Soft Matte Half Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone’s had a good start to the year so far. It’s been relaxing on my end, that’s for sure. But now it’s time to drive right back into all things nail polish, nail art & manicures in general. I was kind of trying to figure out what kind of vibe I wanted to start off 2023 with, & I decided to let my nostalgia win with not only a half moon manicure… but a matte half moon manicure.

Two of my favourite things combined into one.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Zoya Devin
  • Essence Into the Unknown
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

I was on instagram early into Fall, & I saw someone post that half moon manicures were going to become popular again, & all I could think was “I never stopped doing them”.

These have always been a favourite nail art look of mine, & I just find it such an easy technique to do. But I really, really love this look with the matte top coat applied as the finishing touch. Matte nails are my absolute favourite in the Winter months, so expect lots of matte nails in the coming months.

What do you think of this nail art look? Are you a fan of the half moon design? Let me know what you think, & what nail art trends for 2023 you’re excited to try!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Zoya Devin

Hello lovelies & happy 2023!

I hope everyone had a lovely New Years Eve whether you spent it partying it up, cuddled up on the couch, or sleeping through it. I personally got to spend my New Years with one of my best friends — who I haven’t seen in over3 years! We spent like 2 hours laughing on the couch, & it was the best way to end the year.

Now we’re starting off a fresh year with Swatch Sunday. I decided to pull out a beautiful Zoya shade that has been sitting in my stash for a while. This is Zoya Devin, originally released for Fall 2018.

3 coats, no top coat.

Zoya Devin is a stunning metallic frosty steel blue with this intense. Without top coat, it dries to a smooth finish. It’s not matte, but it’s also not shiny. The polish itself is really interesting, but as you look closely you see it has hints of bronze & silver glitters. The shade itself is giving me Y2k vibes, which is very trendy right now, & as a millennial, gives me so much nostalgia! I feel like if this shade had existed when I was a young teen, I would have obsessively worn it a lot.

Up close, you can really see all the different metallic shades & it gives it a very cool finish. Definitely the kind of shade which doesn’t catch your eye as much from a far — you need to see it up close to really appreciate its beauty. I also think, even though it was originally released as a Fall shade, it’s very appropriate for the winter months as well! It has that iciness to it that is great for Winter.

Application was interesting — it was definitely very thin on first coat, & even a second coat seemed to be a bit thin & sparse. With the third coat though, the colour came across as beautiful as in the bottle, & I was very happy. It looks so pretty!

I picked up this bottle of Zoya Devin on sale on NailPolishCanada.com last Fall (I do believe) but from the looks of things it’s no longer available on there. I did however find it listed on the Zoya website, so if you want this beauty in your life, that would be the place to get it!

What do you think of this metallic beauty? Are you a fan of Zoya polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & once again Happy 2023! I am very excited for all the things that this year has in store.

♥︎

Glam Nails Challenge December—Fireworks 🎆

Good morning lovelies & happy Wednesday! I can barely believe it, but it is the last prompt of Glam Nails Challenge December! We’ve made it to the end. Which means.. it’s almost the end of December… & the end of 2022! So let’s celebrate with something fun.

Today’s prompt is Fireworks! I was inspired by a previous design I did with the same prompt, but decided to go with a blue/silvery colour theme. Giving me all the New Years Eve vibes.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • China Glaze New Year, New Boo
  • China Glaze December to Remember
  • China Glaze Blue Iguana
  • China Glaze 2NITE
  • China Glaze Dancing & Prancing
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Not going to lie, these nails are giving me some Snow Queen/Elsa vibes on top of fireworks. Definitely the blue on blue on blue. Could also be the fact my 3 year old spent most of Christmas running around the house scream singing “Let It Go” at the top of her lungs. Haha.

It definitely took some serious layering to get this design to look the way I imagined in my head, but with the combination of colours & glitter, it really gives you the effect of watching Fireworks explode in the sky. I love them.

What do you think about this Fireworks inspired design? Are you all ready for this year to be over? It’s definitely been an interesting year, full of a lot of change, so I’m interested (& hopeful) to see what 2023 will bring! Hopefully nothing but good things.

Thanks for following around with another month of Glam Nails Challenge! I had so much fun this month, & it was a great way to end the year. Don’t forget, all the designs for this month can be found on the Glam Nails Challenge December hashtag on Instagram.

Holo Stamped Snowflakes ❄️

Hey beauties & happy Friday!

I’m trying to share at least one non-Glam Nails Challenge design each week, so I thought I would go for some snowflake stamped nails. Our Halifax weather is nothing close to snow right now–it’s currently, as I write this post, warm-ish & raining–so I thought if I wanted snow, I would need to put it on my nails.

& you know what is more fun than just snowflakes on your nails… holographic snowflakes on your nails.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Dimension Nails Kronosaurus (c/o: NailStuff.ca)
  • SuperChic Lacquer Throwing Shade (c/o: Nailstuff.ca)
  • Discontinued Born Pretty Store Christmas pattern stamping plate
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

Lots of holographic sparkle happening in the sunshine. This was not the easiest to photographic in the bright sun, I won’t lie, but I tried my best to capture the effect. The snowflakes really did show up well though, & I like the snowflake pattern. It’s really pretty.

There is just something about Christmas & snowflake nail art. It’s like Christmas, & watching The Muppets Christmas Carol: it just doesn’t feel like Christmas is coming without it. Also this again is not your traditional Christmas colour scheme, but I still like it. I love red nail polish, but I feel like I can overdo it a bit in December, so I’m trying to ration the red nail designs a bit.

What do you think about this holographic stamped snowflake look? Have you been enjoying all the nail art I’ve been posting so far this month? We’re 17 days away from Christmas, so I’m going to try & show off as many nail art looks as possible before the big day!

Enjoy your weekend loves! & stay safe if you have to go our shopping. Christmas shopping can be dangerous.

Holo & Snowflakes (featuring some NailStuff.ca goodies)

Features Gifted Product

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday!

It’s officially a little over a month until Christmas, can you believe it? I feel like I should really start thinking about Christmas shopping soon, but things have been in this weird adjustment period, I really haven’t had a lot of time to think about anything holly or jolly.

I was feeling some nail art the other night, but I was also feeling super tired — I recently started a new job, so after a few weeks off, I’ve been adjusting back into work life. & I’m tired, haha. But I wanted some cute nails, so I decided to grab some of my nail goodies from Nailstuff.ca. I thought some snowflake nails might, just, inspire me to feeling festive.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Dimension Nails Great Blue Heron (c/o: NailStuff.ca)
  • Starrily Eclipse (c/o: NailStuff.ca) (Holographic Top Coat)
  • NailStuff.ca snowflake stickers (not currently available but she does have other cute Christmas stickers right now)

So I definitely applied these stickers when my base shade was still a bit too wet, hence a bit of a 3D effect on some of my nails. But I think these little snowflakes look so cute over the blue holographic base. I wanted something kind of dusty, but with a holo kick, & this combination was perfect! Also, somehow, I think this is the first time I’ve worn Dimension Nails Great Blue Heron as a full manicure, & that’s kind of crazy. It’s such a beautiful blue!

What do you think of my easy snowflake nails? Do you like seeing easy manicures like this, or do you prefer more complicated nail art? I have a few more “easy” looks to share, & then we’ll be jumping into Glam Nails Challenge December so stay tuned! I plan on having something for everyone.