NAIL ART: In Loving Memory Black Rose Nails
I have to admit that this week's #CBBxManiMonday is really intensely personal for me in a way that generally I don't delve into here on the blog. Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my brother's passing and I'm having a hard time separating the theme of allyship from that. I don't want to go too much into details about my brother and my family as those things are deeply personal and not suitable for a nail art post, but I will say that he was a member of the LGBTQ+ community and his struggles with his identity undoubtedly contributed to his passing, which is absolutely devastating. This is one of the reasons that, for me, allyship with the LGBTQ+ community is so important and why I believe so wholeheartedly in being a part of creating a safer world for people in all marginalized communities.
Keep reading for more.
It's easy to forget just how far the world has come when we're still facing very real discrimination and very real harm coming to marginalized communities every single day, even when people who stand against that progress continue to lean on the ways things are better in order to ignore the things that very much aren't. For me, I think we can remember and value and celebrate the people who fought to get us here, the countless people who gave their lives to fight for a better world, while still maintaining a focus on the work that needs to be done. It's humbling to hear older activists, people who've been doing the work for decades, talk about all of the friends and family that they've lost over the course of the fight and I think it's really, really important to remember those people while we continue to work for progress. It's that, along with the memory of my brother, that I had in mind when I did these nails.
When it came to the symbolism that I wanted to present in these nails, I knew going in exactly what I wanted to do and pretty much what I wanted the final mani to look like. I started with a base of a white crelly polish with black, white and red glitters through it that I knew would work with the imagery I planned on and applied two coats to all of my nails as my base.
For the stamping I knew I wanted to pair black roses, which symbolize death and mourning but also new beginnings and rebirth, with some not so subtle streams of red for obvious and admittedly morbid reasons. I used two different images from the Pict You PY-J053 Stamping Plate and filled them in with a black linear holo polish and a shimmery red that I think both pack a lot of punch. I transferred the images to my nails using a thin layer of sticky base.
Once I was happy with the design, I sealed it in with a nail art top coat, followed with a generous layer of quick dry glossy top coat, and then had a good cry. Voila?
All Products Used
Jen & Berries - He Forced Me To Ruin My Dress
Whats Up Nails - Neither Noir
Dimension Nails - Bearded Ghoul**
Color Club - Beyond
Orly Bonder Base Coat
Apipila Smudge Free Top Coat
Sweet & Sour Lacquer Gloss Sauce Top Coat
Pict You PY-J053 Stamping Plate
Whats Up Nails Magnified Clear Stamper
NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool**
** PR Sample/Affiliate NailStuff.ca
I know this post really doesn't read like my usual posts and I would say that I'm sorry for that, but this one is important to me and I can't apologize for how it was written. If you're on the fence about whether your allyship is important to civil rights movements, I truly believe that allyship is important but also very much isn't about you. Be willing to listen and stand beside people in marginalized communities not for personal gain, but because it's the right thing to do. Remember not to center yourself in the conversation, to listen and really take in the experiences of marginalized people, and allow your allyship to be on their terms.
This post is dedicated to my little brother. It's a complicated sad, but he is loved and missed.
JTC 08/28/1985 - 06/14/2021.
Thank you for reading. Head over to Cosmetic Proof and See The World In PINK for more Allyship themed nails this week.
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