Press Release: Sir Terry Pratchett Inspires Limited Edition Nail Polish as Fundraiser for Alzheimer's Research UK

Sir Terry Pratchett is a literary pioneer. From his first book, The Carpet People in 1971, through his most recent 2014 release, Dragons at Crumbling Castle, Sir Pratchett continuously takes his readers out of their realities and brings them into new, fantastical worlds. His books (including those of Discworld, The Long Earth and everywhere in between) are an escape from the mundane, a thought-provoking journey and a study in foreign lands and experiences. Sir Pratchett's writings include fiction, nonfiction and fantasy for adults, young adults and children. There are several movie and radio adaptations of his works and a Discworld app, in which readers and fans can roam the streets and interact with its patrons. And at age 64, Sir Pratchett continues to delight readers with new works.

Literary Lacquers, founded by Amy Milder in 2012, is an innovative independent nail polish company . Amy's passion for literature, beauty and nail polish drive her creativity and business; all of her polishes are inspired by great literary works, passages and series. Literary lacquer polishes are all 3-free and are packaged and shipped with 100% recyclable materials.

In 2007, Sir Pratchett announced to the world that he is living and writing with early onset Alzheimer's, or as he refers to it "The Embuggerance". Instead of ceasing his creativity and publicity, Sir Pratchett became a financial donor and guest blogger on Alzheimer's Research UK, and continues to write and interact with fans via social media. Earlier this year marked the first time that Sir Pratchett cancelled a public appearance due to the effects of The Embuggerance.

To honor Sir Pratchett's work and his charity work with Alzheimer's Research UK, Literary Lacquers has designed a limited edition charity polish, Luggage For Your Journey. In the Discworld novels, The Luggage is a recurring character that travels, protects (at times voraciously) and accompanies the wizard Rincewind. The Luggage is otherworldly, and yet becomes integral into the fabric of Discworld. This polish is designed to honor Sir Terry Pratchett's amazing literary career, to thank him for the journey into other realms and to serve as a reminder that there is always a companion for life's many journeys.

The bottles of Luggage For Your Journey will be sold for $12 and $5 from each bottle will be donated to Alzheimer's Research UK. The polish will be sold as a preorder only from October 10, 2014 through October 17, 2014.

Literary Lacquers Shop Link

Halloween Vinyl Decals from NailVinyls

Good evening, dear readers, and happy hump day! It has been a particularly rough day here at the Jedi household, and I am looking forward to the weekend! One bright part about my day is that my nails look awesome, and I just had to share them tonight!

If you've been reading my blog for a few months, you've already seen me using NailVinyls to create several fun nail art looks. I used the chevrons to create my nail art look for Cosmoprof North America here and again for the Llarowe store opening here. I had the pleasure of meeting Linda, the creator of this magnificent product, while attending CPNA in Las Vegas, and we have chatted almost every day ever since. Linda knew about my love of all things Halloween, and when she asked if I wanted to try out her brand spankin' new Halloween-themed decals, I eagerly squealed a resounding "Yes!" She had already shared photos with me of one of the designs, but I still was not prepared for the mind-blowing decals I pulled out of the fabulous chevron-printed envelope I found in my mail yesterday. NailVinyls will now be offering Halloween decals in spider webs, spiders, and scaredy cats! I used all three in my nail art look today, so let's get to photos and then I'll share more details afterwards. I hope you're ready!

Squee!!! I am loving this look, and I hope you do too! I opted to not use a white base for the water marbeled nails to give a slightly more toned down look, and I opened up areas of the water marble for a more distressed look. Also, please take note that these are all decals that are meant to be placed on the nails and sealed with topcoat, not the stencils like the traditional NailVinyls. I sealed my manicure with two coats of HK Girl topcoat by Glisten & Glow.

Spiders

55 count for $6

34 large

21 small

I chose to use the large ones for both my index and pinky fingers for my manicure. Because of the large black section from the water marble on my pinky, I was afraid the smaller spider  might get lost. I had to trim down the string section for placement on my pinky nail only, but even the larger spider fit nicely on my smallest nail.

Spider Webs

20 Count for $6

4 Large

12 Medium

4 Small

I used the medium size spider web for my middle finger, and I used nail scissors to trim a little excess along the top and one side of my nail. The Spider Web decals have the center part cut out but they are still on the vinyls sheet. I used tweezers to easily pull them out the webbing prior to placing them on my nails.

Scaredy Cats

54 count for $6

27 Right Facing

27 Left Facing

All Scaredy Cat decals are the same size.

Halloween wouldn't be Halloween without the black scaredy cat! I was so excited about getting these on my nails that I completely missed out on the fact the sheet came with both left and right facing cats until it was too late. Oops! The left facing cats are the same size and cut in the same way as the right facing ones, other than obviously, they face left.

A few more photos because you know I couldn't resist!

These cool Halloween decals will be launching on the NailVinyls website this upcoming Sunday, October 5th at Noon EST. Currently, these are planned to be available for a limited time, but keep an eye on the NailVinyls Facebook page and Instagram account for any changes and additional details. I know I am excited about them, and they will definitely be used in more of my Halloween looks this month!

Nail polishes used:

Darling Diva Polish: Are We On Cops?

Finger Paints: Tangerine Tint

Zoya: Purity

Zoya: Raven

Have you started planning your Halloween manicures yet? I hope these decals have helped inspire some ideas!

Until next time, dear readers, stay good, or don't get caught! ;)

Press Release: China Glaze Apocalypse of Colour and Celebrate Courage Collections

Apocalypse of Colour

Run for your life this Halloween as China Glaze unleashes the Apocalypse of Colour.  Design an immortal manicure fit for the undead with this mix of scary shimmers, ghoulish glitters and terrifying top coats.  Create a spine-chilling look with the six-piece limited edition collection, all the way down to your fingertips and toes.  Apocalypse of Colour features 5 new shimmers and glitters, and the re-release of Ghoulish Glow glow-in-the-dark top coat. 

Celebrate Courage

This month, China Glaze honors the strength of all women affected by breast cancer with the new Celebrate Courage collection.  Inspired by the women who gracefully fight everyday and those that support them in their battle, the six-piece collection features three new matte crèmes and re-promotes of three classic bright pink shades. 

In addition to the gorgeous sanguine shades, Celebrate Courage marks the launch of a new 0.5 fl oz bottle of China Glaze’s popular Matte Magic flat finish top coat.  Previously only available in 0.325 fl oz, the new 0.5 fl oz bottle will be available as part of the core China Glaze collection beginning in 2015.