Star Kin Update

Over on the Star Kin blog 😀 New polishes for February, plus if you check my other posts I have the non chosen polishes and a chance to vote for a readers choice polish 😀

Have a great day!

Ami

Merry Holidays!

Just a super quick note to say Merry Christmas to those who (on this side of the world) are celebrating it, or (on the other side) are about to. And a happy holidays to everyone, everywhere, regardless of what holiday you celebrate! I hope the dramas are minimal and educational or amusing, the people you are around are lovely to each other in the main, that thoughtful presents or food is shared. While I’m at it, food, peace, health and goodwill to everyone. Because it’s the dream.

It’s my birthday, too. Just thought I’d share. Christmas Day, every year. When I was a child we didn’t celebrate Christmas, so it was all my birthday. But now I do (well, more as a Summer Solstice / family get together / eat too much food thing) and its great 😀 As you get older birthdays seem less important so this way I still get to have an exciting day, made more special by sharing it with family and friends 🙂 So, Merry Holidays however it happens!

Love

Ami

 

Almost 4.5 hours to go…

heyyyyy! I have a VERY exciting post coming up in about four and a half hours!

 

*sitting here doing the chair dance*

 

See you soon!!!

Ami 😀

Kleancolor Aurora – swatches

I bought Kleancolor Aurora from the Coin Store in Palmerston North on Saturday, not long before the sickening, saddening events at Aurora in America. Please know, right from the start, that this is NOT any kind of tribute to the people of Aurora. I cried for you, I hurt for you,  I am furious and shaken that this could happen, and if ever I think that nail polish is a fitting statement of sympathy for a horror of that magnitude, please someone come and slap me.

Thanks.

This is for everyone affected though. I know it’s not enough, and nothing would be, but my thoughts and prayers are with you all. Image source http://imgfave.com/search/bear%20hugs

This, however, being a nail polish in a bottle, is undoubtedly named for the solar lights in our atmosphere: although, you know what? It doesn’t look like them.

Kleancolor Aurora

Pretty though! This is tiny glitter and larger hexagonal green/yellow iridescent glitter and large pink stars in a pinkish clear jelly base. Sort of glittery candyfloss in a bottle.

This is definitely a layering polish and so, inspired by Scrangie’s swatches of Vernis Classique (read it here), I decided to layer it over Essie Coat Azure. Yes, she used grey. I didn’t want to out and out copy. Partially  because wow would that make my pitiful skills look bad 😀

Kleancolor Aurora is quite thick. QUITE thick. You do have to fish around to get the stars out, and the base is gel consistency. This… was sort of lumpy. I had dinner to cook, and was running out of time, and thought to myself ‘ooh, I know, Kleancolor Madly Matte! Mattes dry fast, and I like to matte glitter, lets give this a go!’.

Well, it went badly. Kleancolor Madly Matte came out of the bottle like snail snot, not in speed but texture (sorry anyone eating breakfast!). And it stayed where I put it, like a jelly lump. And it didn’t dry. To be fair, nothing is drying at the moment; it’s winter, cold and clammy and raining but seriously, after 10 minutes this was still wet. WET wet, not damp or tacky – like I had just put it on.

So I wiped it off, and started again, and I’ll show you THAT attempt soon 🙂

So.. to sum up.

• Kleancolor Aurora is pretty
• It is also thick, a bit gloopy, you have to fish for the stars although you get several little blingy bits with ease
• It looks nice over Essie Coat Azure (which did seem to be drying, albeit slower than normal)
• I’m going to have to withhold judgement on Kleancolor Madly Matte, so far I haven’t been impressed, but it could well be environmental and/or user error with it. Oh how I miss my Essie Matte About You. I LOVED that matte top coat.

May 16th: What you are reading

Photo-A-Day May 16: What you are reading

Versatile Blogger Award Nomination… aawwww shucks!

What is the versatile blogger award nomination? Basically, it is when one blogger nominates another blogger for this blog award, which comes with a set of rules. A wonderful fellow blogger, Persue Natural, nominated my blog for the versatile blogger award -thank you!

Thank the blogger who nominated you: Thank you, Persue Natural! They have an amazing blog full of scientific articles relating to health, and especially pertaining to Autism. The authors collect their data and then present it in an enquiring, intelligent and readable way – and believe you me, that’s a hard combination to come by. WELL worth a read.

Nominate 15 fellow bloggers and tell them that you nominated their site

*Three Blind Wives – well, three and a half blind wives! 😉 Great blog – life, craft, upcycling, nature, humour, family life, cooking and homeschooling all on one place? Sure! Here.  

*The Harvest Gyspies: Environmentally aware farming studies – covering differing types and styles of farming. Was on Hawaii, they have just moved to California. Well worth a read through – here.

