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Rainbow Easter Egg Inspired Accent Nail

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday!

I hope everyone is having a lovely week, however you’re spending it. I did a fun yoga class last night (via zoom) so I’m feeling refreshed this morning. If there is one thing this home isolation has been doing for me, it’s been inspiring me to work out almost daily, which is awesome!

Today I gave an Easter inspired design to share with you. I wanted a look that would be perfect for Easter celebrations, but could also be worn just to celebrate Spring!

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Claire’s matte Sorbet Blue
  • Claire’s matte Sorbet Mint
  • Claire’s matte Sorbet Purple
  • Claire’s matte Sorbet Pink
  • Essie Ballet Slippers
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • TheBaseCoat Chevron/ZigZag (regular) Stencils

I really, really wanted to do something Easter-y on my nails, without going your typical bunny ears/Easter egg design. I started off on my ring finger by applying 2 coats of Ballet Slippers & my Essie Gel Setter to dry. Then I took my nail vinyls, & applied them to my ringer finger. Using a dotting tool, I started from the bottom of my nail, I worked quickly applied the alternating colours. All my shades were matte, which dry quickly, so I actually pulled off the vinyl one I had filled a section. Next up, I decided outlining would bring the look together, so I went through with my tiniest brush, & outlined all my chevrons with my white polish, as well as the outside of my nail.

& I feel like the end result looks so cool, & dainty, & just Easter-y enough. Like a “grown up” Easter egg design.

Seriously, I’m obsessed. It’s been a while since I pulled out the zig zag chevron nail vinyls, & oh man have I missed them! I guess one thing I can thank this whole situation for, is that I’m really putting more effort into my nail art, & love rediscovering all these old tools of mine. It’s a fun way to distract myself from all the craziness happening outside of the house — or from the fact that I really miss my extended family. Hopefully the world returns to some form of normalcy again, so we can all get together & celebrate all the events we’re missing out on.

Do you have a special manicure planned for your Easter? What is your favourite Easter candy? Let me know down in the comments below! (Mine are Peeps by the way, I know… I’m strange but I LOVE them!)

 

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Happy 6th Blogiversary Coffee & Nail Polish

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday. I know what you’re thinking — this isn’t my usual Sunday content. But I’m making a special exception for this Sunday because IT’S MY BLOGIVERSARY!

6 years ago today, I posted my very first post here on coffee & nail polish, & I haven’t stop since. A lot has changed since those early, early days of blogging but my love of nail polish has not. & I can honestly say I can’t imagine not having this place, my very own place, to share that love! So whether you’ve been reading since the beginning, or just recently found me, I just want to say thanks for being here! & have a piece of cake (or a very large fancy coffee) for me!

In honour of today, I thought I would do something I did for a previous blogiversary, & recreate one of my early nail art looks. This orange floral look was the second ever nail art I posted here on the blog, & one of the first really good florals I ever painted. I was going to attempt to repaint this using all the originally polishes I used, but sadly both my bottles of China Glaze Metro Pollen-tin, as well as my bottle of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls are long gone. So I updated the look using newer polishes in the stash.

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Firey Island
  • ACO by Ardene Lemon Sorbet
  • Essie First Timer
  • Essie Off Tropic 
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

Back when I started this blog, I think I had a single dotting tool (Essence brand — I still have it around here somewhere) I had bought from Shoppers Drug Mart for like $1.99, some cheap dollar store brushes I never ended up using, & a bunch of striping polishes. & that was the extent of my nail art tools. But you know, I thought that was amazing & I loved teaching myself how to create nail art looks with them, like that beautiful floral. & honestly, I remember being so beyond proud of myself for posting those. I thought they were the best nails I ever painted!

Flash forward: check out those roses! I’m in love. But I will definitely say this — the tools you use definitely make a huge difference in your ability to paint. Everyone always comments on how much my painting has improved, but I definitely think it has a lot to do with the fact my tools have improved as well. That’s always my #1 tip to those who ask me what tips I have for improving their painting: invest in good brushes! I absolutely adore my nail art brushes from NailStuff.ca, but I also have amazing brushes I used to use from Bundle Monster (now Maniology) that definitely helped my improve my skills. &, of course, practice!

So what do you guys think of this floral recreation? Have you ever recreated an old manicure?

Thank you guys SO much for sticking around, for finding me, for liking my posts & leaving comments. You honestly have no idea how much it means to me to see people loving what I do, & the fact after 6 years people still love it! ♥♥♥

Have an amazing Sunday!

