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?

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Release Info: The Ladies of Peter Pan Duo

When I first saw that Cassandra from Sweet Heart Polish was looking for collaborators for her Disney Ride Duo series, I jumped on that as fast as I possibly could.  After chatting about our favorite rides and our Disney experiences (me east coat and her west coast), we settled on the Peter Pan ride!  We also both knew that the ladies of Peter Pan were the real stars of the show, so we chose them as our muses for this collaboration.  So, without further ado, let's check out the duo and what other goodies we've got in the box!  [****Please note the edited price!  I'm a goon and got it wrong, and it's my own box! Go figure... Hah!****]

In this collaboration box, you will receive Oh Look, a Firefly! from Sweet Heart Polish, Sewing Shadows from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, Tinkerbell and Wendy nail vinyls created by Diana of Monster Polish, a pin in one of two designs that were imagined by two lovely fans, and a glass star filled with pixie dust (non-solvent resistant glitter)!  There will be forty of these boxes available, and you can buy them at both my shop and at Sweet Heart Polish's shop!

Oh Look, a Firefly!

Firefly is a lovely chartreuse green jelly packed with gold and chartreuse glitters.  This is a true jelly, so it does go on a bit sheer.  Here, I wore it in two coats over two coats of Elevation Polish Cuernos del Paine on all of my fingers except my ring, which is four coats of Firefly alone.  Dry time was super quick, and I only needed one coat for a smooth and glossy finish.  While this little lady looks lovely layered over other colors, it's also nice on its own.  Just keep in mind that it does take several layers to reach full opacity.

Sewing Shadows

Shadows is a light blue that leans a hair teal with large glass flecks that shift from gold to green to blue.  Three layers will give you full opacity, but you could probably even get away with two thicker layers.  Dry time is average with a quick dry topcoat.  Keep in mind that, per my usual formula, this may be a little thick, so you may need to add a bit of thinner to get it to your desired consistency.

Pixie Dust

We've included a little glass star vial filled to the brim with "pixie dust!"  The glitters in this vial are NOT solvent resistant!  They will work really well on top of your mani, but don't put them into polish.  You definitely don't want them to melt!  Each star is different, so it'll be a surprise what you get!

Pin

There are two lovely pin designs that were illustrated by two amazing fans, Alondra from Glitter Hypnosis and Stinna from Nailant!  We held a contest for the pin's design, but we loved two of them so much that we just had to use them both!

Vinyls

The nail vinyls were created by the lovely Diana who is behind Polish Monster, who is about to open her shop (FINALLY!) over at Monster Polish Nail Lacquer!  Each box will come with 5 decals of each design.  They definitely work better as stickers than stencils, but I used them both ways as you can see below.  For both looks, I used Colors by Llarowe Twinkle Twinkle.  They're just so tiny that it's hard to remove them without pulling up too much or not enough polish.  I believe she has some extra that she'll have on her shop after the boxes sell out, so if you're looking for adorable decals, make sure to hit her up!

So, there you have it!  What do you think?  Are you excited?  Because I know I am!!!  The box will cost $25 plus shipping and includes 2 polishes, 2 sets of 5 vinyls, 1 pin, and 1 glass vial of glitter.  You can purchase them at both my shop and at Sweet Heart Polish's shop.  There will be forty boxes available for purchase, so make sure you grab one quickly!  They go on sale this Friday, 10/10, at noon edt!