Colores de Carol Double Trouble

TW: cancer, death

A year hiatus and I come back with this. I deeply apologize.

What an awful year. As if a global pandemic isn't bad enough. Not only is it around the second anniversary of my aunt's death, but my father has also been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. If my family is fortunate we have 18 more months maximum with him. TS Eliot was right- April truly is the cruelest month.

I barely purchased any polish this year. It's not that I'm not interested in polish anymore. I still very much enjoy nail paint. Between trying to cut down on debt, focusing on weight loss (2019 was the year of the road to gastric bypass), and now my father's illness, my nails were very much on the backburner. I went bare for days before finding enough energy and motivation to resume my routine. My plan was to only buy nail polish if I really wanted it and could afford it or as a non food reward. Upon my father's diagnosis I permitted myself a small amount of retail therapy as well. As a bariatric patient, a few dollars on new toys is preferable to binge eating when stressed (a major trigger of mine).

Today's polish was one of my retail therapies.

Natural Light

Colores de Carol Double Trouble is described as a"soft dove grey crelly with copper shimmer and Aurora shimmer, matte orange glitter, neon red dots, and crystal red glitter." It was available only during the February 2020 Polish Pickup.

As much as the color combo intrigued me, the color inspiration touched me. The February 2020 Polish Pickup theme was nature, and owner Carol's inspiration was an intersex cardinal.

Cardinals are a special symbol in my household. My mother especially like to assume that each cardinal that we see represents a late loved one. Cardinals symbolize loved ones that are watching us from beyond the grave, sort of as a guardian angel. I've been spotting a lot of cardinals around my house ever since my father received his diagnosis. I was unaware that there was also a cardinal on the name label until I received this polish from a destash, which particularly touched me.

Bottle Macro

The formula is decent for a crelly. The first coat should ideally be a sheer wash on your nail bed to promote an even foundation. This was the case here. Three coats sufficed for opacity, although I did add a fourth to get a couple more larger glitters on my nails. The shimmer isn't super present, but the color is pretty even without shimmer.

Lightbox Light

This color is atypical for the lively spring months; it feels more appropriate for the winter to me. I really needed the reassuring symbolism of cardinals more than ever, though, and I'm glad that I have this on my nails right now.

My family set up a GoFundMe for my father's medical expenses. We've been so blessed that so many people are rooting for my father to endure his battle. He is a bubbly teddy bear of a man and it saddens me that he is suffering from this. If y'all would be so kind to at least share on Facebook, I would truly appreciate it.

The next Polish Pickup starts on May 1 at 11 AM EST. Colores de Carol polishes can be bought on their website.