Author: Shannon Rae

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SWATCH SUNDAY — ACO by Ardene Love Potion No.82

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! We’re officially a full week into February now, & a week away from Valentine’s Day. Here in Halifax were also anxiously awaiting not one, but two big Winter storms this week. Which kind of sucks, after a couple days of beautiful almost Spring like weather! I was really looking forward to maybe pulling out a few of my dresses.

But let’s not dwell on that, & instead concentrate on the important things—like today’s Swatch Sunday pick: Ardene Love Potion No.82! I’m still feeling all the pink love, so naturally I had to dig deep into my stash to find something perfect for Valentine’s Day, but with a twist. & I think this oldie shade was the perfect pick!

Two coats + Essie Good To Go

For those who don’t know, Ardene is a Canadian clothing store that used to be more of an accessory story, & sold a ton of fun nail polish. Having used to work for the company, that meant I got first peeks at all the polish, which is why I own so many. This particular shade entered in my stash pre-2014. For a lesser expensive brand, I actually think a lot of the shades they used to introduce were really funky & different, with lots of glittery shades—like this! & considering they used to sell for $3.99 a bottle, or 3/$10, that’s a pretty good deal.

As with most glittery shades like this, the formula is cruelly, which allows you to see the layers of glitters. However, two coats does coat the nail well, showing off the multi coloured, multi sized & multi shaped glitters which I’m very happy about! No visible nail line peaking out.

This is definitely a fun shade for Valentine’s Day, especially with a name like Love Potion No.82. But it could also be a fun shade for Summer, or just when you’re feeling funky. I did add some top coat (Essie Good to Go) to smooth things out a bit because the layers of glitters can be a bit bumpy. I also think that a little matte top coat would also look incredible over this polish.

This is definitely one I think I need to wear more often!

What do you think about this old school Ardene shade? Do you think Love Potion No.82 is a fun Valentine’s Day shade? What is your favourite pink glitter bomb polish? Let me know in the comments below!

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#GlamNailsChallengeFeb — Polka Dots

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Today marks Day one of GlamNailsChallengeFebruary, which I’ve been planning for since the prompts were released last month! I’m really excited, because there is a good mix of prompts that can be for Valentine’s Day (which I love doing nail art for!) & some non-holiday prompts as well.

First up, we have Polka Dots — & naturally I was feeling a pink inspired Valentine’s Day dotticure. You can always use more pink in your life. Plus I had this Quo by ORLY set that had been sitting around for absolutely ever that I bought & never used, so I figured why not pull it out & use it a pretty gradient dotticure!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen CSM Nail Primer
  • Quo by ORLY Holiday 2014 collection — “the Pinks” (none of these mini bottles have names associated, so I can’t give you specifics sadly.)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

Oh man, I love a good gradient dotticure, especially one that is as vibrant & pretty as this! I’ve done a few versions of this look over the years, especially for Valentine’s Day, which makes it a classic in my books! Especially great if you’re short on time, but want some pretty & standout nails! & you don’t even need tools to do it — a hair pin works just as easily as a dotting tool.

What do you think of my gradient dotticure for the first prompt of #glamnailschallengeFeb? I’m so exciting to be participating again this month, & can’t wait to play around with all the prompts to come!

It’s going to be a really good month for nail art so stay tuned!

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Greyscale Quatrefoil

Good morning lovelies & happy February! It’s officially the month of love. 💗 But before I jump headfirst into all pink, all the time, I thought I would share a look a I created a week or so ago, when I was feeling the grey January blahs.

Today’s look started out as just a grey smooshy design, which was lovely, but looked like the perfect base from some tile inspired nails! So I pulled out one of my many stamping plates I don’t use nearly enough, & switched things up!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area
  • Essence Rock My World!
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper (COFFEE10 saves you 10%)
  • Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-L003 (item #17921) — quatrafoil image (no longer available)

Seriously, how pretty is this greyscale look? I love how the base isn’t super in your face, & then the black really pops against it. Completely achieves the look I was trying to accomplish, & who wouldn’t want tile like this in their house? I know I certainly would! Plus it looks gorgeous posed against the greenery in my background (a plant shelf at work, right beside the window — the perfect nail art background!)

What do you think about this greyscale quatrefoil design? Would you wear something like this?

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Koala Bear-y

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! We’ve almost reached the end of January— can you even believe it? Which means it’s time to start thinking about some pink polish for February! So I decided to grab a pretty pink shade from my stash I have yet to wear in a full manicure: OPI Koala Bear-y.

2 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

Originally released as part of the OPI Spring 2007 Australia collection, it then became part of the core collection. I picked up my bottle at my local Lawton’s on clearance, which meant I scored it for a steal at $4.99. I love when that happens!

The polish itself is a beautiful magenta berry cream, that pops against skin tone. It definitely feels like more of a Spring/Summer shade, which makes sense considering the collection it was released as part of, but I do think it’s a great pink for Valentine’s Day. & it’s dark enough that it’s fairly versatile as well.

Check out that close up. Glossy & beautiful! I did smooth things out with top coat, but the polish itself looks beautiful on its own as well. I’m definitely sad this is my first time actually wearing this polish, considering I’ve owned it for a few years now. Truth be told, I’m not the biggest pink polish person, unless I’m pairing it with something else. But once a year — when February approaches — I feel the need to rock some Barbie nails.

What do you think about this beautiful OPI pink? Do you have this shade as part of your nail polish stash? Also let me know what pinks your pulling out for Valentine’s Day! 💕

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Pinky Stripes

Hello lovelies & happy, happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a lovely day.

This week is almost over — & so is this month! Hard to believe we’re already a month in 2021. But I’m very excited it’s almost February because that means all the Valentine’s Day looks! I’m also planning on participating in GlamNailsChallengeFebrury which has some pretty awesome prompts!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat
  • Londontown — Jane Austen
  • Londontown — Bell Flower
  • Londontown — Opal
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Clean Slate
  • Sally Hansen CSM Ruby Doo
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10% on your purchase!)

Vertical stripes are such an easy & cute nail art look — plus they have the added bonus of giving your nail the illusion of looking longer! Which I’m always here for, especially right now when the Winter cold is leaving my nails brittle & peel-y, so they’re not growing long like I would like. I also feel like this colour combination is a great one for Valentine’s Day, with the combinations of pinks & purples.

This time of year is the only time of year when I wear this much pink on my nails. But I’m definitely not complaining! Also currently planning another Valentine’s Day inspired Swatch Sunday post with some shades I’m loving for the big day!

What do you think about this stripey look? Would you wear an easy stripe design like this? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!