Category: Dotticure

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Bestie Twin Nails with @torisprettythings


I always get really, really excited when I can team up with fellow nail polish addicts I love, admire & am inspired by. So I was really excited when I had the opportunity to team up with Tori of @torisprettythings! 

I’ve been friends with Tori on Instagram for a long time, but somehow we’ve never come together for a collaboration. 😳 Thankfully we’ve finally amended that with these fun Fall polka dot nails inspired by a mani she found on Pinterest originally by Oooh Shinies. 


For this manicure, the polishes I used were: 

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Flash 
  • Essie Wrap Me Up
  • China Glaze Champagne Bubbles
  • Essie Leggy Legend
  • OPI My Private Jet
  • Small & tiny dotting tool. 

How perfectly Fall is this manicure? Both Tori & I are all about that Fall weather so we were pumped to team up on some Autumn inspired nails. I haven’t done a dotticure this fun in a while so it was really fun to sit down & play around. 

 Sometimes the simpler designs actually bring out your most creativity. This isn’t a super hard design & would be great for a nail art beginner! All you need is a dotting tool & some complimentary shades & people will be in awe of your nails. I am going to be doing a whole week of beginner nail art designs coming up (I’ve already been collecting & playing with manicure ideas) but this would definitely be on the list of great beginner designs. 

What do you think of this bestie twin nail collaboration? Don’t forget to check out Tori’s Instagram…. not just for all the beautiful nail art inspo she posts, but also her awesome OOTD & make up looks. 

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Tribal-esque Chevron Nails

I’m still obsessing over the OPI Iceland collection, so I felt like pulling it out for some more nail art. This time, I decided on these chevrons which ended up looking slightly tribal-esque. 

Even better, this design was super quick & easy to do which is good because I’m still pretty run down from my gluten attack but still want to do my nails. Don’t get me wrong–I enjoy complicated freehand designs. But sometimes you just want to be able to have pretty complicated nails without having to spend 2 hours crafting them! & this design is definitely perfect for that. 

For this design, the polishes used are:

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Top Coat
  • OPI This Isn’t Greenland
  • OPI Suzi & the Artic Fox
  • Xroma Polish & Vinyls X Stencil (I used the inside pieces) 
  • Small dotting tool 

How great do these two colours look together? They compliment each other really, really well. But then again these OPI shades are so gorgeous, I think it would be impossible to create a design that didn’t look beautiful. & again, these were super simple to do:

  1. Paint your nails using your base colour (in this case, OPI This Isn’t Greenland) & apply quick dry top coat. 
  2. When your base colour is completely dry (about 20 minutes), apply your nail vinyls. I find it easier to go one hand at a time. 
  3. Going one nail at a time, paint over vinyls with your secondary shade (OPI Suzi & the Artic Fox). Remove nail vinyls as soon as you apply your polish. 
  4. Once you’ve done all nails, go back with a small dotting tool & your base colour & add your dots. 
  5. Apply top coat to seal in design. 
  6. Repeat on other hand. 

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

Some of these lovely polishes were all gifted to me by OPI as part of the #PreenMeVIP program. 

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Mani Swap with @hjs_nails!


Good morning lovelies! Hope you’re enjoying your week so far, & what’s left of August. Isn’t it crazy how quickly the month is speeding by? Don’t get me wrong, I’m beyond excited for Fall but it is crazy to think how quickly this Summer has speed by. 

I thought I would break up the Fall colours I’ve been obsessing over, & joint in a fun (& bright & colourful) mani swap with Hannah of @hjs_nails! For this swap I picked her super neat abstract design, & she recreated my recent watercolour lines design (& lets be honest, she did it 100x better! I’m so jealous!) 

For this design, I used: 

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Pretty Peony
  • Essie In The Cab-ana 
  • Essie Splash of Grenedine
  • Essence Back to Black
  • Small Bundle Monster dotting tool 

I thought this was such a neat design when I originally away Hannah’s so when she was looking for someone to swap with I knew already what design I was going to pick! Plus it’s such a great pop of colour which I kind of just needed in my life. You can never go wrong with a good abstract nail & the right pop of colour. 

What do you think of our swap? Let me know in the comments below! & don’t forget to head over to Hannah’s instagram & give her a follow if you’re not following her already. 💜

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Easy Navy & Neon Half Moons 

I’m sure I’m not the only one whose first nail art involved those paper hole re-enforcements. This design is very reminiscent of those early nail art designs when all I had at my nail art disposal was those little sticky circles & a $1.99 dotting tool by Essence. & even though it’s a relatively simple design, I think it looks so classy & chic! 

For this manicure, I used:

  • Base Coat: Cutex Brittle Nail Fix
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • China Glaze Purple Panic
  • China Glaze Sleeping Under the Stars
  • Essie Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Lo
  • Paper Hole re-enforcements (I buy mine from the Dollar Store)
  • Small dotting tool (like this one from Essence!)  

If you’re looking for an easy, simple nail art design this would be a great option! The hardest part is waiting for your base colour to dry (& thanks to quick dry top coat, even that comes pretty easy.) I really like this colour combination–you have Purple Panic with all its neon beauty topped with Sleeping Under the Stars which has that very pretty pink shimmer that compliments the neon pink really well. This is a great in-between mani. & a little more sparkle by adding those gold dots. 


What do you think of this mani? What is your favourite old school nail art technique? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

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Easy Pink Gradient Dotticure

Gradient dotticures never get old to me. They’re such a quick, easy option for nail art & sometimes I’m all about the quick & easy manicures! While I used to be able to stay up all night creating complex & time consuming design, I just don’t always have that option anymore (& when I do the next day is always rough!)

 For anyone who is just getting into nail art, I’m always quick to suggest trying out dotticures because you don’t really need any tools since a bobby pin works easily, & they’re hard to mess up! Back in the early days of my nail art journey, I probably wore a gradient dotticure twice a week if not more. There is just so many ways to do it! 

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Cutex Brittle Nail Fix
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Splash of Grenedine
  • Essence Black is Back
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard to Get
  • Essie No Place Like Chrome
  • Small Dotting Tool or Bobby Pin

Quick & easy. I’ve been looking back at super old manicures from my early nail art days & thinking about doing a whole beginner nail art series featuring some of my early nail art designs & some tips for starting out!

What do you think of this dotticure? Do you love a good gradient dotticure too? Let me know in the comments below!