Zoya Blue Gradient for Autism Awareness

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Today I have an Autism Awareness manicure that includes a blue gradient with stamping. My duty this month is to inform you all of some of the facts pertaining to this disorder while bringing you pretty blue nails. One of the facts that stuck out to me this week is that 1 to 1.5 million Americans live with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I don't know about you, but to me that is a very large number. It brings into perspective, for me, just how many people have this disorder. Not only that, it makes you realize the impact of not only those that have it, but how many families there are that have to deal with the daily issues that come along with this disorder.

I began my manicure today with a base of Essie Grow Faster followed by two coats of Zoya Yummy. I received Yummy in my GMA promo pack that also included Lola and Tobey. This trio of polishes was just $12 + $2 shipping. Not only does Zoya have a great formula and color range behind their polishes, they are always having amazing promos. I would highly recommend you follow them on their facebook & twitter pages. Yummy can best be described as "Bright, cheerful light robin's egg blue in a milky creme finish. A sweet sky-blue that pops on both deep and pale skin tones." I used a makeup sponge to create a gradient using Zoya Indigo. Indigo can best be described as "A dark indigo blue shimmer with a pinch of holographic microglitter. A dramatic polish that resembles the night sky."

Once that dried, I used my Konad Special Stamping Polish in white along with Red Angel image plate RA-105 to stamp on this design. Oddly enough, the complexity of this design reminds me of Autism in that the disorder itself is very complex. To finish this mani, I applied a coat of Good To Go by Essie.

The following picture is blurred just so that you can see the holographic microglitter that is in Indigo.

Although my gradient nor my stamping is perfect, I really like how this manicure turned out. What do you think lacquer luvers? Is this a manicure you would wear? Let me know what you think in the comments below. Also, for those of you that haven't, please check out my 2012 Autism Awareness Contest. I am receiving lots of great entries already but would love to see each and every one of you participate! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

2012 Autism Awareness Contest

Hello Lacquer Luvers! As you all know, April is Autism Awareness Month. As a mother of a 6 year old boy who has been diagnosed with Autism, I am always trying my best to explain to others what Autism is and informing them of the known facts behind it. I have done an Autism Awareness manicure and plan to do a few more throughout the rest of the month. In an attempt to spread awareness and get others to show their support for the many people who have Autism (1 in 88 children are diagnosed with it) I wanted to host a contest. I want to see how many of you are joining in and spreading awareness by wearing awesome blue mani's!

Above is a photo of the prize that will be sent to the winner of my 2012 Autism Awareness Contest. Up for grabs is Jordana Glitters Blue Bash, Revlon Whimsical, & Sinful Colors Cinderella.

Contest Rules:
*e-mail me at luvmylacquer@yahoo.com with the subject Autism Awareness along with a photo of your blue manicure & I will count it as an entry. Please include your name with the photo (nicknames are fine). I will add these photos to a special folder on my facebook page so that everyone can see how many of us are supporting Autism Awareness =)
*Manicure options are endless. You can stamp, water marble, use decals/stickers, freehand or just do a plain blue mani. The only requirement is that is must be blue so let your imagination and creativity run wild!
*Two entries per person.
*Open to U.S. residents only.
*Ends 04/27/12, winner will be announced on 04/29/12.

**Prizes were not sponsored and were purchased by me. There will be 3 judges for this contest: myself, Liz of Nothing But Nail Polish,  & Jin of Superficially Colorful.

Birthday Cake Inspired Mani

Hello Lacquer Luvers! I would love to send out a huge hug to you all for your sweet birthday wishes yesterday. It made me smile to read all of your lovely comments and I love that I got to share something special from my day with you. I am still so shocked and amazed at the Bettina Birthday Cake my husband got me for my birthday yesterday. So much so that I wanted to translate the custom color, which he created and appropriately named Birthday Girl, to my nails (well try to, at least).

Above is a piece of fondant from the cake (which cracked as I lifted it, oops!). It is a bit more purple than what my camera shows. I love that he gave the color some flair by adding iridescent glitter/sparkles to it. I took the picture half in the sun, half in the shade in an attempt to show you guys how it glistens. Isn't it pretty?! He told me that he took my bottle of Bettina Grape when he met with the designer. When she asked if that was the color he wanted the cake to be he said he wanted it to be a little more purple since Grape is a blue based and he wanted it to be more of my favorite color.

I began my manicure with a base of Essie Grow Faster followed by two coats of Bettina Grape. I layered a coat of an unnamed color by L.A. Colors. It is a clear base full of iridescent glitter. Once that dried, I stamped on the large heart design using Konad Special Stamping Polish in white and Red Angel image plate RA-110. Next I used plate M66 from BornPrettyStore to stamp on the word "love" and the random hearts. I decided on this design for the accent finger to symbolize how much I loved the cake! This manicure was topped off with a coat of Good To Go by Essie.

I seriously love this mani! Although my base color isn't the same as the custom color he created, it's pretty close. What do you all think of this manicure? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

It's my Birthday!! =)

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Today is my birthday and I just wanted to share some epic awesomeness with my lovely readers! My husband got me the most amazing birthday cake ever & I just had to make a quick post to show you all! Not only did he get me a BETTINA birthday cake but he created a custom color and even named it! The label on the top of the bottle says "Birthday Girl". OMG I am just so freakin' amazed that he put so much thought into it and got me something so special. Well here's the pics, luvs, enjoy!

