Category: Essence

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Deep Purple Leopard Print

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Hello lovelies! Today I have some more nail art to share with you, this time outside the Glam Nails nail art challenge I’ve been participating in this month! It’s been absolute ages (a year!) since I last created a leopard print design, so it felt really, really overdue. & since I’ve been seriously drawn to Fall colours lately, I decided that colour scheme was what I needed right now.

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Bonder Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Quo by ORLY Staycation
  • Essence Plump Power
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art Pen in Black
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool

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So painting my nails right now is still a bit of a struggle right now. Mostly, I’ve been trying to paint my nails when both the babes sleep, either during nap time during the day, or at night after bedtime. Sometimes it works out for me, & sometimes it takes me two days to create a design. For this particular design, I wanted to do something less complicated but still fancy. My secret weapon for a quick leopard print nail art is always my Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art Pen in Black as it seriously cuts down on time when drawing the outline of my leopard.

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Someday I’ll attempt a classic leopard print colour scheme, but today is not that day. It’s just way more fun playing around with unusual colour schemes. Plus I really love the dark purple on the grey-ish base. I feel like this colour combination is going to be used a lot as Autumn creeps closer–it would look so good together in a dotticure or as a chevron moon design!

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What do you think about this leopard print design? Would you rock this design? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Mermaid Nails for #glamnailschallengeaug

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Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Today I have another manicure to share with you for the August Glam Nails Challenge! Today’s prompt is Mermaid, which is always a fun design to do. Sadly, I’ve run out of my mermaid pattern nail vinyls, so I decided to stamp my scale pattern onto my nail, since I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to freehand them.

I had a pretty specific idea in my mind of what I wanted this manicure to look like, & unfortunately I didn’t have an actual mermaid scale stamping plate, so I went through the plates I do have to find the one which would work best!

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Bonder
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • Essence Across the Universe
  • Essence Mermaid of the Galaxy
  • Essence Guardians of the Unicorn
  • Essence Space Glam
  • Essence Intergalactic Adventure
  • Essence Black in Black
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper & Scraper (gifted)
  • BornPrettyStore stamping plate BP-LO32 (item #23268)

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Please excuse the remaining mess around my cuticles. I forgot to use my cuticle barrier because I was rushing, & trying to clean up the polish on my fingers was tricky. That’s what you get when you try for a nap time manicure & want to get your nails done before the babes wake up!

But even if my cuticles aren’t perfect, I’m still so in love with how this manicure turned out! The Essence Out Of Space Stories polishes work so well for this fantasy type design. Especially with the duo/multichrome finishes they have.

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Posing with my mermaid nail art brush because it’s the only mermaid-y item I think I own. I feel like even though I didn’t use a traditional mermaid image, they still came out very mermaid-esque. I actually think I like this pattern even better!

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What do you think about these mermaid pattern nails? 🧜🏼‍♀️ share your thoughts down in the comments below!

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(More) Freehand Tribal Print Accent Nails

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far. I’m super excited today because not only did I get the chance to do some nail art, but I managed some freehand nail art!

It feels like absolute ages since I had any time for anything more complicated than polka dots on my nails, but I had a quick minute the other night to do my nails & you better believe I took it! I had been scrolling through my Instagram feed after my Swatch Sunday post, & obsessing over some tribal/Aztec inspired designs from the past & decided I wanted no, needed to do some accent nails! So I grabbed one of my custom engraved detail brushes from nailstuff.ca, & went to work.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • OPI Gelato on My Mind
  • Essence You & Me?
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Beatnik
  • Essence Black is Back
  • China Glaze Friends Forever Right?
  • Nailstuff.ca 7mm detail brush {PR SAMPLE}
  • Nailstuff.ca dotting tool {PR SAMPLE}
  • Straight nail vinyls

So my line work is definitely sloppier than previous designs, but I feel like I’m just out of practice. Plus I didn’t grab my thinnest detail brush, which definitely made a difference in my freehand work. Also I totally cut a few corners & used vinyls for my blocks of colours, just to save me a bit of time. But over all, I really like how this turned out. Obviously I wish I could have done this look on all my fingers, sometimes all you have time for is an accent nail (or two.)

Also trying out this Essie Gel Couture Top Coat again to see if the lasting power is good. I’m really on the hunt for something that will help my manicures last longer, as I’m just not able to do my nails every night like I used to. Maybe someday when my nights are more free, but right now I need something that will keep my nails from chipping after a day.

Also plan on picking up a bottle of Orly Bonder Base as I’ve heard that it can really improve Manicure lasting time as well! & that is what I need in my life!

so what do you think of these accent nails? Do you think tribal/Aztec nails look better as accent nails or a full hand design? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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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!

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Fall Houndstooth Accent Nails

Happy October 2nd! Can you believe we’re already a day into Halloween month?! Are you as excited as I am? I’m definitely going to need to start planning my Halloween designs soon.

But in the mean time, maybe some Fall themed nails? With the weather shifting quickly, I’m already digging out some of my favourite scarves, so I figured why not some nails inspired by the coziness of Fall.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Lets Snow!
  • Essence Black is Back!
  • Born Pretty Store Classic Patterns Stamping Plate BP-L006 (item #17924)
  • Born Pretty Store Color Flame Rhinestones colour #2 (item #41753)

First off, can we talk about this Essie shade from the Fall 2018 collection? It’s absolutely amazing. The second I saw the swatches, I knew it was so different from all the other polishes I own & that meant I had to have it! & since it feels so Fall to me, I knew I had to pair it with this stamping plate from Born Pretty Store (which I haven’t had the chance to use yet!)

Also check out these crystals also from Born Pretty Store (item # 41753). I needed something to jazz up my plain nails, & I love the iridescent shift they have. You can kind of see how the shift of your hand shows different colours, which means these crystals will match with so many different polishes & manicures!

what do you think of this Fall inspired manicure? What Fall shades are you wearing on your nails right now? Let me know in the comments below!