Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Trying to make the best of things...


A little warning for the softies like me out there, grab some Kleenex because I might make you cry a little!

For those of you who follow me on Facebook and Instagram, you may have noticed things were a bit quiet around the beginning of April. We weren’t posting much, weren’t sharing pictures, and ended up delaying our relaunch by almost three weeks! And this is why:

On April 7, 2013 I lost my first love, my dog Browny. Browny was…so different from any other dog I have ever met. She was independent, self-sufficient, protective, sassy, so fierce and so gentle at the same time. I could go on and on. Although she was a super big baby, weighing in at 85lbs, everyone that met her (that wasn’t afraid of dogs) LOVED her instantly. Browny was always more of an outside dog. She loved to be outside, soaking up the Texas sun. She loved to bark at EVERYTHING from people walking by to airplanes in the sky and even the bugs in the yard; she was our little security alarm.




Early in March, my dad asked me to start planning a little family trip to San Antonio for Spring Break. Everything was ready to go, however a few days before we were scheduled to leave, we noticed that Browny had stopped eating. As she was never much of an eater, we weren’t too concerned. A couple of days passed and we began to get worried. We decided to postpone the trip to stay home and make sure Browny was okay. After a couple visits to the vet, we found that she may have a cyst in her intestines, which was causing the disinterest in food, as well as some irregular liver levels, most likely brought on by the stress of the cyst. As far as illnesses go, this wasn’t so bad, right? WRONG.  A week went by with little improvement. The Dr. prescribed some heavy medications which were causing her to vomit everyday and she was still not wanting to eat.  Feeling desperate, we made the decision to take her to a vet who was located 30 minutes away. This vet had treated Browny before and from our previous encounters with him, we knew he was VERY experienced and very very dedicated to his animals (if you live in the DFW area, I highly recommend taking your pets to him. His name is Dr. Tierce and I can guarantee you that you will NEVER meet a more dedicated Vet. Ever.). Upon examining her, he immediately observed that her abdomen was full of fluid. He recommended we leave her there overnight for bloodwork/x-ray/and ultrasound. Thinking we would be picking her up the next morning, we left without a second thought. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine the next time Browny was coming home would be in a box :’(.

We dropped Browny off to the vet on a Thursday, thinking we’d be picking her up Friday. Well, Friday turned into Saturday, which turned into Monday, and so on. The test results came back, and it was the worst news ever imaginable. It turns out that Browny had a number of tumors covering her entire liver, and those tumors were most likely cancerous. Her condition was untreatable.   The plan moving forward was to keep her at the vet and figure out the best combination of medications that would keep her comfortable at home until the time came. That Monday, my sister and I went to go visit her. The Browny that came to greet us was a completely different dog. She didn’t wag her tail, didn’t express any type of happiness to see us; she had no emotions. It was at this moment that things began to feel real. No matter how many days she had left, she would not be the same dog that brightened my days. Over the next few days, she did not seem to be getting better. When they fixed one issue, another one popped up. We were told that we would not be able to take her home until she was eating on her own again and able to keep her food down. Over that week, we went down to visit with her several times. The last time we were able to visit was on a Saturday. That day was different. She seemed happy to see us, the life was coming back into her eyes and it just felt as if she was genuinely getting better. The following morning, my dad woke me up and delivered the heartbreaking news; Browny was no more.



This entire experience has changed me, forever, in so many ways. It has left me with so many questions, most of which I’ll probably never find the answers to.
The first question, is a series of what-ifs. What if we took her to the better vet in the first place? What if we didn’t leave her at the vet? What if we had taken her to the vet more regularly for check-ups? What if we fed her higher quality foods? The list goes on and on.

The next question- Where is she now? This is the one I have been struggling with the most. Growing up, I’ve never been much of a religious person. I was always conflicted about the existence of God, the afterlife, and all those other things that go along with following a religion. I always felt that when you die, you’re just…dead. You cease to exist. The end. But thinking that way about Browny…I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t accept the fact that she is just plain gone. I wanted to feel and know that she’s somewhere in some form, happy and healthy. There were two things that helped me immensely, and I hope they can help those of you who are dealing with a similar situation. The first was a poem, that I’m sure many of you have read before. 

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... 
Author unknown...

