Category: Easy

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Floral & Gold Nails inspired by @thelittlecanvas

Happy Saturday! & Happy Royal wedding day! Who else was up early watching all the Royal wedding coverage? The Bubs had me up at 5:30am, but I was already planning on getting up to watch coverage of the event.

I don’t have royal themed nails to share with you today, although personally I think this floral design would be perfect for any wedding! Today’s design was inspired by a manicure @thelittlecanvas posted back in March. I loved everything about it (Alaina always does the prettiest accent nail designs!), so naturally I had to recreate. Plus it was an opportunity to pull out one of my favourite vibrant blues that I haven’t worn in a while.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • ACO by Ardene Whacky
  • OPI My Favourite Ornament
  • OPI Chiffon My Mind
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Pretty Piggy
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Super Charge
  • Essence The Green & The Grunge
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art Pen in Black
  • Bundle Monster detail brush
  • Bundle Monster large & small dotting tools

I love that event though this is a relatively easy design to create, the combination of everything just makes your nails look so fancy. Plus they look way more complicated than they actually are. I’m still trying to find more floral designs to do that aren’t just my typical roses that I can pull out when I’m feeling floral on my nails. Which, lets be honest, is 95% of the time.

What do you think of this floral? Do you think I stayed true to my inspiration? & if you’re on the hunt for new nail art inspiration & haven’t already discovered Alaina, definitely check out her Instagram & blog because she always come out with the most amazing patterns & designs!

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Blurple & Pink Pastel Half Moons 🌙

Good Morning lovelies! Hope you’re having a fantastic Thursday. I seriously can’t believe that it is almost the weekend already! & the May long weekend at that. Well, unless you work in retail of course… & then it is just another weekend with a slightly busier Monday.

Today I’m showing off some pretty half moons featuring a few shades from the Sally Hansen Canada Miracle Gel Pastel Punk collection. & as you can see, I’ve made a return to rounded nails. My nails in general have been feeling pretty weak ever since my return to work (a combination of not oiling & moisturizing them every hour, dealing with lots of stock & having to use a liberal amount of hand sanitizer) so after another break I decided a return to rounded was in order.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel I Lava You
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Just Maui’d
  • Paper Hole reinforcements

I’ve raved again & again just how much I adore the look of half moon designs, especially how EASY they are! Because this kind of design was my first ever real “nail art” I did, aside from maybe poorly door polka dots, this is one of my top nail art design suggestions for those just getting into nail art. Especially because the only “tools” it requires can be bought at Walmart or Dollarama (or any dollar store) for less than $2.

Also check out how much more purple Just Maui’d looks paired with I Lava You versus on its own when I swatched it. It pairs so well with the pinks, I can’t get over it. Definitely in love.

what do you think of this half moon combination? What is your favourite colour combination? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Also I’m on the hunt for any suggestions on how to help my nails feel less frail. Going to be switching up my base coat–thinking about trying out Nail Envy again. If you have any suggestions let me know! 💜

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Quick & Easy Abstract Stripes

Hello lovelies… it’s been a moment!

Today I’ve got some fun abstract stripes to share with you. This is one of my favourite easy designs to do when I’m struggling with inspiration. I recently picked up a few new polishes from Icing so I decided to grab them as the main polishes of choice. If you’ve been around this blog a while, you know that while I adore my big brands, there is something wonderful about polishes from non-cosmetic brands–stores like Ardene, Claires, Icing & H&M have some serious awesome polishes with awesome formulas! & even more awesome — they’re super affordable! So now that I’m back to work, I’ve been adding a lot more shades to my collection.

So I thought why not create a design using them as my feature shades!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Icing 60858 Light Blue Shimmer
  • Icing Matte Effect 85900
  • Art Club Nail Art Striper in Blue Paisley
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper in white
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper in black

I just love how this design turned out. I wore these to work & got quite a few compliments on them! I feel like I know a design turned out well if random strangers are complimenting them (&asking if I did them myself!) That’s always a huge compliment to me!

Also this blue shade is definitely fitting in with the rainy weather outside. Blue abstract stripes always give me water vibes.

What do you think of these abstract stripes? Share you favourite quick & easy nail art design down below!

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Summer Ready Vibrant Blue & Mint Ruffian Nails

You guys! I’m so excited because it was actually sunny & warm yesterday! Like warm enough I could get away with wearing just a jumpsuit & denim jacket. It was very exciting, like maybe we’ll get Spring after all. In fact this whole week is supposed to be in the double digits! I haven’t been this exciting for anything since Starbucks got almond milk! Especially exciting–I have tomorrow off work & plan on taking advantage with an outside adventure with the Bubs!

Obviously this calls for bright & colourful nails. It’s been ages since I attempted a ruffian design & I really wanted something that would pop! So I grabbed a few of my older Essence shades from deep in my stash for an eye catching ruffian.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essence Always On My Mint (an Unforgettable Kiss collection)
  • Essence The Gel Lets Get Lost!

Ooooooh this colour combo works so well. This is one of my all time favourite Essence shades, & when I noticed my local Shoppers was taking it out of their Essence display (& had marked them all down to $1) I may have stocked up on extras… like 3 extra bottles… pretty much all the ones they had. It’s just such a good shade! It pairs well with pretty much every colour–purple, pink, mint, light blue, yellow. I haven’t discovered a colour combination I didn’t like. But I have to say, pairing it with mint has definitely become a favourite thanks to this design!

Oh, I’m just so excited with how my ruffian turned out. I feel like I’m getting a lot better with creating that rounded look. It definitely helps that Essence polishes have those beautiful thick brushes. Makes things so much easier! You get a lovely (complicated looking) design with not too much trouble. I love when that happens!

Who else is ready for actual Spring & Summer?! Bring on the iced coffees, sunglasses & maxi dresses. It’s about damn time!

What do you think of this ruffian design? Would you wear this look? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Negative Space Chevron Moons

Hello brightness, my old friend. 🕶 Well, bright nails at least. I was feeling some Summer colours, so I decided a colour block chevron moon design was much needed! & what better than some Summery shades to make it perfect.

I decided for this design to grab a few favourites from my stash. I feel like I have too many shades in my stash I haven’t worn yet. I have this habit of buying polishes on clearance & then promptly forgetting I bought them in the first place! For example this OPI shade (I Eat Maine-ly Lobster) that I picked up for only $4 at Lawtons. I also have about 4 others sitting untried. I really need to get on that!

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze I’ve Got A Blue Attitude
  • OPI I Eat Maine-let Lobster
  • The Base Coat Nail Vinyls stacked chevron vinyls

Ooooooooh I love this combination & how bright these are. I wasn’t sure at first how these colours were going to go together, but it turned out perfect! & oh so bright. Like, I need to grab my sunglasses bright. Which is perfect, since Mother Nature threw us a curve ball & had it snow yesterday. Not a lot, & it didn’t stick, but… seriously?! It’s the 21st of April! I should be wearing denim jackets & maxi skirts, not Ugg boots. Thankfully next week is calling for sunshine & warm temperatures the beginning of the week! So my Spring dresses won’t sit untouched in my closet much longer.

Is there anything better than chevron moons & negative space? I’ve been going through old manicures circa 2015 & I’m remember how much I loved doing both… I need to do them more often! Being back to work hasn’t been as easy a transition as I thought it would originally be. I need to take a little more time for doing my nails & having fun again.

what do you think of this design & colour combination? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!