SpaRitual New Product Showcase [Jan 2013]

Over a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend a SpaRitual Singapore media event to showcase some new products. While last year’s event to launch the Water collection was held in a cafe, this year’s event was held in a nail spa, specifically the LadyFinger branch in Tiong Bahru Plaza.

The event was a relatively small-scale and intimate one. We were not there for just a regular show-and-tell; we were each treated to a pampering session with three of their new spa products, as well as offered a manicure with the newest shades.

First, let me share a bit about the SpaRitual brand for those of you new to it. It was started by Shel Pink, under the mentorship of her father-in-law, Jeff Pink, the founder of Orly.

SpaRitual has always positioned itself as an eco-conscious company. Their nail polish is vegan and Big Three Free, and comes in bottles made of 50% recycled glass.

Given that many companies are now also getting more eco-conscious, SpaRitual is seeking to further distinguish themselves by moving on to something more spiritual – the concept of Slow Beauty. This new focus encourages us to slow down, reflect, and take stock of life, and not let ourselves get too caught up in the crazy race against time. To further share the concept, Shel Pink has founded a site, Slow Beauty, which shares articles from various people on how they seek to incorporate slow living in their lives.

At the event I attended, we were introduced to the Spring and Summer 2013 nail polish collections, which have themes that tie in with the concept of Slow Beauty.

The Spring 2013 collection is named ‘Meditate’. I find all six shades to be very soothing. According to SpaRitual, the polish is infused with bamboo, which apparently helps balance the oil and water on our nails to keep them strong and healthy.

SpaRitual Spring 2013 Meditate Collection

Polish Us Pink – Breast Cancer Awareness 2012

UPDATE: If you’d read this post before, please note that it has been updated on 28 Sep with the following:

• I’ve decided to name it “Polish Us Pink” (#PolishUsPink) since nobody objected to it when I shared it with some of the other ladies on Twitter. Sometimes, democracy gets too messy and drawn out, and dictatorship is easier :p
• I’ve created a logo for it, with images in two different sizes. Please include it on your blog.
• The Inlinkz tool has been created. [Updated on 30 Sep with a slight modification to the link to be added.]

A few days ago, Nicole from Young Wild and Polished announced that she was bowing out of the 30-Day Challenge as her close friend was in hospital, and that she would have to spend time there with her. It turned out that her friend has breast cancer. This friend is a young mother with three children. I can scarcely imagine how difficult things must be for her and her family now. Nicole also shared that she herself has had two lumps removed previously.

And then, Megan from Painting Rainbows had a brilliant idea – that we should do Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) posts since October is BCA month and it’s just around the corner!

A few of us tried to discuss possible ideas on Twitter, but we all know how challenging that can be, with the character limit and different time zones. As such, I thought I would put together our general ideas into a post so that it’s clear for all. Read on for the details.

Tutorial: Friendship Band Basics

If you follow me on social media, you may have seen me posting photos of the friendship bands or bracelets I’ve started making recently. I used to make these in my teens, but that was a lifetime or two ago. Then, Camille from Pshiiit Polish started posting photos of her friendship bracelet projects. Before long, some other girls started making them too, so there has been a wave of photos of these on Instagram! It called out to the crafts-maker in me for sure!

I’ve always enjoyed making these bands. Also, I was very into cross-stitch at one stage, so I have a big box of embroidery floss (or threads) sitting in my room. I dug it out one day and started knotting away! It is very addictive as it is pretty therapeutic. Once I started, I had difficulty stopping. And I keep thinking of patterns and colour combos to try.

Anyway, some girls expressed interest to know how to make these bands. Evonne from Evonnz basically demanded that I make a tutorial Well, she wanted a video tutorial. I’m not a video person, so I wasn’t going to try fiddling with making one. Instead, I’ve opted to do a pic-torial. So, be warned, this is a very photo-heavy post!

Launch of Star Trinkets – My Handmade Nail Polish Accessories

Dear friends,

After weeks of preparing, I am finally ready to share with you my new venture – Star Trinkets! This is the creative arm of The Subtle Shimmer.

The main focus of Star Trinkets, for now at least, will be handmade nail polish accessories and jewellery. While I have only a few items listed at the moment, I expect to have more designs listed by the end of the week.

It should please you to know that I will be shipping internationally. I will need to charge shipping rates separately though, to be fair to the friends in Singapore who make a purchase.

At the moment, I am taking orders via email and accepting payment through bank transfer (for Singapore orders) and Paypal (for international orders). For payment via Paypal, you will not be asked to pay additional transfer fees.

While I am open to listing my items on Etsy or some other online marketplace, this will involve significant additional costs. This ultimately means I will have to increase prices and I do hope to avoid this as far as possible.

More details are available on the Star Trinkets blog at www.startrinkets.com. I hope you will support this new venture of mine just as you’ve been supporting my nail polish posts here at The Subtle Shimmer!

Thank you!

Susan

Happy Year of the Water Dragon!

Just a quick post to wish everyone who celebrates the Lunar New Year a good year ahead!

For those not familiar with the tradition, the Lunar New Year marks the start of a new year in the lunar calendar. This is a calendar based on the movement of the moon.

The name in Chinese, 農曆, literally means the farmer’s calendar. This is because this calendar also marks the agricultural calendar based on the seasons (using traditional farming methods, without the help of modern science).

Although this is also often called the Chinese New Year, it is by no means celebrated only by the Chinese. I believe it is also celebrated by the Koreans, for instance. Yet, it is also not right to call it the “Asian New Year” as not all Asians observe the lunar calendar and, consequently, the Lunar New Year.

As for the Chinese Zodiac associated with each year, suffice to say there are twelve signs in all. There is a myth behnind how these twelve were chosen, but I’ll not go into it. In addition, each year and sign is associated with one of five elements – Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth.

With the start of a new lunar year, we enter the Year of the Water Dragon. The geommancers and astrologers will have a list of predictions associated with this particular sign.

There are, naturally, many traditions and customs for this, the biggest festival for at least the Chinese. Essentially, it is about family and reunion, much as Christmas and Thanksgiving are for those who celebrate them.

If you would like to know more, please feel free to ask and I’ll try to answer as best as I can.

For those who celebrate this festival, I hope you have a great time and collect lots of hongbaos!

[My LNY mani is Picture Polish Vegas with "gold dust" tips using Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow.]

Exciting Developments at The Subtle Shimmer

These couple of weeks have been exciting ones for me, as I have a few new experiences via the blog. I’ll like to share them with you as at least one piece of news should be exciting for you.