Although this was just a poem, it was very comforting imagining Browny at the Rainbow Bridge, happy and healthy, waiting for the day that we’ll be together again. Thinking about the Rainbow Bridge reminded me of some things I vaguely remembered hearing about in the past; Near Death Experiences. NDEs are basically experiences that some people who are ‘clinically dead’ but come back to life have.  Many people report experiences of going through a tunnel, seeing a bright light, being greeted by deceased loved ones, etc. While reading a lot of these NDE stories, I came across one that really stood out. I went to the bookstore the next day and picked up the book about this particular NDE. The author, a worldclass neurosurgeon reported about what he experienced when he was in a coma with no higher brain function.  Although I haven’t finished the book yet, it was VERY eye opening. Usually, I am a skeptic about these types of things. But in this instance, I am going to choose to believe that his experience was real, that there really is life after death, and that I will see my babygirl Browny again some day.



You may be wondering why I’m posting my story and what my purpose is. Well, my main purpose is awareness. Did you know that over 50% of dogs over the age of 10 develop some type of Cancer. Compared to humans, that is a very high rate. A lot of it has to do with genetics, but a lot of it also has to do with lifestyle. One of the changes I have implemented to give my other two dogs a life that is as long and healthy as possible, is making them home made dog food. Although it is costly and time consuming, I truly believe that diet can make a huge difference in the overall health of our pets. Here are a few links to some dog food recipes. Make sure to familiarize yourself with foods that dogs should not consume, and if possible, go over your plans to switch to home made food with your vet to discuss the specific nutritional needs of your pet.


Something else you can do to increase the longevity of your pet is just do some research. Find out the specific health issues that your dog’s breed is prone to, and then take them to the vet at least twice a year for screenings to check for those problems.

While we were in our beginning stages of mourning, my mom suggested that I create a polish as a tribute to our Browny. For the first week after her passing, the feelings were just too raw for me to really do much of anything, let alone create a polish. I did eventually get around to it and was very pleased with the results. I then had a thought- what if I made this polish available for purchase and donate the proceeds to charity? And that is exactly what I am going to do.

I have created two polishes, one for Browny and one for everyone who has a pet waiting for them on the Rainbow Bridge. The charity I have chosen is the National Canine Cancer Foundation. It is my goal to raise at least $500 for this charity, and I need your help to reach this goal!

Browny Bear is a glitter topcoat with multisized brown and white glitters to symbolize browny’s beautiful coat. There are also some gold accents to represent the mischievious gold glint in her eyes. I chose to add some pink microglitter and pink hearts to remind everyone that she was a girl. Being such a large dog, people always mistook her for a boy.

Rainbow Bridge is a very dense multi-sized rainbow glitter topcoat with a generous sprinking of silver and gold holographic stars. This polish is dedicated to everyone who has a beloved pet waiting for them on the Rainbow Bridge.



Because the purpose of this duo is charity and not any type of profit or personal gain, it will only be available in fullsized bottles, and there will be no discount for purchasing both together. I also request that you do not use your rewards points for a discount toward these polishes, as it will reduce the amount of money going toward the donation. 

The polishes are now available at www.GlitterDazeNP.com

I hope that my post has shed some light and brought some awareness about canine cancer. I hope that this information has helped someone who is struggling with the death or illness of their pet. 

Lets raise a lot of money for canine cancer research! I encourage everyone to share this post or a link to the charity polishes so we can build awareness and make a difference! 

Thank you guys for taking the time to read this long post! <3 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Spring Soft Launch


Hi everyone. I am back, as promised! A little later than anticipated, but I spent a good chunk of my day at the vet's office. My dog Browny is not doing so well :(.

At the moment, our main website is down for some maintenance/remodeling. I wanted to still make our spring polishes available to you guys, especially since some of them are Easter themed and I want y'all to have them in time for Easter!

A few changes to make note of: Our full sized bottles will now have a new label design (but you'll have to wait to see it!). We have also changed our bottle style for our mini polishes. Instead of the short round bottles, we now have tall thin bottles that are 6 mL instead of the former 7 mL. Another great new change is that both bottle styles now come with flat brushes, which means NO MORE FISHING for glitter :-D!!!

If you are interested in purchasing these polishes, please fill out the form at the bottom and we will send you an invoice via PayPal. Today you will be able to purchase 2 out of our 3 spring lines!! Invoicing and shipping will start right away!

