SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Cute As A Button

PR/Gifted

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! My first Swatch Sunday in quite a while — sorry about that! But I’m excited to be back, & excited to share a somewhat Spring-y polish with you all. This winter, although not quite over yet, has been a long one, & I think I’m ready to embrace what Spring has to offer. At least when it comes to my nails.

Today’s nail polish pick was kindly gifted to me c/o: L’Oréal & Essie. It is Essie Cute As A Button.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful pinky coral has been an Essie core shade for a long, long time & there is definitely a reason for that! The shade itself is gorgeous, & it’s a perfect pop of colour. The formula was smooth, easy to apply, & smoothed down to the perfect finish with a quick swipe of top coat (I used Essie Gel Setter).

Oh my gosh, this dress is so juicy & beautiful! It just screams a sunny spring day & that’s what these long end of Winter days are calling for.

As I mentioned, Essie Cute as a Button is one their core shades so it’s available anywhere Essie is sold!

What do you think about this juicy shade? Are you already feeling like dipping into your Spring shades, or are you still embracing Winter? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! I’m always curious to see what other people are currently wearing.

Happy Sunday

🖤

Products used are gifted. All thoughts & reviews are my own.

Funky Orange Abstract Stripes

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday. Sorry for being such a stranger — I swear I’m trying to get the blog posts written, but it’s been a struggle. But I have a stash of fun designs saved up to share with you, so I’m really trying to get my butt into gear. Summer vacation has been… a struggle, to say the least.

Today’s post is one of my go to favourite designs, but I’m especially happy with how this one turned out! A retro inspired abstract stripe design is always a good decision, & the colours for this particular one just brought everything together so perfectly.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Sunshine State of Mind
  • Essie Peach Side Babe
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Essie Sand Tropez
  • Quo by Orly Black Nail Art Striper

How much fun! Seriously, the colours just compliment each other so well. I very much adore how it turned out. Plus, it’s one of those designs which is so easy, because there is no right or wrong way to do it. You just create a kind of swirl on your nails with the different colours of polish, & it creates this fun abstract/wavy stripe effect. A perfect look for Summer!

What do you think of this abstract stripe design? Have you given this look a try, & what did you think? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Tuesday!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY Quo Beauty Mango Tango

Hello lovelies & happy sunny Sunday. It’s hot & humid today, so I thought I would dig into my stash to find a fun Summer shade for this week’s Swatch Sunday post & this vibrant coral from Quo Beauty was the perfect pick.

This is Quo Beauty Mango Tango.

2 coats + top coat

I believe I originally picked up this shade on clearance from my local Shoppers Drug Mart last Summer (Quo Beauty is Shoppers in house beauty brand). The polish itself is a stunning fiery coral which is very, very neon. Sometimes it leans more orange, sometimes more red.

Formula was smooth & easy to apply. 2 coats for full coverage, & it dries quite quickly which is a bonus.

Does this colour not just scream summer time? I can practically smell the sunscreen. It’s also a great shade for bringing out your sun tan, or making it look like you have a suntan. My photos definitely leaned a bit more red, but it person I feel like it complimented my olive undertones to give me that mid-Summer tanned vibe I love.

What do you think about Quo Beauty Mango Tango? Do you love this juicy coral for Summer time? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & if you’d wear this beauty on your nails!

Happy Sunday

🖤

Emoji Inspired Nails 💋💗🌈🌸 (Easy Nail Art)

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! It’s hot, sunny & beautiful lately & feels just like the kind of Summer days I like.

Today I’m sharing a new manicure & a bit of a nail art hack. I’ve posted before about my absolute love of nail art stickers.

Recently I was in my local Dollarama & found these massive sheets of small foil emoji inspired stickers for $1.25 & thought they would be perfect for stick on earrings for my daughter. But then I realized they were the perfect size to potentially work for nail art stickers & so naturally I bought 2.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • China Glaze Thistle Do Nicely
  • China Glaze Everglaze Optimal Opal
  • Dollarama Small Foil Emoji Stickers

Okay I’m really really impressed with how easily these stuck to my nails, & adhered to my already dry base. They were fairly flexible & easy to stick on the nail, or adjust slightly if needed. I used tweezers to pull them from my sheet, & attach them to my nails, & most of the stickers I picked were easy to apply.

For removal, it was just as easy to take off. I did have a few stickers which were lifting by the end of the day, but that could be avoided with a thicker top coat.

Over all, I think these stickers were perfect for easy nail art at a great low price. Obviously, I want to support small businesses that sell nail art stickers, but times are tough right now, & I think everyone deserves to have beautiful nails so if you can find cute stickers to use on your nails at an affordable price — you should totally take advantage of it!

Would you want me to do a post featuring other Dollar Store items I’ve found for doing your nails? Let me know down in the comments below!

Happy Thursday!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Icing Stores Chips n Dip

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! After some rainy & chilly days we’re finally back to beautiful sunshine, & I couldn’t be happier.

For today’s Swatch Sunday post, I decided to do some serious digging through my stash & found a very throwback shade circa 2013 (I’m guessing). I wanted something bright & vibrant & Summery, & I think that I was very successful.

This is Icing Stores Chips n Dip.

3 coats + Top Coat

This beautiful fiery coral applied in 3 thin coats, which usually would be a no for me, but because the formula is quite thin, it dried down very quickly so I didn’t have to worry about wait time — especially after applying a quick dry top coat. It’s a cruelly formula, definitely leaning more on the jelly side of that occasion which I like.

The colour is bright & I love that. I’m always drawn towards anything in the red or red leaning family, & this is a fantastic Summer option. Like could you imagine this as a pedicure colour? So perfect for the beach.

Look how bright this is! Definitely looking more on the red side in these photos, but the coral really comes through in person.

My only complaint — & it’s probably an issue due to how long I’ve owned this shade — is handle of the brushes on the bottles have kind of melted over the years so they’ve gotten really sticky & I absolutely hate it. Not sure what to do to fix the stickiness, so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know! Because I would love to use this shade (& others from this brand in the same style of bottle) but the sticky issue keeps me from reaching for them.

What do you think about Icing Stores Chips N Dip? Does this shade scream Summer to you as much as it does to me? Have you ever tried an Icing brand polish? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Sunday! ♥︎