Category: Blue Nails

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Julep Hallie

Good morning lovelies! & happy Sunday.

I hope you had a lovely, lovely week. I wish I had good things to say about my week, but after the announcement of lockdown #3 (&some very public evidence of people partying regardless), I’m feeling a bit down with everything.

But you know what makes me happy? Nail polish! & sharing fun nail polish swatches. So I dug through my stash & found a fun shade to share.

2 coats, no top coat

This is Julep Hallie which is from their It Girl line (I… think). It says 2015 on it, so I’m assuming that’s the year it was released? I don’t have much experience with the Julep brand, aside from one of their shades that I found at Winners for like $2 about 10 years ago. So I’m not sure how their releases went, & to be honest Google was not the most helpful haha.

As you can see, this is a beautiful ocean blue holographic polish (that leans a little turquoise). The holo was a bit more subtle than other holos I own, but pretty nonetheless. I did take my swatch photos with flash to try & get it to show up better, but I feel like sunshine shows it off best of all.

Overall, the formula was really smooth & easy to apply. A little less rainbow as other holos, but the colour is beautiful so it makes up for that. & if I’m really wishing for more of a holo punch, I can easily apply one of my holo toppers over top to add some extra rainbow.

What do you think about Julep Hallie? Do you own this shade in your stash?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Pretty & Bright Spring Floral

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! Can you believe it’s Tuesday already? Hope everyone had the most lovely weekend. I was so into family time this weekend, that I totally forgot that yesterday was Coffee & Nail Polishes’ 7th birthday! So happy birthday to this fun little blog of mine. 🥳👑🎂

I would say I celebrated with cake, but all I wanted after the last 4 days was a huge salad.

But today I have another Spring floral to share with you! Will floral ever get boring to me? Nope! It’s still my absolute favourite design to do, & that hasn’t changed in 7 years.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • Icing Matte Effect 60217
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Peony Origins
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Eco-Rose
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Racing Rose
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in Purple
  • Essie Go Ginza
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie First Timer
  • Essence The Green & The Grunge
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

So, so many polishes but the end result is absolutely perfect. The colours are so bright & eye catching, which is my favourite kind of floral. We’ve had way, way too many days of clouds & rain, so we could really use some bright & sunny days. Maybe this manicure will encourage Mother Nature a little bit to send some sunshine our way.

&, if not, at least there is a little bit of sunshine on my nails to cheer me up.

What do you think about this design? Are you sick of the floral yet? (I hope not!) let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & share what Spring nail art trends you’re loving right now.

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Spring Gradient Dotticure

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday!

I’ve very much been enjoying the warmer days around here—I even wore a jumpsuit the other day, & it was really exciting. & that means I’ve been enjoying all the pretty spring nail polishes in my stash. Although, I’m not going to lie… I feel like I’ve been grabbing the same Spring-y shades over & over. Haha.

But I was really feels some sanity polka dots, & I decided that some pretty pastel gradient polka dots would be perfect!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • Sally Hansen In The Sheer
  • L’Oréal Colour Riche B01 Pistache Royale
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Orchid-ing Aside
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • China Glaze Shocking Pink
  • Essie Bikini So Teeny
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Oh man, this was such an easy look to do, although a bit time consuming.

It gives you that gradient effect without having to go through all the time consuming effort of sponging on colour & cleaning up around the cuticles. Because, I won’t lie, even though I absolutely love gradients, I just don’t always have the time (or energy) to go through all the effort of doing one. But this totally makes me happy & feels like a perfect gradient alternative!

What do you think about this pretty pastel gradient dotticure? Would you wear this look? Do you think it would work for Easter? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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Pretty Spring-y Stripes

Hello Lovelies & happy Tuesday!

I don’t know where you are, but here it’s feeling so Spring-y. Yesterday I work flats & a jean jacket to work, & even enjoyed an iced coffee. It was so amazing — I have so missed the warmer weather. The next couple days are supposed to be lovely, & then it’s going to get colder & rainy, so I’m going to soak it all in as long as possible!

I’ve also been wearing a lot of Springy nail polishes, like this stripe-y design from last week.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • China Glaze Boho Blues
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • Color Club Art Club Pink Pastel
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let’s Snow
  • Art Club Nail Art Striper in Paisley Blue
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

Oh yes, these brighter colours just feel so good to wear again. & stripes are so easy to incorporate all sorts of colours at once.

Now… it’s time to pack away all the winter sweaters, & move all the Spring dresses to the front! Bring on sunshine, the beach days, all the sundresses — I just can’t wait! & of course, all the Summer nail polish collections which always make me so happy. Maybe I’ll even start sharing Fashion Friday outfits again, now that every outfit doesn’t consist & 15 layers & a scarf. Haha.

What do you think about this nail art look? Are you a fan of easy freehand stripes like this? Let me know what colour combination you would pair together in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Boho Blues

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

After a few days of warm, Spring-y days, I’m living for all things Spring. & what is more Spring than a beautiful cornflower blue? You know how much I love a good blue!

Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is China Glaze Boho Blues. This shade was originally released circa Spring 2015 as part of the Road Trip Collection, but I do believe it’s now part of the permanent collection as it’s currently listed for Sally on the Sally Beauty website & a few other websites where you can purchase China Glaze polishes.

2 coats + Essie Good to Go

The cream formula is really easy to work with, & I managed 2 coats for full coverage. It does dry fairly gloss on its own, althouh didn’t completely level out — but that could be because this is an older bottle. I did apply top coat to kind of smooth things out a bit (& also because I was planning on some nail art).

As you can see, this is just such a smooth, beautiful, vibrant blue. It is definitely a perfect colour for Spring. I’ve always had an affinity for this shade of blue, or so says my nail polish collection, so they tend to be the first ones I’m drawn to in a nail polish collection.

What do you think about this beautiful shade? Do you have Boho Blues in your nail polish stash? Let me know in the comments below!