Category: Essie

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Pink & Cactus 🌵🌸

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! It’s hot & balmy here on the East coast (our second day of heat warnings) but that’s exactly my kind of weather. As someone who is always cold, I live for this kind of weather! So I though, why not paint some bright, poppy nails to match the weather!

It’s been way too long since I rocked some cactus print nails, & I thought they would look gorgeous over a base of Essie Pucker Up.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Pucker Up
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Essie Watermelon
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

Oh man, these are so bright & colourful! They are definitely giving me Summer vibes. I got so many compliments on them at work as well (which always makes me feel awesome). I’m also not sure why I haven’t painted any cactus nails in a while, but it was definitely an oversight. I won’t be waiting this long again!

What do you think about this cactus pattern look?

I’m absolutely loving this Essie shade, which is from their Summer 2021 collection! I had planned to share swatches this past Sunday, but real life got in the way. So hopefully this coming weekend!

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Easy Groovy Floral with Essie!

Hello lovelies & happy sunny, beautiful Thursday! I’m finally feeling excited about Summer — because it’s finally starting to feel like Summer! & what is more summery & fun than an easy floral look using some very Summery shades?

On Tuesday, for National Nail Polish Day, I was invited to participate in a Zoom event with Essie Canada with Rita Remark, who is Essie’s global lead educator. This was my first opportunity participating in an event like this, & it was super fun to hear about Summer trends, & polish shades, manicure tips, & even follow a live tutorial on how to create a very cute (& very easy!) floral look created by Rita. They even sent each one of us who attended a selection of polishes so we could follow along while we watched!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Tangerine Tease
  • Essie Pucker Up
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Essie Blanc

How seriously adorable are these colours together? Two shades (Tangerine Tease & Pucker Up) are from the Summer 2021 collection, & the other two (Mint Candy Apple & Blanc) are core shades, but all 4 go so beautifully together to create this fun, groovy, poppy nail art look. I really love it!

In fact, I can already picture some more Summery nail art looks that I’ll be creating using these shades. I need some brightness in my life.

What do you think of this super cute, super easy nail art look? This was my first time following a live tutorial, & I think it turned out really awesome! Also stay tuned, because I’ll be sharing swatches of Tangerine Tease & Pucker Up! this weekend.

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Blue, Mint & Purple Colour Block

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. We’re that much closer to the weekend, which is pretty exciting. Also how is this month almost over?

Wasn’t it just the beginning of May, like a week ago?

Today I’ve got a brand new look to share with you that was inspired by @nailsuponatime on Instagram. She recently posted a very pretty pastel geometric look, & I was inspired to fancy up my shorties with my own colour block look.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie All The Wave
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple (greener version)
  • Essie Worth The Tassel

First off, an apology for my rough looking cuticles. Trying to remember my cuticle oil during the day, but when it gets busy at work — & I mean BUSY — it definitely is the last thing I concentrate on haha.

Next up, it’s been a while since I attempted some freehanded straight lines like this, so I feel like they aren’t perfect. But I do love this colour combination. I always forget to wear Mint Candy Apple from Essie — I have both versions of it, & I do adore the colour, but for some reason always forget I own it. So silly.

What do you think about this colour combination & colour blocking? What colours are you loving right now? I’ve been feeling a lot of blues & purples right now (if you haven’t noticed) so I might have to kick up the neons really soon! It’s been too long.

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Blue on Blue Polka Dots 💙

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend, & for my fellow Canadians, a relaxing long weekend! It’s finally starting to feel like Summer now, which I am absolutely here for. I mean, I could take a few more 20+ sunny days, but I’m a whimp when it comes to cold, so anything less than 12 degrees feels like Winter to me.

Today I’m show off some simple blue polka dot nails. As I mentioned in my last post, I’m rocking some serious shorties again, so my nail art inspiration is a little lacking right now. But polka dots always make me feel better!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Avon Vintage Blue
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen Blue

Oh wow, these nails are short. & just when they were really starting to get long again. It’s always my middle finger, on either hand, misbehaving. Ah well, I’d been thinking about a short return to square nails, so this is the perfect excuse.

& now I just need some serious nail art inspiration. I have a few days off coming up, so I’m going to try & come up with some fun & funky nail art looks to share! Time for a deep dive through my Instagram saved folder & Pinterest.

What do you think about this simple blue on blue polka dots? Are you feeling this kind of look? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below! & share what nail art looks you might want to see coming up, perfect for short nails!

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Mermaid Gradient Nails

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday!

How is it almost the weekend again? I’m not complaining, it’s just crazy how this weekend is speeding by. & it’s Victoria Day weekend here in Canada, which has always felt like the kick off to Summer to me! Of course it’s going to be a rainy mess all weekend here in Halifax, but you can’t win them all.

Today I’m sharing some very fun, very Summer-y nails. I’ve been saying forever that I needed to order some new mermaid nail vinyls, so when I placed my Mother’s Day order at Beyond The Nail, I made sure to include some mermaid nail guides in there!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter + Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat
  • Beyond the Nail Blazing Blush
  • Beyond the Nail Honeymoon
  • Beyond the Nail Auburgine
  • Beyond the Nail Mermaid Scale Nail Guides
  • Latex free make up sponge (I buy mine from Dollarama)

Okay, so I know I call pretty much every manicure I do my favourite, but seriously just look at this design. I’m obsessed!

I decided to go all out with a gradient (another look I haven’t done in a while) for my scale base, then added my Aubergine over top. & I am so freaking in love with how these three polishes look together. Seriously— I wore this design for three whole days, before I snapped my middle finger nail clean off. Plus the combo totally matches my current hair colour combo.

I can’t even begin to explain my love for this look. I also really like the mermaid scale guides because they were super easy to use, & they’re quite large so I managed to split them so I could use one guide per 2 nails. That makes me so happy!

What do you think about these bright & colourful mermaid nails? Does this design scream Summer to you? Have you done mermaid nails in a while? Let me know down in the comments below!