Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: Do Not Apologize For Being You

My friend Steph, who just so happens to be the the brains behind this blog, made a comment on Facebook that made a huge lightbulb turn on above my head. No, I'm not talking about the kitchen light, I am talking about that "Ah-Ha!" lightbulb moment.

Steph made a comment that she wished people (aka all of us insecure women), would not post a picture of ourselves, then immediately apologize for their imperfections.  I admit that I have been guilty of doing this myself. I post a pic and say, "Oh, forgive blah, blah, blah."

Then, once I saw Steph's comments and thought..."Hmmmmm....she has a point!" Why do we apologize for our imperfections? Why do we feel the NEED to apologize for being who we are?  Every human that lives, or has lived on this planet, has imperfections, so why do we need to apologize for ours??

I then took a long hard look at myself.  Being a scientist, I did a quick experiment on myself. If I try to make my imperfections disappear, I look like this.

I think this picture smooths all my wrinkles, blotchy complexion, and ruddy skin tone. You can still see my dark under eye circles and horrible roots that I need to highlight.  Other than that, I see no major imperfections, no lines, no squiggles. I see very little that is considered "imperfect," yet I see an expressionless mask. I look older. I look cold. I look sad.

But if you look at these pictures...

...there are imperfections everywhere. Acne scars, crows feet, red tinted nose, and wrinkles galore! However, I look younger, happier, and more like myself than the previous picture. Smile lines mean you SMILE! Crows feet are eye smiles!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with these pictures. The only thing wrong with these pictures, is how my own mind sees myself. I will not apologize for my appearance (my house is a different story).  I will not apologize if I am not wearing make up or if my hair looks like a crow's nest!

If you don't like it, that's fine too. You be you. I will be me. This is me. I am a goofball who might be a little insecure but trying to love myself for who I am, wrinkles and all.

Sparkle On Dear Reader,
Love,
Licia

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: The Lemming

One polish person can understand the severity of this word. This one word will make normal women morph into cut throat savages. This one word is more powerful than desire, stronger than a craving, down right lustful!!!!

The Lemming

Real Life-
A lemming is a cute, small rodent that has a reputation of mindlessly migrating in large groups following their ingrained urge to find a new home. This urge is so strong that they commit mass suicide just to fulfill their desire for a new home.
(FYI-This a 100% complete misconception.)

Polish Life-
A lemming is that one or more unobtainable polish that has you so mesmerized that you will turn into a crazed fangirl who will press refresh 574378052269 times one minute till a restock. A lemming will make words come out of your mouth that would make a sailor blush. A lemming turns mild mannered Bruce Banner like me, into the Hulk. You loose all control!!

Rarely, you can actually score a lemming. Then you feel like you won a gold medal! You feel elation that can make you light headed! Keep in mind, those awesome mind blowing lemming scores are few and far between. Most know the feeling of defeat. Some get sad, some get mad, some get really mad! I mean furious!

I am one of the ones who obsess over a lemming and never seem to be quick enough to score the prize. I get excited, refresh like crazy, then usually wind up eating a pint of ice cream while cursing all the other lemming grabbers.

Ah, but the thrill and excitement of scoring a lemming will always bring me back. Bring me back to restocks, Black Friday, and the day after Christmas sales. I always return even if my heart gets trampled every single time. I will not give up, just like the real life lemming. I just will not give up.

My major Bigfoot lemmings at the moment are Takko Muse, and Takko Kiss the Sky, CbL True Colors, and RBL Black Russian.

The lemmings I am super proud of scoring are Lilypad Lacquer Original True Blood, RBL Aqua Lily, and Lilypad Lacquer Karmeleon.

My very first lemmings were Digital Nails Serenity and Enchanted Freeze Machine.

So, talk to me reader!!!! What are your lemmings?? Which lemming have you been most proud of scoring? Which lemming is harder to find than Bigfoot??

Sparkle On Reader,
Licia

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: Weekend Getaway

Hello Dear Reader!!

I have some UBER exciting news today! You know when someone describes something UBER, it is really exciting stuff!

My hubby is taking me on a weekend trip which means by the time you read this I will be chillaxin at the beautiful IP resort on Biloxi Bay. Yes, I know my home state is not known for it's luxurious getaways, but this is a really nice hotel and casino. It is probably the nicest place I have stayed since the hubs and I went to Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii (check out the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall if you want a peak at it.)

 Yes I also know it is February and most of the country is freezing. Down in Biloxi we are going to be close to 70 degrees...and oh wait! Did I mention that I don't care how cold it is???! I am getting out of the house for 3 nights with no kids! Just me and the hubby baby! We have not gone on a short vacay alone in over 2 years!

