SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI DS Bold (Designer Series)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s beautiful & sunny, but with that Autumn crisp chill that makes bundling in layers necessary! But it’s worth it for that crisp sound as you walk over fallen leaves.

It’s Sunday, so you know what that means: Swatch Sunday! I missed last week, so I hope some sparkle from (a few) years ago will make up for it. & since October is also my birthday month, I thought some sparkle was in order!

This is OPI DS Bold from the Designer Series collection.

2 coats + top coat

I can’t remember exactly when I picked this shade up — I do know it was either a Winners or Marshall’s find — but it was originally released in 2011 as part of the Designer Series. It is a very tricky packed jelly red… which also gives a little pink depending on the light, with a lot of tiny silver microglitters.

According to the release I read, it’s packed with “diamond dust”.

The formula on this guy is pretty thick after all these years, but not too thick I couldn’t get a good base. The glitters were definitely a bit difficult to remove — as are many glitters — but that could always be remedied with a peel off base coat of you only wanted to wear it for a night.

The glitter is definitely fun & vibrant & was a nice choice to wear. I kind of wish I had the other colour from the same release (Temptation) which is a beautiful indigo purple with the same densely packed glitter finish.

So what do you think of OPI DS Bold? I seriously feel like OPI needs to bring this collection back, because it contains so many fun & unique shades — with a little extra pizzazz.

Happy Sunday!

🖤

Spooky Purple Shadow Spiderwebs 🕸️

Hello beauties & happy Friday!

I know, I know… I’m the worst. I’m having the worst time staying on task when it comes to posting, so I apologize. But I have a couple days off, so I’m really hoping I can keep on task enough to get some posts scheduled… at least for a couple days.

After all, it’s spooky season… my favourite season. & I want to share some fun designs with you!

Today I want to share a spiderweb design I did recently, which I really feel like is a new take compared to designs I’ve done in the past. I’ve really wanted to do some aura nails, but I keep forgetting to buy make up sponges, so I attempted this design while free handing which didn’t exactly give me the aura effect, but I think they turned out so cool.

The polishes I used for this manicure are:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Color Therapy Slicks & Stones
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Purple Prism
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Cosmic Blue
  • NailStuff Essentials Raven
  • NailStuff 7mm Mermaid Tail Liner Brush

Okay.. I’m obsessed.

Yes, I saw that frequently with my nail art designs but like… come on, this one turned out so perfect. The aura is giving more galaxy, but I think that is awesome. It’s like the shadow of a spiderweb against the night sky, or something. But I love the way the spiderweb is almost hidden, & then BAM! It’s there.

& I love that the idea I had came to fruition, more or less. I’ve done quite a few spiderweb nail looks over the years, but this one is hands down my favourite. Spooky, & subtle — I just love them so much!

What do you think about this spiderweb look? Do you love this subtle shadow effect, as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & as a bonus, let me know what your favourite Halloween/Spooky season nail art look to do is? I’m always curious what other people are doing this time of year.

Happy Friday!

♥︎

Stamper Skeleton Nails 💀

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! I hope everyone is having a lovely week, & obviously excited about the weekend.

We are now half way through October — somehow! — & that’s just insane to me. The kids costumes are figured out, but I’m still trying to decide what I want to be for the big night! When it comes to Halloween, I’m definitely a last minute costume kind of girl. But, thankfully, I always have something on my nails.

I just found my stamping kit items in a box, so I was excited because I love my Color Club skeleton stamping plate. Quick but cute nails, especially without much time.

The polishes I used for this manicure are:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat
  • Essie Gel Couture Tailored by Twilight topped with Quo Beauty Midnight Magic
  • Morgan Taylor Dreaming of Gleaming
  • Color Club Skull Stamping Plate
  • NailStuff Scraper & Stamper Set

As you can see, I might have been in a bit of a rush so my silver got a bit smeared when I applied top coat, but that’s kind of a vibe — right? Not my best job, but I still have 1/2 a month left of October to redeem myself. & I really liked to silver over purple, so I had to share.

& from far-ish away, you can barely tell I mucked them up with top coat!

What do you think about this skull & cross bones design? Do you think they’re a fun Halloween look? Let me know what you think, & what Halloween nail art look you think I should attempt. I’ve been thinking about doing cute pastel ghosts, so I think that’s going to be coming up soon!

Fun Frankenstein Stitch Halloween Nails 🧟

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. A rainy, messy, not fun Wednesday at that. I know I’ve been super off on my posting schedule — I had such big plans for October manicures. But I’m still trying my best to truck along & share some fun nail art looks.

& what is more fun than Frankenstein inspired stitch nails?

Do I do a version of this look every year? Yes. Does it ever get old to me? Not at all.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Feelin’ Grape
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Pump-kid
  • China Glaze Shore Snuff
  • NailStuff Essentials Raven
  • NailStuff 7mm Mermaid Tail Liner Brush

I love how colourful these colours are! This is the same colour scheme I used for my Halloween Inspired Dotticure — maybe because they were still sitting on my bedside table — but they work perfectly for this Halloween stitch look. Also, we all know I love a somewhat negative space design, & this is the perfect design for that.

& you wouldn’t believe how many compliments I got on this look! I wore them to work, & so many people commented on how cool they were. That made me so happy!

What do you think of this colour block/halloween stitch/Frankenstein inspired look. I’m not entirely sure which way is best to describe them, but I really really love them!

Happy Wednesday loves!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Color Therapy Slicks & Stones

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! & happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!

I’ve been so busy with work I feel like I haven’t had a chance to really go check out the Fall nail polish collections near me. Winners is calling me. But in the meantime, I’ve been trying to pull from my own nail polish stash, & wear seasonal appropriate shades that I already own.

Case in point: this beautiful purple shade from Sally Hansen’s Color Therapy line — which I think I purchased back when the line was originally released circa 2016. This is Slicks & Stones.

2 coats + top coat.

First thing I noticed is the colour appears much darker on my nails than in the bottle. I feel like the beautiful metallic shimmer didn’t transfer as much to my nails as it looks in the bottle — but that could be down to me not shaking the bottle enough… maybe? Either way, I love the colour of this point. It’s deep, & dark, & purple. An absolute banger shade for these cooler October nights!

Close up. Again, you can see the difference between the shade on the nails & the much larger metallic glitter in the bottle. It’s a shame it doesn’t look exactly like the bottle, but the colour is so gorgeous & a little bit witchy.

So I’m a bit confused if this line is still available to purchase — I did find some listings on Amazon & it’s listed on the Sally Hansen website, but I can’t remember the last time I found it out in the wild, so your guess is as good as mine!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Color Therapy Slicks & Stones? Do you love this beautiful purple as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below because I’d love to know what you think!

Happy Sunday ♥︎