My Favourite Undies - Red, Green and Purple

Welcome back to the second installment of my series all about undies! In my first installment I had a little rant about why I use undies with my indie polishes, that basically boils down to me being clumsy and (relatively) poor.

There was some feedback on the last post that made me want to add a little caveat before we begin - while I myself am a big fan of using undies for indie polish, it is a somewhat divisive subject. Some people think that using undies ruins the jelly effect you so often get with indie polish, and I can totally appreciate it's largely a matter of taste. Personally, I don't get as excited by the jelly look as I do being able to do a manicure more quickly and easily, but that's a personal preference, not any sort of hard and fast rule. If you have the time, patience, and skill to make the most of indie polishes without any undie polishes, then you get down with your bad self.

Lab Muffin, for example, hardly ever uses undies and her indies still look
glorious. One day I will steal her secret. And her crazy long nail beds.

For the rest of us, I thought I would pass on my recommendations (again, not rules just suggestions) of the undie polishes I reach for most frequently. I have a couple of requirements for polishes I intend to use primarily as undies; first, they MUST cover in one or two coats. Two is the absolute maximum. If I have to do three coats of an undie, then by the time I put my glitter on the polish is five or six layers deep and ridiculously difficult to manage. Secondly, a polish I intend to use mainly for undies must be under $10 for a mainstream polish. Indies I make an exception for, because I don't mind paying 10 or over for something someone has designed specially. But for a mainstream, vat grown plain colour, even $5 will make me think twice. So all the polishes I am going to be recommending here will be $10 at most, and all will give you good smooth coverage in two coats.

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Presents: Aussie Indie Emporium

I've blogged here before about how awesome the Femme Fatale brand polishes themselves are, and also about the fantastic overseas indies they're now stocking. But did you know they're also stocking a wide range of our lovely Aussie indie polishes as well?

This might seem kind of redundant, until you take a look at just how much postage costs even with Australia. Australia Post, kind and generous souls that they are, charge a minimum of $7 per parcel, which doesn't seem like much until you start ordering from a couple of places at once. I, for example, being the Aussie indie junkie that I am, will often order from three different brands. I only pay 7-8 dollars postage to each one, but it adds up to nearly $25 all up just to get the damn polish to me. Femme Fatale, however, have come up with a solution to this annoying conundrum, by stocking a huge variety of popular Aussie indies all in the one place. This means you can throw them in with all the other lovelies from Femme Fatale, without incurring a chunk of postage for every bottle. I think it's a brilliant idea, and Femme Fatale were kind enough to provide me with some sample of the Aussie indies they're currently stocking.

Flakie Frenzy!

Because Australia lags horribly behind on cosmetics releases sometimes, we only got the Revlon Moon Candy polishes in stores very recently. If you haven't heard of them, they're a neat little idea - two little bottles in one tube, where one is the plain base colour and the other is pretty foily flakies to go over the top. I think they're stretching a bit to call it "nail art" as they do on the packaging, but I'm aware my definition of what constitutes "nail art" is probably skewed by all the amazing nail artists I follow online. Regardless, they're still quite pretty, and very easy to use.

Magical Polish for a Magical World - Alanna Renee Review

I've actually had these polishes for a while but I've been holding off on showing you because I know how much it annoys me when I see something I want on a blog, only to find the store is currently closed. Alanna Renee first released her Harry Potter themed polish collection Magical World about a month ago, but it turned out a couple of the polishes had some formula issues. Being the awesome indie maker she is, Alanna Renee shut up shop and went to work on resolving the problems, and now the whole collection is back and completely up to the enormously high standards I've come to expect from her polishes.

I'm going to start by saying I know next to nothing about Harry Potter - I was a huge fan of Dianna Wynn Jones's Chrestomanci series growing up, so when I picked up something much less morally nuanced and well, duller that was also about a boy wizard who doesn't know he's a wizard but then finds out and it changes his life, I got bored very quickly. I didn't mind the movies, but haven't made it through the last two entirely. So you know that all the praise I'm going to lavish on these polishes is entirely about the polish.

