Introducing Princess Tinytips!

Oh my goodness, y'all, I am so excited I can barely stand it. Last night was Halloween, and for years my husband's family has all gotten together to trick or treat as a group, then come back to my sister-in-law's house to eat homemade soup and visit. It's something I look forward to every year, even though we've been too old for trick-or-treating for several years now.

Tonight we arrived while the kids were out wandering through the neighborhood collecting candy. However, once they arrived home, my niece came running over to give me a huge hug, then told me she had something for me. She ran over to her little art table and dug for a few minutes, then came back clutching some papers close. I could tell what she had was important to her.

She stood next to me, then handed me the papers. "I drew these for you this morning, Aunt Laynie. They're just pictures, but I drew some nail designs in case you were interested in them."

That's right. My six-year-old niece was so excited by my sketchbook that now she has her own notebook to draw in, and she drew me pictures of nail art. Plus, she put swatches of her nail polishes! Do I even need to tell you how cute I think this is? It was so sweet I almost cried!

It didn't take long, but she went through her drawings with me. She pointed out what she thought would be good for nail art, and of course I told her I'll do my nails with it. I will, too, because it's actually pretty cute once I clean it up a bit. How many people can say they're wearing nail art designed by a six year old?

Since she's going to be appearing in the blog more often, I've decided to give her a name. I don't feel comfortable using her real name since she's only six, and I feel even weirder calling her "my six-year-old niece." It gets old, you know? So, from now on, she'll be Princess Tinytips. (Thanks EvilAngel for suggesting the base name!) She has a huge love of princesses and I'm hoping I don't have to explain the tiny tips.

If all goes as planned, I'll get to have a girls' day with my nieces where we do our nails together and talk girl talk. I may even bring my makeup kit and do their faces. Nothing too over-the-top since they're all little girls, but several of them are in the 10-12 range, so they might enjoy it a lot. I know I would, and maybe they'd be able to learn some things about makeup application. With luck, I'll have pics of lots of little nails to blog!

So I hope you'll forgive me, but I just had to share this... I think it's so sweet that she and I have this special bond. Hopefully we'll get to share all sorts of cosmetics fun and hair styling adventures, and she'll get to grow up remembering how much fun she used to have with her crazy Aunt Laynie.

GOSH Holographic- Beauty and Sadness...

The colors of GOSH Holographic- rainbows weep with envy.

Most polishes are the same. They're pretty enough, they're nice enough, but they're nothing terribly special, and you wouldn't cry if you lost one. How many pink or red cremes are out there, almost alike, almost identical, and nothing exciting. You've had red cremes in the past, you'll have red cremes in the future, and it's one thing that you can always find with no problem at all...

But every now and then, you find a polish that's different. A polish that stands out from the crowd, that excites you and makes you want to own several- one to wear, one to save, and one to put away just in case. For me, GOSH Holographic is my special polish. It's not all that special, I suppose. There are lots of holographic polishes out there, it would seem. But this one is among the best, from what I've read.

When it's on my nails, I can't stop looking at them. Inside, there's a hint of holographic beauty, but in the sun this baby shines like magic. There are rainbows hidden in this polish, and sunlight brings them out to play. It's like having a bit of magic on my fingertips, and it makes even the worst days a little bit brighter.

So where's the sadness come in? Unfortunately, this beast wears horribly. Getting a nice even coat is tricky enough without a base coat. I haven't managed to apply it using a base coat, unfortunately, because it goes all goopy and disgusting. And without a base coat, this polish wears off in no time flat.

Forget tipwear. You can see in the photo that this is full-fledged chipping and wearing away. And the more it wears away, the sadder I get, because I know I'm that much closer to having no more of this gorgeous lacquer for my nails, and that the magic is that much closer to running out.

It's become my special occasion polish, my special pick-me-up. What makes it even more special is that a great friend of mine sent this polish to me as a pick me up. Every time I see it, I'm reminded of how special she is to me, and how lucky I am to have her as a friend. I'm tempted to paint a set of artificial nails just for myself, so that I'll at least be able to look at them once it's all run out. What can I say, I'm a sentimental wuss.

So tell me, what polishes do you find yourself hoarding, buying backup bottles of, and hoping you never run out of? What makes a polish sentimental to you- the color? The person who gave it to you?