2nd Annual Cosmetics for a Cure - Raffle to Benefit Autism New Jersey

After the immense success of last year's Cosmetics for a Cure, thanks to the support and the generous prize donations of fellow bloggers, nail polish companies, beauty e-tailers, and polishaholics alike, I decided to bring it back for a second year! I am a strong believer in paying it forward and since you have all given me so much love and support in the past year, I thought that it would be wonderful if I could pass that on to as many people as possible.

I chose to launch the raffle in April because it is Autism Awareness Month and this year's charity is Autism New Jersey, the beneficiary of the Ride 4 Autism.

Why the Ride 4 Autism?

I became a volunteer for this ride in its first year in 2001, having grown up with a cousin diagnosed with Autism. The diagnosis was made at 18 months, which was incredibly early back in 1993. While great strides have been made in early intervention, education, and awareness, Autism spectrum disorders still affect approximately 1 in 150 individuals and the financial burden on families of individuals with autism can create extreme hardship. The beneficiary of the Ride 4 Autism, Autism New Jersey, is a non-profit agency providing information and advocacy, services, family and professional education and consultation. They encourage responsible basic and applied research that may lessen the effects of, and potentially prevent, autism. They are also dedicated to ensuring that all people with autism receive appropriate, effective services to maximize their growth potential and to enhancing the general public’s overall awareness of autism.

How Does Cosmetics for a Cure Work?

Entries in this raffle correspond to donations made via my fundraising page. Please visit my DONATION PAGE to donate however much you'd like. $5 for 5 entries is the minimum, but certainly not a maximum. From $5 to $99, it is the same $1 an entry. (Ex: 15 entries are $15, 50 entries are $50, etc.) All donations of $100 or more will receive 2X entries. (Ex: $100 = 200 entries, $200 = 400 entries, etc.)

DO NOT check the box that will list your name as anonymous, as I will be unable to validate your entries!

I will record your name in an Excel sheet, with the number of entries equaling the number of times your name is listed. When the raffle ends, I will use my Excel sheet and Random.org to select the winners and announce them on this page. Winners will have 48 hours to respond via email.

The raffle starts today and ends on May 1st at 12:01 am. OPEN INTERNATIONALLY ! 

Please note: Princess Polish is NOT responsible for a third party's failure to deliver a donated prize or mishandling/loss of packages by any postal service. You must be 18 years or older to enter this raffle.

For every monetary milestone reached, a new prize will be added to the pot! And believe me, they're awesome. If you would like to donate a prize, please contact me via email at PrincessPolishBlog@gmail.com

Check out what's up for grabs (so far!) below! More prizes will be listed, so keep your eyes peeled here, on Facebook, and on Twitter!!!


Here's the list of the monetary milestones and the corresponding prizes:

Top of 2012: Purple

I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed your Christmas yesterday! Today, it's time to check out my FAVORITE color of all: purple! And it should come as no surprise that I chose a top FOUR, rather than a top three!

My favorite blurple was undoubtedly Cult Nails Flushed. With a fuchsia shimmer, it practically glows on the nail. Love. It!

China Glaze Jungle Queen may not have been the most unique (as a dupe of Chanel Paradoxal), but I give them credit for a good formula and giving me an awesome $8 alternative to a Chanel! Kudos, CG!

Maria, Maria! Maria of Cult Nails did it AGAIN with a gorgeous purple jelly flakie top coat in Seduction, pictured here with two coats over Cult Nails Iconic. I mean... look at that shift of color. There are just. No. Words.

The ladies of The New Black win the award for purple uniqueness, with this awesome five piece mini set. An easy way to put a little ombre in your day, I fell for this one upon sight. And it looks pretty cute with my blueberry plant, too!

If you could only have one purple from 2012... what would it be?

Swatch and Review: Cult Nails Flushed

Happy Football Sunday, everyone! Or, if you're like me... Happy Start of Finals Hell Week! I'm right there with you guys, I promise.

