Child's play? Silvery blue watercolor

Watercolor nails on China Glaze Luna

A common insult for modern art is that "it's so simple, a child could do it." Let me tell you, even the simple things like coloring and painting can be quite complicated for autistic children. Teachers and occupational therapists spend a lot of time in the early years of a child's life working on "hand grasp." Having a good hand grasp on pencils, pens and crayons is vital to a child being able to write and function as s/he gets older.

The second night I stayed at with my friend, she mentioned that she hadn't had much luck when she tried watermarbling.  Since I haven't exactly been successful myself, I suggested that we try watercolor nails, instead. This isn't my favorite look, but it's not too bad for a first try. To see more pictures of my mani, AND to find out how Daisy the dog dealt with all the polish, keep reading!

Easter egg (dog) hunt!

Easter egg manicure, dog not included ;)

First of all, I have to explain that I took a short vacation this last weekend to take advantage of my spring break. I was away from the internet and that's why I'm posting my Easter related manis today.

I wanted to do an Easter manicure that still fit into my blue scheme for Autism Awareness, so I chose to include lots of blue leaning pastels for this look. I was staying with a friend over my vacation and used her backyard to shoot my sunlight pictures of the mani. Daisy the dog was there and has graced us with her beauty in several of my pictures. To see more of her, join me after the jump for a pic (and dog) heavy post!

Daisy the dog.

I'm not listening:Jordana Cosmic over black

Jordana Cosmic over Wet n Wild Black Creme

As I mentioned in my post on Monday, those on the autistic spectrum mainly process things in their brain through visuals. Consequentially, someone on the autism spectrum may not be good processing what they hear. They often take a bit as their brain deals with auditory information, which makes it seem like they may not be listening. If you are ever dealing with someone with autism, give them a few seconds to understand what they just heard. Their hearing may be great, but those with autism are listening to sounds very differently!

For today's post I wanted to feature Jordana Cosmic. While I've done a comparison and shown a jelly sandwich with it, this awesome turquoise, green and silver glitter definitely deserves its own post. To see more pictures, including some with a matte topcoat, keep reading!

Lorelei's Tiara half moon mani

China Glaze Lorelei's Tiara half moon mani

I swear, you guys, my plan is not to do 30 days of the *same* blue for Autism Awareness month. But my mani once again features Orly Stone Cold, Kleancolor Shining Sea, and China Glaze Blue Year's Eve. This time they are half moons peeking out from under China Glaze Lorelei's Tiara. Lorelei's Tiara was part of the Eye Candy collection that was released around the holidays, and it's a beauty. I'll tell you the unexpected places I got complimented on it and show you more pictures, after the break!

4/4/12 Weekly Blog Roundup- Peridot comparison and Cult Nails reminder

This last Sunday, around the time I usually do my blog update, I thought I didn't have anything to share that would be all that helpful. However, I recently saw this post from Alizarine Claws swatching a few of the OPI Spiderman colors and comparing OPI Just Spotted the Lizard to Chanel Peridot. Even though it's the middle of the week, I figured this link was too good to not share!


Also, I had also forgotten that Cult Nails is having a 24 hour sale only on 4/7/12. Prices will be $5 for all their individual polishes except the limited editions, a 50% savings from their regular price of $10 per polish. Shipping is an additional fee. They are holding this sale in honor of their 5,000 followers on Facebook, and there are some restrictions to the sale. Here's a blog post from Maria, founder of Cult Nails, with all the details.

Think visual: comparison of Orly Stone Cold vs. China Glaze Blue Year's Eve

Orly Stone Cold on index and pinky, China Glaze on ring and Kleancolor Shining Sea on middle, sunlight

April is Autism Awareness month! People on the autism spectrum think visually, often described as thinking in pictures rather than words. While other people process information through words and images (and maybe more, I'm no expert), those on the autism spectrum mainly process through images.

I think only a very visual person would be really able to notice the differences between Orly Stone Cold and China Glaze Blue Year's Eve.  They are close enough for me to call them dupes, but I'll describe the tiny differences between them, after the jump!

Autism Awareness Day- Stone cold blues

Okay, so I've been really caught off guard by the fact that today is Autism Awareness Day. If I had known before a few minutes ago, I would have definitely planned a better look, but these are the pics I have of the manicure I happen to be wearing.  Autism Awareness is a very important cause that I hope I can inform readers about as Autism Awareness Month continues. I learned about April being Autism Awareness month from Megan over at A Polish Problem, please check out the blog for more insight about being the parent of an autistic child.

The mani I'm sporting is for a comparison I've been wanting to do since mentioning how close Orly Stone Cold and China Glaze Blue Year's Eve are. From the pointer finger, I'm wearing Orly Stone Cold, Kleancolor Shining Ocean, China Glaze Blue Year's Eve and Stone Cold.  A more detailed post about this comparison later.