Category: coffee

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Hard Candy Coconut

Happy Sunday lovelies! It’s one of my favourite days of the week because it gives me the opportunity to focus on some favourite shades from my stash. Today it’s this beautiful from early 2015 — Hard Candy Coconut. I originally picked up this shade in the original release of the Hard Candy 20th Anniversary shades at Walmart (along with Sky, Scam & Zombie.) I’ve made it no secret my absolute love for a good white nail polish, & this one remains much loved even 3 years later!

2 coats & top coat.

I live for white nail polish. It reminds me of being young. I remember being 15 & searching so hard for a good white & layering 3 different polishes trying to get my nails to look like I wasn’t wearing white-out. Truthfully though, 15 year old Shannon knew nothing about base coats or top coats so I’d add shimmery polishes to try & level out my white polishes. Maybe I was ahead of the time? I also used to use tape to create French manicures which I’d have to redo everyday because I couldn’t stand when they chipped (& they would chip literally 5 minutes after doing them because, again, no top coat.)

There is something that is so fresh about white nail polish. Not only does it make you look semi-tanned (even if you’re not) but it’s just such a blank canvas… a world full of possibilities. I definitely wish you can see that shimmer that comes out in the bottle, because it really is so pretty, but even without it coming through this polish is a keeper. Which is probably the reason why I’m still pulling it out 3 years after I first bought it, & why I’ll always make sure I have a back up bottle for the future.

Do you have a favourite white nail polish? Let me know what it is in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — ACO by Ardene Twilight Zone

There has been a lot of pink & red happening on the blog in preparation for Valentine’s Day,  so I thought it would be fun to break it up with something a little different! So today’s Swatch Sunday is all about this beautiful multichrome from Ardene called Twilight Zone that’s been in my stash for a good 2-3 years now. I’m not sure if it’s still available in store, although I do know they come out with different (similar) duochrome & multichrome shades every so often, so I would recommend popping into a store near you to see what hidden beauty you might find!

For this swatch, I applied two coats of Twilight Zone over a dark base of Essie Under the Twlight because the polish itself is fairly sheer & would require more coats than I have patience for.

As you can see from the bottle, the base of the polish is a sheer-ish green blue with iridescent blue shimmers. You could definitely try & build it up to opacity, but I’m not sure how many coats that would be. If I had to guess, I’d say you’d be looking at least 4. & besides, I really find these shades work best with undies–it makes the change that much more apparent. You can see above that it flashes between blue & pink/purple depending on how you move your hand.

Ugh, it’s just so pretty! Why do I always forget how much I love shifty shades until I’m wearing them again? I’ve been reorganizing the nail room because I got some new storage, & gushing over my old school shades so much, like this beauty & my Claire’s Villain shade dupes from 2010. I keep trying to figure out how to best share my stash on the blog, but with 1000+ nail polishes I’m not sure the best way to document them. Any suggestions on the best way/app to organize what I have & be able to share?

 

Like I said, I don’t believe that Ardene Twilight Zone is still available for sale in store (unless you check out a Outlet perhaps) but I know that they’re always coming out with new & interesting shades so I would definitely recommend checking out what they have. I’ve bought some pretty fun polishes there over the years that are still favourites of mine.

What do you think of this shade? Have you ever bought an amazing polish in a surprisingly place? Let me know your thoughts on the comments below.

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Matte Neon Moon Manicure 🌙

Happy Friday lovelies! Today I’m blasting you with a little neon to cheer up the Winter blues. It’s currently -11 degrees here in Halifax, so I need anything I can get that feels even a little Spring-like. Also this colour combination might actually be perfect. 💜

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Matte Top Coat: Butter London
  • Quo by ORLY Culture Classic
  • Color Club Pucci-licious
  • White Paper White Reinforcement stickers.

I’m so one of those people who can only stand Winter until Christmas is over, & then I want Spring already. If I didn’t love Halifax so much, I would move somewhere where it was warm all year & I could drive to the snow. Instead, I guess neon nails to cheer myself is in order! (& all the hot drinks I can handle to keep myself from freezing)

I guess I should probably start planning my Valentine’s Day designs soon! I missed out on a lot of Valentine’s designs last year, you know with having a baby haha, so I want to make up with it this year!

What do you think of this design? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Happy Birthday Nails! 🎉🎈🎂 

I know, it’s Sunday which means normally I would be sharing a swatch with you. But today is not just any Sunday… it’s my birthday! So obviously I had to do something fun on my nails in honour of the occasion & I couldn’t think of anything more fun to put on my nails than a glittery purple cupcake nail (which are a few of my favourite things.) After perusing Pinterest searching “cupcake nails” I had an idea of how I wanted my design to look, & I’m so happy that they turned out exactly how I imagined! 

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • ORLY Plum Sugar
  • Nails INC Cherry Road
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard To Get
  • Color Club Evolution
  • Cosmetic Arts Unnamed Baby Pink
  • Color Club A Warm Place
  • URSugar Zig Zag Nail Vinyls item #AUB39877 
  • Dotting Tool
  • Small Detail Brush


I really really love my birthday cupcake nails. I feel like it’s been ages since I freehanded anything & I was a little nervous about my cupcake but it turned out so cute! These are going to be fun to wear for my birthday celebrations with my family later this afternoon. Last year I spent my birthday in a dark room with an eye infection, so I’m determined to make up for that this year! 

Have a great Sunday everyone! 💜

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September Monthly Mani Favourites


Crazy to think that another month has gone by! & that means it’s time to round up my favourite Fall manicures from the last month. This month saw lots of Fall designs & colours & Fall coffee drinks. 

Did your favourite manicure from the last month make the cut? It’s always so hard for me to narrow down my favourites, but I have to admit I’m really in love with how my coffee nails turned out! 

Now onto the October (& Halloween 🎃) designs!