Spring Serenity
Full coverage matte pastel glitter polish. The perfect base for any spring glitter topper. You can add topcoat or leave them without for some texture. Please note that these are NOT meant to be similar to the Liquid Sand style of nail polishes!!

A Peace of Heaven
Calming Waterfalls
Dewy Meadows
Fluffy Clouds
Soft Petals
Warm Sunshine
Easter Explosion
A collection of four Easter themed glitter-bombs! These are truly spectacular in person. A must have for this season, even after Easter has passed!!

Bombtastic Bunny- several different shades and sizes of light blue and pink mixed in with all different shapes and sizes of holographic silver glitters! 
Chicky Chicky Boom Boom- A mix of multisized yellow and matte pink glitter with lavender hearts and holographic lavender glitters

Dynamite Duckling- a mixture of  multisized light green and light pink glitters combined with holographic gold and white accents! 

Eggsplosive- a pastel glitterbomb full of multiple shapes and sizes of aqua, light blue, green, pink, yellow, lavender and white pastel glitters combined with several different sizes of iridescent glitter for a cool effect over various colors! 

If you would like to receive your polishes by 3/30, make sure you get your order in by 3/26 at 3pm cst and pay your invoice immediately! Happy shopping, hope you guys love them :)! 

xoxo <3 Sana

Dusting off the cobwebs!

Hello my lovely ladies!

Needless to say, it has been MONTHS since my last post, six months to be exact!! So much has happened these past few months; new collections, multiple sales and coupons, addition of new products, etc. Moving forward, there will also be A LOT of changes, but lets save that for another post ;-). 

So lets have a little recap and go over all of the polishes that were released since my last post :). All of these polishes are still available unless stated otherwise. 

First up we had our halloween collection, inspired by one of my favorite shows EVER, Charmed. I did not watch this show growing up (how the heck did I miss that!!), but discovered it one night browsing Netflix. It quickly became one of my favorite shows and I felt like it would be a very appropriate theme for Halloween! The collection is comprised of six polishes. 

For swatches and reviews of this collection, check out Victoria's, Carly's, Chelsea's, and Amy's blogs! 

Next up we have the Goddess Collection, which was inspired by popular Goddesses of various regions in the world. We are planning to add more polishes to this collection over time, but for now there are five glittery and sparkly topcoats. 


For swatches and review of this collection, check out Victoria's and Chelsea's blogs :)! 

Next, we did the Diva Collection Part III. This collection is based upon a very popular hip-hop diva, Rihanna! The polishes in this collection are inspired by a variety of Rihanna's songs, some new and some old favorites of mine :)! There are five polishes in total and they all have colored bases. 

For swatches and review, please visit Valesha's Blog

For the holidays, we released an extra limited edition polish called Holodaze; it was our first linear holographic polish, but most definitely wont be our last!! Holodaze is no longer available. I am unable to find bottle shots of it at the moment, but you can view swatches and review on Sheila's blog! 

Our final collection of 2012 was one I am absolutely IN LOVE with. It just might be my favorite collection so far, and was definitely a step outside of my box! It was inspired by various cities in America, and sunsets; hence the name Sunset in the City. Each polish is a holographic multichrome, and they all have a scattered linear effect (does that even make sense?). Although they can be worn alone, the true effect can only be seen when layered over darker colors. The colors REALLY pop in the sunlight :)!! 

Its a hard to see the holographic goodness in these photos, but I promise its there :)! Aren't they just magnificent :-D?! To see some amazing swatches check out Sheila's, Victoria's, Jody's blogs!!

We started off 2013 with our second love themed collection. Looking back at our debut love collection, I'm so happy to see all of the growth and evolution that has happened  in every single aspect of my brand. From formula and design to packaging and presentation, we have come a very long way, and have no intention of stopping any time soon!! Anyways, this collection, Love is in the Air, consists of 9 polishes all inspired by feelings of love! 


For swatches of this collection, head on over to Jacki's, Carla's, Samantha's (part 1, part 2), and Victoria's (part 1, part 2) blogs! 

In honor of our first birthday, we released a girly and fun limited edition birthday polish called Birthday Cupcake. This polish is no longer available. 


