New 31DC: Inspired by my favorite color

Yesterday's challenge is still coming, I promise.  I have gained some healthy perspective through this month's challenge.  I am hard on myself and a life-long perfectionist.  I am unforgiving.  Nail polish is so trivial, and so important at the same time.  Every instinct I have wants to berate myself when I don't get a challenge done on the day it's "due."  But I've learned to let it go.  I feel a little bad still, but I would rather take a nap and talk with my dad on my afternoon off than polish.  There is a time and place for both, and yesterday polish was not the priority.  It is relaxing and something that I do for myself, something that I find grounding when I feel overwhelmed, but my family is more so.  So it goes.
Today was such a toughie for me!  These "favorites" are hard because, as I mentioned earlier, my favorites change.  Different colors make me happy at different times, and different looks spark my interest.  Today I decided to dive back into my Pinterest board and try a look that I've had saved for a long time.  And it does use my two favorite colors: pink and glitter.  This is inspired by Crystal's Crazy Combos.

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats OPI Pedal Faster Suzi
*2 coat OPI Teenage Dream
*1 coat Out The Door

Pedal Faster Suzi is pretty sheer, but because I knew I was covering my tips, I didn't use a third coat.  This is such a pretty, pale pink with amazing silver shimmer to it.  It's calming, to me.  I like it when I need to feel girly and quiet.  Weird, I know, but it just feels nice when I wear it.  Like Crystal, I used the amazing Teenage Dream on half the nail, taped off.  The light pink glitter actually looks perfect with Pedal Faster Suzi!  The sparkle and holo pieces are stunning in this polish--I never get tired of it!

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?