Young Love

Despite some coverage issues that killed me with this one, I'm sorta adoring it!
Here's the quick and dirty:

*1 coat Gelous base
*4 (and 5 on my ring finger) coats of OPI I Think In Pink
*1 coat Out the Door

This is SUCH a sheer pink--I always forget how many coats it takes to get mostly opaque.  I love the shade, though, so I get sucked back in...I had to add an extra coat on my middle finger because I smudged it and couldn't recover.  It didn't make much of a difference, though.

Coverage aside, I like the pink and red combo for Valentine's day.  The adorable stick figure decal is from RLR Creations and part of the same sheet I used on my last mani.  The kid-o drawing just makes me smile :)
I was tempted to add some shimmer or sparkle, but restrained myself (mostly) and added a red rhinestone to the cream finish and called it a night.  I'm glad I did--I was pleasantly surprised by this one!

Go Pink Wendesday: not the end

Today is the 5th and final Go Pink Wednesday manicure for breast cancer awareness.  Andrea at Finger Painting Fingers has done a wonderful job of uniting bloggers and helping promote awareness!  It has been inspiring seeing all of you ladies promote awareness and give support to those who are fighting, have fought, or are vulnerable to this disease.
I figured I'd try to redeem by last post of polka dots (based on a tutorial from Chalkboard Nails) without my hair getting in the way!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*3 coats OPI I Think In Pink
*Zoya Kimber
*Zoya Rory
*1 coat Seche Vite

I Think In Pink is a cream polish that is quite sheer.  I used 3 coats, which build pretty well, but still had visible nail lines.  I knew I was going to cover the tips with dots, so I didn't add a 4th layer.  This is pretty much the perfect baby pink, part of their Pink of Hearts duo for breast cancer awareness.

 

I used Rory for my first round of dots, knowing that Kimber would be able to cover it when I overlapped the dots.  I love Kimber so much that this light, shimmery pink tends to get overlooked in my collection.  Because of the shimmery "foil" finish, it has good coverage with just the one coat dotted on.

Beautiful, shimmery Kimber went over the top of Rory.  I still wish that the dots had a bigger difference in sizes for contrast.  Besides that, I like how these two look together, especially as a tip for the cream base. 

So, this is the end of the breast cancer awareness posts for this October, but it's not the end of awareness.  There is a danger in seeing this as a yearly crusade when it is really meant to be a daily one.  Continue to know yourself and and changes in your body.  Be comfortable and willing to discuss tough issues.  Cancer is scary.  When you are open about it, when you are aware and catch it early, when you are willing to face the reality head on, you rob it of some of its power.  Thanks to continued vigillance, research, and support, we will hopefully see a day when there is a cure.  Until then, this isn't over.

Go Pink Wednesday

TWO posts in one day?!?  What is going on here?
Well, there are a lot of things going on here.  First off, I had a job interview yesterday.  I'm cautiously hopeful about it, and will know soon if I will get to move onto a "real" job...but that's not something I want to think too much about.  I did, however, need to be put together and presentable, so my nails needed attention.  I also needed to keep it subdued, professional.  That meant no black for Halloween or anything.  I figured a pale pink was safe.
It's also breast cancer awareness month.   A ton of awesome bloggers are posting pink manis on Wednesdays in October ("On Wednesdays we wear pink.") to raise awareness and show solidarity for an important cause.  I have been hugely blessed to not have this hit close to home, but cancer has.  While we focus on awareness and prevention of breast cancer this month, it's really about ending all of them.  A cure for one is hope for all.  Knowing your body, being aware of changes, and being brave enough to get help when you see them will help all of us, and the earlier we can tackle cancer, the better the odds.  So, I'm all for raising awareness!

I bought the OPI Pink of Hearts duo when I saw it at Ulta recently.  I loved the glitter and can never have too many pinks.  More importantly, if I am going to spend money (and of course I was going to) I would prefer that it does good.  While my purchase did not increase their donation, OPI is giving $30,000 to breast cancer research, so I figured I could get on board with that. 

*1 coat Yellow-Out base

*3 coats OPI I Think In Pink

*1 coat Sinful Colors Glass Pink

*1 coat OPI Teenage Dream on ring finger

*1 coat Out the Door top coat



The pale cream of I Think In Pink is pretty sheer.  I used 3 coats to clear out all streaks and get a shade that was accurate to the bottle.  It is a perfect baby pink.  The pro-wide brush and formula made for a quick, easy application.  Three thin coats dried quickly and built easily. 

 I added a single coat of Glass Pink over the top for some shimmer.  This pale pink is very sheer.  It slightly muted the color of I Think Pink, but not much.  More than that, it made the cream come alive!  The golden shimmer is gorgeous and really dense.  This is a pretty new polish for me, and I can't wait to see what it can do for other shades.  This combo is amazing!  It was sparkly enough to make me happy, though subtle enough to feel comfortable walking into my interview with.

I took a chance and added the beloved Teenage Dream as an accent.  I worried it was too much glitter for an interview, but then I realized that I needed to be myself.  I needed to feel like me to feel comfortable, and this little extra was enough.  It is so pretty over the top of these!  The holo and iridescent glitters catch the light everywhere.  It is not hard to see why this topped most bloggers' favorites lists last year!

I'm wearing pink because I love it!  That's reason enough to be aware and mindful of breast cancer and all the others.  I like embracing the glitter-loving, sparkle-swooning, shiny girly-girl in me, and I need to take care of myself to do that.  What is it that you love enough to protect?