Actions Versus Advertising

Some people that I know who run small businesses had some interesting feedback on my last post about "friendship" marketing, or as the ever witty Autumn at The Beheld dubbed it, "Slumber Party Marketing", where large companies attempt to market to consumers as if they are really your friends, and try to give you the impression they care more about your happiness than what you buy. The global marketplace is so crowded these days that just having a good product isn't nearly enough to get you the attention of consumers. If you want to sell people things, one of the most effective ways is to get them emotionally invested in your company and your products; and the most effective way to do that for both large and small businesses is to convince consumers you care about them.

We are legion, and we care about you.

Light It Up Blue - Charity Auction

You might remember my blue manicure for Autism Awareness Month a little while ago, and my brief mention of an upcoming charity polish auction. Well, I have some more details now, and this is looking like a HUGE DEAL.

If you head on over to Paint It Blue you can see all the details, but the basic premise of this deal is that a bunch of amazing indie polish makers have created custom, one of a kind blue polishes to be auctioned off. All the proceeds are going to ASPECT, who I also mentioned in my last post on Autism Awareness Month.

Seriously, anyone who is anyone is indie polish has gotten in on this project - here are a few swatches that have been shared so far just to get you all worked up.

Light It Up Blue! Autism Awareness Month

Like a lot of people who haven't been directly affected by it, for a long time I didn't know much about Autism Spectrum Disorder. I'd heard a bit about it, and seen Aspergers in particular used as an excuse for bad behavior by people who had diagnosed themselves over the internet without actually consulting a doctor of any kind. I was was aware it was some kind of mental condition, but that was about it, until I moved in with a housemate who was doing volunteer work at a respite home for children with various behavioral problems. The stories she came home with were shocking - she was dealing with children who were far more affected by ASD than anyone I'd ever come across, and I was horrified to realise just how severe the condition should be. But the part of her experience that has really stuck with me is the stories of the occasional child who was abandoned at the respite home. Parents who would drop their kids off for a weekend, and just never come back, because they simply couldn't deal anymore. They didn't have the support, they didn't have the resources, they just didn't have it in them to take care of their children any more, and the ida that both parents and children were so lost and alone broke my heart.

I think increased awareness can make a huge difference in the lives of people with ASD. The amount of hostility they can be subjected to is just shocking, and this hostility often comes from a place of confusion. The more you understand something like ASD, the easier it is to see the person behind the condition, and hopefully treat them with the dignity and compassion they deserve. In aid of this cause, it's World Autism Awareness Day today.  The theme is "Light It Up Blue", and all sorts of groups are doing activities to get the message out there by making anything and everything they can blue. In an awesome display of the sort of solidarity I've talked about here before, the nail community is getting together to do a couple of really great things to contribute to the cause.

First up there is an awareness campaign being co-ordinated from Facebook where people both in and out of the nail community are painting their nails blue for today, this week, or the whole month if they can, in order to bring attention to autism and the challenges facing people with autism. There are some really touching, and some really rage making stories being shared there, mostly from the point of view of parents trying to support their children in a culture that isn't particularly interested in making room for people who work differently. This group is also organising an upcoming charity auction, where several indie polish makers are donating a custom polish, and the proceeds are all going to ASPECT, a fantastic Australian autism support organisation. They offer an enormous change of services to the autistic community, as well as their parents and carers, including diagnostic assessments, early intervention programs, and a network of autism specific schools and satellite classes. From what I've heard, they're doing some amazing work, and I'll be keeping an eye out for details of the this auction supporting them as they're released.

On a smaller scale, but also on a beautifully personal level, the owner of Loki's Lacquer is holding a blue nails competition on the Loki's Lacquer Facebook page all this month. The winner will get a custom polish of their choosing from Loki's Lacquer, and the winner will be chosen by her daughter, who has ASD and has inspired her Mum to get so involved in this cause.

Finally, there are a ton of Instagram tags being used to tag blue manicures for autism awareness. #bluenailsforautism, #autismawarenessmonth,#paintitblue and #lightitupblue are all in use currently, and I'll be making an effort to add as many blue manicures as I can to the pile over the coming month.

But in the meantime, here is my initial effort; Elevation Polish in Azure Caverns, with Alanna Renee Pacific layered over the top.

Fairy Princess Awareness Day

You might recall from my persistent spamming all over social media that I was taking part in Dare to Wear Day this year, in aid of an Australian charity called Fitted For Work. Fitted For Work aim to hep disadvantaged women back into the workforce by supplying them with appropriate interview clothes, as well as help building their confidence and interview skills.

