Depression Awareness - Numb

Hi Goddesses

Today I have another green gradient for you, but one which tells a totally different story.

For me, depression is a lot about feeling numb, remote and untouchable.   Sylvia Plath famously likened it to a Bell Jar - where you are trapped in a cocoon of glass; you can see the world and what's going on, you just can't REACH it.

This is one of the things I find most frightening about depression.  I am by nature a noisy, messy person.   I am passionate, excitable and have a tendency to push things too far.  To have that all snapped off in a heartbeat, to be incapable of ANY emotion is a very scary place for me.

I liken those moments to my "thousand yard stare".  It's as if something recalibrates within me, and to protect me, only allows me to view and feel at a distance.  I feel like a bomb could literally explode in front of me and I wouldn't flinch; it's THAT unfeeling.

It's a zone where life is drained of colour and where you tend to block out sound and vision, existing in a trance where nothing quite touches you.   It's a place where you can make the sound of a laugh without feeling it, where you can hold a conversation without participating in it, and where you can conduct a life without truly living it.

In some ways, I think it might be the opposite of the oblivion drunks and drug addicts seek.  It's certainly numb.   It certainly resembles watching yourself from the ceiling.  And very often, it involves you lying there, still, in a world only a duvet and a pillow can truly understand.

So, onto the mani.  This was another 3 colour gradient, and it's so subtle, you almost can't quite see it! This has OPI Stranger Tides as base, Zoya Farah in the middle, and KIKO  329 at the tips (a beautifully soft grey).

I deliberately wanted colours that had been bled away, leached into almost non-existence.    This state often reminds me of Stephen King's short story The Langoliers, where the characters are living in the world AFTER it's happened, rather than actively partaking in it.

I have 2 more posts coming up for you next, less about the doom and gloom, and this time with a bit more colour!  I hope this series is finding an audience, and that if depression affects YOU, it's helping you realise one thing - you are not alone xxx

Squiggles

Hi Goddesses  

Sometimes I do a mani I quite like, take the photos, forget to write the post, and then realise 6 weeks later that said poor mani is STILL in the vault!  Bless, there's nothing wrong with this one as such, I just never got round to posting it lol.

This baby originally featured in the March 10th Spring Challenge post - Gradients.  It's 2 coats of OPI Sparrow Me The Drama, sponged with OPI Stranger Tides.

I then decided to stamp over it with a stamp I'd seen other people use, and loved - Cheeky 16.   Being a sloppy Crumpet, I didn't write down which colour I used to do the stamping, but I am placing my money on KleanColor Metallic Purple.

I then added a sparkly top coat - one of the Pure Ice ones - et voila!  Le mani.

This is why I HATE it when I forget to write the post when I am wearing the mani - the details get lost :(

I liked this as a layering experiment, but it didn't really wow me.  I'm a big believer though that every mani should get its moment of glory, so here she is :)

Enjoy xx :)

Green Mosaic

Hi Goddesses

I really do hope you're enjoying these mosaics as much as I am.  They're so easy to do, and so striking.   Now, whisper this, but the green one may be my favourite of all!

There's just "something" about the colour combination here that works like a dream, it's that congruence I was talking about before.

For this mani I used - 

* base of OPI Stranger Tides

* Color Club green foil - Perfect Mol-ten

* a-England Dragon - the holo

* CG Glittering Garland

* Orly Ancient Jade
* Sinful Colors Green Ocean

Don't they look beautiful together ?   I also mixed up the style of patterns a little, and I'm liking that too, especially that sliver on the middle finger.

Now, here's a lesson in congruence.  Remember I said to start with your darkest shade ?  Well, doing this really helps you get the build right.  I was down to the last 2 polishes and I really REALLY wanted to use Barry M Lime Green - but it became obvious that it wouldn't work.

Here's a little swatch I did at my desk - see how the lime green is just totally the wrong tone for the other colours ?   So, that was a disaster narrowly avoided.  I also couldn't decide whether the Orly was a good idea, and again, the napkin helped prove it was (it's the one on the right).

So which is your favourite mosaic so far ?






Have a great weekend, and enjoy xx  :)

Spring Challenge - Spring Splatter

Hi Goddesses  

Happppppppppppy Weekend!   I have had the week from hell, so I am planning a whole weekend of relaxation, food, films and polish :)  I have been a seriously bad Crumpet this month, which is bad for the bank balance but AMAZING for the haul post (soon) and play time :)

Anyways, back to the splatter, Crumpet!  Soz.  Yes, so I LOVE splatters.  Love them, love them, love them.  They fit into my "perfect" category of "structured mess".  You can't go wrong with them really, and even if you do, there's so many way to fix them.

