Glam Nails Challenge August — Pineapples

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & happy long weekend to those who are celebrating.

This month I decided to do something I haven’t done in what feels like forever: GlamNailsChallenge! This month’s theme is fruit, which is a fun summery theme, so I’m excited to participate. I feel like it’ll be a fun way to get back into my nail art groove.

& the first prompt: pineapples. 🍍

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue
  • OPI Just Can’t Cope-acabana
  • OPI How Great is Your Dane?
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art Pen in green
  • Cosmetics Arts Lime Green (name has long since worn off)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

I thought a pineapple pattern look with be super cute, & I love the brightness of the yellow over the blue base. They just pop so well! It’s been a long, long time since I did a fruit themed manicure, but I think the first of this challenge is adorable. Haha I’m not sure how the rest of this challenge is going to go, but I’m excited to get planning for all the different (fruit themed) looks. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for sure!

What do you think about my first look for GlamNailsChallengeAugust? Don’t forget, you can follow along with everyone’s looks by using the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug on Instagram. I’m definitely excited to see all the cute looks that everyone comes up with this month!

Recreating Tribal Roses (from 5 years ago)

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! The weekend is almost upon us — & so is August! How crazy is that? We’re almost in the last month of Summer. I swear this year is rushing by way faster than 2020 did. I feel like Summer just started, & now Fall collections are already popping up in the stores. & I’ve already started thinking about what Fall fashion items I want to add to my closet…

But in the mean time, let’s concentrate on nails. More importantly, this tribal & roses design which is actually a recreation of a design I did 5 years ago. This time, though, I decided to go with a reverse colour scheme with the darker shade as my base, & the white for my line work.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Beatnik
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod!
  • Essie Stop Drop Shop
  • Essie Gel Couture Princess Charming
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure So Much Fawn
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in green
  • Cosmetics Arts Lime Green (name has long since worn off)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

How lovely is this combination? The beautiful blue, the line work — that I’m very, very proud of! — & the cute, cute roses. I feel like I did a very good job of recreating my original design, but making it even better! These turned out better than I ever could have imagined. Also the white pops so we’ll over Sally Hansen Beatnik, as does the floral. Just everything about this look makes me so happy.

It just feels so good to be getting back to my roots, & doing my favourite kinds of nail art again. Feels like I’m me again! Also, while having short nails is always a nice change, I’m very happy to have returned to my rounded my nails again. They’re so much more me.

What do you think about this look? Did a do a good job recreating my original? Let me know what you think down in the comments below, & let me know if you’d like to see me do more of these posts recreating old manicures!

Summer Colour Block

Morning lovelies & happy Tuesday! Time for some more nail art!

I was feeling a bit uninspired for a while, but I think I might be breaking out of my funky fully now! Today it’s all about these funky freehand colour block nails. I love these colour combo nails, mostly because the colour combinations are endless, & they can be worn in any season.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sensationail Nailtural Cactus Me Outside
  • Sensationail Nailtural Born to Explore
  • Sinful Colors Hip To Be Square

This look is super simple — no tools needed. Just three fun nail polish shades & a steady hand. I had actually been wearing Sensationail Nailtural Cactus Me Outside (how fun is that name?) the previous day, with some chipping, so I decided to add some nail art on top to hide the chipping & it turned into such a cute look! Like I said, I love love love a good colour block!

What do you think of these nails? What three colours would you combine in a colour block design? Let me know in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Beatnik

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. Mine has been very busy, to say the least, but I always find (a little) time for nail polish!

Today’s Swatch Sunday post is a throwback shade that I picked up a few years ago: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in Beatnik. It was originally released in 2015 as part of the Boho collection, but I think it became a part of the permanent collection after that.

2 coats, no top coat.

The formula on Beatnik was really smooth & easy to apply. All I needed was two coats for full opacity, which is always something I love in a nail polish — especially when I’m short on time, like I have been lately. I’m also really digging this darker shade for some reason. I know I should be all about the neon, but these darker jewel tones are just calling to me. It’s a nice change from the lighter shades I’ve been wearing a lot lately.

As I mentioned, this is 2 coats without top coat. I did end up adding a coat of the Miracle Gel Top Coat for my actually wear (along with some simply nail art) which always helps with the wear. My nails get beat up bad right now while working (especially because I’m working 10+ hour days) so I need all the extra nail power I can use.

What do you think about this blue shade? Are you a fan of Sally Hansen Beatnik? What shades are you wearing on your nails right now? Let me know in the comments below!

Simple pink & blue floral.

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday.

Can you believe it? we’re midway through June! Which means I’m in full all-floral-all-the-time mode. I’m sure you’re not surprised. Today’s nail art look was actually a quick nail art design. I had painted my nails, & wanted to add a little something using my nail art pens, which turned into a full floral mani. Sometimes, I just can’t be stopped haha. But I actually really like how these turned out; usually I go for a more rose centric floral design, but I wanted to create these almost daisies, & I think they turned out really beautiful. & I did them completely without any true nail art brushes.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Zoya Blu
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen Fuchsia
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen Purple
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen Green
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen White
  • Art Club Nail Art Duo Neon Green
  • OPI Where Did Suzi’s Man-go

First off, I know these are not my most perfect floral, but I’m really kind of digging them. My little daisies turned out so colourful & cute. I would totally wear this pattern as a full sundress too. It’s all floral, all the time over here. Also, I feel like these nail art pens are so underrated & deserve a comeback. While my nail art brushes will always be the best for nail art, using these pens can still create an awesome pattern! Also they are still number one for dotticures.

What do you think about this cute little floral design? Is there anyone else who loves these nail art pens like I do? The Sally Hansen ones were always my go-to (I have so many), but I haven’t found them for sale in a very long time. Does anyone know of any else nail art pens you can buy? I’d totally be down for adding more to my collection for quick designs like this! Let me know down in the comments below.