I think this sort of work is really important - the interview process is often the most challenging thing about getting a job, far more so than keeping the job if you're offered the chance. If you're at a point in your life where you're out of practice answering the ridiculous arbitrary questions that recruiters throw at you, the last thing you need is to feel like you're dressed like shit. A nice skirt suit really can make the difference between answering confidently and getting the job, and mumbling into your chest and being immediately dismissed regardless of how skilled you actually are. The women Fitted For Work work see also often have big gaps in their resume from time in prison, or raising a family, or all the other things that get in the way of a career, and I really feel for people in that sort of situation. My own work history hasn't exactly been a smooth path from Point A to Point B - no matter how you spin it, a three year break from the workforce because I had a mental breakdown so severe I couldn't leave the house never looks good on a resume. Gaps in your resume shouldn't be an automatic disqualification from the interview process, but unfortunately, they often are. So if you're out of practice, out of decent outfits, and have a gap in your resume, the odds are definitely stacked against you when you're going up for a job. Charities like Fitted For Work try to tilt the odds a bit more in the interviewee's favour.

Dare To Wear Day is held once a year, and works in a similar way to World's Greatest Shave  in that people sponsor you to do something challenging. In this case, I only had to wear something ridiculous to work for one day, so I decided to go as a Fairy Princess. I figure any excuse to wear a tiara is a good enough excuse.

Since some of you lovely people who helped out by donating, I promised pictures of my femmetacular outfit - so without further ado, here is what I wore to work on Friday. This was the Fanciest of all Fancy Fridays.

I would be totally lying if I said this didn't get pretty challenging to go the whole day in. While it was great fun dressing up, and I do love floofy skirts, I'm also the kind of person who has a very fine emotional line between enough attention and TOO MUCH attention, and this outfit definitely pushed the amount of attention I got firmly into the TOO MUCH category. I had a bit of a freak out about three quarters of the way through the day and tried to figure out a way to wriggle out of it, but then a couple of new donations came through, and I realised I would be letting people down if I let my self consciousness get the better of me. 

I'm sure you're all STUNNED to hear doing my nails so sparkly they could be seen from space was my favourite part of the whole outfit. This is Alanna Renee Mardi, with a layer of Femme Fatale Ebon Roses over the top, with a smattering of Hello Kitty holographic glitter over the top for good measure. This manicure was shiny enough that it was legitimately distracting.

I also took the opportunity to really go nuts with my Femme Fatale loose eyeshadows. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know I've been obsessed with these things since a wise Twitter follower gave me the marvelous advice to use Napoleon Perdis Cake Eyeliner Sealer to keep them in place. I'll be doing up a How To on this at a future date, once I'm a little more confident.

I made it through the whole work day, and even heading out into the city for lunch with minimal panic! When my boy came to pick me  up from work I was so pleased with myself we stopped for an impromptu photoshoot in the park.

But the most exciting part of the whole day was realising the donations had hit $500 - a completely arbitrary target I had set up when I initially hoped some of my workmates would join me. I didn't think I had a chance in hell of reaching it by myself, so I just want to say a great big THANK YOU to each and every one of you who donated. And don't worry, I don't do charity things often, so it will probably be a while before I'm hassling you again!

Alanna Renee Review - Black Cherry, Milky Way, Mardi, Pacific

Glitter for all!

To be honest, I'm not normally a fan of big chunky glitter polishes. I've seen a lot of other bloggers go weak at the knees for things like Lynderella, and there are a lot of indie makers apparently going by the rule that if the glitter will fit in the bottle, it's never too big. I just can't get behind that. As much as I love OTT fashion, the reality is that I will only wear a polish if it's not going to look, well, messy. I love the idea of indie polishes - supporting someone else in doing what makes them happy makes me pretty damn happy - but a lot of them just end up looking cluttered to my fussy eyes.

Happily, Alanna Renee has changed my mind about chunky glitters, and indie polish in general.

Full disclosure - I do know the founder of this brand through a nail community I'm part of, and she's lovely. I will admit that apart from Black Cherry, which I knew I would love, I bought the others to give them a go and support her, not because I thought I would love them. But I was quite, quite wrong.

Speaking of Black Cherry, let's start with that one.

