Lighthouse of Hope Box

Today's post is really special to me, and I have had zero time to sit down and talk about it since its release in November.  I'm talking about the Lighthouse of Hope Box that was a collaboration between eight different indies this past November.  The box was created to benefit the group I Need a Lighthouse, which you can read a little bit about here.  I Need a Lighthouse is an amazing organization that works directly with people who suffer depressive disorders as well as educates the family members of those individuals so that they can learn coping methods and help their loved ones.  I make no secret about this fact, but I suffer from severe depressive disorder and anxiety disorder.  I work really hard every day to make sure that I don't succumb to the darkness that lurks inside.  It's hard but so worth it so that I may have a normal life.  Here's a little bit of an excerpt of something that I wrote in 2014 that I believe will help shed a light on what it's like for those of us with depression.

It's not something I'm shy about discussing because, honestly, I feel like it's not being discussed enough. With the passing of someone so famous and so entrenched in our minds as a funny and loving man, it's hard to understand why and how he could take his own life. Sadly, that's what depression does. It lies to you. It makes you think that you're all alone, and that the crippling weight of all of your bad decisions and bad experiences are the only things that matter in your life. But it's a lie. Don't give in. Get help! Talk to someone about it! If you're a loved one of someone who suffers from mental illness, support them! Don't leave them to be alone. I wrote a long blog post about this last year during my big depression awareness fundraiser, and you can read a little more about my struggles and the 5 things I've learned through my healing process at the link in the comments [here].

Again, if you suffer from severe depression or suicidal thoughts, please know you are NOT alone. If you need someone to talk to, I'm glad to fill that role until you find a therapist or psychiatrist/psychologist. Just talk! Get it out there! You will be ok!

So, now that that's all out there, let's take a look at the polishes available in the Lighthouse of Hope Depression Awareness Box.  This won't really be a review of the polishes because there are so many, so I'm only going to include the blurb that each of the makers wrote to describe their polish and their inspiration for the polish they created.

Made by me or given to use for charity donation.

The box includes the following polishes:

Alter Ego She Shines; Rica Alchemical Seas of Hope; Peita's Polish Serenity; Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Never Look Back; Sweet Heart Polish You're Amazing; Philly Loves Lacquer I Made You a Nest; Ellagee Sparks of Hope; Superficially Colorful Breathe; and Alter Ego Grows Hope.

Rica - Alchemical Seas of Hope

A sea green jelly with various green/gold glitters (dots, squares, hexes and micro glitter) in various finishes (holographic, metallic and matte). I named it Alchemical Seas of Hope because sometimes depression can feel like you’re in turbulent seas. As hard things may seem to be, there is always a lighthouse of hope in the horizon. Don’t lose sight of that.

Peita’s Polish - Serenity

A teal crelly full of various sized turquoise holographic glitter.  It reminds me of the twinkling clear waters of Australian beaches. I know the beach is often a place of solace for many people in times of stress.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer - Never Look Back

A clear base packed with emerald green microglitter and sparks of blue and purple.  As someone who suffers from clinical depression, I’m constantly reminding myself to look to the future and not dwell on the past.  It can be immensely difficult to do so, but it is completely necessary for my recovery.  Remember that the future holds amazing things, so don’t dwell on the bad from the past!

Sweet Heart Polish - You’re Amazing

A deep royal blue jelly with a mix of matte, metallic, and holographic blue glitters in a variety of shapes and sizes with micro iridescent bar glitter.  I named this beauty You’re Amazing, because sometimes you can forget this and it always nice to have a reminder.  [Worn in one coat over Elevation Polish Pic de Sotllo, except ring finger is 4 layers by itself.  Ignore the tip wear, I didn't get to take pics until I was into day 3 of this mani.]

Philly Loves Lacquer - I Made You a Nest

A lightly tinted teal base packed with silver, turquoise, teal, blue, and green microglitters. I made this to pay homage to the comic by Robot Hugs, which I found right before I sought help for my own depression. Sometimes you just need a friend to make you a nest of cuddly blankets and hang out with you in it when things are really rough. http://www.robot-hugs.com/nest/

ellagee - Sparks Of Hope

A lush emerald green with subtle shifts of teal and gold sparkling with gold holo dust. Because when things look dark even the smallest spark of hope can light the way to healing.

