Category: Christmas

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Winter-y Sweater Nails 🩵❄️

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. It’s after Remembrance Day here in Canada, which means it’s officially — well, in retail anyways — holiday season go time. The Christmas music is blaring, the red cups are being served, & I’m wearing 2-3 pairs of pants to work thanks to the cold weather. So maybe it’s okay to start creeping a bit more into Winter/Christmas nail art.

Today’s look I started simple with some more sweater inspired nails. This time, I wanted to go with a more winter-y colour scheme, so I picked a grey/blue polish combination–with a little bit of subtle shimmer for good measure.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Thinking Out Cloud
  • Sally Hansen MG Make it N-Ice
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area
  • Born Pretty Store Christmas Stamping Plate (discontinued)
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

The last time I used this particular stamping plate, I went with a red/silver theme, so it was nice to try something different. This is giving less Christmas, & more just Winter, & I like that. It definitely works for our current chilly days. Also, I really like that I switched things up a bit & went with the shimmer-y light base with a darker creme for stamping. Usually I do the opposite.

& if this was an actual Winter/Christmas sweater, I would totally wear it. I do love a good fair isle patterned sweater.

What do you think about this Winter-y sweater design? Do you like these kinds of designs?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below. I definitely have a few freehand design ideas floating around in my head (maybe a recreation of this design from 2017?) so stay tuned!

Have a beautiful start to your week loves! ♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — ORLY Color Blast Garnet Luxe Shimmer

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

Is it too early to start sharing some very holiday appropriate nail polish shades? I mean — the holiday parties are already starting, aren’t they? So some jewel inspired red nail polish is just what I need in my life. Today’s pick is another oldie from the stash, from the now defunct ORLY Color Blast line: Garnet Luxe Shimmer.

2 coats, no top coat!

This stunning shimmery cherry red applied to the nail beautifully in two smooth coats. The formula was smooth, & easy to apply, & self levelled without any need for top coat. It also had a beautiful shine without any need for top coat.

This shade is 100% a Christmas red if I ever saw one. I’m not even sure where I originally picked this polish up — I don’t see a Winners/Marshall’s tag on it, so I’m assuming (maybe) Sally Beauty, but I honestly don’t remember. All I know is it is a great red, & I’m sure happy to have it as part of my collection.

Sadly, as mentioned, the Color Blast line is no longer in production — however I did find a few similar ORLY shades on their website which are very similar: Stronger than Ever, Crawford’s Wine, & Cran-Barely Believe It. I only have Stronger Than Ever in my own stash, so I’ll have to do a comparison to see how close they really are!

What do you think of ORLY Color Blast Garnet Luxe Shimmer? Are you feeling the holiday vibes with this shimmery red polish? Are you ready to jump head first into all the Christmas/Holiday polishes I can share?

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

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Glam Nails Challenge December— Gifts 🎁

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & Merry belated Christmas. I took yesterday off to enjoy the chaos, but I’m happy to be back today to share the next prompt for Glam Nails Challenge December. & the next prompt is… gifts!

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
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Me, My Elf & I (Holiday 2022)
  • Sally Hansen MG Goldie Rocks (Holiday 2019)
  • Sally Hansen MG Living In The Presents (Holiday 2021)
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Who doesn’t love a Christmas toned manicure? The gift accents are pretty simple, but the combination of colours works for a collection of presents.

Hard to believe Christmas is over for another year… & that 2022 is almost finished too. Now we’re in the weird in between time where you’re not sure what day it is & you eat chocolate for breakfast. I swear, I don’t think I ate anything green yesterday at all, unless you count the sour apple toxic waste candy I had last night. Haha.

What do you think about this present theme manicure? What design were you wearing on your nails for Christmas morning? Did Santa bring you any new polishes?

Let me know down the in comments below!

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Glam Nails Challenge December — Christmas Decorations

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope everyone — especially my fellow retail workers — are having a lovely & not too stressful week. It’s seriously crazy that it’s only 4 days until Christmas Day. I can’t believe how quickly this month is going by… & this year.

Next up we have a fun prompt for Glam Nails Challenge December: Christmas Decorations. I decided to go with a classic Christmas decoration, & created these beautiful sparkly Christmas light design.

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
  • L’Oreal Colour Riche Eva’s Nude
  • L’Oreal Colour Riche The Magic Top Coats The Holographic
  • Starrily Nails Vantablack
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • Quo by ORLY Mini Glitter Green
  • Quo by ORLY Mini Glitter Gold
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

& as I mentioned in my previous post, I’m back to my super shorties. Not ideal–& super sad because I was hoping to get to the new year with that fabulous length–but it is what it is, so I’ll just have to come up with some cute short nail looks for the rest of this month!

Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far, & not getting too stressed out with any last minute wrapping, or (like me) shopping they need to get done this week. Stores are busy, people are a bit crazy, so hopefully everyone has time to sit back & enjoy a hot chocolate or Irish coffee, & relax a little bit!

& don’t forget: you can see the rest of the beautiful Glam Nails Challenge December nails on Instagram!

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Glam Nails Challenge December — Candy Cane

Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! & happy 6 days until Christmas Day! I worked a very busy weekend, & the Christmas shopping rush is real. Now if only it would actually feel like Christmas was on its way. Currently, they’re calling for 10 degrees (Celsius) & thunder & lightning on Christmas Eve.

So festive.

You know what is festive though? My nails for the next Glam Nails Challenge prompt, which is Candy Cane. I was really excited for this prompt, because I had this idea of doing a Candy Cane French Manicure. This idea has been floating around in my head for a while, & I was so excited my nails were finally long enough I could!

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
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ski Bunny
  • Sally Hansen MG Red It Twice
  • French Tip Guides
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

I know I say this almost every time, but how cute are these?! I got some many compliments on this design at work! It’s super simple, but just the right amount of festive. Which fits with retail style because I’ve been all about the Christmas Sweaters, fuzzy socks, & any head band that feels a little Christmas-y. After a long time in retail, I’ve accumulated quite the Christmas work wardrobe.

Also this was the last manicure I managed to do before a very tragic break on my middle finger nail. You can kind of see there was a little spot in it that I had previously hit. It wasn’t a break or a crack, but it was enough that I hit it off my fridge door & now I’m back to big time shorties.

Are you following along with Glam Nails Challenge December on Instagram? Are you enjoying the manicures that you’ve seen so far? We have a few more prompts to go… 3 I think? That’s crazy!

& I hope you’re ready for some super short nail looks! Because that’s what we have coming up for the remainder of the month.

Have an awesome rest of your Monday!