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

Unspeakable beauty-Sinful Colors Green Ocean over Orly Royal Navy

Okay, April may be long over but I still have a few blue manicures to post, so I'm continuing my Autism Awareness theme. :)

Sinful Colors Green Ocean layered over Orly Royal Navy, shade

Those with autism have a brain that works differently than ours. A big part of that is that they process things visually and not verbally.  As a result, preschoolers with autism don't start speaking until later than their typical peers, and some of them will barely speak at all, even as they get older. There are plenty of autistic people who are very verbal, but in general, an autism diagnosis means a less verbal child. Speech therapists and other educators work with all types of autistic children to improve their ability to speak and communicate with others.

Sinful Colors Green Ocean layered over Orly Royal Navy, natural light

This combo was inspired by seeing a great picture of Sinful Colors Green Ocean over a royal blue on the Icy Queen Nail Parlour blog. After having tried and being really impressed by the beautiful blue shimmer in Orly Royal Navy, I wanted to try flakies with it. Royal Navy is an awesome royal blue jelly with a bit of a turquoise shimmer. I got more shimmer out of it by keeping Royal Navy upside down until it was ready to apply. The shimmer tends to settle at the bottom so this helped.  Sinful Colors Green Ocean is the blue flakie in a green base that is typically only available around St. Patrick's day.  I'm lucky to have picked mine up and have liked it no matter what color it's over. To see a lot more more pics of Royal Navy and Green Ocean together, keep reading!

Shifting perspectives-China Glaze Optical Illusion over 2 blues

China Glaze Optical Illusion, sunlight

People on the autism spectrum can have problems with empathy. In one experiment, researchers give autistic children a plastic candy container and fill it with something unexpected, like an eraser.  Afterwards, adults ask the kids what another child will expect to find in the container. The autistic kids say that other kids will expect an eraser. The reason? Kids with autism often have a hard time thinking from the perspective of other people. This lack of empathy is another example of how the workings of an autistic brain are different than the brain of someone without the condition.

For this post, I decided to try using China Glaze Optical Illusion over a couple of types of blues. Optical Illusion is a green based polish with multicolored glitters that has a purple color shift. I think the different underwear really changes the way the color shifts in this duochrome polish. For more pictures and to learn what I layered them over, keep reading!

Shattering some myths-OPI Turquoise Shatter over Color Club Factory Girl

OPI Turquoise Shatter over Color Club Factory Girl, sunlight

Just wanted to post these as I've done a lot of blue manis for Autism Awareness month, but haven't been timely with editing and posting them.

First, here are a couple of common myths about autism I'd like to debunk:

1. Vaccines-Autism is not caused by vaccines. The study that started that idea has been proven to be scientifically inaccurate to the point of embarrassment. I think part of the reason this myth is so powerful is because the age at which children begin to get more vaccinations coincides with the age at which they begin to be diagnosed. However, correlation does not equal causation, as a great science professor always told me.
2. Cures- There is no cure for autism. Period. There are many techniques that can be used that may vastly improve the functional capacity of someone on the spectrum, but there is no "cure." A healthy diet can definitely improve things for someone on the autism spectrum, as can things like speech therapy, occupational therapy and an autism-specific educational environment. All of these factors will be part our efforts to help those on the spectrum until we find a real cure.
3. Celebrity- Just because someone is a celebrity, doesn't mean they are a scientist. I'm sure Jenny McCarthy truly believes she cured her son through good nutrition. She didn't! Either her son is on the autism spectrum and became much more functional, but not cured, after she changed his diet, or he was misdiagnosed as autistic in the first place. Jenny is a big proponent of the "vaccines cause autism" camp and also claims she cured her son's autism, but she has no scientific training in medicine, psychiatry, neurology, or any other science to back up her claims. Anytime someone makes any claims about a disease, you should really question their evidence for those claims. Celebrities should be no exception.

OPI Turquoise Shatter over Color Club Factory Girl, sunlight

And now, onto the polish. I tried this look out last summer and loved it so much I knew I'd make it one of my looks for Autism Awareness Month.  I started with 2 coats of Color Club Factory Girl and then applied a coat of OPI Turquoise Shatter.  Loove! Since I adore both pastels and the color turquoise, I couldn't help going gaga for this look. It's very bright and cheerful, so I really enjoyed sporting this manicure again.

Definitely obsessed-Orly Sweet Peacock

Orly Sweet Peacock with China Glaze Cleopatra gradient, sunlight

People with autism often have a particular subject matter that they are really obsessed with. I've experienced a wide range of them, from a 6 year old who loves ocean creatures to a kindergartener who loved to talk Angry Birds to an 13 year old who did school work to get to look at pictures of trains on the internet . And in fact, Thomas the Train is very compelling to a lot of autistic children. I've worked with one preschooler that was totally obsessed and have heard specialists who was giving a talk about the autism saying something like, "there's always been a particular interest, even before Thomas." Not everyone with autism has a special topic that they love, but if you find yourself interacting with someone with autism, don't be surprised if they have a subject matter they're as knowledgeable about as we are about nail polish!

I've got Sweet Peacock back in November but it was one of my untrieds until now. It really shouldn't have been, given how much I love turquoise. I'm glad to report that this one is beautiful, and impressed me on the nail more than it did in the bottle.  I also sponged the tips to try out China Glaze Cleopatra. It's one of my friend Esmeralda Pearlfinish's favorites, and now I can see why. To see more pictures and learn how this mani came about, join me after the jump!

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!

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.