*The Classy Anarchist: beauty and health with a super ethical base – Ally is very staunch in her defense of animals, and a tireless campaigner for non-tested products. Standing round of applause! Blog.

*Rhiannon Fox: personal experience blog – ex teacher and a lot to say, very interesting! She approaches some heavy topics which are obviously very important to her with a leavening of humour. Read it here 🙂

*Aquaponic Family: This is fascinating stuff – the ongoing j0urnal of a family creating an aquaponic farmlet – on their deck. Inspiring stuff.. and great photos and information too, here.

*Lazy Eye Chicken Farm: this blog makes me grateful we don’t have snakes in this country. hehehe. A bit of everything on this blog, chickens, food, DIY outbuildings … well worth a look… here.

Now the observant and non-mathmatically challenged among you will note there are not 15 names up there. Well, no. I reserve the right to break the rules. Most of the blogs I follow are nail polish and beauty blogs, and I am thinking that word gets around those ladies pretty fast. If I send them yet ANOTHER blog award, they may not be happy. However … if any of you don’t have this award and would like it, please let me know, and I’ll gladly hand it over – you all deserve it 😉
List seven facts about you

*I live in New Zealand, and love being here – but I really want to go travelling at some point. Esp to Canada, for some reason! I think it’d be like here, but bigger and with much cooler animals.

*I love animals. Including insects. I can find something to admire about almost all of them.

*I go on regular sprees of lusting after nail polish and jewellery. It’s the colours, I think. I love the colours.

*If I could do anything, I would never do just one thing. Being a jeweller – design and create – would be on that list, right towards the top.

*I have MANY chickens. I’m trying to get the numbers down: it’s happening, just slowly.

*If I won lotto (unlikely as I don’t play hehe) I’d encourage Mr Husband to be stay at home dad, and I’d go back to work part time when the kids started school.

*I collect dragons, but only happy dragons, never angry or fighting dragons. To me dragons are strength, intelligence, protectiveness and humour.

Electical emergancy…

I’m not sure how long I’ll be offline, but we have a touch of an emergency here with the wiring and have to turn our power off. I’ll let you know when I’m back on, and wish us luck!

Ami

Important! You can sign the anti-animal testing petition online

Here!

http://www.safeshopper.org.nz/content/be-cruelty-free-ban-animal-tested-cosmetics

 

It only takes 15 seconds, and you can be part of this call for action on ending testing on animal for cosmetics. We don’t need it. Goodness knows there are enough of us out there who would love to test drive cosmetics for people,they don’t NEED animals who would NOT choose! 😉

Saves me a trip to Lush, now I’ll have to think up another reason to go 😀

I’ve broken my nail polish fast!

And by fast I mean.. absence, diet, hiatus rather than speedy, quickly etc 😀

So, no pictures here, but I’m really excited – I have an order from Head2Toe Beauty on it’s way – I’ve used them once before and they were excellent: arrived quickly and well packaged, and postage and packing was only US $20 for 10 polishes. I ordered 8 this time.. they are:

China Glaze Prism

China Glaze Stone Cold

China Glaze Liquid Leather

Color Club It’s Only Natural (mini)

LeChat Hologram Diamond

Misa Toxic Seduction

China Glaze Harvest Moon (trying to get a bronzy foil polish the same colour that Orly Space Cadet goes in low light!)

Orly Fowl Play (yay! Yay! Finally! Whooop!)

I also had a lot of fun going through Etsy stores – I really really want some Indie brands of nail polish and makeup, so decided on

Dreamy from Darling Diva Polish. Dreamy is a linear holographic top coat – very excited about this. The potential of being able to make every colour I have a linear holographic? For about $21NZ? Oh yes, yes, please. I’ll be all over this one like a rash if it works – I’ll be sure to let you know. I really wanted her Ice Dragon polish too, but… well, I couldn’t really afford that.

Then… last (for now!) but not least, I bought three eyeshadows from Chromatic Cosmetics on Etsy

A black holographic eyeshadow, a silver holographic eyeshadow, and a white/green iridescent shadow. 3 eyeshadows, handmade, to NZ for $21 (NZ)? Alllriihggghhhttt!

I still have more lemmings – craving an a-england polish, also Cult nails Seduction and Kays Polish Lolita. I don’t know if I can afford more, esp as I also would like 2 or 3 OPI’s (but I’d prioritise the others at this stage) … but I’m leaning towards a polish from Kay’s polish.. or the Cult. Any ideas? 😀

April 14th: How you feel today

Photo-A-Day April: How you feel today. (warning, includes toes!)

Ok,this is pretty weird. But I painted my toenails the way I felt today.. colourful and a bit sparkly. Its nice to have days like that!