SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen CSM Black & Blue

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is off to a lovely start to their Sunday — the weekend is almost over! & February is quickly rounding the corner too.

Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is another score from my favourite nail polish clearance section at Lawton’s: Sally Hansen Black & Blue. I’ve actually picked up this polish a few times when out shopping for nail polish, but never actually bought it. So obviously when I saw it on clearance (& for $1 too!) I just knew that I needed to add it to my stash.

3 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

Sally Hansen Black & Blue itself is a grey-ish blue-ish multichrome shimmer (there is some purple in there too depending on the way you move your hand). It’s also very, very, VERY sheer. Like super sheer. The above swatch is 3 coats of polish, and if I move my hand in certain ways you can definitely see my nail line. The blue shimmer is very prominent, while the purple all depends on how you move your hand around — as you can see above, I managed to capture it a bit, but it’s not the easiest to pick up on camera. I have a feeling this shade would definitely probably stand out more layered over a darker shade, as a lot of people have done for swatches, If I was going to wear this shade for everyday wear, that’s probably how I would do it too!

This is definitely a pretty, although very sheer, shade. Application was pretty easy considering it has one of those shimmery formulas that love to streak, & I didn’t find it was too, too watery. The colour, all things considered, is pretty. I could definitely see it being the perfect base for some mermaid nails (whenever I finally get more mermaid scale vinyls — I haven’t had any in AGES.) That being said, I’m kind of glad that I waited to get this shade on clearance, because I don’t think it’s going to be one that is in my frequent nail rotation. That being said, we will see how it looks layered over a darker shade… it may very well blow my socks off!

What do you think about this Sally Hansen shade Black & Blue? Do you have this shade in your collection? What is your favourite thing to do with shades that are more on the sheer side? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

#GlamNailsChallengeFeb — Roses

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday lovelies!

As you can see from the background of my nail art pictures today, it’s Winterland here in Halifax! But on my nails, it’s totally Spring. Today is prompt #3 for GlamNailsChallengeFeb, & it is Roses! & as you know, if you’ve been around the blog a while, roses are one of my favourite things to paint on my nails!

This time I decided to go with a vintage inspired rose look. Usually I tend to go for a more realistic looking floral, but I wanted to try something different!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • Matte Top Coat : Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Essence shine last & go! Take Me To Heaven
  • L’Oréal Jardin Des Roses
  • Sally Hansen CSM So Much Fawn
  • OPI Koala Bear-y
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Essence Gel Nail Polish The Green & the Grunge
  • Sally Hansen MG Wet My Whistle
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

How pretty did these roses turn out with the black accents. It gives them almost a sketched effect, which I really like. It reminds me a bit of a manicure I did a few years back, obviously with a different colour scheme (& a bit more nail art practice!)

This is my first time wearing this Essence shade in a manicure, I think. I really like the blue background against the brightness of the pink roses. I really think this is a super cute design, both for Valentine’s Day, & Spring in general.

Yep, already dreaming of Spring. Winter can be over now!

What do you think of this rose design for #GlamNailsChallengeFeb? Are these giving you Valentine’s Day feels? Would you wear this look for a Valentine’s Day date?

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

Matte Gold Shatters Glitter Placement

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! Hopefully you’re having a wonderful start to your Monday, & not a rough one! I have today off, so the plan is to be productive—we’ll see how successful I end up being!

Today though, I have some nail art to show you! As I mentioned a few post backs, I’ve really been wanting to return to trying out some old nail art techniques I have done in forever. I used to love doing shattered glass glitter placements, like this one Here, but it’s been a minute since a did one. So it was definitely, definitely overdue.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat
  • Matte Top Coat: Butter London Matte Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen CSM Belle of the Ball
  • YSL Beauty Feuille D’Or
  • small dotting tool (mine are from NailStuff.ca — save 10% using COFFEE10)

I’m really quite obsessed with these, especially with the added effect using matte top coat! It really feels like absolute ages since I pulled out any shattered glitter like this a glitter placement look, & it was long overdue. Plus the gold looks so beautiful over this pretty navy base shade.

I also really like how this manicure has a bit of an edge to it! I feel like it needs to be worn with a leather jacket &, maybe, a pair of motorcycle boots.

What do you think about this glitter placement look? Are you a fan of these kinds of designs? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze For Audrey

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Today we are throwing it way, way back for our Swatch Sunday pick is a nail polish classic: China Glaze For Audrey.

This shade was originally released way back in 2007–NailPolishCanada.com says it was part of the Something Blue collection. Nowadays, it is part of the permanent core collection, which means it’s easy to find pretty much anywhere China Glaze nail polishes are sold.

I originally bought it back in 2011 of 2012, when Sally Beauty opened near us. Naturally, as soon as I saw the name I knew I needed to own it, as Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of my favourite movies.

2 coats + Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat

For Audrey is a beautiful robin’s egg blue that is as close to Tiffany blue as is legally allowed. There is some confusion online on whether or not it is an exact dupe to that little blue box, but I feel like I’ve real online (somewhere… can’t remember now) that only Tiffany can use that specific shade of blue as they have legal ownership. I don’t have anything from Tiffany’s, so sadly I cannot confirm just how closely the two match.

Either way, For Audrey is a beautiful shade, with a smooth & creamy formula. I applied everything in two coats, but I did need to add some top coat in order to smooth things a bit — that could be the polish formula, or it could be the fact my bottle is 10 years old, but I feel like having to add a bit of top coat is kind of a non-issue, especially since I always add top coat to my manicures anyways.

& the colour is perfect for dreaming of Spring. It’s just a bright, vibrant colour. It has me thinking of those warmer days to come!

What do you think of China Glaze For Audrey? Do you have this beautiful blue is your nail polish stash? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — ORLY Total Eclipse (or is it…?)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Today is our second Sunday of January, & the winter blahs are in full effect. So I thought we needed some serious bling to brighten up our days! Today I decided to grab a shade from my stash I’ve had forever, but never actually worn.

ORLY Total Eclipse.

& that is where the mystery started — because according to my Google research, no polish called Total Eclipse by ORLY has ever existed!

3 coats, no top coat

You’re looking at three coats of this beautiful glitter. The base itself is clear, but packed full of tiny blue micro glitters & larger holographic glitters. I chose to brush the polish on, but obviously sponging would give you a more opaque application.

I would definitely probably apply this shade with sponging, or apply it over some undies, so that you don’t need as many applications, & it will be less difficult to remove.

So, I bet you’re wondering… if this isn’t called Total Eclipse, what is the name of this shade? Well after some intensive Veronica Mars-worthy sleuthing, & some reverse image searching on Pinterest, I am 95% sure this is actually ORLY Angel Eyes.

I had originally bought this shade (like a few other ORLY shades in my stash) via Marshall’s, who seemed to have a habit years ago of taking old shades, & renaming them. Hence the mystery! Usually when I put in the alternative name in to Google, it’ll pop up with the original… but not this time. Haha. It was definitely a bit of a quest to find out what the original name is.

But I’m glad I solved the mystery!

Over all, I really like this glitter, & I’m kind of sad I haven’t really tried it out until now. I’m also glad I figured out the true name of this beautiful sparkly blue!

What do you think of ORLY Angel Eyes? Do you have this shade in your collection? Let me know what you think about it, & how you would wear this glittery blue.