  It is a very simple design, but I like it.  I used the Limited Edition color "Happy Primary Circumgyration" by Emerald & Ash for the background color. 

I love the shifts in this polish from a pearly super-light green to a slightly darker sea foam green.  It also has lots of silver sparkles, and an ever-so-subtle holographic effect in the sunlight.  It's a really lovely polish.

Hope you all have a fabulous Friday!  I'll be posting the next set of You-Pick-My-Art photos within the hour, so keep watch on my Facebook page!

*Note: links I provide are NOT affiliate (i.e. I do not get a kickback when you click on the link through my blog). I simply provide them for your convenience :)

Fight For Light and Live

Going to get a little heavy and talk about something more serious today than my usual jovial posts.

As you most likely know, the world lost a wonderful person last week - Mr. Robin Williams.  Now that everything is past speculation, it's known that he died by suicide stemmed from a very bad bout of depression.  We also know he had been at the very beginnings of Parkinson's Disease, but had not gone public with that information before he died.

I am always so sad when I hear stories of great people, famous or not, committing suicide.  It is truly terrible that anyone should feel their life is not worth living anymore.  Every life is important, every life makes a difference.  Depression is such an ugly thing, and can really warp a person's mind to see only the negative.  In Robin Williams' case, he was only thinking about all the dark things, instead of recognizing the huge amount of good he put out in this world.  Millions of people loved him, millions of peoples' lives were affected positively by him and all the good deeds he had done.  He was unable to focus on that, and it cost him his life.

Suicide is never an option.  It shouldn't even be on the drawing board for "Ways to Fix My Problems."  However, it is much easier to say that when you are not suffering from depression.  It really is a terrible, ugly monster that feeds into everything dark to suffocate the light.  BUT, it CAN be defeated.  You CAN overcome this nasty thing, whether you are battling it yourself, or know someone who is fighting it.  I should know, I'm living proof.

There was a rough period of 2 years of my life when I sank into a depression and rarely came out of it.  I've got a scar for each particularly dark moment (and there are quite a few).  And I'll admit, there were several times I thought about, planned, and almost followed through in taking my own life.  Clearly, I never followed through, or I wouldn't be typing to you right now :)  How did I overcome it?  Strength through the love of my family.

My parents were a constant source of light, even when I treated them like crap during those 2 years.  My family never left my side, still loved me, still cared.  That is what got me through it.  I also cut out the negative people in my life that were feeding that depression and my negative thoughts.  Basically, I fought, and that's what kept me alive.  I realize it is not that easy for everyone, and depression is so much stronger in some than others.  That is why I support organizations like Suicide Awareness Voices of Education.

By clicking on that link, you'll be taken to SAVE's website where there's an abundance of resources not just for those suffering depression, but for those who know someone suffering it, or feeling suicidal.  Lots of very useful information.

Back to Mr. Williams - his death has sparked a wave of Depression Awareness.  That wave is also affecting the indie nail polish business, if you can believe it.  Lots of makers are coming out with tribute polishes to Robin Williams and donating a portion of, or the entire profit to organizations fighting depression and suicide.  Today, I want to feature one such company, because I feel what she did was absolutely amazing.

The company is called Liquid Sky Lacquer.  She created a Robin Williams Tribute Trio and donated 100% of the profits (split 50/50) to Families for Depression Awareness and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.  I was and still am blown away by that amazing generosity.  I jumped on that bandwagon and sat on the refresh button the day that trio collection went live.  All trio sets sold out in a matter of minutes.  When all was said and done, $1,950.20 was raised in total!  That is so incredible!!!

I have some swatch photos I took of the trio after I received it yesterday.  I will not be "reviewing" them, just showing you what they look like.  The first is called "O Captain! My Captain," a nod to Dead Poets Society:

Next up is in reference to Flubber and is called, "I <3 You With Every Cell, Every Atom":

And lastly is the polish I have a hard time saying without tearing up - "Genie, You're Free!"

All these polishes are creative and fun, and I'm showing them to you because this Saturday, Liquid Sky Lacquer is re-stocking the trios on her website, again donating 100% of profits to those two charities mentioned above.  The price is $25 for the trio (and you CAN buy them individually), and the restock is set for 2PM Pacific Standard Time.  I highly encourage you to at least check it out, and if you cannot buy all, maybe buy one.  If you cannot buy any, spread the word!

Alright, I'm all done getting serious with you :)  This issue is just very personal for me, and I really felt it needed to be addressed.  I hope you all have a wonderful day!!  Enjoy every minute, hug someone (anyone - everyone needs a good hug now and then), love your life :)

Nail Art: Animal Drum!!!

Halfway to the weekend!!  W00T!

I have a super short post for you today .  It is payday and I've got tons of errands to run with the munchkins.  So, I'll just be showing nail art this time :)

This week's prompt in a freehand nail art group I belong to is the theme "Animals."  Here's what I came up with:

Look!!  It's a bunch of Animals!!!  :D  Handpainted using acrylic paints over "Purple is My Crack" by the brand Colors by Llarowe.  He is my favorite Muppet ^_^

Hopefully the gals in my nail art group will have the same sense of humor as me :P  Have a great Wednesday everyone! <3

Polish Post: Girly Bits "Cosmic Ocean" and "D!ck in a Box" Swatches, Review, and Nail Art

It's a very Washington morning here in Phoenix - grey, overcast, and rainy.  I very much enjoy it ^_^

Today, I have two polishes to show you from the Canada-based indie brand Girly Bits.  The first is called Cosmic Ocean - take a look!

