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SWATCH SUNDAY — ImPress The No Glue Manicure Effortless Spring Manicure

pr/gifted product.

Hey beauties — long time no see!

I know what you’re thinking — Shannon, where have you been? Well the last few months have been kind of crazy behind the scenes, & we actually moved at the beginning of this month, selling our house we’ve lived in for the last 9 years. It’s been an emotional roller coaster, but we’re happily settled in our new place so I’m excited to finally get back into the swing of things.

Today’s Swatch Sunday is a little bit of a switch up, because it’s not a polish but a review of some press on nails that imPRESS was lovely enough to gift to me. & seeing how my nails are currently short short short, I’m excited to show them off!

imPRESS was so kind when they sent me a whole bunch of their newly released designs, & it was hard to pick just one! The first set I decided to try out was this beautiful floral French tip design, with these very cool 3D flowers called Pastel Bloom.

Like the imPress mini x Wicked nails I did on my daughter, these are so easy to apply. Like all fake nails, I feel like I spend the longest time matching up individual nails to my nail beds, & laying them down to I can grab them easily for application. But, with the imPRESS line instead of having to mess with glue — which, I’ll admit I kind of hate — they already come with sticky pads attached! All you have to do is pull the clear tab away, & stick on your nail.

No glue mishaps to be seen!

Now, obviously using the tabs instead of glue–which covers the majority of the nail–means that they might not feel quite as secure as other press on nails which use glue. Personally, the only time I found this an issue was around the cuticle line. I didn’t find the sticky tab came down far enough, so I would–for instance–catch my hair under it. I also noticed that it was easily for dirt to slip under there as well.

Not cons enough to make me not wear them, but definitely something I know that could deter other people. Personally, these lasted for me through showers, work outs, & everyday general wear without any nails popping off. & to me, that is a huge win!

In fact, I’m loving these imPress nails so much that when I decided to take off this design that I had been wearing… I immediately put on another design! This one–called Elegance–felt very fun, & 90s inspired, which I couldn’t turn down.

How freaking cute, am I right?!

Over all, I’m a big fan of these press on designs, & the ease in which they have to put on — but also remove! As someone who likes to change her nails as much as her mind, that is a big bonus to me. If you’re curious to try out some of these nails, you can find them on their website, as well as in store. Here in my part of Canada, I’ve seen them most often for sale at Shoppers Drug Mart & Walmart.

What do you think of these imPRESS nails? Have you tried any of their press on nails, & what did you think? Let me know what you think, & if you would also wear these nails. I’d love to know your thoughts.

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Miss Piggy’s Big Number (2014 Muppets Most Wanted Collection)

Hello beauties — long time no see!

Life has been a bit tricky lately, & my ability to blog has kind of taken a backseat. But I’m missing sharing my nails, so I’m trying to get back into my regular routine. I even have some PR/nail mail to share that I recently received.

But first, let’s start off our week like we usually do with some fun polish for Swatch Sunday. & I decided why not to throw it way, way, way back with OPI Miss Piggy’s Big Number from the 2014 Muppets World Tour collection.

2 coats + top coat.

Okay, so this shade has been in my collection a long time — possibly back to 2014 when this collection was released. But I don’t think I’ve worn it too often in the years since I’ve owned it. Formula on this shade is a metallic blue finish with a bit of a purple flash. I needed two coats for full coverage which is pretty good.

In the close up you can see a bit more of that purple flash, plus how it dries with minimal brush strokes. I feel like with this kind of polish, you kind of can’t escape brush strokes — no matter how hard or careful you are to try to avoid them.

This colour though — I love this colour. It’s such a vibrant blue which I’m a huge fan of, & it’s perfect for this time of year where the weather so quickly switches between bright, sunny, & warm to cold & grey. This shade is perfect to rock while switching between temperatures.

Sadly this shade was released 12 years ago, so I don’t think it’s going to be an easy one to track down if you’re looking for it. Ebay might be your friend, but I feel like it may be a bit of a quest if you’re on the hunt for it.

What do you think of OPI Miss Piggy’s Big Number? Do you remember this shade, or the collection it was a part of? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below. & also — if you like these throwback Swatch posts, let me know & I will make sure I do more!