*Fun Fact-The last little vacay we had, we drove a few hours to see Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 at a 3D IMax. We stayed one night and came back home. That was considered the last vacay. Now you can see why I am so excited to spend 3, count em 1-2-3, nights away from home!

Anyhoo! With the excitement of the trip, comes the "OMG! What am I going to pack?!!!!" I has been so long that the hubby and I actually did something romantic, I have no idea what to pack!! The anxiety is a little overwhelming, so I start small.

The reservations and tickets to the comedy shows were the first thing packed. Check!!

Next, gotta clean out the purse! I am analyzing each and every item that weighs my purse down to see what NEEDS to be in there.

Very carefully now...

I think I can leave out the crayons and fish toy.

Ok! Purse looks good! Wait! I need more ponytails!!

Now purse looks good! On to make up! Omg! Panic attack time! I rarely wear more than chapstick, so this takes a lot of thought and planning. Where is my eyeliner! Where is my EYELINER?!!!!

Ok, looks good for a night on the town!

Now,

WHAT NAIL POLISH TO TAKE?!!!!!

I settled on Super Black Murdered Out and Cult Nails Wicked Fast.

All packed and ready to go! I love glitter so much that my bags sparkle!!

So, reader! What is your go-to-beauty products for a quick getaway? I hope yall have a great weekend!!!

Shine On Reader, shine on!!

Love,

Licia

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: Lucid Dreams

Dear Reader,

If you have been following my little guest posts, you know 2013 was a tough year for me. I went through many trials to test my resolution, and yet I am still here.

This means one of two things:
1-God is proving to me that I am stronger than I give myself credit for.
2-I am just too stubborn to give up! Think about it. If I give up on myself, who is going to fight for me??

One thing that has become a problem is, my OCD has been acting up. Dealing with insurance companies over my wrecks, getting the flu which led to pneumonia, missing my family over the holidays, working a very stressful job, and trying to be super mommy has wiped me out! A big reason I have spent the past two blog posts going down memory lane is, my nails and cuticles are hot messes. I have been picking at them again. I am ashamed. They look horrible.

I decided to go to my doctor and ask to change up my antidepressants. He put me on a new medication that seems to be working fairly well, however there is a very unusual side effect. I have always had lucid dreams due to me having narcolepsy, but this medication has stirred up some really insane dreams!

Lucid dreams are very vivid dreams where the dreamer slowly realizes they are awake inside the dream, but your body is paralyzed. You can't make your body wake up, yet you are awake inside a very real freakshow in your mind. They are so real that I thought I was actually going insane before I realized I was awake in a nightmare.

So, what do I do?? I make a nail polish based on these lucid dreams! These pics show two dabbed coats of Lucid Dreams over a basic black creme, with a coat of Sally's Gelous as a top coat.

Description from the maker (aka me): Lucid Dreams is a dark yet colorful totally insane combination of glitter that it could only be described as a beautiful nightmare.

(As said earlier, please ignore any messy clean up or dry cuticles. Be kind. Lol)

(Intentionally blurred to show sparkle.)

Shine On Reader,
Licia

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: First Restock

Dear Reader,

 Last time we met, I let you board my crazy train with the destination of a bonafide polish addiction! I told you about my first lemming, my first heart break over a discontinued polish, and my shock and horror of looking for said polish on evilbay. I know we bonded and even shed a tear together over Unicorn Puke. (You know you cried when you saw how gorgeous that polish was! You know what I am talking about. Everyone has that ONE polish that is always out of your reach because you are not a millionaire. I know you cried too! Don't lie, I saw you!).

 Well, today the crazy train is going to stop at my first experience of a restock. This might be a wordy trip, but stay with me, you will be glad you did.

 Ah! Easter morning! What images come to mind?

My mind goes back to the days of my childhood. In my memories, Easter is a beautiful Spring day filled with rays of sunshine, butterflies fluttering, and the smell of honeysuckle filling the air. We would wear our Sunday best (which usually involved a white hat), go to church, then spend time with the family hunting eggs and bragging about the candy the Easter Bunny left for us.

 That was my recollection of Easter growing up, and that was my dream for my tiny family! I woke the kids up (who were one and half, the other six months) to see what the Easter Bunny had brought. Expecting to see excitement, I saw tears and screams because they were tired\hungry. Not how I pictured it, but oh well, I had one major thing to look forward too...The Wicked Polish Restock!!! No screaming could kill that excitement! 2pm I was getting polish!!

 Before the restock, we had a family egg hunt with my inlaws. That should be fun! It was a cloudy with a chance of tornados. Fun!