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I wanted this polish the moment I came across it on Llarowe - it was the first polish I put on my wish list.  It recently came back into stock and I am so thrilled I was finally able to snag one!  Cosmic Ocean is a blue/teal/turquoise glitter topper packed full of sparkly goodness.  In the pictures, I am wearing two coats over Chick Polish's "Raven's Egg," with a quick topcoat for an added shine.  The polish dries quickly with a semi-flat finish, and has a TON of sparkle to it.  Seriously, it's just stunning.  I love that this polish looks beautiful even when it isn't in the sunlight.  This is my new favorite blue glitter topper :)  

The other polish I have today is a nod towards a very famous and amusing Saturday Night Live skit, and it is called "D!ck in a Box."

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Do you look at a nail polish, see it's name, and think, "Uhhhh...hmm," because it just doesn't seem to fit?  I felt that way about this polish when I first saw it released.  But upon further inspection of the brand overall, it looks like funny names is just something they do - which I should have figured with a brand name called Girly Bits :P

I never let a funky name stop me from buying a fabulous polish, though!  At first glance I wasn't too enthralled with D!ck in a Box, but as more swatches came out from various bloggers, I saw all the different angles of the polish color and wanted to give it a try :)  I'm glad I did!  It's rare to find a pretty grey, let alone a grey holographic, but Girly Bits managed to create one.  DIAB is a sparkly medium-grey toned polish with a linear holographic effect in the sunlight.  It's a lot more colorful in person - my camera just couldn't capture it.  Application was fairly smooth, and the polish was fully opaque in 3 coats (2 would probably do it if you apply it thicker, but I always prefer thin coats).  Dried fairly quickly, too, though I did use a coat of HK Girl Glisten & Glow fast-dry topcoat in the pictures above.  Overall, the polish is a nice neutral color with an added holo bonus in the sunlight :)

Here are some Girly Bits links for you (bet you don't hear that every day in a PG setting):

Facebook: Here

Website: Here

Instagram: Here

If you do not live in Canada, and are looking for a US based supplier of this brand, Llarowe carries a lot of the Girly Bits polishes.

I belong to a wonderful Freehand Nail Art group on Facebook, and we recently voted on a few themes for prompts each week.  The first theme was Complementary Colors, and this is the design I came up with:

I stepped a little outside my comfort zone with this design.  I went a little more artsy and lot less literal - and I kinda love the result!  With my art, I tend to focus on the details, and give myself a very hard time when things are messy, or not realistic/true to life.  This art design was me trying to break those bad habit thoughts and try something new.  I tell you what - I'm gonna do this more often ^_^

I hope you all have a great Tuesday!!  Thanks for sharing part of it with me <3

Polish Post: Marbles for Polish "Cupcake Sugar" and two One-Of-A-Kind's Swatches, Review, and Nail Art

This is my 50th blog post!!  Yay for the little things ^_^

I know I recently wrote up another blog post on the brand Marbles for Polish, but after my recent order with her that contained three one-of-a-kind polishes and one Limited Edition, I had to feature some more!  I used one for the background for the You-Pick-My-Art from last Friday.  Let's start with the Limited Edition color called, "Cupcake Sugar."

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Cupcake Sugar is a lovely lilac purple with a subtle scattered holo.  Application was smooth and took two coats to make it fully opaque.  The polish dried to a nice shine, as seen in the photos above (I used no topcoat).  This particular brand seems to dry very quickly, too, as I have yet to come across one by her that takes longer than a few minutes to fully dry.  It is very convenient :)  She is set to release this Limited Edition polish this Friday, August 22nd.  I'll be posting a link to her shop below so you can keep your eye out!

Next up is a one-of-a-kind color (not available for purchase in her store) and is unnamed.  Check it out:

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This OOAK is a stunner!  It's more metallic with a slight glimmer in the sunlight.  Smoothest application yet of this brand, and was technically opaque in 1 coat, though I always add 2 just to make sure things are smoothed out.  Dried very quickly to a semi-sheen, as you can see in the photos.  Really gorgeous teal color, I am so glad I scooped this one up!

The last color, and the one I used as the background for my nail art, is one of the other One-Of-A-Kind polishes I purchased.  Take a look:

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This OOAK is my favorite of the bunch!  It's a gorgeous blue-leaning-purple with a lovely scattered holo in the sunlight.  Opaque in 3 coats and dry in under 5 minutes to a nice shine, though I did add a quick topcoat of HK Girl Glisten & Glow to this polish.  It is such a beautiful color, and makes the perfect backdrop for my nail art.

Here are some links of the Marbles for Polish store and Facebook page so you can keep your eyes out for her Cupcake Sugar Limited Edition release :)

Etsy: Here

Facebook: Here

Speaking of nail art, here's my version of Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, chosen by you last week in my You-Pick-My-Art!

Nothing will ever be as good as the original, that's for sure :)  This one isn't too bad though!  I focused more on the sky than I did the city below it.  I am always drawn to that part of the painting.

Hope you enjoyed this post and this week's You-Pick-My-Art design!  What would you like to see for this week's design?

*Note: Links in my post are not affiliate (i.e. I do not get a kickback if you click on it through my blog). I simply provide them for your convenience :)  I also purchased each polish individually, and was not given any or asked to post about them by the maker.