Category: Essie

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Mani Swap with @teenynails

It’s been a long while since I teamed up for any Mani swaps, so I have a few swap collabs coming up with some of my favourite girls on Instagram.

Up first, I have a swap with the very talented @teenynails. For this Swap she recreated my leopard patterned half moons & I had to recreate her beautiful purple vintage floral!

The polishes I used for my recreation were:

  • Essie Play Date
  • CND Crimison Sparkle
  • Kiss Nail Art Striper in Black
  • Kiss Nail Art Striper in White
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in White 
  • Essie Brides No Grooms
  • My Beauty Spot unnamed pink
  • Essie Off Tropic 
  • Essie First Timer 
  • Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Small Nail Art brush from Bundle Monster

You know how I feel about floral, & I thought these were so perfect for the Spring-y weather we’ve been having. Plus it gave me an excuse to pull out Essie Play Date again. & these are definitely some of the best roses I’ve done in a while. I just can’t stop staring at them.

What do you think of our recreations? Let me know in the comments below!

And shout out the the lovely @teenynails for joining me in this swap. 💜 Don’t forget to check out her account on Instagram & check out all her amazing nail art!

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Blue Chevron Claws


I received my Snail Vinyls nail vinyls order the other day, & immediately needed to break them out for some nail art. As part of my order, I ordered their Single Chevron Variety Pack because my selection of chevrons was sadly dwindling. & the ones I was most excited for from the collection? The Deep Single Chevron nail vinyls!

I’ve done Chevron claws a few times using straight vinyls or striping tape, but it’s not the easiest. I’m loving these vinyls because it takes the hard part out of it–all you need to do is line them up on the nail straight! Sure that took me a few tries to make sure they were straight, but the end result looks really awesome. Chevron claws are like the cool big sister to chevron moons, so obviously I love them! I’m really excited it will be so easy for me to do them now. 
For this mani, I used:

What do you think of these chevron claws? This was my first time using Snail Nail Vinyls, but they were easy to use, & produced nice clean lines (as you can see!) When it comes to a designs like this, clean & crisp lines are very important!

Also I really like the darkness of Bell Bottom Blues over In The Cab-ana. The shimmer of Bell Bottom Blues is just so pretty, especially when it catches the light. It just pairs with the light creamy  blue of In The Cab-ana so well. And they still have that Summer-y vibe, even with the darker blue sparkle.

Now that I have my lighting situation figured out, I’ve been working on taking different shots for the blog to show off my manis. Obviously I’ll never tire of my coffee shots, but I want to show off different angles of my designs so you get the whole look (including the occasional shot of my Cinderella hand!) I want to give my blog as much character as possible, so it’s as enjoyable to read as it is for me to write!

 

 

What do you think of these chevron claws? As always, let me know what you think in the comments below and stay tuned for more chevron nails featuring these awesome vinyls from Snail Vinyls!

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Neon Cactus nails. 


Cactus nails 🌵 are having a moment right now on Instagram, so I decided to join in & create my own version. I originally did cactus nails last year, which can be found here. With my design from last year, my personal complaint was my base colour was too dark, so this time I wanted to go with something brighter. And what is brighter than neon pink!


For this manicure, I used:

  • China Glaze Hang Ten Toes
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in Green
  • Essie First Timer 
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie Stylenomics
  • Essie Peach Daquri 
  • Essie Haute As Hello
  • Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Small nail art brush from this set by Bundle Monster.


Have you jumped on the cactus nail art trend yet? I absolutely love cacti. When my son was born, I didn’t wanted flowers, I wanted my mum to bring me a cactus (which is pictured above). The little guy also has a little cactus onesie that is too cute, and I’m planning on filling our house with a few more plants too! I’m a little obsessed.


And just for fun (because I’m so obsessed with this mani I couldn’t stop taking pictures), a shot of both hands:

What do you think of this mani? Are you as obsessed as I am? Let me know in the comments below!

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Tribal Print Accent Nail

Today I have some more nail art to share with you! I’m really enjoying being able to do my nails again. It’s surprising how relaxing it is to be able to sit down & pull out my polishes at the end of the night.


It’s been a while since I did anything tribal-esque on my nails, so I felt like it was about time. Again, I continued the trend with some pretty Spring polishes that I haven’t pulled out in a while.

For this manicure, I used:

  • ACO by Ardene Whacky
  • ACO by Ardene Flawless
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Essie Lounge Lover 
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black
  • Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Thick striping tape from Born Pretty Store.
  • Small dotting tool.

It’s been too long since I’ve tried to freehand lines like this, hence why I only did an accent nail, & used striping tape to create my thick lines. I really should invest in some acrylic paint for nail art, eventually. (Although I’ve been saying that for ages, & still haven’t.) Even with the wonky lines though, I really love this accent nail. Makes me feel like I’m officially back in the nail art game again!

I think if I went with some pastel polish, & white lines, these would be great for Easter Egg nails! I’m starting to plan my Easter manicures so I will have to try this again with the right colour palette.


What do you think of my tribal-esque accent nail? Let me know in the comments below!

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Negative Space Abstract Stripes. 


If there are two kinds of manicures I love, it’s negative space & abstract stripes. I had this crazy idea to try & combine the two together, & the end result might just be one of my favourite things ever! These also fit in really well with the geode nail art trend happening on Instagram. 

& the best part about this design? Regardless of your line skill, it’s pretty much impossible to screw up because you want them to look abstract & imperfect. 

For this design, I used: 

  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Pretty Peony
  • Essie Lounge Lover
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in White
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black
  • Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat

To me, it looks like a cross between a water marble & geode nails, & I couldn’t be more smitten with them. All I can think is what other colours can I do this with! I think purples would look especially amazing, and obviously holo. For the prettiest result, I find chosing two complimentary shades, one darker & one lighter, plus your black & white for detailing, turns out best. 


If I had to chose a favourite nail, it’s a tie between my ring finger, pinky & thumb. I can’t pick just one!
What do you think about this mani–do you love it as much as I do?! Let me know in the comments below what you think!