Category: Essence

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Aztec inspired chevron moons. 

I’ve been trying to wear older polishes in my stash a little more lately. Sometimes I forget I own certain polishes I’ve had for a while (like 4+ years Haha.) I guess that’s what happens when your polish is quickly approaching the 1000s. 

When I first started growing my stash, Essence was my go to. Their Color & Go line was one of my favourites, and I still adore (almost) all of their polishes with all of my heart. My base is Essence Color and Go Luxury Secret, a dark metallic grey which I picked up when Essence first showed up at Shoppers Drug Mart with their cute little mini round bottles. 

  
The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Essence Color & Go Luxury Secret
  • China Glaze Dune Our Thing 
  • Milani Nail Art with precision brush (in black) 
  • Essie Good to Go
  • Kiss Perfect Design tip Guides (chevrons) 
  • Small sized dotting toll

 
  

This design turned out very tribal/Aztec and I dig it. I also adore how well China Glazs Dune Our Thing really pops against Luxury Secret. Pink and dark grey are just such a fantastic combo together. 

What do you think of this Color combo and design? What are some of your favourite forgotten polish favourites? 

Let me know in the comments below!

And just for fun, here’s my OOTD and NOTD. Cosy blush sweater is from Ardene, black Jeggings are Garage and black combat boots are also Ardene. I love when my nails and my outfit compliment each other so well by accident!) 

 
Have a lovely Tuesday! 💗

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Another Go at Abstract Accent Nails 

Does anyone remember this manicure from August 2014? Back from the days of my old Blackberry and less than stellar photo quality.  I thought it would be fun–since I’m struggling for inspiration lately–to give an old mani a redo! And since I loved these accents nails so much the first time, it seemed like the perfect choice. 
  
The polishes I used for this mani were:

  • Essence Break Through
  • Essie After School Boy Blazer 
  • OPI I Canolli Wear OPI
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Babe Blue
  • China Glaze Dune Our Thing 
  • Born Pretty Rhinestones (item #21586)
  • Essie Good to Go top coat. 

 
So what do you think of this mani? Which one do you prefer–this manicure or the original? One thing for sure is that my photo quality has definitely improved! 😆 

Have a great day loves! I’m off to enjoy the rest of my day with plenty of coffee and a little writing! ☕️📝

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Matte Mermaid Nails featuring stencils from Born Pretty. 

 Morning lovelies! Hope you’re not having a too rough or caffeine deprived Monday. Today I’ve got a manicure to share with you today featuring Fish Scale nail art stencils (item #23535).   

I’ve come to discover my love affair with nail vinyls and nail stencils in the last year so I was very excited when I was contacted to review some items by Born Pretty. I’ve always had very good expirences with their products and these nail stencils were no different. 

Each sheet comes with 12 stencils all attached on a clear backing. I pre-cut the six stencils I was going to use, then one by one applied each over my base colour that was completely dry. These stencils are much thinner than I’m used to with other vinyls (they’re made of a thin holographic material) but we’re very easy to place and apply. 

  

Once I had my stencils where I liked them, I trimmed the excess off the tips and started sponging on my colours of choice. 

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  •  OPI Miss You-neverse (base colour)
  • Essence Best Dressed
  • Quo by Orly Celestial Stars
  • Color Club Obsessed 
  • Essie Good to Go 
  • Butter London Matte top coat. 

 Once all your colours have been sponged on and you feel good about them, quickly remove the stickers from the nail leaving behind your scale pattern. Apply top coat (I used both quick dry top coat and a matte top coat for mine) and it’s time to enjoy. 


  
I just absolutely adore how this mani turned out, and I feel like the matte top coat just brings the whole mani to the next level. 

If you’d like to try out these nail art stencils for yourself, or any of the other great products Born Pretty has to offer, you can use my discount code COFFK31 to save 10% off any non-sale item! 

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Tribal accent nails featuring Essence Lets Get Lost! 

I’ve been a little lost on nail art inspiration lately so I decided to go with one of my favourite nail art designs–tribal! I’ve always loved Aztec inspired nails, and so the other night when I couldn’t come up with any manicure ideas I decided to pull an old favourite out of my back pocket! 

  
  

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Essence Lets Get Lost! 
  • Hard Candy Coconut
  • Art Club Nail Art Duo in Bubblegum Pink
  • Essence Nothing but Lovestoned
  • QUO by ORLY nail art striper in black.
  • QUO by ORLY nail art striper in white.
  • OPI My Favourite Ornament 
  • ACO by Ardene Just Saying 
  • Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

  
   
So what do you think of this manicure? I forgot how awesome Essence Lets Get Lost! is. The formula has never let me down, and after owning it for two years it still goes on perfectly. 💙 

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Glittery half moons featuring NOPI polishes. 

  

The other night I visited my local Lawtons who have a large selection of their Nicole by OPI polishes on sale for $4.99–so naturally I needed to add a few to my stash. 

For the mani I used:

  • Nicole by OPI I’ll have the Salmon (peach)  
  • Nicole by OPI I lilac Gumdrops (purple)
  • Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment (extra glitter) 
  • Essence French Manicure top guides. 
  • Seche Vite Quick Dry top coat. 

I’m loving combining glitter and crepes in half moons/colour blocks lately. Plus you know how I feel about glitter. 💖💖💖