Navy & Purple Half Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! A cloudy, humid Thursday at that. Today though, I have another manicure to share that I recently wore & in a big fan of this one!

Half moons are always a favourite of mine, & lately I’ve been finding myself drawn to some darker shades. Yes, I know that it’s still mid-Summer, but I would be lying if I didn’t hear the distance call of Autumn. I feel like this look is a good balance between Summer with the perfect hint of Autumn vibes.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Purple Pizzaz
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Midnight Drive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Fuchsia Fever
  • Circle paper hole reinforcements
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

This is definitely easy in terms of technique, which I always appreciate, but it looks really fancy (in my opinion.) I definitely have been feeling the call of my darker polishes, but I’m trying my best to hold off — at least until pumpkin spice gets launched. But this look definitely scratched my Autumn polish itch.

What do you think about this half moon look? Do you like this design? Are already feeling the call of Autumn vibes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

Oh man it’s been a busy & crazy week. Between appointments, injuries & other, I haven’t had a minute to breathe, or think about blogging. but I do have a pretty throwback colour to share for this week’s Swatch Sunday. This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue.

2 coats + top coat.

This shade is definitely a throwback shade as I originally picked it up circa 2015 (I think while I was searching for the perfect blue to wear for my wedding nails although I didn’t end up picking it.) This is a beautiful smooth cornflower blue, that didn’t need to be fussed with to get perfect application. Obviously, I finished off with a quick dry top coat to speed up my dry time & add a little extra glossiness.

For a 9 year old polish, I must say she’s holding up pretty fantastically. The bottle is a little worn, but other than that it looks great. & we all know, what’s inside the bottle is what we care about most.

Do you own Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue in your nail polish stash? This shade has sadly been discontinued from the Xtreme Wear range — I hate when they do that — so I’m glad I have this shade in my stash.

What do you think about Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue? Do you have this colour in your own stash? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

🖤

Under the Sea Stamped Nail Art 🪸🌊

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. Sorry for a quiet week so far — with the kids being off school, sometimes it’s hard to get my posts done!

But I’m really excited to share my nails today, because I feel like these are really fun! I originally started out with just my gradient nails, but felt like something was missing so I added some fun stamping—that reminded me of sea weed—over top.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • CND Vinylux Lost Labyrinth
  • Icing Stores Starlight
  • Icing Stores Black
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate BP-L026
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

Does that not look like seaweed, under the water? If only I had some cute fish nail art stickers strategically added, then I would really sell the ocean vibes! But I still think the stamping gave the look I was going for.

What do you think of these stamped nails? Did you guess ocean? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

🖤

Half Moons & Nail Art Stickers

Good morning lovelies & happy Friday! I hope everyone had a wonderful week! It’s almost the weekend, which is looking to be wet & rainy. Not so much fun for summer. But I have a fun, bright Summery look to share with you!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Essie In The Cab-ana
  • Assorted nail art stickers (including some from Olive & June)

Okay, I’ll be honest — I’m not a 100% sure how I feel about this look. I love my half moons, because I always love a good half moon design, but I’m not sure how I feel about the addition of my little nail art stickers. I’m not sure if they mesh together, or clash, but I really wanted to do something different.

What do you think about this sticker half moon design? I’m really trying to come up with newer nail art designs, but after 10 years of this blog, I’m getting a bit stuck on what to do. Maybe I should break out my stamping plates again, & see what fun patterned nails I can come up with!

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

🖤

Blurple Colour Block Featuring OPI

Good morning lovelies & happy Tuesday… it’s been a while. This month has been so insane, & my nail painting has really fallen off. Trying my best to get back into it though, & today I have some fun (& relatively simple!) nail art to share with you.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • OPI Dining al Frisco
  • OPI Infinite Shine Sound of Vibrance
  • OPI Infinite Shine Shaking My Sugar Plums
  • Quo by Orly Striper Black

How good are these blues & purples together? I definitely feel like those are my colours lately, right down to my hair colour. But I just love a good colour block, & this design is so easy to do — & you don’t even need any nail art tools!

You definitely could use nail vinyls or tape if you’re not comfortable freehanding though. I like going over my lines with the black though, because I feel like it hides any mistakes you might have done, plus makes the blue really pop!

What do you think of this colour block featuring some fun OPI shades from my stash? Do you love how these shades pair together as much as me? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below & what you’d like to see next?

Happy Tuesday!

🖤