Under office flourescents - it won't always bubble like this, I just got over excited
and decided insisting on putting it on in +40 degree heat was an awesome idea.

 Buying this was a total no brainer for me. Pretty much everything I own is black and red, and I was really interested to see how the red glitter would look in person. It turns out it's not really glitter as such - it settles into the dark jelly base like bright drops of blood in a dark night, and I fucking love it. I put a layer of black under it, and I think that really helped the red stand out so beautifully. having said that, it's surprisingly subtle and tactful, for a polish full of three different kinds of glitter. I wore it to work and it was halfway through the day before someone asked if I had red or black on my nails today, so if you're looking for something a bit different that doesn't scream LOOK AT MEEEE, this could be for you.

If you DO want something that screams LOOK AT MEEEEE, then Mardi is for you.

Both under lamp light - I wanted sunshine, but the weather won't play nice
with me this weekend.

Macro so you can see ALL THE GLITTER

I actually put a layer of red under this because I thought it might be a bit transparent, but it turns out that was a totally unnecessary step. This polish is just pure glitter, all the way through. It's like she literally liquified a drag queen's favourite dress and then put it in bottles. While not something I would wear every day, it's out and out fabulous, and will be proudly worn next time I need a bit more fabulous in my life. Unfortunately, this is out of stock currently, but Alanna Renee assure me there will be a restock in the coming weeks.

This next polish is currently out of stock too, which is kind of heartbreaking because I can think of at least three people I'd like to buy it for now I've seen how stunning it is in person. I bought Pacific largely as a challenge to myself to try something I didn't think was "me", and it ended up being my favourite out of the whole collection.

This one I did manage to get in the sun

The rock is from the Pacific Ocean!

The bottle shots made it look a bit...well, tacky and overly shiny, like tinsel. But on your nails it's just beautiful. The jelly base makes the glitter float like it's in the ocean, and the way it sparkles in the sunlight reminds me perfectly of the parts of the Pacific I actually like, ie. the parts where no-one else goes. I recently took a trip to Milton on the coast, and spent the most relaxing week I've had in a long time roaming around beaches like this;

While I hate beaches, especially beaches with other people on them, I ADORE the clear, beautiful blue water you get around this area of the coast, and the way the sunlight twinkles on it like a diamond. This polish makes me think of these amazing nooks every time I look at it, and for that I dub it my favourite of the collection so far. It surprised me so delightfully, and I love surprises.

Which brings me to the last, Milky Way, which I thought I would love, but have ended up feeling pretty ambivalent about(in the dictionary definition of the word). I tried it first over a dark base, as the sale page reccomends.

I have a sneaking suspicion I should have used a base colour that was less transparent, because I don't feel like it really made the Milky Way "pop" the way it could have. So I tried it over a light base, and was pleasantly surprised with the results.

It gives the pink a really subtle, secret princess sparkle, and I dig that. Unfortunately, I don't know when I would actually wear this look. I also found the glitter looked a lot more chunky in this polish than the others. As I said at the start, some people just LOVE that look, but I prefer the glitter to blend with the base to create an overall impression. Pacific and Black Cherry both do this really well - the glitter and the base work together, instead of the base just being there to make sure the glitter sticks. Mardi can't be compared because it's ALL GLITTER. but Milky Way looks a little too Lynderella for my taste - the glitter is lovely, and much more tasteful than a lot of indies I've seen. But it's just kind of...there. There's no overall look. I'm planning on using it to add some subtle glitter tips to a solid colour in the future, but I think that's probably all I'll end up using it for.

Matters of individual taste aside, I was really blown away by the quality of these polishes, from formula to packaging. I've long been wary of glitter polishes because I've heard you often have to "fish" around with the brush to really get a decent  amount of glitter out, and that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen in my hands. I had to fish a tiny bit with Milky Way, but the others were no problem at all. Just dunk, slather, and BAM bitches. You will however want to put a nice thick topcoat over these, especially Mardi. The sheer volume of glitter means they can dry a little textured otherwise.
The labels are incredibly professional, even compared to other mainstream brands, and I love that an indie label has taken the time to consider the visual impact of the packaging as well as the product. This is a tactic that has served Cirque extremely well so far, and given that her polishes are at least as good, and the packaging just as lovely, I believe Alanna Renee can reach the same heights of success.