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Crazy Dotticure Pattern Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, & didn’t eat too many chocolate eggs or jellybeans.

We had a pretty lovely weekend here in Halifax, which meant perfect weather for our annual Easter Egg hunt outside. Usually, all the cousins would gather out our house for it, but with social isolation & distancing it was just us. Never the less, our little guy had a blast finding all the eggs, & his baby sister had fun trying her first real taste of chocolate! I could definitely get used to warm sunny days, & they’re calling for sunshine & 16 degrees today, so I’ll take it!

So let’s show off some fun nails, shall we?

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Quo by ORLY pale peach (no label — it was a mini bottle circa 2013/2104)
  • Essie Splash of Grenedine
  • Essie First Timer
  • Essie Playdate
  • Essie Bikini so Teeny
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 to save 10% on your purchase!)

So I’ve been thinking about doing one of these dotticure pattern nails for a while, but for some reason was nervous to do it (& kept falling back into old trusted designs — like floral). But I’ve really been wanting to try something different, out of my comfort zone, & I’m really glad I did! At first I wasn’t sure about how these turned out, but I actually really adore them! So much so, I wore this look for a full 3 days until they started chipping.

These sort of remind me of like printed tiles, or something. I really like the bright pop of colour over the pale base shade. I’ve had this Quo shade in my minis drawer for a very long time, but I don’t think I’ve pulled it out to wear before. It makes a great almost neutral base for nail art.

What do you think about this dotticure? What was the last manicures out of your comfort zone you tried–did you grab a colour you never wear, or try out a design that made you nervous? Let me know in the comments below!

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Matte St. Patrick’s Day Dotticure 🍀

Hello lovelies! Happy St. Patrick’s Day 🍀 although this feels like a very strange thing to say considering the state of the world right now. I hope wherever you are, you’re safe & healthy & stocked up on all the essentials you need. Like coffee.

For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t feeling the St. Patrick’s Day nails this year, but decided at the last minute (yesterday) to do something, anything. & what is more fun & festive than a green themed dotticure!

For the manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • My Beauty Spot pistachio green (no name)
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • L’Oréal Feeling Kilty
  • Quo by ORLY Diva
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio  (COFFEE10 to save 10%)

This look makes me happy, not only because it’s relatively quick & so easy to do! A dotting tool was the very first nail art tool I ever purchased, & by far they are the ones I’ve used the most over the last decade of me obsessively painting my nails! The great thing about a dotticure is that you grab a few festive colours & you can create a manicure for any holiday! Orange & black = Halloween. Green, red & White = Christmas. Pastels = Easter.

Easy peasy.

What do you usually do for St. Patrick’s Day? Back in my bit crazier days, I would take the day off from work & go party at a friends house literally all day. Those were crazier times for sure. Now I pretty much stick to kombucha & maybe Irish Cream flavoured coffee!

This year, like I said, with all the fear about Covid-19, we’ve stocked up on goods for the next little while. But I am set when it comes to coffee — we made sure to hit up Selby’s for some at home coffee! ☕️

Stay safe (& healthy!) loves

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Teeny Tiny Gradient Dotticure (perfect for Valentine’s Day)

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Hello lovelies & Happy Thursday! 

We have one more day until Valentine’s Day, so I thought I would share a cute look that you could totally wear for the holiday — this teeny tiny gradient dotticure! I’m kind of obsessed with polka dots right now, & there is nothing I love more than a gradient dotticure. For this look, I decided to use my beautiful Sally Hansen Canada Good Kind Pure shades because I thought all the colours I received would make for a beautiful not-so-classic Valentine’s Day look.

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen GKP Beet It
  • Sally Hansen GKP Pink Cardamom
  • Sally Hansen GPK Eco-Rose
  • Sally Hansen GKP Golden Quartz
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

Remember, you can use COFFEE10 at checkout at Nailstuff.ca to save 10% off your purchases!


How pretty are these dainty polka dots?

