SWATCH SUNDAY — QUO Loud & Proud

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s a beautiful, sunny & slightly chilly weekend here on the East Coast. It’s also 2 days until Valentine’s Day, so I went searching for something pink to share for this week’s Swatch Sunday. Pink’s not a colour I wear very often, but one I love to buy. So I thought why not bring out one of those untouched pink’s for this week’s post.

Today’s pick: QUO Beauty Flash Dry Loud & Proud. I picked up this shade last Winter, on clearance–naturally–& have only used it in a couple manicures since. But, since it’s a sunny day, I was feeling some neon.

2 coats, no top coat.

Loud & Proud is a shocking coral neon pink which dries to a semi matte finish, as most neons do. The formula was a bit crelly, leaning on the creme side, but had almost full opacity in two coats. I was actually a bit nervous about needing a ton of coats, but 2 was perfect for me. If you had longer nails, with more of a free edge, you might need another coat, or some white undies.

This shade comes from the QUO Beauty Flash Dry line, which means it’s supposed to dry quicker than your average nail polish. The first coat was definitely quick to dry, although I found the second coat a little bit slower — maybe because I had applied my second coat a bit thicker? The shade was also incredibly hard to photograph the colour correctly, but I tried my best. Originally, it was leaning very orange, which wasn’t true to colour at all.

This were definitely as close to the true colour as I could get it to show.

What do you think about this fun pink neon from QUO? Would you bright this bright, matte pink for your Valentine’s Day celebrations? Let me know what you think & what you’re going to be wearing for any upcoming Valentine’s Day celebrations!

Speckled Easter Eggs

Hello loves & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. It’s almost Easter, so I thought it was about time to share a somewhat Easter-y design. & what is more fun than a speckled Easter egg design!

I literally do a version of this look every year, & if never gets old to me. It’s such an easy & festive look to do. Plus I always joke since I can’t actually eat mini eggs, wearing them on my nails is the next best thing!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Julep Alyssa (thumb)
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sugar Fix (pointer)
  • Essie Play Date (Middle)
  • Essie Gel Couture On The List (ring)
  • Sinful Colors Yolo Yellow (pinky)
  • Wet N Wild 2% Milk
  • OPI How Great Is Your Dane?
  • Fan Brush

I’ve tried a few different versions of this look over the years, like I said, but (I think) this was my first time attempting using a fan brush for the speckled look. Usually I used the saran wrap splatter look, but I think I like using a fan brush even more! It gives a much daintier speckled effect. I think this look is much more true to actual speckled eggs, & I’m obsessed.

What do you think about this speckled nail look? Would you wear these for your own Easter festivities? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Juicy Abstract Stripes

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. It’s almost the weekend… who else is excited?! Of course, they’re calling for (another) big Winter storm Friday night into Saturday. So that’s… fun. I’m so over Winter & snow it’s not even funny! But you know what I’m not tired of–fun, bright nails!

This time, I was feeling some colours I haven’t worn in ages. Coral used to be a go-to nail polish shade for me, & I’m not sure when that changed. So when going through my stash, I was feeling some coral-y shades, & this is what I ended up with. Also, yes, more abstract stripes because they’re just so easy to do.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Millionails
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • OPI I Eat Maine-ly Lobster
  • OPI Can’t Hear Myself Pink
  • Essie Blanc
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • OPI Koala Bear-y
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

I actually ended up wearing these nails for 4 days, which is unheard of for me. Usually I’m changing my nails after day 2, maybe day 3. But I loved these so much I couldn’t actually bring myself to change them until they were really actually chipped.

These nails remind me of nails I did years ago, that I was equally in love with. Those were definitely the inspiration for this look. I know these kind of manis are super popular on Instagram right now, & some people might be slightly sick of them, but to me they will never get old. They’re just so easy, & funky. You have no idea how many compliments I got for this look! It definitely made my nail art loving heart happy.

What do you think about this design? Do you enjoy these abstract stripes?

Leave a comment down in the comments below, & let me know which colour combination you would love to see as an abstract stripe design like this?

Glam Nails Challenge August — Papaya

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday!

It is Wednesday, right? Haha I’ve been so busy with work, I swear I’ve lost track of the days. But I DO know that it’s time to share prompt #6 for #glamnailschallengeaug: papaya.

Seriously, I’m loving this challenge for breaking me out of my normal comfort zone, because I never would have thought to ever create nails inspired by papaya otherwise. I was inspired initially by this Pinterest design, but decided to do my own spin on it. I like that it’s a cross between fruit & an abstract design.


For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sunkissed
  • Sally Hansen CSM Off The Shoulder
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Electri-Lime
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

First off, please excuse any hints of blue nail polish that stained the tips of my fingers. haha I dyed my hair blue last Thursday, but still had a ton of dye that was transferring my hands everytime I touched my hair — including my nails!

Second, I’m so excited with how freaking adorable this manicure turned out! Does it look like a legit papaya? I mean… maybe-ish. It’s an artistic representation at the very least. & I think they’re very cool! They are also very Summery & fun, which is perfect for these hot & humid days of Summer. Also after my previous manicure, I feel like I needed some brightness in my life!

What do you think about this papaya inspired look? Are you feeling the abstract vibes, or do you prefer a more literal design? Let me know down in the comment below!

Glam Nails Challenge August — Peach 🍑

Hello lovelies & happy Monday!

Sorry for being MIA this weekend; this last week has been CRAZY & then I spent my Saturday in bed all day with a migraine, which put any blog work I was going to do on the back burner. But I’m back this morning with prompt #3 of #glamnailschallengeaug: Peach. & I decided to go with a bit of an abstract interpretation of the prompt with these peaches & cream inspired stripes.

I actually was struggling a bit with what I should do for this one. But once this idea popped into my head, I knew I wanted to do it!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Giant Peach
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sunkissed
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Day Cream
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

Oh man, these feel kind of retro, which is really fun!

I went out & bought 3 new Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear shades at Shoppers since they were on sale for $2.99 each, it’s been a long week, & I haven’t bought new a nail polish in a while. I thought these three shades really gave me the peaches & cream feels (plus they’re very pretty colours over all). & I’ve been obsessed with these retro inspired stripes that are all over Instagram right now.

What do you think about these peaches & cream inspired stripes? Do you like my take on the prompt, or is it a little too outside the lines haha. Let me know if you’d rock this peach inspired look in your nails, down in the comments, & don’t forget to pop over to Instagram & check out the other looks using the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug.