Gradient Desert Scene

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday!

Today I’m doing sort of a throwback Thursday post as today’s manicure is one I did a while back but never shared. I was scrolling through my phone last night, & stumbled across this design & knew I had to post it! Especially because I have no idea what I wouldn’t have shared them in the first place. Thankfully I kept a list of the polishes I used, so even though these were done a while ago, I could still share exactly what I used to create this look!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Parka Perfect
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Rose to the Occasion
  • Essence Black is Back
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let’s Snow!
  • Nailstuff.ca mermaid tail detail brushes
  • Edge Perfection cuticle barrier
  • Latex free make up sponge (I buy mine at Dollarama)

I love love love doing these landscape gradient nails. It’s kind of like a galaxy nail, but less work. & of course I added cacti in the distance, because they’re my favourite.

Seriously, I cannot understand why I never shared this design when I originally did them. The gradient looks nice, my freehand work isn’t awful. Maybe I was just saving it for right now (without realizing it?) Either way I’m happy to share this look with you now!

What do you think of this gradient landscape look?

Would you like to see more of these designs on the blog?

Hit like if you’re into this kind of nail art & share down below what else you’d like to see me do!

Gradient Cactus Nails

Good afternoon & happy May everyone! Who else excited for warmer days. I feel like I’m saying this every post, but I’m just. so. ready. This winter has felt just so darn long & I’m craving neons & brights.

I was also craving a gradient as it felt like absolute ages since I had created one, so I decided to go with a blue toned look. & to finish off the look I added these absolutely adorable cactus stickers that Victoria from NailStuff.ca sent to me because she knows my love for cacti! 🌵 Have you checked out her collection of nail stickers & nail decals? I’m obsessed. So many fun designs for easy nail art this Summer.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Fashion Playground
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sugar Fix {PR sample}
  • China Glaze I’ve Got A Blue Attitude
  • Sally Hansen MG Make It N-Ice {PR sample}
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier {PR sample}
  • Cacti Nail Stickers {gift from Nailstuff.ca}

My gradient skills were a little rusty, but I love this look so much. The colours used almost give the gradient a thermal polish feel & obviously I couldn’t do a gradient without adding a little glitter. & finishing off the look with the stickers just made them a little more fun!

What do you think of this look? Share your thoughts down in the comments below!

Red Plaid Holiday Nails

Good Morning Lovelies! Can you believe it’s only 13 days until Christmas… where has this year gone?! Even though I’ve been insane at work with Christmas coming, I’ve been trying to do my nails when I can–& trying to get in as many Christmas-y designs in as often as I can.

(Not going to lie… painting them has been a struggle, but having time to take pictures is another story all together!)

Today I have some pretty red plaid nails that are a combination of stamping & freehand. I LOVE plaid nails, but sometimes they can be time consuming depending on how many lines you have to free hand. By combining a plaid stamping pattern I had with a bit of freehanding, I managed to come up with a cute & relatively easy plaid look that’s perfect for this time of year!

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Grow Stronger
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Good Cheer-y (from the Decadence collection)
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Black Heart
  • L’Oréal Getting Kilty
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper

I’m not going to lie–I’m a little rusty, & my nails & cuticles have seen better days. But it feels so good to be painting my nails again, & it always feels nice when people randomly compliment me on how pretty my nails are. Of course, then stock comes & they end up a mess… but still nice to have them done in the first place! (& more than just a since colour.)

Going to try & cram as many Christmas designs in as possible over the next week or so, since I’ve been so bad at actually posting the last few months. But January is coming… & things are going to slow way down so I’ll be able to get back into my regular posting life soon. For everyone who has stuck around (& continues to stick around!) thank you so much! It means so much to me.

Now the most important question remains… should I do Christmas tree, snowman or penguin nails next? Let me know in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Born Pretty Store Purple Holographic Pigment Powder (item #41436)

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. Couldn’t be more excited for the chance to relax & have a day off… & share something special with you! I recently received some gorgeous PR samples from Born Pretty Store for review, & that includes a couple new nail art powders. I’ve been seriously obsessed with nail powders & flakies lately, so I couldn’t wait to jump in & try them all.

The first one I picked, for today’s post, is a dark purple liner holo powder (item #41436).

For application, I took the following steps.

  • Apply base coat.
  • Apply base colour (I picked Essie Under the Twilight) & top coat.
  • Apply Finger Paints Peel Off Base Coat — let dry for about 5 minutes. If it’s not dry enough, you won’t be able to rub on the powder.
  • To minimize clean up, you can apply liquid latex around your cuticles. I forgot this time, which is why you can see a bit of holo scattered.
  • Using the name eyeshadow applicator that comes with the powder, pick up a small amount of powder & rub onto your nail.
  • Brush off excess powder from nail & around cuticle (or peel off latex if you used it)
  • Top with top coat & stare at your nails in wonder.

Look at that holo! Seriously obsessed with the dark holo over the dark base. I’ve been absolutely obsessed with my NailStuff.ca holo, but it’s nice to have a darker, vampy option (especially with Halloween quickly approaching).

Application was super simple & easy using my regular nail polish method. I don’t often use gel on my nails, but I feel like if I can easily apply it using regular polish, gel would be no problem. I’ll definitely have to try using it on my toes soon.

if you’re looking to try this powder for yourself, you can pick it up from the Born Pretty Store here.

Also remember, if you use COFFK31, you can save 10% off any regular priced items!

So what do you think of this dark purple holo powder? Do you have a favourite nail powder that you can’t live without. Share down in the comments below!

Purple & Grey Saran Wrap Splatter

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone is having a good start to their week. Today I have a brand new nail look to share with you featuring one of my favourite easy nail art techniques–a Saran Wrap splatter. This time, I wanted a deeper more jewel toned colour scheme (because those Fall vibes are calling me) so I picked a few of my favourite Fall-ish shades for the occasion!

For those of you who don’t know, this whole look is created easily using crinkled up Saran Wrap/Plastic Bag. You paint you polish onto the crinkles up bag & then dab it into the nail. That’s how you create the “splatter” effect. I really love doing my splatter over a “naked” base, so that some of the natural nail comes through.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze Grape Juice
  • OPI One Heckla Of A Color!
  • OPI Angel With A Lead Foot
  • Essie Merino Cool
  • Saran Wrap
  • Edge Perfection Cutcile Barrier

Can you believe it’s almost the end of August?! I can’t. Where did our Summer go? Pumpkin Spice lattes are officially back, which I think we can all agree means that it’s officially Fall. & that means it’s going to be all about deep dark nails over here! Ooooh & Halloween. I cannot wait to create some Halloween nails too!

What do you think of this splatter look? Which colour combination would you love to see? Share down below!