 

I literally had almost 20 bloggers swatch and review this polish the day it was released, so to save us all from linking and viewing each blog separately, I'm going to link you to Google Images :)

Last but not least, is our St. Patty's day Party Duo. This duo consists of two polishes, a sparkly emerald jelly and a fun and versatile glitter topcoat! 



Check out reviews on Sheila's, Samantha's, Kellie's, and Jackie's blogs! 


So there you have it gals! Six months worth of info all in one convenient location :-D!! Have you tried any of these polishes? How did you like them? I love customer feedback and would love to hear from you guys! 


As you can see I've been super busy over the last few months!! If you've been following me on Facebook, you know that there are some more changes happening here at GlitterDaze. I cant wait to show you all everything I've been working so hard for!

Later today, I will be posting again regarding some fun spring polishes, so come back in the afternoon!!

If you aren't already, follow me on social media to stay up to date about everything!


See y'all when you come back in a few hours!

xx Sana





Friday, September 28, 2012

The Diva Collection Parts I and II

Hello my lovely ladies!!

Its finally time for me to introduce you all to the much awaited Diva Collection! My inspiration for this collection came from the music of a handful of my favorite Divas! I am not affiliated with any of the artists portrayed, just inspired by them :)! This collection will be released in multiple parts, grouped by the artists by which they were inspired. Today I'll be sharing Parts I and II. Hope you guys love them all! Lets jump right in :)!!

Part I of this collection is inspired by the soulful and fabulous Beyonce. 


Crazy in Love is a super fun glitter topcoat full of black and hot pink matte shredded glitter, black hearts, and small holographic glitter. The layering combinations for this one are endless! 






Dance for You is a black jelly polish filled with a variety of shapes, sizes, and shades of silver with a little black glitter sprinkled in. This one is very classy and perfect for the fall! You can layer this polish over other colors, or build it up to opacity on its own.

Girls Run the World is a bold glitter topcoat full of black, pink, white, and gold shredded glitter with red, fuchsia, and white hexagonal accents. This polish is the perfect balance between fierce and feminine. 


 
Halo is a special effect glitter topcoat full of gold and iridescent shredded glitter in a golden holographic clear base. This polish will look different over various colors because of the special effect iridescent glitter. 






Naughy Girl is another perfect for fall glitter topcoat consisting of black, silver, and pink shredded glitters in a silver holographic clear base. This polish looks perfect layered over light and dark colors! 

















Upgrade You is a while jelly polish with gold, silver, and purple shredded glitter and a beautiful lavender shimmer. This one can be worn over other colors or built up to opacity on its own. Such a luxurious look! 

















Part II of this collection is inspired by the bold and eclectic Nicki Minaj 





Its Barbie, Biatch
is a blingy glitter topcoat for all the Barbies out there! It consists of multisized white glitter, large matte pink squares, and small holographic hexes and bars. 





















Reloaded is a very unique glitter topcoat with multicolored matte shreds, black shreds, and large multicolored neon hexes. This polish gives off a 'paint splattered' effect and because of the semi-transparent neon glitters, it looks different over various colors. 

















Right By My Side is a bright pink jelly polish filled with iridescent shredded glitter. Application on this one is a bit tricky, but totally worth it in my opinion! This polish can be worn alone or layered on top of other colors. The iridescent glitters will change over darker colors!








Starships is a super sparkly glitter topcoat consisting of multishape/size/shade of pink and green matte as well as metallic glitters. It'll look great layered over a variety of base colors!


















The Diva Collection is now available in my BRAND NEW STORE! As you can see from the pictures, I have changed my bottles and revamped things a whole lot to bring you all an even better GlitterDaze experience :)! Some things to note about these changes:

* We now carry larger bottle sizes. Minis are now 7mL instead of 5 mL and Fulls are now 14 mL instead of 12.5 mL
* We now offer reward points! Each polish you purchase earns you reward points which you can use for a discount on your next purchase OR save them up to receive a FREE polish of your choice! 
* You are now able to leave testimonials about your shopping experience as well as specific reviews for each product you purchase. I love any and all feedback and I would really appreciate testimonials and reviews! :)
* Shipping charges on each polish are now significantly reduced. You only pay exactly what it costs to ship your item, vs paying for shipping AND packaging costs! Yayy for low shipping!! 

So there we have it! I would love to hear your thoughts! Which ones do you like the most? How do you like the new website?

Until next time ladies :)

<3 <3 <3