Matte Half Moons

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • OPI I Eat Maine-ly Lobster
  • Essence Let’s Get Lost
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

What do you think about these half moons? What colours or shades do you wish you reached for more often? Let me know in the comments below!

A Fresh Floral

 

Happy Tuesday lovelies! Hope your week is off to a fantastic start. Today officially marks the last day of June, & even though I had a pretty quiet month blog wise, I’m back & going to end June with my absolute favourite thing to paint: floral. 🌸🌿 It’s actually been a hot minute since my last floral design, so I thought it was long overdue. (Plus flowers just make me so happy.)

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Warm Regards
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Malibu Peach
  • Sally Hansen MG Bourbon Babe
  • Sally Hansen MG Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen MG Black-y O
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie First Timer
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)

I’m super obsessed with how these turned out — they actually remind me a bit of a design I did a few years ago that were inspired by a day planner of mine. But I think I love these even more! I absolutely adore rustic floral designs over something a little more realistic. Maybe because there is beauty in the imperfections. Either way, I think this design turned out so beautiful & I couldn’t stop staring at them. The peach & yellow just go so well with the red-ish base shade. I can’t get enough. 

what do you think about this floral design? Are you more a fan of rustic or realistic floral? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below (& maybe share what your favourite real life flower is as well!) 

SWATCH SUNDAY — Untried Essie Shades

PR sample

Happy Swatch Sunday lovelies! I hope everyone is having a lovely Father’s Day. It’s been a serious minute since my last Swatch Sunday post. Honestly, the seriousness of the world made me take a minute to pause, & reflect, & spend some time just being with family. But I’ve really, really missed posting & I recently received some awesome Nail Mail from @macintyrecom on Instagram featuring some awesome Essie shades (& a few treatments as well!) I absolutely adore Essie nail polish, so I’m always excited when I receive shades I don’t already own!

So without further ado, let’s check them out!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Untried Essie Shades”

Tie-Dye Nails Inspired by @BadGirlNails

Hello lovelies & Happy Wednesday.

Today I’m sharing a cute look I did a few weeks back. Tie-Dye is everywhere this year, including on nails. I haven’t yet found the perfect tie-dye sweatshirt yet, & I’m too scared to do one myself, but as soon as I saw Sonya at @badgirlnails tutorial for tie-dye nail art I knew I needed to recreate them!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Malibu Peach
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Lemon Chillo
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Miami Nice
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Fuchsia Fever
  • NailStuff.ca Round Clean Up Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)
  • Pure Acetone
  • Plastic Yogurt Lid

Ahhh, I love this colour combination so much. Like, I wish I could transfer it into clothing. The Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Neons from last summer are absolutely perfect for this kind of look & feel so Summer-y. & Sonya’s tutorial she posted was so easy to follow to recreate this look, I’m definitely going to recreate with a variety of colours.

Like I said, thanks to @badgirlnails easy to follow tutorial, the look was a breeze to create! You definitely want to make sure you have an extra thick layer of top coat down before you start applying your tie-dye (so you don’t destroy your base) but other thank that this is a quick & easy look to do! & so on trend right now!

What do you think of this tie-dye look? Have you attempted tie-dye on your nails yet, or at home on clothes? Let me know any tips you have for creating your own tie-dye sweatshirts at home because I really want to give it a try (without, you know, tie-dying myself in the process!)

SWATCH SUNDAY — Fingerpaints Gorgeous Graffiti

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. The weather here has been a bit grey (at least compared to the balmy weather we’ve been having) so I felt like I needed to make up with it on my nails! & the best way to do it is a good neon polish! So for today’s Swatch Sunday pick, I knew we needed neon.

Today’s pick is FingerPaints Gorgeous Graffiti, a neon fuchsia with blue flakie microglitters. This guy was one of the first FingerPaints shades I ever picked up back in 2015 (I think) so sadly I don’t think still available, at least online. But there are definitely similar shades to be found.

2 coats (no top coat)

I really wanted to show off this shade in its natural glory, which is this beautiful satin matte finish. It took two coats for full opacity, & like any matte shade, it dries quickly so you want to apply your coats quickly. The formula is a bit trickier, but again, that’s a matte polish thing. Usually what I would do is apply my polish, apply a thick top coat (like Essie Gel Setter), & then finish everything with matte top coat. That would smooth out those bumps & lumps you can see, & give you a smooth finish.

Ahhh, I just love this shade! The fuchsia shade is pretty on its own, but then you add in those blue micro flakes, & it just takes it to another level. I love it! It’s one of those shades which is just so striking on its own. I’m actually a little sad my bottle is getting low.

& a close up of this look because I think it’s absolutely stunning. Just look at those flakes! I’m obsessed. I need a topper with those flakies I can add to every manicure!

What do you think about Gorgeous Graffiti by FingerPaints? Would you wear this vibrant shade? Tell me what you think in the comments below! & share your favourite neon.