 We get to to the gathering and my baby girl screamed for two hours straight. My son did not want to speak to anyone. Sigh...My little antisocial family.

 After we finished eating, the egg hunt would start at 1pm (all the while, I am getting very excited as the Wicked restock is getting closer!  2pm baby!!) We all line up, and as soon as they say "Go" we started running!! My son found his first egg and was so proud of himself.

 This was great! It was going so well!!! My hubby was holding the baby so I could chase Jax to get pictures. My son runs off in one direction with his grandfather close by. I turn to my hubby to get a picture of him holding our very grumpy baby girl.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my son bend over to get an egg. Then he starts screaming his head off! We were only a few steps away, but we both rush to his side. His grandfather had already picked him up from the ground, yet Jax was still screaming. I could tell this scream was from pain.
My hubby freaks out when he sees fire ants crawling all over Jax from head to toe.

J accidentally drops the baby, face first, into the mud. I scream. She screams. We all scream! I scoop her up from the mud and drop Jaxson's eggs. J steps on the eggs and squishes all of them.

About this time, I check the time and see the dark clouds rolling in.
"We are leaving!"
Before we left, they wanted a quick family photo.
I say "Fine, then we are going home!"

As we pose smiling like we are having the time of our lives, Jax pees all over J.

Oh yeah, Good Times!!

At least I had the Wicked restock to perk me up. We are on the road, the kids are asleep, and it is raining so hard J can hardly see the road. I start refreshing two minutes before 2pm when J wants to get into an argument with me. We are trying to basically curse each other in very sweet, calm tones not to wake the kids.

 After we called each other every colorful word under the sun, I look at the time. It is 2:01pm!! I hit refresh and the entire restock was already sold out!!!!

I wanted to punch that man in the back of the head, but I knew he was driving and that would just make us have a wreck.

So readers, I hope you enjoyed the story of my first restock. Trust me, I will never forget it! Lol!!! Now I laugh really hard every time I think about it!!

Do you have a great restock story? I would love to hear it!!!

Till next time, sparkle on!
Love,
Licia

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: 2013 A Year In Polish

Hello dear reader,

I am sorry I have been quiet lately. I currently write my little guest post biweekly, but the past 3 weeks I have been dealing with the flu, which lead to pneumonia. Since my lungs have taken such a beating, I am probably going to be dealing with asthma for the rest of my life. Woo-hoo ;(

Check It Yo!! Lookin all gangsta with my inhaler! (And unlike a certain past President of The United States, I fully admit that I inhale. Man it feels gooood....ya know what I mean...to actually breathe oxygen.)

Any-hoo!!! I love "year end wrap ups" and if you have kept up with me, you know 2013 has been one wild ride! Buckle Up! We are boarding the crazy train, and I HIGHLY suggest you to buckle up if I am driving, just sayin.

So come aboard the roller coaster "My Year 2013", a ride so crazy, I think Ozzy would want off!!!

First of all, let me explain that in January of 2013, I had not painted my nails in years. December 2013, I prob have a house note in polish in a plastic bin under my bed, and I even started making my very own indie polish. 

So hear goes my year in a quick wrap up. 

First Indie Polish...

...I love glitter and started looking online for the best glitter. I am very over-the-top and I basically wanted my nails to be tiny disco balls. This is when I discovered SpectraFlair Top Coats. Piper Polish and is owned by the lovely Erin Piper and her SF top coat was my first indie purchase!!  Check her shop out at the link below

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PiperPolish

First Time I Realized There Were Actual Blogs About Nail Polish...

...Once I broke away from the trance that SpectraFlair puts me in, I started checking the net looking for more glorious glitter! Then, one name caught my attention faster than a cheesecake!! I found this little blog post and need I say more...

http://imperfectlypainted.blogspot.com/2011/10/cult-nails-unicorn-puke-extremely-pic.html?m=1

This was my expression when I saw Unicorn Puke for the first time.

This was my expression when I saw Unicorn Puke was discontinued

This was my expression when I decided to look for it on eBay

Sadly, I will never own the mythical Unicorn Puke...but, it did lead me to a great indie maker, Maria at Cult Nails, and an awesome blogger named Steph at Imperfectly Painted :D

Cult Nails can be found at Cultnails.com, Llarowe.com, and Overallbeauty.com

If you need help finding Steph at Imperfectly Painted....you just can't be helped. You are too far gone to be helped. ;( sorry

First Lemming...

...I was loving all the indie polishes, but when I saw my first lemming...let's just say I turned into Gollum from The Lord of The Rings. I NEEDED THIS POLISH! IT MUST BE IN MY LIFE! I found my lemming, a spunky blogger, and an indie maker who is really a rainbow in human form. I absolutely love these girls, and I am so happy the universe decided to let us meet through the magic of the internet. We became the geek glamour trifecta! 

