Category: Essie

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#itonlytakesone

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If you’re hanging around Instagram, you may have noticed an whole bunch of happy face manicures popping up on your feed. @ohmygoshpolish has ignited a movement by encouraging her fellow nail girls to create these manicures to raise awareness and take a stand against bullying, hashtagging the manicures with #itonlytakesone.

Bullying is an issue that hits home with me–like so many, I’ve experienced my share of bullying. In junior high, that bullying came in the form of girls “innocently” teasing me about my weight. Unfortunately the taunts I heard influenced my poor body image, which eventually spiraled into a serious eating disorder that I’ve dealt with for the majority of my teenage and adult years. Thankfully I’ve embraced recovery, but I still struggle with the effects of that bullying daily, even 16 years later. I doubt those girls thought what they were doing was serious, but bullying is: what you say has consequences, and bullying is never okay. Ever. In today’s society, with the prevalence of smart phones and social media, bullying is at an all time high–it’s easy to break someone down when you have the protection of a screen. That’s why it’s important that when we see it happening, we take a stand against it.

One person can (and does) make a difference.

 

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For my #itonlytakesone manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Sinful Colors Snow Me White.
  • Essence Nail Art Tattoo Pen (black)
  • Essie Watermelon (pink accents)
  • Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat.

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You can check out Bystander Revolution for more information–They have some great videos that I think everyone should take a minute to watch. And if you’re on Instagram, I encourage you to create your own #itonlytakesone manicure, and show that you will stand up against bullying. =)

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Happy Halloween Nails! part two–Blood Dripping Nails.

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Is there anything more Halloween-y to wear on your nails than dripping blood? I was feeling another Halloween manicure the other day, and decided I should give the blood drip manicure a try. I decided to go with a very simple base color (Essence Color and Go Dare it Nude! with a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust over top) before adding my dripping blood to the tips of my nails. I did the dripping blood using ACO by Ardene Strawberry Fields, and dragged it down my nails using a dotting tool. Everything was topped with Essie Good to Go Quick Dry Top Coat.

And BAM! An awesomely creepy manicure, perfect for Halloween festivities.

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I’m loving seeing all these different Halloween manicures popping up on Instagram and Pinterest. I move the end of this week (Halloween in fact) but I’m hoping to have a couple more Halloween themed manicures to share before the week is over. =)

 

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Candy Corn Gradient Nails!

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Tis the season… for Halloween nails!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and has been since I was a kid, so I always look forward to Halloween–especially because there is nothing better than a Halloween manicure! Last year, I made my first attempt at Candy Corn nails—except I did the colour in the wrong pattern! I wanted to give them another go, and figured the best way to do so was in a candy corn gradient.

 

The polishes I used for the manicure were:

  • Sinful Colors Easy Going — white/cream base.
  • Essence Color and Go Polka Holga — orange gradient.
  • Essence Color and Go Wake Up! — orange gradient.
  • China Glaze Metro Pollen-tin –yellow gradient.
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow — yellow gradient.
  • ACO by Ardene Meteorite — glitter.
  • Essie Good to Go Top Coat.

I absolutely ADORE how this gradient turned out. Sometimes gradients can be a hit or miss for me, but I was absolutely in love with this one. It really looked like little candy corn on my nails, and it was super easy to do! (Please ignore the boo-boo on my middle finger–I’m such a klutz sometimes.) Also, I’m really loving the new graffiti top coats that ACO by Ardene has just released–they have them in a whole assortment of different colors, so I had to try them out! This one (Meteorite) really complimented my candy corn gradient, and I think brought the whole look together. =)

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Do you have a favorite Halloween manicure you love to do?

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Fall Leaves nail art.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons–I love everything about it. Not too warm, not too cold. Plus the leaves changing color and falling brings me back to being a kid, and raking the leaves just to jump in them. A few weeks back, I did these fall leaves inspired nails in honor of my favorite season.

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Zoya Piaf — Yellow base color.
  • Nicole by OPI Emerald Empowered — sponging.
  • Claire’s Poison Apple –sponging.
  • Revlon Spidey Sense — sponging.
  • ACO by Ardene Golden Luxury — sponging.
  • Essence Color and Go Mister Rusty — sponging.
  • LA Colors Art Deco Nail Art Striper — leaves outline and dots.
  • Essie Good to Go Top Coat.

I absolutely love the outcome of these nails. I think they perfectly speak Fall to me. I started these without a clear idea of what I was going to do, and they ended up looking beautiful. Don’t you just love when that happens?! =)

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So what do you think of this fall leaves manicure?

Check out my next post–I’m going to have a fun Fall/Halloween manicure to share with you. =)

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Gold Chevron Moons with OPI DS Extravagance.

This past weekend, the boyfriend took me away for a special birthday weekend away to Lunenberg. I decided a special romantic weekend away deserved special nails. For my birthday last week, the only thing I truly asked for was OPI DS Extravagance which is a purply pink polish with a scattered holo. I’ve been coveting this polish for quite a long time, so when my Mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday it was the only thing I asked for.

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I started off by painting my nails with OPI DS Extravagance. There are a million awesome things I could say about this polish but I think pictures speak for themselves. After my base color had dried, I freehanded chevron moons with Quo by Orly Trashy Glam (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite gold polishes).  Finally, I outlined my chevron moons with my black LA Colors Art Deco Striper in Black to crisp up the lines then applied Essie Good to Go Top Coat to finish. And tada!

 

They were the perfect nails for my special birthday weekend away. =) I loved them so much–so much so I kept them on a full 3 days which is not something I often do with manicures.

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So what do you think of these Chevron Moons? I’m so obsessed with them lately! I’m also really proud of how much cleaner my lines are starting to get. This time last year, I never could have freehanded lines that clean so I’m really proud of that fact. Practice really does make perfect.

 

What do you think of my Chevron Moons? What’s your current manicure obsession? I really need to get started on some Halloween inspired nails since Halloween is quickly approaching. =)

Have a great day lovelies!