Superficially Colorful - Breathe

An aqua/turquoise holographic polish with a little silver and blue shimmer. I think it's what we all need. To take a deep breath and go on. Everything is easier when you can breathe.

Alter Ego - Grows Hope

A medium green foil-ish finish. While this woman doesn't suffer from depression she knows lots of people who do. She Grows Hope for those she know who suffer, trying to make others more aware of how personal these issues can be, and by standing quietly by the side of these people she loves so much, without judgement, to help in whatever way she can.

Boxes have not sold out, but there are only a handful left.  Each box costs $80 shipped domestically and $60 of each box will be donated to I Need a Lighthouse within a week of selling out [I haven't made the donation of the sold boxes yet, and that money is just itchin to get to work at its new home!!].  International packages will be shipped flat rate priority and will cost $94.25 to Canada and $98.25 everywhere else.  For transparency purposes, I will provide screenshots of the donation and donation amount once it has been made.

So, what do you think?  Which is your favorite?  Don't you agree that Depression Awareness should be discussed for more than just one month?

Comparison Thursday: Baby Blue Holos

First and foremost, happy new year!!  I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable night last night and are ready and refreshed for a new year!  I'm currently going without polish for a while, so I don't have a NYE/NY Day mani to show you guys.  Instead, we'll get back to our regularly scheduled program of comparisons on Thursdays!  I can't do an Enchanted Week without having a comparison including a few Enchanteds!  I decided to show you guys some lovely baby blues since they remind me of the icy cold weather.  Although, the temps have been in the 60s in Georgia, so it's not exactly icy...

Purchased by Me or Given as Gifts By Friends

A Little Fishy Told Me

Fishy isn't really blue, but more of a sage green with blue sparkles.  People had, at one point, claimed that Fishy and BS were dupes, but they very clearly are not.  Fishy is definitely not blue, so it's the outlier of this grouping.  Fishy is very thin, which pooled and required cleanup.  The thinness isn't really normal for most EP's, so I was a bit disappointed in the application.  It was opaque in 3 coats, and I used one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top to give it a glossy look.

Zipper

Zipper is a little fluid, but doesn't pool too badly.  Luckily, the easy application meant that I only had minimal cleanup.  However, Zipper isn't very self-leveling, so there was some issues with streaking.  It's opaque in 2 coats, and I wore it with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  Zipper isn't shimmered like several of the other holos in this grouping, but it's the closest in color to BS - just very slightly lighter.  It's probably the least holo of the grouping.  As you can tell, it was able to ding it easily, so dry time was a little longer than the others.

Ballerina Sprinkles

Ballerina Sprinkles is the original milky baby blue holo.  While it's a lovely baby blue with a gorgeous strong pink shimmer, it is also super sheer.  BS is also extremely thin, so it pools a lot and requires a lot of cleanup.  It's the most shimmered and the most sheer of the group.  It's opaque in 4 coats.

Glimmering Lake

GL is fluid, but didn't flood my cuticles on the first coat.  It's very strongly gold shimmered with lovely gold microflakies.  It's a tad darker than BS but only 3rd darkest of this grouping.  It's also fully opaque in 3 coats.  Application was super easy and didn't require cleanup.

Hottest Spot North of Havanah

Havanah is the darkest of the bunch and has the best application.  Very little cleanup was needed. Havanah was opaque in 2 coats.  It dries matte, so I wore it with one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.

Which is your favorite?  For me, it's a toss up between Ballerina Sprinkles and Glimmering Lake.

Digital Nails and Ellagee Fi-Bros for Life Collab

Oh. My. GAWD.  I'm so in love with the creative geniuses that are Digital Nails and Ellagee!  Today's post is a super special one as it is dedicated to Fibromyalgia awareness because today is Fibromyalgia Awareness day!  Here's a little bit of info about the duo and the reason for its creation from the makers themselves!

