Wear Purple Day

Hi girls! Today I want to share with you my first HARE polish, which I used today in honor of Wear Purple Day. Apparently this month I'm all about supporting causes.

Wear it Purple exists in order to help GLBTIQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer) youth at risk. Run by students, we aim to stop the ignorance, bullying and suicides.

I look forward to having a society that doesn't discriminate based on who you choose to share your life with or how you want to run your life. Seriously, life is too short for hate. I also look forward to have marriage equality in my country.

That said, for my purple mani I busted off two untrieds from my stash: Essence Passion for Fashion and HARE Why so Igneus? (my first HARE! *yay*).

Funny though, when editing the pics I noticed my bottle had a glittery 'stain', but not from my polish. It proves the true handmade nature of these polishes and doesn't bother me :)

HARE Why So Igneus? is a mix of green and purple in a sheer purple jelly base. The largest pieces of glitter are square, but there's also mini hex and micro glitter. Since it's pretty sheer -and I wanted to save the precioussss- I layered it over Essence Passion for Fashion, which is a very bright blue toned purple, applies really nicely and it's opaque and shiny in two coats (I'm tempted to say it's a bit jelly-ish, but not totally).

This is one -dabbed- coat of Why so Igneus? over two coats of Passion for Fashion. I love how the green glitter shine from the base. The glitters spreaded nicely and there was no need for 'fishing' them out of the bottle.

Overall, I was really happy with my experience with HARE, all from buying to actually wearing the polish. I bought directly from Nicole on one of her Etsy sales/restocks, and it wasn't as hectic/chaotic as I though it'd be. Her polishes are also available at Llarowe.com now, so it's even easier to get your hands on them (I know because I have a 2nd one on the way hahahah).

And don't forget to show your support to the LGBTIQ community by wearing purple today. Have a great weekend!

a-england sisters

Hi girls! Several weeks ago Adina from a-england polishes held a wonderful promo and I used the chance to add two new beauties from this brand to my collection.

I had heard many wonderful things of the scattered holos from a-england (and had personally witnessed their magic with Ascalon). I wanted one of the scattered holos from their first collection, but I couldn't decide which (they looked so close!). So I ordered both in the hope that, after trying them, it'd be easier to choose just one to keep.

So after some weeks of wait I got Lady of the Lake (purple) and Tristam (blue) on the mail. At first I was a little disappointed because on the bottle both colors look extremely close.

So I swatched it on my nails in the hopes that the difference would translate better. All the pics are 2 coats of nail polish, plus base coat and topcoat (using it didn't dull the holo effect).

First we have Lady of the Lake which is a dusty purple with a subtle scattered holo effect.

Then came Tristam, a dark blue with the same scattered holo.

These pictures were taken in direct sunlight in the hopes of capturing the holo, while staying color accurate. I'm awful at it though, these polishes look a million times better in person. The holo effect is really evident in sunlight and adds a nice depth to the colors.

Both Lady of The Lake and Tristam were a dream to apply, like I've come to expect from all a-englands they're just flawless. I even got to wear them for almost a week with only minor tipwear and a tiny chip on one finger.

So, are you wondering which one I kept? After wearing them for days I decided it's worth to keep both, at least for the time being. I couldn't decide on a favorite from this pair of 'sister' polishes.

Have you tried a-england? They are a bit pricey but well worth it, in my opinion, because of their formula and unique colors (plus Adina offers free international shipping).

Mani for a Purpose: PCOS Awareness

Hi girls! Today I want to share a special mani I did for a blog hop. Norelis from Fierce Makeup and Nails proposed this idea to spread awareness for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome also known as PCOS, a disease that has personally affected her, as it does to thousands of women.

But what is PCOS? From Pub Med Health

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a condition in which a woman has an imbalance of a female sex hormones. This may lead to menstrual cycle changes, cysts in the ovaries, trouble getting pregnant, and other health changes.

PCOS can present different symptoms on women, some are:

• Significant weight gain
• Facial hair increase
• Blood sugar problems
• Insulin intolerance
• Significant hair loss
• Depression and anxiety
• Infertility
• Cysts
• Excessive blood loss
• Irregular or extreme menstrual cycles

For this cause some nail bloggers united by creating teal and white manis, the colors for the PCOS Awareness.

I started with a-england Galahad a beautiful dusty teal that barely needs 2 coats to be opaque (I think you can get away with one thick coat, but I do mine thin, so I did two).

Then I added a coat of Lynnderella Love, Lace & Lilacs, with a little bit of dabbing for better glitter placement. I liked how it looked over this different color base, with its mix of opaque white and iridescent glitter it almost looks like snow falling.

It's a very simple mani but I found the effect really cute. Don't forget to visit the other bloggers participating and go teal for September! :)