I'll be back with a nail post tomorrow <3

xo,

Jess

Zoya Areej & Lael Floral Mani

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Today I have a floral mani to share with you all featuring two gorgeous shades from Zoya. I also get to show you guys my first mani done with Red Angel stamping plates. Yes, I know, I used a RA plate in my Easter mani but I did this one before I got sick and am just getting around to posting it. So let's get to it!

I began this manicure with a base of Essie Grow Faster followed by two coats of Zoya Areej. Areej can be best described as: "Soft, muted cool fuchsia pink with an opaque cream finish. A pink for when you want a bold pop of color but not something neon-bright." Although this color is more suited for cool skintones, I love the way it looks on me! This lovely comes from Zoya's Summertime Collection and the formula and application is superb. Not surprising, though, right? Zoya's formula for their polishes are always perfection!

For nail art, I stamped on a floral design from Red Angel image plate RA-119 using Zoya Lael. Lael can best be described as: "A deep, saturated red-toned plum purple with a shiny creme finish. A rich grape shade for fall glamour." I really liked how this color stamped, although it didn't come out perfect. The two shades went nicely together. I added a funky french tip using Lael & Scotch tape and finished this manicure with a coat of Essie Good To Go topcoat.

So what do you think of this manicure my dear lacquer luvers? How do you like these two shades together? I'm very excited to get to try out the rest of the images from the RA plates. There are alot of gorgeous designs that I am dying to use throughout the rest of the year. As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

Happy Easter!

Hello Lacquer Luvers & Happy Easter! I have not been feeling well at all the past week. I caught a cold from my son and have had the sniffles and a very sore throat accompanied with sinus headaches. It's hard enough having to cope with a sick child in the house but when I'm sick, too, things get really rough. We are both feeling a little better today, however, and I've decided to go ahead and create an Easter mani for my lovely readers.

I began my manicure today with a base of Essie Grow Faster. I painted my accent nail two coats of Bettina Yellow. I used Scotch tape (and scissors) and Bettina Matte to make an eggshell on my accent finger. The face for my hatching chick was done with Konad Special Stamping Polish in black and Red Angel image plate RA-117. This plate has a bunch of funny faces. I just used a toothpick to erase everything but the eyes and stamped it on my nails. I took the end of a toothpick and dipped it in Bettina Sherbet for the beak of my chick.

My water marbled nails began with one coat of my base color, Bettina Matte. I then used Bettina Sherbet, Yellow, & Grape to create the design in the water. This manicure was topped off with a coat of Essie Good To Go topcoat.

L-R: Matte, Yellow, Sherbet, Grape

I really enjoyed creating this manicure today. It was really nice to get back into the swing of things. I love how all the colors pop in my marble & the hatching chick is so adorable to me. By the way, I got the idea of the hatching chick after doing a search for Easter nail ideas and came across this blog, The Little Canvas. I would love to know what you all think of my mani so please leave a comment below. As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica

World Autism Awareness Day

Hello Lacquer Luvers! Today is World Autism Awareness Day! I have mentioned here before in my Day 6 post for the Girly-Girl Nail Art Challenge that my son, Tyus, was diagnosed with Autism and I wanted to do a manicure today in his honor. Not only will I be sharing a blue mani today, but I will be showing you all some awesome blue polishes throughout the month since April is Autism Awareness Month.

My manicure today began with a base of Essie Grow Faster. Next I applied 3 coats of China Glaze Lorelei's Tiara and 1 coat of Color Club Cold Metal on my accent finger. I applied a coat of Color Club topcoat to my ring finger and while it was still wet I created a blue ribbon by setting blue rhinestones into the wet polish. I finished this manicure by applying a coat of Color Club topcoat to the remaining nails.

I really enjoyed creating this manicure in honor of World Autism Awareness Day and for my amazing son Tyus. He brings so much joy to my heart and is the reason why I am guaranteed a smile every single day. Though we face our challenges, I wouldn't change a single thing about my family. Everything we go through dealing with a child who has Autism makes us so much stronger and I feel that we are a very close family because of it.

I wanted to share a few facts about Autism with you all:

1 in 88 children in America are diagnosed with Autism.
Out of those 88 children, 54 are boys.
40% of those diagnosed with Autism have above average intellectual abilities.
25% of people diagnosed with Autism are nonverbal but can learn to communicate by other means.

If you would like to learn more about Autism and how you can spread awareness, please visit these sites:

Autism Speaks
Light It Up Blue
Autism Society

I hope you all enjoyed this post my dear Lacquer Luvers! Perhaps some of you even learned something new. I would LOVE to read how you are celebrating World Autism Awareness Day or Autism Awareness Month so please share it with me in the comments below. The last thing I wanted to share with you all is another awesome blue mani by the lovely Cristina of Let Them Have Polish! which you can see by clicking here! Thank you Cristina for letting me share your post with my readers and thank you for helping to spread the word on such an important cause! As always, I hope you all liked this post my dear Lacquer Luvers and I look forward to sharing my next post with you, xo!

~Jessica