Also please forgive the lack of photo quality. My phone is on its last life, & trying to capture my nails in good quality is just not happening. I need a new phone, & maybe a new camera too. If you have any camera suggestions you love, let me know! I’m so ready for/in desperate need of an upgrade.


I haven’t actually decided what I’ll be wearing on my nails for tomorrow. Usually I have some elaborate idea in my head of what I want to do on my nails, but this year I’ve been distracted. We’re also traveling tomorrow to Northern New Brunswick to visit family for a couple of days, so I don’t know if I’ll have time to do anything more than a single colour. Maybe I’ll pull out one of my pink holo shades for the occasion!

What do you think about this nail art look? Have you ever done a gradient dotticure before? What is your favourite colour combination? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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Dainty Polka Dots (take 2)

Hello lovelies & Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone’s week is off to a fantastic start — we had some beautiful, dare I say Spring-like, weather yesterday which has me feeling excited. I am not a Winter person at all. It’s just too cold & wet, & the days are too short & dark. With the exception of snow for Christmas, I really can’t deal with it at all. I miss my flats.

But you know what cheers me up? Pretty nails! & it’s be eons since my last true dotticure so I thought some simple & chic polka dots were in order. Plus I got this neat Essie Christmas set at Walmart for 50 % off, & I really wanted to pair these two polishes together.

I seriously love a good deal, & when I saw this set of two mini polishes plus my beloved Gel Setter top coat for $7.50, I knew I needed it. I also did not yet own Ballet Slippers (crazy I know), so it was a deal I couldn’t pass up.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Treat Love & Colour in Gloss Fit
  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Ballet Slippers
  • Essie Chocolate Cakes
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 to save 10%)

I don’t think I can begin to describe how much I love a good dotticure, & this one is particularly lovely. The darker dots just pop against the delicate base of Ballet Slippers & gives it such a girly feel overall. It’s such an easy look to wear for everyday, or maybe for a date with a special someone for Valentine’s Day (which is quickly coming up!) Also I always feel like a dotticure is such a perfect option for someone who isn’t into nail art or doesn’t have time for complicated nail art — they’re easy to do, but not super flashy! You could even go with a paler dot colour — white or blush — if you needed something even more office appropriate & no one would really be able to tell you had nail art on!

What do you think about this dotticure? Are you a fan or is it too simple for you? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & share what Valentine’s Day nails you’re thinking about wearing (or anti-Valentine’s Day nails if you’re not into the whole thing 🖤)

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#GlamNailsChallengeDec — Christmas Decorations

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Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! We’re quickly speeding through December & speeding through the prompts for #GlamnailschallengeDec! Today’s prompt is Christmas decorations! I feel like this prompt is really up for interpretation & offers a wide variety of options, so I decided to recreate a look I love to do: Christmas branches with decorations, but with the addition of holo. Because, let’s be honest — everything is better with holo!

If you’re curious to see my previous look from two years ago, you can find them here.

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Quo by ORLY Kiss Me I’m Kind
  • OPI Pirouette My Whistle
  • Acrylic paint
  • Wrenn Polish Enchanted
  • Wrenn Polish Summer Sands
  • Color Club Eternal Beauty
  • Superchic Lacquer Throwing Shade
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

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Who has decorated their Christmas tree? 🎄 We got ours done this week, which is about 2 weeks sooner than last year. Because of pregnancy & work last year, we managed to get our tree decorated by Christmas Eve, haha. But you know, if you haven’t gotten your tree decorated yet, you can always pretend with fully decorated Christmas trees on your nails!

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I really think the holo dots are what make this design because it reminds me of the baubles on my own tree when the light catches them. Just that lovely sparkle. ✨ You don’t even need to worry about any more details, because the shift of light does it all for you.

I also think these might be the best pine needle/Christmas tree branches I’ve ever painted. I’m insanely proud of how these ended up, which is probably why I wore this look for over a week. Sometimes a look just wins, & this is definitely one of these looks for me. ❤️

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What do you think about this Christmas decoration look? Don’t forget to hop on over to Instagram & check out the other  #glamnailschallengeDec Christmas Decoration looks. faux tree kind of person!