If you’re a nail polish addict, then you probably know in order to keep your nails looking good (& picture ready!) you need to make sure you take extra care. Moisturizer & cuticle oil are a regular part of my daily routine, but when the months get colder I need to take extra extra extra care of my nails. So I thought it would be fun to show you an updated version of my winter nail care routine that I feel is really keeping my nails healthier & my cuticles looking great. I would definitely credit these items for the reason why this has been the best winter yet for me in terms of my nail & cuticle shape.
Mermaid Inspired Glitter Gradient using NailStuff.ca Flakies
Guess what! I have anothe review of one of the items sent to me from Nailstuff.ca. This time I’m sharing these beautiful irredentist flakies.
Now I know I said I would share more Halloween looks & these aren’t spooky, but I thought this would be an awesome look for anyone going with a unicorn or mermaid look for Halloween! I know I can’t be the only one whose costume (or outfit in general) isn’t complete until her nails are done!
Okay, I’ll be honest—I’ve never used loose flakies before so I was going into this as a newbie. I knew I wanted to create a glitter gradient with them, so I glanced around at a few posts on Pinterest & Instagram until I felt confident enough I could achieve the look I wanted.
- I started off by painting my nails with a base of Essence Out of Space Stories Intergalactic Adventure & let it dry. I chose this shade because I thought it would compliment the shift in these gorgeous flakies.
- Apply liquid latex around cuticles. I used Edge Perfection to keep the flakies from spreading to my skin during application.
- After about 10ish minutes, I took a little bit of clear polish & applied it at the base of my nails so they would be a bit “sticky”. Like I said I’ve never used these before so I wasn’t sure if this was a necessary step.
- Next I opened up my little pot of flakies & using the little eyeshadow sponge provided, pressed the flakies down at the base of my nail. I also brushed lightly up the nail to create the gradient effect.
- Peel off your liquid latex & seal in your whole nail with top coat—I used Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat. I think using Matte top coat would also look beautiful!
- Time to get distracted by your pretty shifty mermaid-esque nails.
These flakies were a lot easier to apply than I thought they would be! You can see I got the hang of things are I went along with my pinky being my first nail & working towards my thumb. I think using a light touch really makes a huge difference on how they turn out. Also, I’m definitely going to try not applying the clear polish this time to see how well they go on. I feel like it made an extra step that wasn’t necessarily needed, so I’ll keep you updated!
Check out that shift! 😍 Had to include a shot of these nails in action because you really see how gorgeous they are in motion. & this mani totally matches my Starbucks multichrome “nail blogger” cup from a couple of years ago. Which is obviously the perfect excuse to fill up on iced lattes!
If you’re curious about checking out these flakies for yourself, you can order these (& many more) straight from the NailStuff.ca website! Don’t forget that all Canadian orders over $29 have free shipping, & all US & International orders over $49 are free shipping.
*PR SAMPLE* Some of these items were sent to me for review. However, all opinions are my own
Halloween Skull Nails 💀
We are only FOUR days away from Halloween which means I only have a couple more days to get in a few more spooky designs. My next Halloween design is one that is quite popular on Instagram—Jack Skeleton’s face (or just a skull since I don’t want any Disney copyright person coming after me!)
For this design, I wanted to do something quick & easy for those who may be looking for a last minute Halloween nail design that isn’t too complicated to do.
- Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
- Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
- Revlon Elusive
- Ardene Ice Mist
- Sally Hansen Hard To Get
- Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black
- Bundle Monster small nail art brush
- Bundle Monster dotting tool
This design was super simple to do! I decided to freehand my stripes because I wanted my stripes to look somewhat imperfect. I also like that they’re over such a sheer base colour. These really are super simple to do & I feel like you can accomplish them at any nail art level. My eyes/nose were the hardest to get right but even though they’re not perfectly symmetrical, they still turned out fun & Halloween-y. 🎃 For the eyes, I just created blobs using my larger size dotting tool & the mouth length using my striper. I then went in with my smaller brush & created the teeth & nose.
