Today is the day!

Hi everyone,

It's Thankful Thursday! Woot woot! I have so much to be thankful for today!

This is going to be a rather long post. And, of course, I speak about my faith!

Dear Lord,

When You put me on this path I promised never to be embarrassed or ashamed of my faith in You. I promised to always give You the honor and glory for all You do for me. You will always be the forefront of this brand, not me. Thank you for casting Your wonderful and glorious hand of favor on me!

Guide me on this journey You've set me on. I will follow wherever You take me. I may not know where that may be, but I do know it's going to be the best place in the world! Guide me to always make the right decisions. Lord, I know there will be some who want me to fail and some who don't understand. I know I don't have to worry about them, As always, got me in the palm of Your hand. Let the love I have for what I do shine through in all I do! Most of all, let my love for YOU shine in all I do! In Your name Jesus, Amen.

Ten months ago I was searching the internet for a basic cuticle cream to add to Funky Nails. Well, what started as just a search led me into a whole new world! A world filled with lotions, creams, scrubs, body butters, and much more! I've taken online courses, read so many books, read a bazillion blogs, and joined so many forums to learn all I can. While I may not know everything, I'm certainly much more knowledgeable than I was when I started. I've made A TON of lotions, scrubs, and creams! Let me tell you, it was not easy. I had some epic fails! But, I had more successes than failures. More importantly, I learned!

Here's ten months of practice. :D

In addition to nail polish I'm adding seven new products! YAY! I decided to start with products that go hand in hand with nail polish.

Let me introduce you to Funky Town's newest addition: Underground Cosmetics. When deciding on a label, I wanted something simple, yet funky. I was showing my boyfriend different labels and asked for his thoughts on them. He said, "I don't think they're 'Indie' enough." I asked, "What's 'Indie' mean to you?" His response was, "You know that underground look." There you have it, that's how I decided, very urban chic (I think anyway). Funky Nails has a sister! Woot woot! Ok, here are the products and availability:

Cuticle Oil - ten available
Cuticle Cream - two left
Hand Scrub - sold out
Hand Lotion - four left
Foot Scrub - four left
Foot Conditioner - sold out

P.S. At the end of the post you'll see why I'm sold out of most products.

Here they are. :D

When coming up with the formulas for these products, I asked myself as a nail polish blogger/creator, "What do I want to accomplish? What ingredients do I want in my product to keep my skin and most importantly my cuticles in healthy condition." Or, as healthy as can be given all the torture I/we point them through. In my opinion, I've chosen some great skin loving ingredients for our skin. I won't list the ingredients I use in this post, since it's already a long post. But, I do encourage you to read the ingredients list for each of my products and research the benefits to our skin. I will be updating the tabs to include this next week. I also have several other products coming out later this year! WOOT WOOT!

This last product was the most challenging, yet most fun to create. Many of you know the blog loodie loodie loodie. She has a post on how to make a DIY nail polish remover. I was intrigued and started researching. After a poop ton of epic failed batches, I decided to compare my polish remover to the brand she used (a few others too). I took notes on theirs and mine. Ok, let me back track a little. It's not as simple as adding the ingredients and your done. Well, it is, if it's for your own personal use and not for sale. That's just my humble opinion. And, please don't think I'm trying to insult her because I'm not. I owe her many thanks, she put me on the path to discovery. On that path, I joined a site for raw manufacturing suppliers. Why is that relevant? Well, one day I was looking through the site and came across a formula for nail polish remover! OMG, my eyeballs almost popped out of my head! Of course, I took a look at it! How could I not? I was a bit nervous because I was like, "What if I'm wrong?" When I read the recipe I said, "You go loodie loodie loodie loodie!" and high five'd her! Hehe! She had it right! I don't follow that formula exactly, I did create my own. But, it was confirmation that in ten months I did learn something AND I did it on my own! My goal was to create something moisturizing and also use for post cleanup. Let me explain. I was buying 100% acetone remover for post cleanup (very drying) and a regular remover for daily removal. Being able to use only one for both was key. It had to cut through the polish easy, not with a million strokes! And, keep my cuticles nice and pretty! I'm very happy with this product! So without further ado, here it is!

Now, the fun part! I can scent this with pretty much any scent! Cupcake, cinnamon sugar, apple, cucumber melon, raspberry, lime, lemon and so many more, the possibilities are almost endless! Yes, I made that many batches!

My cuticles post cleanup. No cuticle cream and no cuticle oil. :D

And, we can't forget the nail polish!

Sometimes we women forget we are magical creatures with  Mesmerizing, Enchanting, Ravishing, Tantalizing, and Bewitching powers! Yes, We Are! is the newest collection of topcoats. Never doubt the power within us!

Update: I have been swamped and challenged today. I have just one product on the site. Which is the topcoat collection. Please in the notes let me know which you'd like. Also, shipping charges are still last years rates. So, please take advantage while you can. I will be updating this today. If you need me for anything tweet me, email me, IG me. I will respond immediately!

About my products: I do use preservatives. In my Texas twang, "I ain't gonna kill nobody!" I can't be responsible for what someone does with their product, but I am responsible for what I do on my end. I use latex free gloves, I use a mask, and I put my hair in a hat. My work area and utensils are washed before each use, sanitized with a 10% bleach solution, sprayed with 91% alcohol and used ONLY for my products. Working in the restaurant business for 25 years if nothing taught me the importance of cleanliness and safety precautions. Not all of my products are what some would consider "all natural." Ten months ago I would have told you what I considered to be "all natural." That's not the case anymore. There are natural ingredients that can harm us (most are good). But, there are many synthetic ingredients that are safe too. Having said that. Natural is what you think it is, not me. What I promise you is to use quality ingredients. I will list all ingredients truthfully and I will never mask an ingredient (preservative) and call it a fragrance. I believe: You, as the consumer, should know exactly what you're putting in/on your body and have the right to make informed decisions.

Funky Nails/Underground Cosmetics is a place where we uplift each other. Not, tear each other down. If preservatives or synthetic ingredients are not your thing. That's fine, I get it. Just don't leave any negative, mean or rude comments. If you have nothing uplifting to say, don't say anything. Ok, this is the tough part for me. I don't like confrontation AT ALL. That's not to say I won't defend myself. Because, yes, I will. Nor, am I afraid to. I'm always down for an honest review. I do learn from honest feedback. What I'm not down for is plain rudeness! So please be nice!

Thank you everyone for your patience and support. I never take for granted that you'll like my products and buy from me. I'm amazed and humbled that you even like what I do. Thank you for sticking with me. I'd like to thank my personal Facebook family and friends for putting up with all nail polish related posts and now body care. Oh, and thank you for not giving away my secret! Believe me, they're probably tired of hearing about my experiments and what not. Hehe! A special thank you to my Tia Rosie who offered me a place in her shop to sell my product. I love you Tia! Lots of hugs and kisses. I'll see you tomorrow to give you and your customers hand exfoliations and silky soft hands and feet!

Have a great day!