Lynnderella Fiddle Dee Dee Swatches and a dedication

 So today is going to be a mixed feeling post. I'm excited to show you swatches of Lynnderella's Fiddle Dee Dee.  This is a Limited Edition polish that is available in her Ebay store  I'd like to thank Lynn personally for sending me this polish because it has really helped me have a little sunshine in a dark part of the year for me. It's really stunning!

 I want to share with you guys a little about why it means so much to me before we get to the swatches.

Today marks the 4 year anniversary of my grandmother Madeline's passing.  It's still hard for me to talk about sometimes, although it's a little easier than before, so pardon me if I ramble a little bit. So many emotions hit me and I might lose focus lol, that and I'm probably a bit of an over-sharer.

 It was a rather traumatic time for me, as I was the only one of our direct family with her in her final moments. She had tripped on some stairs the night before while she was out at a Christmas party, gone to the ER, they had scheduled her to check in for surgery the next morning for a broken arm, and sent her home.

 I had to work and couldn't get off because we were short handed, so I was going to help her get ready to go to the hospital, and stop by on my way home, since my Dad and Aunt were going to be with her during the surgery. It was snowing and sleeting outside so they had left to be on their way to where we lived a little while before.

  She collapsed onto the floor when we were putting her jacket on before she was left. My previous career was in the medical field, so I switched into crisis mode. She had stopped breathing and had no pulse, so I called 911 and started CPR.  The EMTs came, but I pretty much knew they weren't going to be able to save her.

 It was pretty rough for me, because it was my job to help save people and take care of them.   I'd done CPR before and had someone not survive, but it's a different ballgame when it's your family. I felt like a failure.  That I had stopped CPR to call 911 and that had somehow caused it to not save her. Basically I blamed myself. I've accepted now it wasn't my fault, but for a long time I didn't. I had severe anxiety that I would compare to PTSD and couldn't sleep because I'd replay those moments over and over, to the point I wasn't sleeping and was having a hard time getting through the day without feeling like I couldn't breathe.
My Grandma Madeline taught me to never let anyone push me around and to always try to do what's right even when someone else thinks it's wrong. She taught me to always be strong and to try to be a lady unless the situation called for other avenues. She spoke her mind and she always tried to help others. I miss her terribly and think about her every day.

She loved her husband, her children, her grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and did everything she could to make us feel that we were important and special. She loved to dance. She made the best cheeseburgers . She loved to laugh. She loved Jack Daniels and Malibu Rum. She gave the best hugs. She was so proud of all of us no matter what. She helped give us opportunities that she didn't have herself as the oldest of 9 children. She loved red nail polish and she told me she always wanted a red rose tattoo. She was an awesome lady, who had great taste in clothes, and she was comfortable in a snazzy dressy outfit done up to the nines, or padding around her house in her front pocketed smock shirts. 

She was and always will be a driving force behind me and the way I live my life. So in her honor, today I wear Essie Scarlett O'Hara and my new LE Lynnderella Fiddle Dee Dee. I really feel like it's appropriate since this whole mani is made with polishes inspired by strong women, because that's what my Grandma was. I don't know where I'd be without her.  My story should show you that we all need hug and kiss our loved ones way more than we do, and always say what you feel, you don't know when those chances will be gone. Don't hold it in, we're not promised tomorrow, only today.  Treat others with kindness

It means a lot to me that this polish was sent to me, so thank you once again Lynn for making this day a little more tolerable and creating a beautiful polish.

My Grandma- check out her nails! Always some shade of red or pale pink!

  Fiddle Dee Dee  

multi-colored glitter polish with large squares, bars, butterflies, bars, diamonds, hexes, hearts, and stars.  There are metallic and holographic glitters. It's really beautiful if you can't tell by this bottle shot.

One coat of Fiddle Dee Dee and a little dabbing for glitter placement. Two coats of Seche Vite were used. I got a little crazy with the brush and ended up dragging some of the Essie on top of my pretty butterfly glitter :( 

I was just going to leave it as an accent nail but I had to have prettiness on ALL THE THINGS! Amazing right?!?

If you'd like to try and snag one of these lovelies please check out Lynn's Ebay store located here.

Happy Holidays

Too Cute-Icle Grand Opening Swatches and Review

So I have some great swatches for you today! My fellow Blogger Jess @ Too Cute-icle has opened her own shop located here! She was gracious enough to send me three of her polishes to swatch and review! She has really outdone herself and I'm so proud to say I know her!!!

Let's get on to the pretties shall we?!

First up is Aurora Snow! Aurora Snow is a white and teal duochrome base with turquoise and silver glitters.  In this photo is one coat of Aurora Snow over Orly Decades of Dysfunction and on my ringer finger is Orly Shockwave, with one coat of Seche Vite on all nails.  This polish applied beautifully and I love the teal flash! I played with this polish after swatching and I can tell you it looks awesome over a variety of colors. China Glaze Bizarre Blurple was among one of my favorite combos.

Next I have a funny little polish called Butthurt Banana!  This polish was made as a joke about the drama we all come across in the Nail Polish Community. Jess describes this polish as "a shocking, in your face yellow with red, brown, and black glitters. This shimmery yellow base and odd color combination may LOOK intimidating, but just like those people who get offended so easily (that this polish was named after), it's all bark and no bite."  
I did two different swatches of this polish, my index and ring fingers are 2 coats of Butthurt Banana alone, and my middle and pinkie are 2 coats over Sinful Colors Snow me White. All 4 fingers are topped with a coat of Seche Vite. You can see the difference between the two, when BB is layered over white it makes the yellow really pop, and if it's just used alone it appears more of a golden yellow.

I saved the BEST for last. This was my favorite polish out of the bunch I was sent. Frosty the Penguin! A mix of blue and white glitters in a clear base, and also some White holo glitters thrown in.  I used Verity Hot Blue for my base color, 2 coats of Frosty The Penguin and topped it all with a coat of Seche Vite. You can see in some parts of the photo the white holo glitters kind of disappear but when the light hits them WOW! Applied like a dream. I can't wait to use this polish again for a few winter mani ideas I have floating around in my head!

 

Too Cute-icle's debut collection boasts seven unique shades, so be sure to go check them all out! Full-Size polishes are $7.00 and minis are $3.00 each. she is also offering a 4 pack of minis for $10.00! Which makes these polishes an affordable way to get your indie fix without breaking the bank! Make sure you "like" the Too-Cuteicle Facebook Page to make sure you get all the latest shop updates! 

*Products in this post were provided for an honest review.  All opinions are my own*