Today, I'm going to show you the polish I rocked for my first final exam of law school: Cult Nails Flushed!

 Flushed is a true purple with fuchsia shimmer that appears to flow from within the base. Oh my God, I'm OBSESSED WITH THIS.

In this picture, you can see the glow of the shimmer even better! It looks amazing!

The polish applied fantastically, per usual, and was opaque in two coats. What else do you expect from Cult Nails at this point?

Flushed is available at the Cult Nails website for $10, along with the rest of the Behind Closed Doors Collection.

Are you as head over heels as I am for Flushed? Let me know!
Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: Cult Nails Seduction (and a Photography Experiment

This post was a bit delayed from yesterday, but I'm really excited to share it with you. Since my the beginning of March, I've begun to dabble in photography with a DSLR camera and received one for my birthday. I've been toying around with it, experimenting to see how to get different results.

The lovely Maria of Cult Nails is in the process of moving the brand to their first ever office and is looking for photos of her polishes to decorate the walls. I absolutely love Iconic, but wanted to give it a little extra oomph in order to help pick up the flakes on camera.

So I pulled out an untried of mine to give me a little boost... Cult Nails Seduction!

I went through my entire garden, trying to find an appropriate medium with which to convey the beauty of two coats of Seduction over two coats of Iconic.

My surfinia petunias!

Take 2!

My Sarah Bernhardt peonies!

And lastly, my swimming pool! I think that the water and waves help magnify the flakies and really pick up the color shift in them under sunlight!

So what do you think of my photos? And of course, of this layering combo?

Until tomorrow!
Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: Cult Nails Iconic

Today, I have a polish that I have been looking to snag for a while. So when Cult Nails had their $5 sale, I snatched it up immediately!

Cult Nails Iconic is a rich berry polish with subtle flakies suspended in the nail polish, as well as iridescent gold shimmer.

Look at that macro shot! Isn't she lovely? Mhmm.

Iconic applied wonderfully and took two thin coats to be opaque. This was an indoors picture, due to the rain here for three days. Though, I wish it had been sunny. The nail polish was a STUNNER. Really, is there anything Maria doesn't make beautiful?

March Madness Top 32: Midwest and East Divisions

Kicking off the Top 32 for the Midwest and East divisions.

Game 1:

Online Surveys & Market Research

Image Credit: AllLacqueredUp.com and NailsNeverFails.blogspot.com

March Madness Top 32: West Division

Here is the West division! Get to voting and remember, you'll have a chance to win the top polish after March Madness is over. So be sure to campaign for your favorites!

Game 1:

Online Surveys & Market Research

Image Credit: Mylucidbubble.blogspot.com and VampyVarnish.com

March Madness Top 32: South Division

 

And as the Final Four kicks off, we're finally through with our first round of eliminations and onto the Top 32! Today through the 7th, we're going to move through the 32 and then each day following will be all of the Sweet 16, Excellent 8, Final Four, and then the finals!

If you're new to March Madness, click here to see how it works. The winning polish will be featured in our next giveaway!

Are you ready? Get to voting!

Game 1:

Online Surveys & Market Research

Image Credit: Temptalia.com and AllLacqueredUp.com

Swatch and Review: Cult Nails Living Waters

I was lucky enough to snag my first Cult Nails polish via a blog sale and really had high hopes for this color. I had first seen this shade on another blog and it stuck in the back of my mind. So I snatched it up when I got the chance.

This was my first time using the macro lens of my dad's Sony 350 SLR and I was super excited with the results. I definitely have a ways to go, but they came out pretty nice if I do say so myself!

Bottle shot!

 Living Waters is a a beautiful shade with a black base and green and turquoise glitter. It reminds me of my cruise this past Christmas out of Florida and how the water looked under the lights of the ship at night. Just gorgeous.

 

This may have been my first Cult Nails polish, but it sure as heck won't be my last!

What do you think, fellow polishaholics?

Oh! And don't forget to enter the new Zoya Go Braugh giveaway for St. Patrick's Day!