Norway Nails Nail Art Diabetes Awareness Contest Entry (2013)

Hello everyone!

This was my entry for the Norway Nails Nail Art Diabetes Awareness Contest in 2013. As you might have seen on facebook, I didn't win. You can see the winner manicure here. :-) I'm going to write a little about diabetes, and give you some links. Just click on the blue words if you want to know more. To read about this nail art, scroll down.

This is is a part of what Wenche, from Norway Nails (sells indie nail polish), wrote about why she chose to host this nail art contest:

"In october last year I were diagnosed with Diabetes 2 - the 14th of November are the World Diabetes day. I think it's important to spread awareness around this disease and how to prevent getting it and to manage it if you already got it. 

So - I'm putting up a nail art contest that will run from today until the 13th of november."

(I hope it's ok that i added the links above.)

Very short about diabetes:

Diabetes is a serious illness. It has to do with too little production of insulin or that insulin cannot be processed, and the glucose level gets too high. If you have diabetes, you can get many other deceases later in your life, if the long-term glucose levels are high. One thing you have to pay close attention to is wounds, because wounds can take longer to heal if you suffer from diabetes. There are very many types of diabetes.

These 3 are the main types of diabetes:

Type 1 is the most serious, and you will need injections with insulin to stay alive. Luckily the insulin pen was invented, and that made it much easier to regulate the insulin level and it allows people to be more free regarding to what they can eat, and they no longer have to stay on a very strict diet. Many get it early in life, and that can be a challenge. I still remember how my friend cried when she had to get her injections when she was a child. It can also be a challenge for adolescents to stay on a very strict diet and to not be able to party like their friends.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common (90%), and it often affects people who are overweight. Many can get well by simply loosing weight. This type of diabetes can in many cases be prevented by living a healthy life and maintaining a normal weight. But people in the world are getting bigger and bigger, and that makes diabetes a huge problem worldwide. 

Gestational diabetes (GDM) affects 25% of all pregnant women. Although many get well after giving birth, it's important to be aware of it, because it can lead to complications for both child and mother.

What you should do:

Be aware of the symptoms.

Get your glucose level checked every year. Remember to not eat the day you take the test. This can be measured in urin or a blodtest. And ask for both a glucose test and a HbA1c test (measures long term glucose level).

Be aware of the risk factors.

I also found this link: How Does Obesity Cause Type 2 Diabetes?

About the nails:

I wanted to use LilypadLacquer: Blueberry, a blue jelly, because blue is the color for diabetes awareness. And because I got it as a free sample when I bought something from Norway Nails. And because making a "stampwich" was the weekly challenge in a stamping group back then. I used images with a curve going up and down, like the glucose level.

Products used:

LilypadLacquer: Blueberry
Emily de Molly: Belissima
Konad SN White
MoYou London: Suki Collection 08

What I did:

This was a year ago, so I don't remember exactly how many layers of the jelly I used, but I stamped between the coats of the blue jelly. On the thumb I put glitter between the layers. So this is a glitter sandwich and my first jelly stampwich. Emily de Molly describes the glitter in Bellissima as "Holographic silver, matte pink and holographic lavender dots and hexes". It has a clear base, and the silver and pastel colored glitter is perfect for jelly sandwiches. The stamping wasn't perfect, so I used a brush and white to try to make it perfect.

I bought the jelly and the glitter from Norway Nails.

Everything is 50% off if you use the code BLACK on Norway Nails tomorrow; Friday the 28th of November 2014! (00.01- 23.59. CET) She has international shipping. If you want to try the Norwegian brand Linda Johansen, I recommend Razzle Dazzle and Lilac Lilly.


Lani

Pretty Serious: Hell On Wheels- from my Norway Nails Mystery Grab Bag!

Hello everyone!

This classic red nail polish is Pretty Serious: Hell On Wheels. It's from the Australian brand Pretty Serious Cosmetics' latest collection; Hit the Road. I love brands that are vegan and don't test on animals! :-) Remember the Norway Nails 1000 Facebook Likes Giveaway? I was one of the winners. I won a mystery grab bag!!!! :-) And this is one of the beauties Wenche from Norway Nails sent me.

Norway Nails is an online shop, situated by the beautiful fjords of Norway (Europe), selling hard to find nail polish and some nail art supplies. She shipps to European countries, so what I mean with HTF is that it's hard to find for Europeans. It's easy to order, you can pay with PayPal, she wraps your order as if it was a gift, and sends the orders quickly. And if you can't find what you're looking for, you can ask her, because she also offers personal shopper services.

I expected the polish to have a cream finish, but when I tried it, I wondered if it was a crelly. My first crelly. So I tried to find out. This is what Pretty Serious writes;

Our perfect red creme has the shine and smoothness of a highly pigmented jelly. It is our tribute to Hell on Wheels herself - Christine.

(I didn't think about the movie Christine until now... Have you seen it? It's about a rather scary car called Christine)

I was very pleased with the quality of this nail polish. I also like the bottle with the contrasting matte cap, and the beautiful box it came in. Look:

This is what I call art:

The ingredients list is on the side you can't see. To read it, click here. Pretty Serious nail polish is Big 3 Free and vegan :-)

I used two coats, but on the photo below, you can see what one coat looks like. This is one coat, no clean- up, no top coat:

As you see, this polish is very shiny. And I'm sorry, but I don't remember if the two pictures below and the one with the lavender flower, were taken before or after a coat of Seche Vite.

This is a kind of red that is surprisingly easy to wear together with other colors. I hope it's not wrong to call it a blue toned red. It was difficult to make the camera show the true color. It was actually much easier when I added some nail art. I'll show you in a few days. It's not orange or pink at all. I would call it a classic red. It looks very similar to my acrylic paint called Crimson Red.

I think this red color can work for most skin tones. I love it! I know I look more white than usual on some of the photos, but that's probably partly because of the camera and partly because I had been ill, and therefore not been out in the sun.

This nail polish can be bought from Norway Nails here if you are in Europe. It looks like Pretty Serious has world wide shipping. So if you live in other parts of the world, you can buy it here.

Thank you Wenche for choosing this nail polish for me! :-)


Lani