I decided to heed the master on this one.  I was going to just pick 5 pastels, and basically do the same on every nail, but I remembered Sarah from Chalkboard Nails stating that a splatter works better when you use black or white in it (creating greater contrast).  And lo, an idea was born ....

So the nails all have a base of a pastel colour, a splatter of white, and then a splatter of the darker version of the pastel, which I think is kinda neat.  The white was my staple, SH White On.  Here are the other colour combos -

thumb = OPI Sparrow Me The Drama, and CG It's Poppin', which has a little bit of shimmer in it which looked awesome in the splatter

index = SH Lacey Lilac and OPI Planks A Lot

middle = Barry M Blue Moon and Orly Snow Cone

ring = OPI Stranger Tides and Orly Ancient Jade

pinkie = CG Lemon Fizz and OPI The "It" Color

Now, I know I'm biased, but I LOVE how this turned out.  It's so happy and colourful, and just, ah, I just LOVE IT.

So, let's talk technique.   Usually, I take the polish brush and swoosh it inside the straw before I blow.  However, lately, I've found this creates a splatter that's too big, especially as I can't find thin straws in England.   This time, I again listened to the Chalkboard, and dipped the straw INTO the polish bottle.   Now, this DID create better splatter, but oh man, I made myself really messy.   Next time, I'm going to try an old Bic pen, as the hole is narrower.

So, what do you do when you splat too much ?  Well, I took one of my cheap eyeshadow applicators that I use for sponging, and sponged IN some of the excess, to make it look more mushy.  I also used a tissue to soak UP some of the excess, and again, it didn't matter that the tissue pressed into the polish, because the effect you are creating is so random.

I love splatters.  Love them.  Yes you make a bit of a mess, but every single one has some wow factor to it.

I can't wait to see what the other girls on the Challenge come up with today - it should be a very pretty day :)

Enjoy xx :)

Spring Gradient

Hi Goddesses  

I don't know what it is, but there is something magical about OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean Collection.   I don't know why I of all people would say this, because at first glance they are pukey pastels, but seriously, I love them.

There is something so perfect about the exact shade of each colour, and the way they compliment each other ... then there's the way they are glossier than any polish known to man .... how they apply like a dream ... and how they can be worn in combination like a pearl rainbow.  I love them.

So this is a gradient using Sparrow Me The Drama and Stranger Tides, looking suitably lush and glossy.

As a gradient, it's not very good, because there's not enough subtlety in the colour shift, but I still like how 2 colours which *should* clash look as if they were born to be together.

Enjoy xx :)

Tulips

Hi Goddesses

Ever since I wrote this challenge, I knew what my tulips mani would be - big, bold and red, with a splashed black heart, and maybe a little bit of yellow pollen.   Yeh, this isn't that mani.

I've learnt that my inability to draw / paint comes from an inability to recreate what's in my mind.  Although I'm a visual person, I can only draw if I'm looking at the shape / pattern I need.  If I just wing it and go, it doesn't work.   So usually I load up Google images and click away, and this time something unusual caught my eye - this.

This isn't at all what I planned to do, but I liked that it was different, and there was a chance no-one else would do it.   It's been quite amusing how some days, all of us in the challenge have essentially done the same mani - well, maybe not today.

This mani has 2 levels to it, and I have kicked myself for not taking a photo at the half way point.   The first level was this - 2 coats of OPI Stranger Tides, then top coat.   Then a water colour mani in vertical strokes using Barielle Polished Princess - a metallic medium green.  Unfortunately, this was too light on its own, so to better get the colour of the stalks I also added vertical washing with Essie School of Hard Rocks.  (Watercolour mani is when you add drops of the colour to your nail, then smear it around using an acetone-dipped art brush; it's VERY effective).

Once dry, I added my tulips.  To be honest, the shape of them kind of sucks.  They're not very bulb shaped, and I'm going to blame that on my left hand.  I used SH Right Said Red, CG Its Poppin', CG Papaya Punch, and a purple spectraflair franken I made.

Overall, I LOVE the effect.  Can you tell they're tulips ?  No, not really, but I still love it.  I also love that you can just about see some of the green wash between the flashes of colour.

There's something really bright and happy about this mani.  It's practically effortless, and it falls into my favourite category - artfully disguised mess.

Enjoy xx :)