I came across this post by Mish at Acciolacquer.com

http://acciolacquer.com/swatches/digital-nails-starship-trio/

If I were to be magically transformed into a polish, I would be Serenity. I became obsessed with this polish. I really did! You can ask Raph! I actually want you to go to Digital Nails Facebook page and ask her about it! Go! Right Now!!

https://m.facebook.com/DigitalNails?id=414004208635234&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDigitalNails

I'll wait right here...

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DigitalNails

Sadly, Serenity has been discontinued,

 And don't think for one second that I'm gonna share mine ;) lol!!!

Well, I do have more stories to tell, but I am old and sleepy. I must get off the crazy train to stretch my legs. If you would like to continue on this journey, just let me know!! I will continue my round up in my next post. If you don't really want to hear more of my 2013, just tell me to fast forward to 2014 (wow 2014 looks so futuristic).

Shine On Reader,

Licia

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: The Twelve Days of Christmas

Dear Reader,

I know there are many custom versions of this song, so I decided to give it my own twist! If you don't already know, I work as a full time tech in a lab at a local hospital, and of course, I am a full time mom. I hope you enjoy my version of The Twelve Days of Christmas.

The Twelve Days of My Crazy Life

12 Loads A Washing

11 Diapers A Changing

10 Hours A Working

9 Total Meltdowns

8 Poops A Stinking

7 Nights A Working

6 Cups of Coffee

5 Golden Pees!!!!!!!

4 Hours Slept

3 Crazy Kids (Husband Included)

2 Barking Dogs

And

1 Insane Life It'll Be

Trust me, my nail polish addiction is one of the more sane parts of my life. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. Put some glitter on your nails and sparkle like a disco ball!

Shine On Reader,
Licia

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: What Are You Thankful For?

I know it is kinda cliche to ask this around Thanksgiving, but seriously, ask yourself, what are you thankful for?

I know that times can be tough, but if you dwell on nothing but the negatives of life, you will miss out on all the positives. So, what are you thankful for?

Here is my list:

10-Alarm Clocks
Without alarm clocks, I would be most certainly unemployed.

9-Microwaves
Without microwaves, my family would starve.

8-Washers and Dryers
Without washers and dryers, my family would be naked.

7- Deodorant
Self explanatory, and everyone else around me is also thankful I have it!

6- Freezers
Without freezers, where would I keep my pizza?

5- Nail Polish
Without nail polish, I would have never met Steph!

4- You
I am extremely thankful for each and every person who takes a few minutes to read my guest posts. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

3- Seat Belts
Without seat belts, there would be no Glitt-a-licia around to guest blog.

2- My Family
My family and extended family has been amazing. I would not know how to function without my family and my in laws!

1- I Am Still Here
After the events of this year, I am beyond blessed that I am still alive. I survived two major automobile accidents. The first, I flipped 3 times, and the second was a head on collision. I am not perfect, but I survived. Anyhoo, perfection is not what this blog is about. Just read the title :)

Soooooo, what are you thankful for? Let me know!

Shine On Reader,
Licia

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: Black Friday

Ahhhh...It's the time of year that I love. Soon that magical day will be here and people everywhere will have the holiday spirit! I look forward to this day every single year since I was a little girl. So let's get our game faces on and grab that $1 DVD out of a toddlers hand (his mom only brought him because he is little and can get through the crowds.) Let dignified ladies turn into UFC fighters over a cheap, never heard of that brand tv. Let's put fear over the workers pulling straws as to who will be opening the doors this year, because the dude who did it last year is still in a full body cast.

Yes my friends! Of course I was kidding in the paragraph above (do not, I repeat, DO NOT assault toddlers over a $1 DVD), but Black Friday is slowly approaching. Nothing can stop this force of nature from coming, not even time! They have already released some Black Friday ads as of Nov 1st.

I have gone every year to Black Friday back when it was actually fun and not scary. My aunt and cousin would spend the night at our house and we would stay up with the sales ads and plan our shopping strategy. We would laugh and play cards, then be up by 2am hitting the sales! We would have this planned so perfectly, it was like we were robbing a bank!

Oh the memories I have of Black Friday! When a particular store had the Cracker Jack sale, my little cousin wiggled through and got a whole box of Cracker Jacks! We hid on the side and opened every Cracker Jack packs only to find they were all 10% off, so we passed them out to other people who did not get a coupon.

