Author: Shannon Rae

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Outlined Glitter Jelly Nails

Hey lovelies, happy Wednesday!

Long time, no post. I’ll be honest — blogging has been really hard this month. Even wanting to do my nails has hit a road block. I’m still painting them, but I don’t necessarily have the energy to do nail art. Hoping once this month is over, I’ll feel super inspired again.

But I did manage to do a simple nail art look recently, so I’m excited to share it!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Essie Love Sheen (Silk Watercolours collection)
  • Ardene Secret Diary
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper in Black

I started off by creating a jelly sandwich using Essie Love Sheen & Ardene Secret Diary. Originally that had been my only plan for these nails. But the next day, I couldn’t help but thing that some black outlining would really up the dramatic factor of this manicure — & I was right!

I don’t do outlining often, mostly because it takes a very steady hand I don’t always posses. But I’m so super proud of how these turned out & how neatly I managed to outline them! & nothing makes me happier than a cleanly drawn manicure!

What do you think about my outline glitter sandwich nails? Are they dramatic & fun? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& if you have some nail art inspiration you want to shoot my way, I’m always looking for new inspiration for my nails! & with this nail art block I’m going through, I’d love some help to break out of it!

Happy Wednesday loves

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Olive & June Gel Polish XOXO & Pink Goldfish

PR/Gifted

Hello my lovelies & happy Sunday! May is very quickly speeding along — can you believe it? Summer is almost here.

Today I’m excited to share some more polishes I was recently gifted from Olive & June. They reached out to me about trying their Gel Polish system, & I said yes! While I don’t use gel polishes a lot, I’m always curious. They sent me a beautiful PR package with everything I could need to create a beautiful gel manicure, & I’m excited to share two shades with you (& a little review) today!

Products used for this manicure:

  • Olive & June qPeel Off Base Coat
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Base Coat
  • 2 coats Olive & June Gel Polish XOXO
  • 1 coat Olive & June Gel Polish Pink Goldfish
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Top Coat

I’m not well versed with gel polishes — it’s not my usual medium — but I will say I found this system easy to use. I used the provided peel off base coat for easy removal, & then followed directions.

The gel polish itself is pretty opaque. 2 coats of the pink polish XOXO, curing for the 2 minutes between each coat, & then I topped it with the shimmer Pink Goldfish. & then I finished it off with one coat of the Gel top coat.

You have no idea how many compliments I got on this colour! I’ll probably do a quick tutorial video the next time I go to apply this polish just to show how easy the whole system is to use.

The most important steps are cleaning up your cuticles, remembering to remove any oils from your nails with acetone, & making sure not to floor the sides with gel polish. For a first try, with this system I think I did awesome! & I can’t wait to try out all the colours they sent me a— maybe I’ll do a skittle look next!

I’m also so glad for the peel off base coat, because I HATE removing gel polish, so I love an easy removal option.

What do you think of these polishes from Olive & June’s Gel Polish line? Have you tried out their new system yet? Tell me all your thoughts down in the comments below.

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Butter London Patent Shine 10x Coming Up Roses

PR/Gifted

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! & happy Mother’s Day to those Moms, Moms-to-be & Mom figures out there. I hope you’re being spoiled & celebrated today.

I recently received an awesome PR package from the lovelies at Butter London, & couldn’t wait to share the pretty polish that sent from their Patent Shine line. This is Butter London Coming Up Roses.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful rosy pink cream has a silky cream finish that applies very nicely on the nail. The colour just screams Spring-time to me — which is very fitting with a name like Coming Up Roses.

I’m not usually a pink nail polish on its own kind of girlie, but every so often I will apply a nice pallet cleanser manicure, & I feel like this shade is a nice choice for that. It also is just screaming for me to apply some floral nail art over it, so don’t be surprised if you see that in the not too distant future.

Butter London shades retail for $12.55 CAD on the Butter London website ($9.00 USD) for the 6ml bottle. For my fellow Canadians, you can also purchase Butter London products through Shoppers Drug Mart’s website, for around $19-$24 CAD.

What do you think of Butter London Coming Up Roses? Do you think this shade is as beautiful as I do? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & if you’ve ever used Butter London’s Patent Shine 10x line before.

Enjoy your Sunday ☀️

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Expressie Power Moves (Spring 2024)

PR/Gifted

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s been another crazy busy week for me this week, so I apologize for lacking in the posting. There has just been so much going on behind the scenes that I’ve honestly forgotten to take pictures of my nails. Today, though, we have a bright & Spring-y shade to show off, & it’s feeling perfect for the warm days we’ve been having!

This is Essie Expressie Power Moves from the Spring 2024 collection. It was kindly gifted to me by Essie.

2 coats + top coat

Described as a “hot orchid” by Essie, this beautiful pink is the perfect non-pastel Spring colour. & while pastels can be fun, there is something about a bright in your face manicure that I just love.

The formula is smooth, & easy to apply but I did find I needed to make sure that I had a good amount of polish on the brush otherwise it would streak slightly. The Expressie brushes have that wide brush, which makes application super easy. You get coverage in minimal swipes. &, thanks to the Expressie quick dry formula, your dry time is super quick.

I did finish off my manicure with my Essie Gel Couture top coat, to give it a nice plumper finish.

The Essie Expressie line is available wherever you purchase your Essie shades, & range in price generally from 10.49 CAD to 14.99 CAD regular price.

What do you think about Essie Expressie Power Moves? Do you think this is a great shade for Spring? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & share what shade youre currently wearing this Sunday.

💗

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Instagram Nail Art Collab — French Tips

Hello lovelies & happy Friday. It’s been such a busy week this week, I’ve been kind of quiet on the blog front. A lot has been going on, which makes it hard to post sometimes. But I’m excited because I was able to join in for a fun Instagram nail art collab, organized by the ever amazing @essieyall & @petitenaillover on Instagram.

The theme this month? French Tips. So I decided to go with a pastel colour block French tip, featuring my *gifted* Madam Glam shades.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Madam Glam Birds Fairy *
  • Madam Glam Purple Rain *
  • Madam Glam Sweet Sunshine *
  • Madam Glam Minty Green *
  • Madam Glam Warm Up *
  • Madam Glam Mimi Pink *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

*pr/gifted

These were super easy to do, but I think the colours turned out so pretty & Spring-y. Such a fun & unique French manicure look!

If you want to check out all the fun French manicures involved in this collab, be sure to check out the hashtag #frenchtipsnailartmanicollab2025 on Instagram to see all the amazing designs by some talented nail artists!

Enjoy your weekend loves!

🖤