Leopard Print Inspired by @hottmama_of4

Hello lovelies how are you guys today?

Happy Cino de Mayo! Honestly, I didn’t even think about the fact it was coming up — I haven’t drank tequila in a good 5 years — so I kind of wish I had done something a little more festive! But I do have a super cute nail art look to share with you, that was actually inspired by a fellow nail artist on Instagram — @hottmama_of4! Heather posted this super cute blue & pink leopard print a few weeks back, & I knew I totally had to recreate it immediately!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Beatnik
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Fuchsia Fever
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

I feel like I haven’t worn a fun leopard print look in a really long time, so I really liked wearing this one! The colours worked so well together — which is why Heather’s caught my eye in the first place! It was a fun pop of colour to wear, & it felt nice to wear a few polishes I haven’t reached for in a while. I’ve been wearing a lot of pastels lately, so I think what I really need is a big pop of COLOUR in my life. This is inspiring me to pull out my neons again… I might need to do a neon rainbow stripe or leopard print look very, very soon!

phonto-2

I’m so happy I decided to recreate this look — Heather’s Instagram feed has so many fun & creative nail art looks. She always goes for colour, which makes me happy! I definitely have a few more looks of hers saved in my “to do” nail art file for the future!

Where do you get your best nail art inspiration from? Clothing, patterns, pinterest, other nail artists? I feel like nail art inspiration is everywhere, but I’ve been especially inspired lately by mugs & pots lately. Maybe it’s because my plant obsession is in overdrive right now, who knows!

 

Have a lovely day! ♥

Pink & Purple Holo Half Moons

Hello lovelies. ♥️

I know, it’s been a while.

Sorry for the extended absence, but we had some devastating event occur here in my beautiful home province of Nova Scotia, & it kind of knocked the wind out of me emotionally, which left me with little urge to post. I’ve literally spent the last 2 weeks almost just playing around making macrame plant holders, & trying to calm my brain. But nails & nail art make me happy, so I’m glad to be back.

So let’s talk about nails shall we! More specifically, how about this holo half moon look!

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Layla Cosmetics Retro Pink
  • Color Club Eternal Beauty
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

I feel like you just can’t properly document a holo look like this in a light box, so naturally I needed to capture it in all its glory in the sun! & look at that holo shift, isn’t it beautiful? Color Club Eternal Beauty might possibly be one of my all time favourite holographic shades, & definitely hands down my favourite purple holo. The liner holo shift is just so strong, it’s blinding. I can’t get enough.

Isn’t this a look? I know I’ve done pink & purple moons a lot, but that’s because it’s a classic. I play around with other colour combinations, but deep in my heart I am a pink & purple kind of girl.

What do you think about this nail art look? What is you favourite holographic nail polish? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

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!

Easy Yellow Floral Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! How is your isolation going? So far I’ve attempted to organize baby girl’s wardrobe, watched 2 &1/2 seasons of Gossip Girl, & spent a lot of time drinking coffee & hanging out with the fam. I’ve also been organizing my nail art supplies, again, because I tend of having a habit of letting them get a bit messy in between. & while organizing my supplies, I realized it’s been a long time since I attempted using my striping polishes & nail art pens in a full manicure. Once upon a time, they used to be the main way I would draw my flowers, so I thought it would be fun to attempt a simple floral design using my old favourites.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • ACO by Ardene Lemon Sorbet
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in Magenta
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in Purple
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in Turquoise
  • Art Club 2Way Nail Art Striper pen in Neon Green

I’m so used to using my good nail art brushes that creating my leaves & vines were more difficult than I thought they would be. I used to be absolutely obsessed with these strippers & nail art pens, & I think they’re still an amazing option for beginner nail artists or traveling as all your polish & tools are co,boned together. Is it the best floral I’ve ever done? Well, no. But I do think it’s still a very beautiful floral & I love them a lot! Plus the colour combination is very, very Springy! & I’ll take any hint of Spring I can get.

What do you think about this floral? What are you favourite nail art tools? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

Spring-y Pastel Floral

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. Today I’m showing off a pretty springy pastel floral, which is perfect because it’s currently 0 degrees & snowing. Ah, Spring in Canada. 🌸

Usually went I do floral I try to do a more realistic looking design, but I decided to go more simple this time & I’m really happy with how these turned out.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Lounge Lover
  • Essie Play Date
  • Essie Bikini So Teeny
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Essie The A-Bliss
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush Trio (I used the 7mm liner brush) — use COFFEE10 to save 10% off your order

These feel very Easter-y to me, even though I hadn’t really started thinking about Easter manicures quite yet. I thought the pretty pastel shades worked really well for this look though — & I’m really how with how these flowers turned out. It took my patience, but I think they look beautiful!

Is anyone else’s hands struggling with extra dryness right now? Between extra extra hand washing & hand sanitizer when we have to venture out for groceries (or handmade Lysol wipes) I feel like I can’t keep on top of my cuticle oil or hand cream. Thank goodness I have an abundance of hand cream at home, because I’m going through it like crazy!

What do you think about this floral? Are you feeling pretty pastels? Let me know what design you would do with pastels for Spring!