Polished Lifting

I celebrated my 20+ something birthday last Saturday and decided to reflect on the previous year. In the last year I:

Purchased and moved into my first house with Brian



Tried my hand at gardening


Learned how to shoot photos on manual setting proficiently


Learned how to edit photos using GIMP


Started blogging about and reviewing nail polish



Baked my very first cheesecake and apple pie from scratch


I got a Kindle which in Brian's words "Rekindled my love of reading"


I achieved a 180lb deadlift among other weightlifting pr's. If you are counting weights, I couldn't find a photo of my 180lb deadlift, so 170 will have to do.

What achievement in 2013 are you most proud of?

Hello everyone! I'm back with another new indie brand. Sparx Polish is fairly new to the indie scene, but you wouldn't know it with how well crafted her formulas are. Each bottle (regardless of color) comes with a cute polish charm. You can wear them as a bracelet, necklace or hoard them like buried treasure.

All formulas were excellent to work with and were very pigmented.







If you purchase three polishes you will get a free gift. This playful star charm is strung on a fairly long chain (my favorite!) and was a really nice addition to the polishes I received for review.

Rainbow Graffiti





Rainbow Graffiti is a rainbow mixture of hexagons, squares, and bar glitter in a clear base. Shown above is one coat of Sparx Polish- "Rainbow Graffiti" over one coat of Maybelline Color Show- "Impeccable Greys."

Polishes used: Sparx Polish- "Rainbow Graffiti", Maybelline Color Show- "Impeccable Greys", Rimmel London- "Lasting Finish Pro"

Dragonfly





Dragonfly is a metallic purple with blue flecks. Shown above is two coats with no base color.

Polishes used: Sparx Polish- "Dragonfly", Rimmel London- "Lasting Finish Pro"

Holly Berry





Holly Berry is a rich pinkish red with gold flecks of glitter. This was my favorite color of the three because of its gold shimmer. Shown above is two coats with no base color.

Polishes used: Sparx Polish- "Holly Berry", Rimmel London- "Lasting Finish Pro"

| Etsy |

*All products were generously provided for review

I was recently nominated by Kirby at The Mercurial Magpie for the Friendship blogger award. The general idea is that you share seven lesser-known facts about yourself and nominate seven other bloggers.

1. I learned how to fire and operate a steam traction engine when I around 12 years old.


2. I learned how to hula hoop a few years ago (as an adult) and have been hooked ever since. I also picked up poi style hooping because of it. One day I hope to own a fire hoop! 


3. I have had an on again/off again relationship with painting. When I paint I am super happy, but getting started again is always  frustrating. 


4. I love baking! I'm ok at cooking, but I can almost always bake something new and have it turn out well.


5. My boyfriend and I lived within a mile of each other as children, but didn't meet until college.


6. I was selected to be part of the TAG (Talented & Gifted) program in elementary school. When I took the letter home to my mom I cried and begged her to decline the offer. I was terrified that it meant I would have to do more homework. Fast forward to college when I was placed on academic probation for a terrible semester...


7. I love things that glow in the dark. I would totally put up glow-in-the-dark stars over our bed, but my boyfriend would think I'm a weirdo.

I nominate:

1. 110 Pounds and Counting


2. The Step Mom Chronicles


3. Model City Polish


4. Lucky 13 Lacquer


5. Polished Nubs


6. Rubber Shoes in Hell


7. Workout Nirvana

I want to talk about how I am feeling for a moment. This is has been my first week back at weightlifting. I took almost four months off due to a recurring injury. I feel like a train wreck. My biceps, triceps and obliques hurt with almost every movement. Sneezing or coughing is painful. Despite all the pain, I am happier than I was last week or even in the last four months. I feel strong again despite lifting lower numbers and struggling through certain parts of my training. Mentally, I feel alert and reasonably well rested.

For you New Years Resolutioners, keep at it. It might feel awful for the first few weeks, and you will not see changes as soon as you had hoped, but it gets easier. I set goals in November  2012 just to start weightlifting regularly. I never imagined that I could achieve a 180lb deadlift.

For the seasoned gym goers, bodybuilders and runners: if you see someone new who seems to be struggling, ask if they want help. They may be crowding your gym for now, but it's because they want to become a badass like you. Give them the support they need to stick around. I'm not saying you have to hold their hand, but giving them an occasional compliment will really make their day.

 

This is my gym in case any of you were wondering. We finally got around to cleaning the garage, so we can even park the car to the left of the bench and still lift. It's not fun lifting in the cold, but it honestly beats waiting for equipment.

I recently had the opportunity to try Sally Hansen Triple Shine thanks to Influenster. I was selected to receive the Violet VoxBox, and this gem was waiting inside.





In the bottle Hypnotical appeared as though it would be a blue flakie with matching iridescent blue glitter. As soon as I started painting I realized that it was more of a glitter based polish with a few flakies here and there. The bottle also suggested that the glitter was suspended in a blue jelly, but on the nail it only gives a slightly blue hue. I feel as though it brightened the appearance of the white base color more than anything. The consistency was great for a glitter topper. I didn't have to fish for glitter at all. On the other hand, you might have noticed that I only have one flakie in my whole manicure. They were so sparse that I would have preferred if they had not been included in the mixture.

Overall, I liked the color but would have preferred that flakies had not been included in the overall mixture. I did notice that the polish was shinier than most glitter toppers.

 

Polishes used: Sally Hansen Triple Shine-"Hypnotical", Sally Hansen Diamond Strength-"Timeless White"

 

My shining moment was this manicure. Look at how crisp those lines are!

*This color was provided for review