Austin Pride 2014

Hey y'all! This weekend is Austin Pride and every year I do a little nail art to celebrate. I love the LGBTQ community here and this is my little way of showing support.

Rainbow Tribal (sort of) and Austin Pride 2013

Hey y'all! Today is Pride Fest, here in town, and like last year, I did a little nail art to commemorate. I won't go into a whole long speech about LGBT rights or anything like that, because this is a nail blog, not a political blog. But I do consider myself to be a part of the LGBT community (if you really want to know all about it, you can read my post here) and if I can't go out to the parade, then I'll be sporting rainbows for sure!

 

 

Used:

 

China Glaze - Glistening Snow

O.P.I. - MBSW

Bondi NY - Horny Mistress

Wet N Wild - The Clock Strikes Orange (Pop Art Craze)

Julep - Lexie

Revlon - Posh

China Glaze - Sunday Funday

Bondi NY - Uptown Girl

 

Nail Art brush

 

I'm not too sure about the outcome. In all honesty, this is my fifth attempt. Every time I tried to do a design, I ended up not liking it at all. This one was way better in my head, but I was done trying and my cuticles couldn't take anymore acetone!

 

Oh well, at least they are rainbow!

 

Happy Pride, Austin! I love you and am so proud to be part of an amazing city!

 

Due to the nature of this post, I will ban any commenters participating in hate speech. You are entitled to your opinion, but do not even think about sharing it here. Thank you.

 

International Transgender Day of Remembrance

Good morning! Today, I am posting something a bit more serious and a bit more personal. First off, let me say, that this will be a lengthy post, and a teeny bit on the ranty side. If you would rather not take part, then feel free to hit that little X in the top right corner of your screen. Otherwise, welcome to the International Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Before I get all heavy on you guys, I want to share the mani I did for the memorial. I tried to keep it simple, and do a dotted abstract flame.

I used Essie Play Date for the base and layered Takko Lacquer Kiss the Sky on top. After that, I used my new dotting tools to create a "flame."

Now you may be wondering why I chose to take part in this. For me, it is a bit personal. I briefly mentioned in my Pride Nails post that I hold the LGBT community very close to my heart, as I am a part of it. I have never fit into that box labeled "GIRL." I also have not fit into that box labeled "STRAIGHT." I spent most of my life struggling with those boxes, and eventually came to a point where I stopped trying to fit into them and started being myself. Which may sound silly, but for someone who is in that grey area between gender identity, it's a lot harder than you think. I am a girl (and generally speaking, identify with being one), but during my life, I have identified with both genders. I have dressed as a boy, had only male friends, dated girls, dated boys, and wondered where did I fit in? I'll spare you the gory details, but I finally found my place when I was 28 yrs old & am finally happy and content.

For some, it's a hard road to go down. For some, they don't live to see that day. Which, in the end, is what this is all about. If you are different, and don't conveniently fit into these boxes, society has a way of sticking you in a different sort of box, and either views you as dangerous or a freak. This is how hate crimes happen. This is how suicides happen. And it needs to stop. Every single person has value and every life is important. Labels and boxes do nothing but create division and hatred.

 

I encourage everyone to read this article in the NY Times. It can express more than I ever could, and maybe open the eyes of those who are so fond of boxes and labels.

Now, go check out all the other wonderful, beautiful people participating!

Nail of the Day: Show some PRIDE!

This weekend was Gay Pride in Austin. To show my support, I painted a Pride inspired mani!

 

The LGBT community holds a very special place in my heart. My mother-in-law is gay, and I have gone through my own struggles of gender identity and sexual experimentation. My first Pride celebration was an amazing experience, and something that I will never forget. I hope to take my daughter one day (when she is an adult!) to a pride with my husband and m.i.l. We want her to understand, above all, that everyone deserves to be loved, and we should all be able to love who we choose. Now enough of my soapbox, on to the mani! ; )

 

I decided to try some very basic nail art and free handed a rainbow striped accent nail, along with the "NO H8" logo on my middle finger. My stripes and lettering aren't the best, so be kind!

 

I used Spoiled by Wet n Wild Visibly Slimming black cream as a base and the following colors for the rainbow stripes:

 

Sephora by OPI/Betsey Johnson - Pushing Your Luck

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Sunkissed

Maybelline Color Show - Fierce N Tangy

Maybelline Color Show - Go Go Green

Nails Inc - Baker St.

Zoya - Dannii

 

For the "NO H8" lettering, I used:

 

Maybelline Color Show - Porcelin Party

Zoya - Dannii

 

 

For more info on Austin's Pride community, please check out Austin Pride.

 

 

Please remember to respect my opinions, if you leave a comment, and I will respect yours. Any offensive or derogatory comments will be removed and the author will be blocked. Thank you & have a nice day!