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie You Do Blue 🩵

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful, sunny Sunday. It’s been feeling like Spring (most of) this week, so I thought something Spring-y on my nails would be perfect. & what is more Spring-y than a beautiful periwinkle blue?

Without further ado, this is Essie You Do Blue.

2 coats + top coat.

The formula on this creamy blue is smooth & easy to apply to the nail. I am quite a fan of the wider Essie brushes they’ve been using in the last few years. It took me a bit to get used to them, but they are much better when it comes to application.

My favourite part of this polish, though, is that is has this gorgeous fuchsia shimmer that really pops in the sunshine. It gives the extra dimension that makes it a little extra special, & for me that makes this shade a winner. I own a lot of blue nail polishes, but the ones that have shimmer or sparkle added — especially unexpected ones — are always the ones I reach for first!

This shade was originally released, as far as I can tell, during early 2020 as part of the Flying Solo collection. I think after that it made it to the core collection, but I did pick up mine on clearance for $1 so I’m thinking it may not be in regular circulation anymore — although the Essie website does have it listed as available for sale so I could be totally wrong.

Over all, I’m totally obsessed with this colour — it’s not just the pretty periwinkle blue, but that stunning shimmer. I adore it.

What do you think of Essie You Do Blue? Do you think this shade screams Spring as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & let me know your thoughts on this pretty blue shade!

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

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Spring Perfect Pastel Stripes 🌸🌼

Hello lovelies & happy Easter Monday (to those who celebrate!) It’s a brand new week, & the first full week of April. Maybe we’ll finally feel some more Spring-like temperatures, or — then again — maybe we won’t. But what I can definitely confirm is that I’m going to have some Spring-y nail art designs to share!

Starting with some fun Easter-esque Spring stripes. These kind of feel Easter egg adjacent, but I think the colours themselves are the just right amount of brightness for this time of year.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive Gel Like Top Coat
  • OPI Where’s Suzi’s Man-go
  • OPI Gargantuan Green Grape
  • OPI Nature Strong Emflowered
  • OPI Nature Strong Cactus What You Preach
  • OPI Nature Strong  Make My Daisy
  • OPI Sickeningly Sweet
  • OPI Altar Ego
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

So many pretty colours paired together. I ended up adding a swipe of OPI Altar Ego over my stripes to give it a bit of a muted, subdued look which I think added to the over all look of everything & gave it that more subtle Spring colour effect (if you know what I mean.)

Do you think these stripes are giving Spring/Easter? Do you like the muted effect I created using Altar Ego over top? Would you wear this look? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Enjoy your Monday!

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Nicole by OPI Scarlett || Happy 12th Birthday Coffee & Nail Polish 🎂

Hello lovelies & happy Easter Sunday! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, celebrating however they celebrate. But it’s not just Easter Sunday — 12 years ago today I made my very first post on Coffee & Nail Polish! So I thought it would be fun, & for this week’s Swatch Sunday I would share the first very nail polish I ever used for a manicure: Nicole by OPI (RIP) Scarlett from the Selena Gomez collection.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful metallic pink was originally released as part of the Nicole by OPI Spring Collection which was Selena Gomez themed. I picked up this beauty at my local Lawton’s Drugs (which was one of my favourite places for clearance nail polish) for the stellar price of $2.50.

The formula on this one was slightly thin, but not too thin it made it hard to apply. 2 coats built to this perfect opacity. The finish though — the finish is my favourite. It’s this gorgeous glass fleck finish. Also I love that it sort of looks pink, but also sort of looks red.

Stunning.

Close up of this beautiful finish. I love the shimmer, the pinkish glow; all of it. It really does glow on the nail which just adds to the beauty.

& obviously, since today is the anniversary of my very first blog post, I had to do a recreation of my very first design — a red on red leopard print. Base is Scarlett & my spots were done using Nicole by OPI Basking in Gloria (from the Modern Family collection).

Unfortunately I did forget to matte-ify my design & didn’t realize until after the fact, but I still love my recreation.

What do you think about this throwback shade! I feel like the NOPI shades were definitely ahead of their time for drugstore brands. I really miss them, & cherish the shades I still have.

Happy Sunday!

Happy Easter!

🖤