Ice & Snow

Hello all!  As I write this, I am being informed that there is quite a scary winter storm approaching.  By "scary", I really mean "blizzard-like conditions" and I'm actually honestly not sure whether going to work is gonna be worth it.

So my nails reflect the ice and snow that will soon be all over this freaking place.  Give me my fuzzy socks, my warm gloves, and hot chocolate pronto.

For this manicure:

• Base Coat - Bonder by ORLY
• Thumb, Ring, & Pinky - What a Broad by Sephora by OPI; ice imitated via silver foil purchased from rue21
• Ponter & Middle - Endless Blue by Sinful Colors; stamped with iced silver by b.m.c. using SH202 plate by Shany Cosmetics
• Top Coat - Out the Door by inm

Approximate Completion Time: 1.5 hours

What happened was as I was taking more pictures, my camera decided to run out of battery :o then I charged my camera, and I was charging said camera, my nails got scratched and chipped.

But still, even having 2 good pictures beats having no pictures to show.

It's cold enough to start wearing socks to sleep o.o hopefully the cold doesn't get to the best of me.

That's all for me for today.  I hope you all stay warm wherever you are!! :)

Triforce Heroes Nail Art

Hello all!  If you've been following Nintendo at all lately, you would know that they just released a new game for the Nintendo 3DS.  I played a demo of said game.  Triforce Heroes is so cute :) it has the art style of Link Between Worlds, and the online multiplayer co-op is truly a test of patience, skill, and achievement through limited communication.  If you have the 3DS, I would recommend you buy the game!

I too shall buy the game...after I finish Majora's Mask...uh...

But this isn't a post to review video games.  This is a post to show off the nail art that I made to celebrate the launch of the game! :D

For this manicure:

• Base Coat - Bonder by ORLY
• Base Color - Alexis by Julep
• Triforce Colors - good as gold by essie, Nadia by Julep, Ruby Ruby by Sinful Colors, Endless Blue by Sinful Colors, Happy Ending by Sinful Colors; decals made with Double Duty Base & Top Coat by Sally Hansen
• Top Coat - Out the Door by inm

Approximate Completion Time: 1.5 hours

I like how that picture makes the blue pop.  I was also really surprised that my camera was able to capture the purple.  Granted, I'm in direct sunlight, but cameras are notorious for losing the ability to can when it comes to the color purple.

I think I increased the saturation on my camera just by a little bit for this picture.  Maybe.  I forget.  But I'm really happy with this manicure :) for once, nail decals started to make sense to me and they didn't stick out so much in the photos, if even at all.  I used about 3 layers of top coat for the nails that had the decals, so I think the extra layers did the trick.

Hopefully I finish Majora's Mask soon so I can buy and play Triforce Heroes!  The reason why I haven't bought the game yet is because if I did, I know I would completely ignore Majora's Mask and only play Triforce Heroes, and it's a travesty because I'm so close to beating the game.

But why does Majora's Mask have to be so scary and stressful ;_;

Anyways, that's all for now.  I hope I'll be able to post another set of nails soon! :) But until then, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Alopecia Awareness Nails

Once upon a time, there was a younger me who was going through the typical angst that is puberty and I seriously was mad at God for making it so that I had alopecia.  I was like 100% sure He had a hand in it (maybe He does, maybe He doesn't).  I so wished that this condition was embodied within someone else and not in me.

But God works in interesting ways to bless His people.  I don't wake up thanking Him for my alopecia, but I do finally appreciate how it has shifted the way I perceive my own body image.  My church also prayed for me over the course of 5 years.  I remember that final doctor's visit where the doctor told me that I didn't need to continue using whatever solution I was using at that time, because my hair has grown back at an immensely faster rate than he had expected.

Throughout college, there were times when God seemed so far away, but I would have to remind myself that I was living proof of His miracle.  My hair is proof of His miracle.  Of course, college stress meant that I would have occasional flare ups and lose hair time and time again, but that hair always grew back.  My hair isn't dense and thick.  It's pretty thin, but yo I'm thankful.  However, I have like 1.2 eyebrows.

Of course, those antibodies still exist in my blood (as far as I'm concerned...haven't been tested since), which means I technically still have alopecia.  It would be cool if we could cure alopecia, but since it's an autoimmune disease, that would be quite the challenge.  How does one selectively target antibodies??  Granted, I wouldn't need such a cure because I feel pretty confident in my condition, but for those people out there who do have alopecia and do want a cure...that would be nice for them.

Anyways, September is Alopecia Awareness Month, with the awareness being the color blue for some reason.  So here is my contribution to the awareness:

For this manicure:

• Base Coat - Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat by Sally Hansen
• Thumb, Ring, & Pinky - aruba blue by essie; glitter gradient made using a makeup sponge and Portia by Julep
• Pointer & Middle - Shelly by Julep; used Fishnet Stencil from Vinyl Boutique and stamped gradient over it using Jeanne by Julep, Endless Blue by Sinful Colors, & Char by Julep
• Top Coat - Out the Door by inm

Approximate Completion Time: 2 hours

Surprise, surprise - the top coat dries quickly, which makes the vinyls easier to use.  Nail vinyls are pretty legit.  I remember seeing them for the first time a few years ago and I was like "this is a cool concept but it's never gonna catch on".  I was wrong.  This is also how I felt about Vine, Snapchat, the Nintendo WiiU, etc.

Clearly I have been wrong on more than one occasion.  I can own up to that.