Category: Essence

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Minimalistic Marble

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! We’re halfway through the first full week of 2021 & there have been no zombies or aliens yet, so things are feeling promising. For my first real nail art of this year, I was feeling some minimalist marble. Something that felt very clean & fresh, but with a little glitz.

This nail art actually reminds me a bit of a nail art look I did last year, even though it was totally unintentional haha. There is just something about marble that you can’t go wrong with!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Heather Hustle
  • Essie Bobbing for Baubles
  • Essence Rock My World!
  • L’Oréal Color Riche Blanc De Lune
  • Nailstuff.ca Gold Metallic Flakies (COFFEE10 to save 10%!)
  • Latex Free make up sponge.

I started this look off just by thinking I would do a simple sponge manicure, but the colour combination looked so much like marble, I decided I had to go with it! Naturally, that meant I needed to add a few of my gold foil flakes from NailStuff because they bring the whole look together! It’s also a little bit of sparkle against an otherwise monochromatic background.

I really love the overall look, so much I’ve been wearing these since Sunday night! I just haven’t wanted to take them off. They’re so pretty.

What do you think about this nail art look? Would you wear these marble nails? What nail art looks are you excited to try this year? I think this might be the year I try water marbling again… maybe 😂😂

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#GlamNailsChallengeDec — Christmas Tree 🎄

Good morning & happy Christmas Eve Eve. 2 more days until Christmas—can you believe it? Are you ready? Our tree is decorated, our presents still need wrapping, & hopefully we have all the fixings for Christmas dinner haha. But my nails… my nails are definitely ready!

Today’s prompt for #GlamNailsChallengeDec is Christmas Tree, & I took some inspiration from a few designs I saw on Instagram for this dainty tree accent nail. This design has a little bit of everything — stamping, glitter, some teeny tiny freehanding. I’m super proud of how they turned out!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat
  • Rimmel London 60 Second Camouflage
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essence Give It Nude, Baby!
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate (sadly no longer available)
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper (COFFEE10 saves you 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Check out the close up of this accent nail!

I started off by stamping the Christmas tree pattern onto the nail with Essie Off Tropic, which isn’t perfect for stamping but worked. Then I went in with Camouflage & filled in some spots on the trees. Next I took my teeny micro detail brush from NailStuff.ca, & drew in the brand details over top. & finally, I used some glitters from my bottle of ORLY Glitterbomb to add a little bit of sparkle on top (which I think really completes the whole look!)

& of course, I needed a shot of my nails & my Christmas tree (& Batman ornament!)

What do you think of this Christmas tree look? Is this a cute Christmas Day look? Are you ready for Christmas? Let me know in the comments below!

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#GlamNailsChallengeDec — Wrapping Paper

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! Hope everyone had a lovely & not too stressful weekend. We went out on a family (car) adventure to look at Christmas lights, which was lovely, & one of my favourite Christmas activities!

Today I’m sharing another beautiful Christmas-y look for #GlamNailsChallengeDec: Wrapping Paper.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Essence Give Me Nude, Baby
  • Essie Sparkle On Top
  • Zoya Ray
  • Essie Mosaic On Down
  • Deborah Lippmann Through The Fire
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Nail Art Striper Brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)

I loved how open this prompt was, because there were so many options! I decided I wanted to go with a nude-ish base, a little sparkle, & some Christmas-y stripes. It’s the kind of wrapping paper I would love to see my gifts wrapped under the tree. I loved the shimmer from the glitter (Essie Sparkle On Top) & the bit of shimmer in the nail polish.

There is just something about the subtle ness of the nude base, the bit of sparkle & the stripes that I just love.

What do you think about my wrapping paper inspired nails? Would you rock this design? Have you figured out your Christmas nail look? Let me know in the comments below!

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#GlamNailsChallengeDec — Reindeer 🦌

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. We’re officially halfway through December & Christmas is a week away! How did that even happen? But I’m loving just all the Christmas nail art looks I’ve been wearing — definitely the most wonderful time of year for nail art!

Today we have another #GlamNailsChallengeDec look to share! Today’s prompt is Reindeer, so naturally that meant I needed to pull out my favourite reindeer stamping plate design for some Rudolph nails!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Good Cheer-y
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Goldie Rocks
  • Essie Mosiac On Down
  • Essence Give Me Nude, Baby
  • Zoya Ray
  • OPI How Great Is Your Dane?
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping plate BP-L032 (item #23268)
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper

Oh man, this look is just classic Christmas, & I love it! It was also a really easy look to do — the hardest part was the stamping, but as you can see, it turned out perfect! If you don’t have a stamping plate (or don’t like stamping), a nail vinyl would work just as easily! A perfect look for Christmas morning. 🎄

What do you think of this reindeer look? Do you enjoy these festive designs I’ve been sharing for #GlamNailsChallenge? Don’t forget to check out all the lovely looks people have been sharing.

Have a lovely Wednesday!

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#GlamNailsChallengeDec — Holly

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! This week is certainly speeding by. The whole month is speeding by! It’s kind of crazy.

Today I have prompt #3 for #GlamNailsChallengeDec — Holly! Holly is definitely a classic Christmas nail art design, but instead of going with the classic depiction of holly we see this time of year, I wanted to go with a more rustic interpretation.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • OPI This Isn’t Greenland
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Red My Lips
  • OPI Suzy & The Arctic Fox
  • L’Oréal Feeling Kilty
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Originally I though I might go with the traditional holly look, but after browsing Pinterest, I decided I wanted to go a different direction. Maybe it’s because I haven’t done any floral designs in longer than I can remember—what is that about—that I needed to go with the next best thing. & the end result just looks so pretty to me.

I wanted to get a picture with the holly bush in our front yard, but sadly the birds are all the holly berries off our holly bush, so it’s looking pretty naked.

What do you think about this design? Do you like my take on the holly prompt? Have you been keeping track of all the other beautiful designs for this challenge? Let me know in the comments below.