Autumn-esque Horizontal Accent Stripes

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! & Happy October 1st. It’s officially the first day of my birthday month & Halloween month! October is definitely my favourite month of the year & the BEST month for nail art!

Starting things off with some horizontal Autumn inspired accent nails. I’ve really been loving accent nail designs lately because sometimes you just don’t have time to do all of your nails. & lately, that has been my life. So accent designs are my lifeline!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Beet It
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Pink Cardamom
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Thyme is Money
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • China Glaze First Mate
  • Straight Nail Vinyls
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

For this look, I used some straight nail vinyls to create my initial blocks of colour. Then I went in with my NailStuff striper brush to create more lines, kind of overlapping each other which gives the lines of a bit of a fuller look (& it’s way easier to create straight lines when you’re following already straight lines!).

This look & colour combination is giving me 90s retro vibes — it’s giving me some serious Willow from Buffy sweater vibes, & I’m loving everything about it. I’ve definitely been spending too much time stalking the BuffytheOutfitSlayer instagram! Haha. But I am not complaining, because this nail art design turned out too cute!

What do you think about these stripe-y accent nails? What colour combination would you chose for an accent nail look like this? Let me know what you think down in the comments below (& let me know what October activities you’re looking forward to!)

Navy & Bronze Dry Brush

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! Hope everyone has a lovely start to their week so far. Today I’ve got another nail art technique to share with you (that I haven’t done in a while): dry brush!

Dry brush is such an easy technique that anyone can do. It’s a great option if you can’t quite figure out what to do on your nails— which is exactly what I was going through the other night when preparing to do my nails. I just love how the way you layer the polishes overtop of each other can create such a fun & unique look!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • L’Oréal Le Vernis a L’Huile Bleu Royal
  • Essie Ballet Slippers
  • Essie Spice It Up
  • Essie Cliffhanger
  • Essie Leggy Legend
  • Sally Hansen MG Black-y O
  • NailStuff.ca Gold Metallic Flakes (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Look at that dry brush layering! I added some fun gold foil over top to complete my look, but dry brush is definitely a fun beginner design because it doesn’t require any nail art tools! You can just use whatever polish you have on hand. & the colour combinations are absolutely endless—you can do one for every season, or holiday. Also you can let it dry a bit so the colours don’t blend too much, or brush them together to create a fun almost watercolour effect. I love doing both!

What do you think of the dry brush nail art technique? How do you feel about this Autumn colour scheme? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Dam Nail Polish Sapphire

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s been a while since my last Swatch Sunday post, which is a shame because I’ve been meaning to post this beautiful for too long!

Today’s polish was purchased in July from NailStuff for a very special reason. Some of you might know that September marks my wedding anniversary, & September’s birth stone is Sapphire! So I really wanted this polish in honour of our 5th wedding anniversary. 💙

Dam Sapphire is a gorgeous deep blue liner holographic nail polish. The colour reminds me of the ocean, which is perfect when it’s mimicking a sapphire. The holo is strong, especially in sunshine, & just makes your nails sparkle! ✨

2 coats + top coat

The formula on this shade is really good, & I had full even coverage in 2 coats. I did use my Essie Speed Setter over top, because I was wearing it over the course of a few days.

The holographic glitters are dense, which gives that liner holographic effect. You can see from my below macro how much holo is actually packed into the polish! Just beautiful!

For those wanting to add this shade to their collection, you can buy Dam Nail Polish in a couple of places: for my Canadian friends, you can buy it from NailStuff.ca (like I did) & used my affiliate code COFFEE10 to save 10% off your purchase. For non-Canadians, you’re able to purchase directly from the Dam Nail Polish website.

What do you think about this beautiful blue? Let me know down in the comments below & let me know what your favourite gemstone is!

Blue Plaid Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday!

Here in Halifax we’re currently bracing for a big tropical storm to hit, but I still wanted to share some fun Fall nails I did recently. My posting has been a bit sporadic the last few weeks because of work, & family stuff, but I’m really trying to get back into regular posting again! Especially since next month is my favourite Month of the year!

But first: nail art. I always like to do a plaid design at least once a year, & I was really feeling this dark blue shimmery shade that I found hiding in my stash. It was just screaming for some nail art! After glancing at my favourite Fall dress hanging in my closet, I knew exactly what design I wanted to recreate on my nails. I was a little nervous about free-handing stripes, but I was so happy with how they turned out!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze New Year, New Boo
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Essie Mosaic On Down
  • Quo By Orly Breathable The Antidote
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

How gorgeous is this China Glaze shade? It was original released as part of the Glam Finale 2017 Holiday collection. it’s so stunning, & it’s the first time I’ve ever worn it. I can definitely see myself wearing this shade a lot in the new few months — can you imagine it paired in a gradient with some silver holo glitters! Ahhhh, it’ll be so pretty for the holidays.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Because we still have so many Fall & Halloween looks to come!

Down below: a shot with my favourite Fall plaid dress & the inspiration behind this nail art look. They go so perfectly together!

What have you guys been wearing on your nails lately? Do you have a particular shade or design you’re loving right now? Let me know down in the comments below!

Freehand Moroccan Tile Accent Nails

Hello lovelies & Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning to their week. Today I’m sharing a nail art look I did last week on a whim. I was just playing around with some lines, practicing, & ended up dreaming up these black & white Moroccan tile inspired accent nails.

& honestly, they turned out even more perfect than I had imagined!

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • L’Oréal Totally Turquoise
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let’s Snow
  • Essence Black Is Back
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)
  • Small dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

First off, I have to be honest & say that while this L’Oréal shade Totally Turquoise is beautiful, oh boy is she a stainer upon removal. Which sucks, because she’s such a beautiful colour! Secondly, I am so so so happy with how these accent nails turned out. They’re definitely a little bit different for me, but that’s why I love them! Especially the pinky, & they totally turned out like what I imagined in my brain.

Ahhh, they look so cool! & even though my line work isn’t 100% perfect, I think it adds to the design. They looks a little rustic, which is neat!

What do you think of this accent nail design? Do you like the black & white against the turquoise? Share all your thoughts down in the comments below!