Mental Health Awareness Mani Inspired by Robin Williams

Hello, nail friends!  Sorry for the somber post, but I wanted to share my latest mani with you.

Many ladies in the nail art community agreed to post their green manis this past Sunday for Mental Health Awareness.  They were tagged #fightforlightandlive.  If you haven't already, please check out that tag on IG; it is filled with stunning manis and some heartbreaking posts.  But for me, it assures me that there are so many people out there fighting the same life-altering disease: Depression.

Last week the world was shocked to learn of the loss of an amazing soul: Robin Williams.  Robin has made the world laugh, cry, ponder, cringe, and reflect on the good in their lives.  I've never had the opportunity to meet Robin, but his death has affected me personally for many reasons I'm not going to list.  I only wish I was so lucky to have met this incredible individual.

As a mother, there are so many things I am sensitive to now.  Before my dear son was born, I took offense to nothing.  I was invincible.  I could be selfish and live without a care in the world.  My son put a chink in that armor.  And I have never been happier or more thankful in my life.

Anyway, this mani is a tribute to just how awesome I thought Robin Williams was.  As an actor, a comedian, a person, a man.  "Hook" was one of my favorite Robin Williams' movies (oh, and there were so many to choose from).  It always reminds me to never lose my childish side and don't always take life so seriously.

I'm not an artist, but I wanted to try to freehand this mani.  Since I'm not great at free-handing, I tried to keep it simple.  I started with a gradient of OPI Gargantuan Green Grape and Zoya Chita Pixie Dust.  Fyi, this was a disaster because I was trying to move fast (I didn't have much time to complete this mani, thanks to bedtime for the toddler and True Blood on HBO!).

Again, for my gradient I used a dry eyeshadow applicator sponge, coated in Gargantuan Green Grape and Chita, and blended the two.  That's two coats of each Gargantuan Green Grape and Chita on my index and pinky fingers.  All topped in one coat of Seche Vite.

My favorite part of the movie was when Peter realized what he lost: his childhood memories and how to live life with laughter.  Bangarang, Peter.

On my other hand I added a black ribbon for Suicide Awareness, and on my index finger is my go at Peter Pan's shirt.

On a lighter note, cleanup from this mani was a drag.  It looked like I picked up Tinkerbell and shook her around. (I had a different phrase in mind, but I'll keep it clean.)  ;-)

What was your favorite Robin Williams' moment?