A beautiful mystery- OPI DS Magic with caviar accent

OPI DS Magic with caviar nail accent, sunlight

Derp....my mind apparently went missing when I published this post. The polish in my pictures is OPI DS Magic, not OPI DS Mystery as I initially stated. Somehow I got the idea in my head that the name was Mystery and I never actually looked at the label and checked before publishing! Again, excuse my brain fart!
For my segment on autism today, I just want to talk about how fitting a polish OPI DS Mystery is with the disorder. While professionals who work with autism know a lot about autism and are constantly working to learn more, the inner workings of an autistic brain largely remain a mystery.  However, just like the polish I'll be showing you today, autistic children tend to be really beautiful. I work with a lot of children, and think children are cute and are all lovely in their own way. However, something about autistic children makes them just gorgeous to me. I joke with coworkers that we'd be rich if we could figure out how to start a child modeling agency with our autistic students. :)

OPI DS Magic with OPI DS Extravagance accent on pointer, sunlight

My look today involves OPI DS Magic with 2 different kind of accent nails. On the right hand, I used OPI DS Extravagance on the pointer finger. On the left hand, I used Dollar Tree royal blue microbeads for a caviar bead accent.

Join me after the jump for more pictures!

Sensitive to texture featuring Orly Sweet Peacock

Orly Sweet Peacock skittle nails, sun

Even though I've already described how I don't like texture polishes, I decided to take some advice from Mary over at Swatch and Learn. She suggested that I try OPI Get Your Number, which is featured in this post and in my prior one. I can appreciate the beautiful color and gorgeous glitters in Get Your Number, but I still didn't like the matte texture finish.  That's why I added topcoat to my previous look. Once I had the topcoat on, I decided that Orly Sweet Peacock  and OPI Get Your Number worked so well together that I should do a skittle look with the 2.

Orly Sweet Peacock skittle nails featuring OPI Get Your Number on the pinky, sun

It's actually pretty appropriate that my first couple of posts about autism this year feature texture polish. Obviously, it's on trend with nail polish right now, but texture is also something those on the autism spectrum are very sensitive to.

People with autism can be very bothered by the sensation of things others would not notice at all, such as their socks or undershirt. They can also be particularly drawn to certain textures.  In early autism education, there is a good deal of emphasis on sensory activities. Teachers often use materials like shaving cream, rice, beans, or water to help satisfy the sensory needs of autistic children.

Join me after the jump to find out what this look included besides a textured polish!

April is Autism Awareness Month!

OPI Lights of Emerald City and Get Your Number layered over  Orly Sweet Peacock, sun

I'm going to wear only blue nails during April in support of those whose lives are touched by autism. Like last year, it kind of snuck up on me, so for now I have this manicure to share with you:

 

OPI Lights of Emerald City and Get Your Number layered over  Orly Sweet Peacock, shade

I started with 2 coats of Orly Sweet Peacock on all my nails. Then I added 2 coats of Get Your Number, the OPI Liquid Sand, over my ring and index finger. I added 1 coat of Lights of Emerald city on the other 2 fingers. The OPI glitter features white square glitter and smaller holo squares in a clear base. I think both of these worked really well with Sweet Peacock, gorgeous turquoise foil polish. 

OPI Lights of Emerald City and Get Your Number layered over  Orly Sweet Peacock, sun

Nope, still don’t like texture-Zoya Nyx with saran wrap technique

Zoya Nyx with saran wrap method, sun

Every time I saw pictures of different texture polishes, I didn’t like the look. I read about people who loved texture polishes once they saw them in person. I saw some swatched on nail wheels and remained unimpressed. Despite all this, I somehow ended up buying Zoya Nyx.  The lovely periwinkle color and sparkly glitter got me. A lot of bloggers seemed to have had their opinions turned around once they tried a texture polish for themselves, so I hoped to be one of them. I’d been admiring colors like OPI I Have a Herring Problem and Zoya Skylar for a long time, and Zoya Nyx seemed to be the dusty blue glitter version of those kinds of colors.

 Let me tell you people- I came, I polished, and I still hate the texture finish. Blegh. I should’ve saved my money for the real polishes I wanted instead of wasting my time trying to like texture.

See more pictures and find out what other color I used in this manicure, after the jump!

Yum! Jelly Bean Blue is a delicious milky blue

Hard Candy Jelly Bean Blue layered over China Glaze Kinetic Candy, sunlight

I was really excited to hear about Hard Candy's milky glitter polishes when they became available, so it didn't take me long to hit a Walmart in search of them. Even though I liked a lot of them, the only one I brought home with me the first time was Jelly Bean Blue. JBB is a very light blue milky base with black and blue glitters. Though I liked the milky glitter look of Jelly Bean Blue in the bottle, it seemed nearly white when I tried it out on my nails. That's why I chose to wear Hard Candy Jelly Bean Blue over 2 coats of China Glaze Kinetic Candy. I think it makes for a lovely look overall. When I wore Jelly Bean Blue on its own, I used 3 coats of it for full coverage, but I only used 1 coat when I layered it for this manicure.

layered Hard Candy Jelly Bean Blue, shade

I think that a lot of us nail fanatics are thrilled to finally see some milky glitter polishes from larger polish brands. I am especially glad Hard Candy is offering us a whole variety of milky glitters at a budget friendly price of $3.97. If you like light blue and milky glitters, this is definitely a great one!

Jump if you'd like to see a couple more pictures. :)

Really Green Ocean! (St. Patrick's Day pt. 2)

Sinful Colors Green Ocean over China Glaze Holly Day, shade

I have no idea why I never thought to layer Sinful Colors Green Ocean over a dark green. Now that I've tried the flakie over China Glaze Holly Day, all I can say is "Wow!"

Sinful Colors Green Ocean is a blue-green flakie in a light green base. It looked stunning over Holly Day, a dark green creme from a China Glaze holiday collection. I later added a coat of NYC Matte Me Crazy and made the look matte.

Sinful Colors Green Ocean over China Glaze Holly Day, matte

If you don't yet own Sinful Colors Green Ocean, be sure to check your local Walgreens for it. It's part of the limited edition St. Patrick's Day display that will soon be getting pulled as new displays come out.


Check out a few more pictures after the jump!

My St. Patrick's Day nails - Rainbow in the sky

St. Patrick's Day manicure with Sinful Colors Sugar Rush blue base

Here is the St. Patrick's Day manicure that I wore yesterday. I started with 3 coats of Sinful Colors Sugar Rush, a lovely pastel blue. Then, I stamped a shamrock my pinky with China Glaze Holly Day. I created a pot of gold with Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris and a striping brush. I added a bunch of gold "coins" with golden yellow microbeads that I picked up using clear polish and a toothpick. I made my rainbow with the same striping brush as before and the following colors: Sally Hansen Rapid Red, Revlon Electric, Holly Day, and Sinful Colors Amethyst.   Finally, I used my largest dotting tool to create a cloud with Sinful Colors Snow Me White.

St. Patrick's Day manicure using nail art brushes, stamping and microbeads