Taken directly from the Digital Nails Facebook Page:

     Earlier this year I had the opportunity to hang out with Laura, the creator behind ellagee & we hit it off immediately! Other than having the common thread of being a small business owner and indie polish creator, upon countless other things, we found of that we share something way less fun, we both have Fibromyalgia!
     It is so important to keep to keep a sense of humor when dealing with anything so awful, so we decided to to a collaboration project to help bring some awareness to the public, but mostly as an excuse to hang out and just have fun with someone who really and truly understands.  I am so glad to have found a friend like Laura!
     We had the MOST fun putting this project together! We wanted to make something that symbolizes fibromyalgia and other invisible illnesses, but also wanted to keep it light because you've just gotta keep laughing.
     The two polishes we created are exclusive to the limited edition collaboration box which will be available from Monday, May 12 through Thursday, June 11. Pre-orders will begin on Monday in both shops and the first shipment will go out on Friday, May 16.

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*

So, let's get started!  The package you get will include both polishes, Chronic Badass and Whack with Poo Brain, as well as a few other goodies that include nail charms!  I'm not going to show you guys all of the stuff in the box because I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!  First, we'll take a look at the lovely Whack with Poo Brain!  (And before you get all O.o about the name, it comes from an Adventure Time episode.)  Get ready for a lot of photos!  As always, click on the photo to see it in greater detail!

Color: Light purple with purple, pink, white, and black hexes and dots in varying sizes and small blue/green iridescent glitters that just glow.

Finish: Glitter Jelly – glitter in a colored jelly base.

Bottle / Brush: Round bottle – the wand is the standard length, but the brush is a super fat and wide one.  If you've got smaller nails, you may have a difficult with application.  However, the larger brush makes it easier to get the larger glitters out of the bottle.

Opacity: Medium – achieves opacity at three coats.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.

Consistency: Thick – on the thicker side but doesn't need thinner.

Overall Ease of Application: Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads well without much manipulation.

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.

Overall Thoughts: The first coat goes on super sheer, and I was afraid that I probably should have used undies instead of doing thick layers.  However, it was fairly opaque in two coats with just a slight hint of the nail line underneath.  I really liked the jelly sandwich look with this polish, but I think it would also look nice over a similar shade creme.  Application was relatively easy, but I had some issues getting it on my side walls.  I think that's due to user error and not polish error, though, so keep that in mind.  I like that it's purple, which is the Fibromyalgia awareness color.


Now, we'll take a look at Chronic Badass!

Color: Clear base with black and purple hexes and squares, fuchsia dots, black stars, and purple and silver holo butterflies.

Finish: Glitter Top Coat – glitter in a clear base to be worn as a top coat.

Bottle / Brush: Round bottle – the brush and wand are the standard width and length.  Easy to control and manipulate.

Opacity: Glitter topcoat – not designed for full opacity.

Glitter Application: Medium – requires the dab method, but glitters are easy to extract and spread evenly.

Consistency: Fluid – thin but flows easily from the brush.

Overall Ease of Application: Easy – applies well without pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads evenly and smoothly.

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

Dry Time: Quick – dry to the touch without smudging in under 3 minutes.

Overall Thoughts: This glitter topcoat is a lovely tribute to Fibromyalgia awareness as it mixes both purple and the symbol of Fibro awareness, butterflies!  I'm one of those people who loves butterfly glitters, so this topper was especially fun for me.  Application was super easy, and the glitter to base ratio was perfect, and I only needed one coat with the dab method to get great coverage.  Most photos show CB over Zoya Julie, but I've included some below that are CB over WwPB.  It was a little busy, but not in a bad way.  I received two butterfly charms, so I wore one over just Julie on my accent nail.  The charms will vary from box to box, so you may receive a different fun shape.

Here are the two layered over one another.  There's a lot going on, but it doesn't look bad.  It's actually kind of cool!  And the varying glitters give it depth!  This is three coats of WwPB and one coat of CB.

You can purchase this limited edition set at both Ellagee's and Digital Nails' stores.  They will go up for sale tonight at 6 pm central time.  They will be available for the next month, so make sure you grab one while you can!  Follow both lovely ladies on Facebook, IG, and Twitter for more updates and information on new releases!  (Digital Nails FB, IG, Twitter | Ellagee FB, IG, Twitter).  

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*