What are you wearing on your nails for Halloween? Do you have any Halloween designs you’d like to see me take a stab at before Tuesday? Leave your suggestions here or on Instagram & I’ll try my best! 🖤
Nail Art Goodies from NailStuff.ca & my first experience with Water Decals.
I’m back from my vacation, & while I enjoyed being away I definitely missed home! I was also excited to arrive home because I knew I had some nail mail waiting for me! My hubby was sweet enough to open my packages for me on a video Facechat, which added to my excitement. I couldn’t wait to get home & play with these goodies.
One of the parcels I received was from the new nail art site in town: nailstuff.ca! I’d recently seen items from them popping up on my Instagram feed, & when they offered to send me a few items to try out I couldn’t say no! I received a sheet of nail water decals, a sheet of nail stickers, a wheel of nail art studs, & three little tubs of glitter (silver, holo pigment & flakies.)
First up, I had to try out the Halloween themed water decals!
This was my first expirence using water decals. I’ve bought them before, but never actually used them. Thankfully these decals came with very clear instructions to make applying them easy. Here’s what I did to apply the water decals (as a first time user):
- I started off by painting my base shade (China Glaze Swanky Silk topped with Revlon Holographic Pearls) & letting dry.
- While my polish was drying I grabbed a cup of room temperature water & scissors.
- Once my Base was dry, I cut out my desired designs & dunked them in the water for 10-20 seconds. I recommend doing this with tweezers.
- Pull out your design & using a dry finger pick up the design carefully. Make sure your finger is dry, or else your decal will crinkle up.
- Immediately press the decal down on your base. You only get one try with this, so make sure you’re putting it down where you want it.
- The instructions recommend using a blow dryer to dry your decal, but I found if you wanted a minute or two it also worked.
- Seal in your decal with top coat. I used Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat.
These decals were surprisingly easy to use even though I had no prior experience with them. They sit so flawlessly on the nail, you don’t have to worry about them sticking up or peeling off (after you seal them in with top coat). They are a quick & easy way to spruce up a basic colour & would look even more awesome over a gradient! There are also a whole variety of different design options in a variety of shapes & sizes for whatever look you’re craving.
Nailstuff.ca is based out of Canada, so shipping is a lot faster some than those other nail art companies, & it’s free shipping for Canadian orders over $29 & US & international orders over $45.
Even better, they’re currently having a promo that if you use coupon code SCARYNAILS you’ll save 15% off all scary nail items for all your Halloween nail needs. So if you haven’t checked out them yet, I definitely recommend giving their site a look & stocking up!
Stay tuned because I have lots more goodies to review!
*PR SAMPLE* Some of these items were sent to me for review. However, all opinions are my own
Throwback Thursday Halloween Nails
October is quickly speeding by, so I need to amp up my Halloween designs! 🎃
This time I decided to recreate a design I did all the way back in 2014 (originally done with @mynailpolish_addiction as part of a bestie twin nail collab.) Even though I had spiders, I always thought this design was adorable so I wanted to recreate it.
For this manicure, the polishes used were:
- Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
- Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
- L’Oréal Orange You Jealous?
- Color Club Wham! Pow!
- OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
- Sally Hansen Hard To Get Black Heart
- Essie No Place like Chrome
- Revlon Holographic Pearls
- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue
- The Base Coat Spiderweb nail stencil
- Small detail brush from Bundle Monster
- Latex Free Make Up Sponge
I thought these nails were super cute when I did them originally, & I still think they’re super cute. & I definitely feel like they turned out a little less wonky this time around. Sometimes when I feel like my nails suck & I have no talent & I’m feeling especially hard on myself it’s nice to do these recreations to see how far I’ve come. I may not be the most insanely talented nail artist, but I’m hugely proud of how far I’ve come.
What do you think of this Halloween design? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Coffee & Nail Polish 