One year, my mom's purse managed to get wrapped around some guy's neck in all the chaos! Both of them had no clue her purse was wrapped around his neck until they started going opposite directions and she nearly choked him. Lol! That was the same year my mom was going to buy me a table top fountain for my room and the people would not let her use the coupon because it had a plug! Lol!!!!

I have jumped on counters, grabbed items put of workers hands, and witnessed fights. I have stood in line for hours at the check out just to save $2. Oh, and being pregnant did not slow me down! Two years ago I was 5 months pregnant carrying a crib mattress all over the store just to get to the check out and get told it was not on sale. My hormones took over, and needless to say, I got my mattress ;) lol

Now, most of the fun of Black Friday has disappeared. The deals are posted weeks in advance. Who even needs to get the Thanksgiving Day paper for the sale ads when everything is on line? My aunt and cousin don't spend the night, and I have moved over an hour away.  Furthermore, Black Friday has gotten scary and dangerous. Heck, someone shot the glass out of one of our local stores!

Now, I shop Black Friday online in my jammies and pray the sites I shop do not crash. Nevertheless, my mani today is in honor of all the good memories of Black Friday. Polishes used in this mani Super Black Lacquer Murdered Out, Glitter Gal Turbulence, and Wicked Polish Black Friday from Llarowe's A Box Indied.
(I freaking love this WP!! It reminds me of Revlon Street Wear that I wore in high school!!)

Under my stove light with no flash

With flash

With flash and blurred

With flash and blurred

A close up of my index finger in the third pic

So there you go! Let's go shopping!!!!

Sparkle on Reader,
Licia

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: Evil UnDead

Once upon a time there was a little house in the woods....

 *(Photo from New Line Cinema Evil Dead)

*(Photo from TriStar Pictures Evil Dead)

Then one day a girl was in the house and a terrible thing happened...

*(Hmmm...pretty clear instructions...)

*(...I better read it anyway!!!!)

...the house in the woods inhabited by an evil force greater than what the world has ever known!!

The girl...

Turned into....

THIS!!!!!!!

(Yes, I am sporting this hair in public, but it is just an empty parking lot to pick up my baby. I was THAT tired! Lol)

Oh wait...did you think I was taking about The Evil Dead??? Nope! It's worse!! It's The Evil UnDead!! This horror movie is for real yall!

I do happen to live in the woods, and my house is overrun by tiny terrors! As a matter of fact, I love Halloween. It is my favorite holiday! Once upon a time I decorated my whole house totally spooktacular!!!! Now, my house is Halloween ready every single day, no decorations needed! Here we have cobwebs all over the porch, the foulest stench that ever invaded your nostrils, dust bunnies the size of softballs, a crazy woman that at times turns into an evil witch, and  even a life sucking force haunts us daily...our kids!! (As a matter of fact, one of the foul smelling life suckers just whacked me in the head with the tv remote.)

I guess I actually morph from a witch at home into a vampire at work. I work nightshift in a local lab, so I sleep during the day and am surrounded by blood at night.

(My eyes! My eyes! The sun is burning my eyes!! Where is my coffin?!)

I needed a dark, vampy,  spine chilling polish in honor of of my favorite holiday and my spooky alter egos. I tried to think of a mani that was fitting of an evil witch and blood sucking vampire. And I came up with this combo!

I started with Orly Bonder, then put one coat of Super Black Lacquer Murdered Out. SBMO is a richly pigmented black but dries to a satin finish, so I topped it with Colors by Llarowe Licorice. CbL is an amazing black jelly that looks fantastic over SBMO!!! The combo is a rich, smooth, shiny, pure black! This combo will be my go to for a shiny black! I then put a layer of Cult Nails Disillusion. Disillusion is a black jelly with gorgeous pink flakes! Some of the flakes stand up and you can use tweezers to pull them off or do like me and keep adding layers of other stuff to smooth it out! ;) I round out the colors with a polish I made called "The Evil Undead aka Zombie Mom." I wanted this polish to have a black base with just a hint of blue and green glitter.

(Under my stove light)

(In my window. Sorry about minor tip wear a d rough cuticles. This is day 3 of this mani after MANY hand washings at work and wrestling toddlers at home.)

*So remember, if you ever see a woman who looks like this...

...she may not be locked in the basement by her loved ones against her will because she is possessed by an evil force! She may be a girl who is locking herself in the basement of her own free will to get a few minutes of peace from the loved ones who are evil forces running around the living room hitting her in the head with the tv remote.

*(This is how I feel when I have enough time alone to paint my nails. Just instead of being covered in blood, I'm covered in ketchup.)

Shine on reader, shine on,

Licia

*All pictures from Evil Dead movies belong to TriStar Motion pictures and New Line Cinema. All credit must must be given where credit is due :)