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Another Spring-y Floral Accent Nail

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday!

This past weekend we had some beautiful weather, & looking in our gardens you can see greenery beginning to pop through the soil, so if there is any benefit to this current situation, it is the fact that there will be lots of time to enjoy our yard very soon! It also inspired me to do MORE floral nails!

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: UNT Ready For Take Off (I got mine from NailStuff.ca — remember to use my code for 10% off: COFFEE10)
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Pure Ice Boysenberry
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Essie Set in Sandstone
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Birthday Suit
  • Sally Hansen MG Blacky-O
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie First Timer
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush Trio (I used my favourite brush: the 7mm liner brush) 

After my Swatch Sunday post featuring untrieds on Sunday (including Deborah Lippmann Polka Dots & Moonbeams) I’ve been really trying to wear shades either I haven’t worn in a very long time, or maybe I’ve never worn. Boysenberry was a shade I bought when all the speckled egg polishes were coming out, but I think I’ve only worn a handful of times. It’s very springy, & the pale purple base is perfect for Spring!

Can I just say how much I adore how these little yellow flowers turned out. 🌼 Makes me hopeful for brighter days ahead, even if our reality right now is… very stressful & very scary. Right now I’m just going to stay home & concentrate on the things that make me happy, & that includes my vast collection of nail polish & painting my nails.

What do you guys think about this floral accent nail? What other flowers would you like to see me attempt? I think I’ve perfected my roses, so I am going to try & branch out into other floral varieties! Next up — going to attempt some tulips! But let me know down in the comments below what floral I should try next, or even what flower is your favourite!

🌸

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#GlamnailschallengeDec — Christmas Trees

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Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! & happy Christmas Eve Eve! We are quickly approaching Christmas & the end of GlamNailsChallengeDec! Today’s prompt for this challenge is Christmas trees! Naturally I went to Pinterest to find a look I liked, & found this tutorial originally posted on Instagram by @thebasecoat.

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Icing Stores matte teal shimmer
  • Quo by ORLY Falling Star
  • China Glaze Ruby Pumps
  • Ardene Ice Mist
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 to save 10%)

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For this look I started off by applying the triangle nail stencil to my accent nail, then one at a time applied my colours to the empty spaces to create a triangle on the nail. I followed the Base Coat’s tutorial for colours. It was also way easier using a pre designed nail vinyl than attempting to position striping tape or straight nail vinyls into the same shape.

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Honestly this look was too simple to do, but turned out so cute! I think this is such a perfect Christmas Day look—who doesn’t love Christmas trees! & the mixing of colours is very Christmasy. I absolutely lovely it!

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What do you think about this design for Glamnailschallengedec? Have you figured out your Christmas design yet? Don’t forget to check out Instagram for all the other amazing look for #glamnailschallengeDec!

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Glitzy Candy Cane Stripes

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Good morning lovelies & Happy Friday!

Friday the 13th to be exact. Hopefully you’re morning & day hasn’t gotten off to scary of a start. Today I’m sharing a design that is isn’t part of the GlamNailChallenge, but is an awesome Christmas/Holiday look to wear this time of year: Candy Cane stripes! Again, this is one of those designs I love to return to, year after year, but trying to put a new spin on it each time.

This year I decided to go with a more grown up candy cane accent nails. This would be the perfect look for a Christmas party, or even to wear to celebrate your Christmas dinner. & it’s super quick & easy to do, which I feel like is a must need this time of year (at least it is in my house!)

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frosted Berries
  • Sally Hansen MG In The Sheer
  • Sally Hansen MG Five Golden Blings {Oh My Gold! Collection}
  • Sally Hansen MG Goldie Rocks {Oh My Gold! Collection}
  • Sally Hansen MG Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen MG Good Cheer–y
  • Sally Hansen MG Golden Glow
  • NailStuff 11mm liner brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • Small dotting tool — I used the NailStuff dotting tool trio

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I’ve done this look before, like I said, but usually I use striping tape or nail vinyls to create my stripes. I’m proud that I 100% freehanded these! & they didn’t turn out wonky at all! Also who doesn’t love a good flash of glitter — I used two of the 3 new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Oh My Gold! shades in this manicure. They really are the most perfect polishes for the holidays.

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What do you think about this manicure design? Would you rock this look at your next holiday manicure? & don’t forget that the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Oh My Gold! collection can still be found in stores, so if you’re on the hunt for the perfect gold for the holidays, look no further!

These items were gifted to me free for review. However, all opinions are my own.