Swatch and Review: Jade Mystic Gold

TGIF! And to celebrate, I wanted a little sparkle on my nails. So what better choice than a little linear holo in what I affectionately call Command Gold (after Star Trek)!?!

Jade Mystic Gold is a gold linear holo polish. The above is with three coats, but you can still see some visible nail line. It's just as visible in person as in the photo. Here, it has a marigold sort of tint indoors, but you can see below that it has a much truer gold look in sunlight.

I actually wore Mystic Gold last weekend when, as many of you saw on Facebook, I underwent surgery. I was only allowed to wear nail polish if they could still see my nails underneath and I thought this was a good compromise. The doctors and nurses LOVED it, actually. It was kind of funny.

I have a bunch of different Jade polishes in my stash, though this is the first one I've swatched. Jade is a Brazilian company that makes a ton of different finishes, but my favorite are the holos in the Holografica collection. They're also reasonably priced at a price of $7-$8, which is right on par with a lot of salon brands. 

The only downside is that you can't purchase them in stores, but can purchase them from stockists such as Llarowe. (Link will take you to the Jade Holograficas collection). I know that Llarowe offers free shipping on orders over $50, so with six or seven polishes, you'll get them shipped for free.

What do you think of Mystic Gold? Would you like to see other Jade holos on the blog?

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:

Cosmetics for a Cure - Raffle to benefit the American Cancer Society

Today, I'm kicking off Cosmetics for a Cure!

Many of you do not know that my father beat colon cancer this past fall, just when my blog was getting started. Many posts were written from hospital rooms during his recovery.

I have always participated in Relay for Life, which benefits the American Cancer Society, but this year it became more personal than ever. As a college student, it's really hard to fundraise around campus and these days, with the current state of the economy, it is a rough economic climate for these charities.

I have been toying around with this for a really long time, but some of my fellow bloggers finally pushed me to do this and I'm glad they did.

Cosmetics for a Cure is a raffle, with 100% of the money donated going to the American Cancer Society via Relay for Life! Each entry costs just $1 and you have a chance to win the VERY Limited Edition Peter Som Collection, hard to find nail polishes, expensive polishes, gift certificates, and more!

Money will be collected via the Relay for Life website and is an entirely secure. Due to ACS restrictions, there is a minimum $5 donations, which is five entries in the raffle.

For every $100 raised (which equals, at most, 20 people's participation), I will add a new prize! And believe me, they're awesome.

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

Start: LE Zoya Peter Som Collection

$100 - OPI DS Ruby

$200 - $10 Gift Certificate to Llarowe

$300 - Butter LONDON The Black Knight


$400 - Orly Dark Shadows Collection


$500 - Choice of 2012 Essie Wedding or Resort Collection

$600 - OPI DS Chiffon

$700 - Princess Polish's Favorite Things Pack (includes polishes, nail treatments, and other fun stuff!)

$750 - Floam by Nail-Venturous

$800 - One month of Julep Maven box


$900 - $10 Ulta Gift Card

$1000 - Lynnderella Boy Girl Party


$1050 - Deborah Lippmann Dream a Little Dream of Me

$1100 - Lynnderella Connect the Dots

$1150 - HITS Trendy


$1200 - Lynnderella Mysterious Ways


$1250 - Nicole by OPI Duo: OMB and Eenie Meanie Marry Me


$1300 - Lynnderella Very Pretty Vampire


$1350 - OPI DS Opulence

$1400 - Deborah Lippmann Dream a Little of Dream of Me (YES... ANOTHER ONE!)


$1450 - Custom Mary Kay Compact 

$1500 - Cult Nails Seduction


$1550 - Essie Shine of the Times

$1600 - butter LONDON Knackered


$1650 - OPI Glam Slam duo: Pros & Bronze/Love is a Racket


$1700 - Lynnderella Funny Money

$1750 - Cult Nails Scandalous

If we go over $700, I will add more mystery prizes! Every time we pass a milestone, I will announce it on the Facebook and Twitter pages. And who knows? If we receive donations, I might add in some surprises at $250, $350, etc.

HOW TO ENTER:

Please visit my DONATION PAGE to donate however much you'd like. $5 for 5 entries is the minimum, but certainly not a maximum. Beyond $5, it is the same $1 an entry. (Ex: 15 entries are $15, 100 entries are $100, etc.)

Please be sure to check off the box for that says "Yes, publicly display my donation amount with my name" so that I can correctly record your name and entries in an Excel sheet. When the raffle ends, I will use my Excel sheet and Random.org to select the winners.

The raffle starts today and ends on April 14th at 6:00 am. AND it is open internationally!

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment here or on Facebook and I will do my best to answer them.

If you would like to donate to my raffle, please contact me at PrincessPolishBlog@gmail.com.

Thanks in advance for all of your support!
Princess Polish