Category: Essie

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Pink on Pink Valentine’s Hearts 💗

Hello lovelies. It’s officially one week until Valentine’s Day, so I figured that a good enough time as any to start with a little love-ly nail art. Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day… minus to opportunity to make cupcakes. But I do like the excuse to pull out all of my pink nail polishes at once, so I’m hoping to share a few nail art looks over the next week.

First up, a simple & slightly rustic heart design. I was inspired by my base polish pick, & decided to build my manicure around it.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • OPI DS Extravagance
  • OPI Koala Berry
  • OPI Pinking of You
  • OPI Chiffon My Mi
  • Dotting tool (NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

How cute did these little hearts turn out? I feel like free handing hearts can be kind of hit or miss, so I was a bit scared how they would turn out — especially because I was not in the mood to start my design all over again. I did like the hearts just solid colours, but I wanted to try outlining the hearts, & I’m so glad I did because I feel like it made them pop off the nail so much more vibrantly! & they don’t seem so one dimensional. Absolutely adorable.

What do you think about these adorable pink on pink heart nails? Have you been playing around with some Valentine’s (or anti-Valentine’s) Day designs for this year? I’m definitely thinking pink (duh) & maybe a gradient dotticure? I can’t wait to share what design I end up choosing!

♥︎

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Hot Pink & Polka Dots

Hello beauties & happy Tuesday! A very, very snowy Tuesday here. The weather definitely cannot make up its mind lately.

Today I have a pretty design to share that I actually did a little while ago, but didn’t get a chance to share. I thought that it would be gorgeous for a pre-Valentine’s Day design, so I wanted to share.

The polishes I used for this manicure are:

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • Dotting tool (I always use mine from NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)

Gosh I love a good polka dot design. It’s literally the easiest & quickest nail art I think you can do — & it always looks so put together. This is definitely a great nail art look for anyone wanting fun nails, without wanting to put an hour+ into painting something.

What do you think about this nail art look? Is this a nice prelude to February & the Valentine’s Day looks to come? Let me know all your thoughts down below!

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Bright & Simple Swirls

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! A freaking chilly Tuesday here. We went from it feeling like Winter this weekend, to it feeling like Spring yesterday, right back into a cold snap. My nails are definitely not happy about the back & forth, but I’m trying to keep them looking cute regardless.

Todays look was a really simple one I did last week. I wanted something a little bit bright & colourful, & I was especially feeling Essie Flowerista as my base shade, so this is what I ended up with!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Flowerista
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Passion Flower

I really wanted to do some nail art over my base, but I was running short on time. However — I thought these wavy lines using my Color Club Striper was perfect! I thought about doing them in more than one colour, but I think the purple over the fuchsia is more than perfect. I like the simplicity. It’s a great pop of colour which is exactly what you need when it’s still January.

What do you think about these bright & simple swirls? Are you feeling the simplicity of this design or do you prefer nail art that is more complex?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below. I love when people share their thoughts on my nail art!

Have a lovely Tuesday! 🌸

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Negative Space & Pastel Abstract Stripes

Good morning loves! I hope everyone is having a great start to their Thursday so far. Mine is involving coffee, so that’s always a good start. Plus I have the whole day off to do my laundry & fold it, & put it away — so I’m pumped.

Today I’m sharing a recent manicure I did in the hopes of summoning Spring. Real Spring, not the fake “oops-just-kidding-it’s-still-Winter” Spring we get teased with around the end of March. I know, it’s January, & we’ve barely even had Winter…. but I’m over it. So how about some pastel?

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Pink Pastel
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Passion Flower

First off, let me acknowledge that my cuticles are looking rough. I’m trying my best to keep up with my nail art regime, but the last couple months have had some struggles, & the weather has been full of extremes, & it’s taking me a while to get my nail health back to where it was. But I’m going to save that for another post, because I know you’re all here for the nail art today!

This look was really easy to do, mostly because it takes zero skill. You just need to draw the initial swoop, & then use your other colours to trace the same lines. It sounds more complicated than it is, but I swear it’s really easy. Which is why I love this kind of look so much. I decided to go with a negative space base, because I’ve been struggling with using my bottle of Seche Vita & I wanted to avoid the weird shrinkage at my cuticle line.

What do you think about this nail art look? I know it’s probably a smidge too early for Spring nails, but you know what? Yesterday it was like 11 degrees (Celsius) & that is Spring weather. I could have worn a dress with only one pair of tights it was so warm. So I guess these nails are kind of fitting.

What do you think about this manicure? Let me know down in the comments below!

♥︎

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Soft Matte Half Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone’s had a good start to the year so far. It’s been relaxing on my end, that’s for sure. But now it’s time to drive right back into all things nail polish, nail art & manicures in general. I was kind of trying to figure out what kind of vibe I wanted to start off 2023 with, & I decided to let my nostalgia win with not only a half moon manicure… but a matte half moon manicure.

Two of my favourite things combined into one.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Zoya Devin
  • Essence Into the Unknown
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

I was on instagram early into Fall, & I saw someone post that half moon manicures were going to become popular again, & all I could think was “I never stopped doing them”.

These have always been a favourite nail art look of mine, & I just find it such an easy technique to do. But I really, really love this look with the matte top coat applied as the finishing touch. Matte nails are my absolute favourite in the Winter months, so expect lots of matte nails in the coming months.

What do you think of this nail art look? Are you a fan of the half moon design? Let me know what you think, & what nail art trends for 2023 you’re excited to try!