NOTD: NOPI Kim-pletely in Love

Another NOTD, so it's short and sweet. NOPI Kim-pletely in Love (blech). Got it at CVS when it was half off and I had some extra care bucks expiring so it was free. Nice palate cleanser. FOUR coats. But still pretty.

NOPI Kim-pletely in Love

NOPI Kim-pletely in Love

NOPI Kim-pletely in Love

NOPI Kim-pletely in Love

NOPI Kim-pletely in Love

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Green and Yellow for Celiac Awareness Month

There are tons of diseases and illness awareness months and days, so sometimes it can be difficult to keep up. Again, while nail art and nail polish cannot cure anything, it sure can spread awareness.
 
I first heard about Celiac when my cousin was having stomach problems and she was told she had Celiac-like symptons and to go gluten free. I remember cooking (in my tiny college house kitchen) corn chili and asking her a million questions on what she could and couldn't eat. Turns out she only had an allergy to gluten, which is less severe than Celiac. This was 4 years ago and since then I've met more people with Celiac and tons of restaurants and bakeries now offer GF foods. This weekend, I passed a GF pizzeria in NYC, how cool.

So what is Celiac Disease? It is more than an allergy to gluten. Gluten is an ingredient found in bread, pasta, anything wheat-based, and even items such as soy sauce (which totally shocked me). Basically gluten is in much of our daily food. From the National Foundation from Celiac Awareness, “Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. What does this mean? Essentially the body is attacking itself every time a person with Celiac consumes gluten.” When someone with Celiac eats gluten, it can take the intestine up to a year to heal from the gluten attack. You can find more info at http://www.celiaccentral.org/
 
Celiac Awareness colors are green and yellow, so I incorporated those colors into my mani. On my ring finger, I have two coats of Zoya Solange, one of the new pixie dusts. I then mixed Sinful Pistache and Pure Ice Free Spirit to create the Celiac Awareness emblem. On the other nails, I have two coats of Nerd Lacquer Purely Logical, which has bright gold/copper, green, and silver glitter in a bright green shimmery base. How perfect. 

Celiac Awareness Month Nails

Celiac Awareness Month Nails

Celiac Awareness Month Nails

Celiac Awareness Month Nails

In direct sunlight, the colors got a little washed out because it was so sparkly. 

Celiac Awareness Month Nails

Remember that Celiac is not someone being a picky eater, but actual food restrictions and more severe than an allergy. I have dabbled in GF cooking and found losing the wheat gives me more energy and overall makes me feel healthier. While I do not have Celiac, I am really aware of what I eat and how I cook, and hopefully you will too!
 
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Chanel Malice, Ozotic 531, and a Comparison

So I had no Chanels and everyone was in a frenzy for Malice. I looked at pictures and decided not to get it because it looked so close to OPI Royal Rajah Ruby. Then a friend sent me an awesome package with this Chanel, saying everyone needed at least one Chanel (isn't she amazing??). So Chanel Malice--two easy coats. I wore it alone for a day. This one needed top coat to bring out the beauty. You'll see that Seche Vite pulled the Chanel from my cuticles a bit--so next time I'll use a different top coat.

Chanel Malice

Chanel Malice

Then, I removed the ring finger and added two coats of OPI Royal Rajah Ruby. In almost ALL lighting, these two colors look the same, but you can see in the last photo, Royal Rajah Ruby is a touch more brown-toned. Close, but no cigar.

Chanel Malice with OPI Royal Rajah Ruby

Chanel Malice with OPI Royal Rajah Ruby

Chanel Malice with OPI Royal Rajah Ruby

Then I added one coat of Ozotic 531 on the ring finger. 531 is a holographic duochrome polish, and woah is it awesome or what?! To tie the mani together, I quickly added some descending dots to the other fingers. The Chanel still shines, but the Ozotic adds some fun.

Chanel Malice with Ozotic 531

Chanel Malice with Ozotic 531

Chanel Malice with Ozotic 531

Chanel Malice with Ozotic 531

So do you own Malice or any of its dupes?

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Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail

Continuing my broken nail saga, as the middle nail break began to grow out (and was less painful), I started wearing special polishes. Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail is a polish that can look really good or really bad on people. I took my chances! One thing I noticed--I "charged" my bottle to see how it glowed and all the glow pigment was on the bottom so make sure to shake it up or even stick a toothpick in it to break it up and disperse the glow pigment.

First I was disappointed because the polish didn't look holographic nor did it glow. Maybe it just needed to dry, but it turned out to be awesome!! I couldn't get great glow pictures, but trust me, it did truly glow. 

Something about Nerd Lacquer polishes just works so well with my body. They wear like iron and never chip. I can get away with wearing a Nerd Lacquer for a week! They are awesome. I for sure thought I would need to layer Holy Grail, but it was completely opaque in two coats!

First, side to side. This looks like two different polishes!

Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail

Sun pictures:

Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail

Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail

Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail

 Indirect Light:

Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail

Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail

Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail

I still haven't worn all my Nerd Lacquers, but this is up there as one of my favorites! What is your favorite?

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Broken Nail NOTDs

As the post's title suggests, these were my broken nail NOTDs. I noticed a tear in my middle nail and delicately tried to remove my nail polish so I could patch it, but my nail was like NOPE, and completely ripped off. I did try out a bunch of polishes and STAMPING (woah) while it was broken, so I thought I would share with you. Please don't judge me too hard. It was difficult NOT doing nail art for two weeks, so I tried fun colors.

First, Orly Peaceful Opposition. I never ever would have bought this color. It is just so not me. I won it in an Orly giveaway, and blech to wearing this on its own. I wore one coat of Orly Au Champagne (my favorite white) and one coat Peaceful Opposition. I have to say this was delicate and really grew on me.

Orly Peaceful Opposition

Orly Peaceful Opposition

Orly Peaceful Opposition

Next was Julie G gumdrops in Tangerine Dream. Two easy coats and I noticed it matched my mom's car! LOVE these textured polishes and they even look great on toes!

Julie G Tangerine Dream

Julie G Tangerine Dream with Flash

Julie G Tangerine Dream

Lastly, here's a ridiculous manicure I wore. Two coats of China Glaze Haunting and one coat of Kleancolor Chunky Holo black (should have stopped there). Then I tried my first stamping with Zoya Trixie. It wasn't awful--if anything perhaps too busy? Then I added some nail art glitter accents. Can you say busy?

Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black

Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black

Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black with Stamping

Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black with Stamping

Ok well I have a few other manis that were just too special to plop into this post--but the break grew out a bit, so it doesn't look as awful. Hope you didn't mind looking at my uneven nails!

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