Author: Shannon Rae

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Abstract Dots Featuring Essie

*features gifted products*

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! How crazy is it that we’re already half way through the week?

Today I have a fun look to share with you I did with a few of the shades from the Essie Summer 2020 collection! This is actually a redo of a design I did a few weeks ago (& posted on Instagram) that was inspired by @thesammerasaurus. I’ve really been loving Kaf-tan, Spice It Up & Mosiac On Down, & I decided I had to do a design pairing them together. & since I’ve been kind of obsessed with abstract designs, I decided to give this abstract dotticure-ish look another go!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Ballet Slippers
  • Essie Spice It Up
  • Essie Kaf-tan
  • Essie Mosiac On Down
  • Essie Bobbing for Baubles
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio — I used a medium sized dotter (Use COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (for my tiny navy dots)

Isn’t this just such a cute look? I love it! Besides the fact that the colour options are endless, because you’re not trying to be “perfect” in your dots, you can’t really mess it up! I don’t know about you, but sometimes trying to make my nail art perfect gets me a little frustrated. Plus this nail art took me maybe 20 minutes from start to finish — which is great because I was doing my nails before bed. Haha. So I needed a quick manicure.

What do you think about this design? Are these abstract dots something that you would rock? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below! & let me know what your favourite quick & easy nail art look is!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Summer 2020 Bustling Bazaar

-gifted/PR sample-

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday!

Today I’m excited because I have some new, fun, beautiful Essie shades to share with you that were gifted to me from their Summer 2020 collection! I’m always excited for new nail polish collections, & I haven’t been buying a lot of polish in stores, so I was very excited to receive these shades.

According to my Google research, the whole Essie Summer 2020 Bustling Bazaar collection is inspired “by wandering through the bustling bazaars of Morocco”. I can definitely say just by looking at the shades that fill this collection, I can feel that inspiration with these shades! & if I can’t travel for real, I’m here to wear the inspiration on my nails.

So let’s take a look at the polishes!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Summer 2020 Bustling Bazaar”
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Blue & Grey Herringbone Pattern

Good morning lovelies & Happy Wednesday. I don’t know how it’s possible that we’re already half way through the week, but we are! & Today I’ve got a cute nail art look to share that is perfect for short nails (like mine!)

I’ve always been a fan of herringbone/chevron looks, mostly because they’re surprisingly easy to do! & for a bit of a rustic look like this, you don’t need to have the most perfectly thin of straight lines. & it will still look cute! This particular design was actually inspired by this pot, although I added the splashes of blue to make it a bit more Summery.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area
  • China Glaze Boho Blue
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in white
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio — I used the small one to fill in my blocks of colour! (Use COFFEE10 to save 10%)

I really really love how these turned out. My white Kiss striper is definitely on it’s last legs which led to a bit of messiness of my stripes, but I feel like it works with this kind of pattern. Truthfully, I could have used a striper nail art brush to achieve the same look, but I was short on time, & this was a bit easier. I will definitely have to try again though, maybe with a few of the Essie Summer 2020 polishes I just received! I think I could do a beautiful quatrefoil design with them too, so stay tuned for fun nail art looks!

What do you think about this herringbone look! I feel like it looks really good on my super short nails! It’s a great way to fancy them up! Let me know what your favourite short nail design is in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Dimension Nails Snow Leopard & Blue Morpho Butterfly

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. As I mentioned last week, I took advantage of NailStuff’s Canada Day sale a few weeks ago & I’ve got some beautiful new polishes to share with you. This week, I’ve got 2 new shades from Dimension Nails to share with you: Snow Leopard & Blue Morpho Butterfly.

For those who don’t know, Dimension Nails is a vegan, cruelty free, 10 Free Brand.

So let’s take a look!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Dimension Nails Snow Leopard & Blue Morpho Butterfly”

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Freehanded Floral & Anchor Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday!

It’s certainly been a while since I had some nail art to share! Actually, that’s a lie. I have a ton of nail art looks saved on my phone, but I’ve been struggling a lot lately with the motivation to keep posting. I love love love nail polish, & nail art, & blogging, but this year has really messed things up. I need to figure out a good blogging schedule for my free time, but right now it’s almost non-existent, hence my very sporadic posting schedule.

But new nails! Let’s get excited.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • China Glaze Boho Blue
  • Essence Black is Back
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Sally Hansen CSM Fire Island
  • Essence The Green & The Grunge
  • Essence Don’t Be Shy
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

I’m so incredibly proud of the freehanding I did for this nail art look. I’ve never attempted a freehand anchor before, but I don’t think it ended up too bad! This idea is actually based on a tattoo I want to get in honour of my grandparents — the anchor for my Granddad who just passed, & the yellow roses for my Granny. My roses turned out a little more peachy than intended, but I think the overall look is lovely. 🌿⚓️🌼 & it pains me these didn’t last more than a day, because I absolutely adore them.

What do you think about this freehand look? Where do you get your nail art inspo? Let me know down in the comments below!