Category: Essie

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Criss Cross Freehand Pattern

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. It’s definitely a very, very chilly Wednesday here on the East Coast, & I don’t think I’m quite ready for it! I’m naturally a person who is always cold, so when the weather shifts, there is not enough layers or tea in the world to keep me warm!

But even if I’m cold, I still have cute nails to show off! I picked up a couple nail art stripers on clearance at Lawton’s a while ago, but hadn’t really played with them, so I decided to play around with some line work. I originally intended to do a kind of x-pattern look, which so of shifted as I was doing it. I’m not sure what to call this kind of pattern, but I absolutely love it. & it’s a look that even looks good on nubby nails like mine!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Clean Slate
  • Color Club Art Club Pink Pastel

Oh man, I think this pattern turned out so neat! It actually wasn’t super difficult to do either; I started with painting an X on my nails, then when it each triangle section to repeat the same pattern over & over so you would get this interlocking/woven effect. It sounds complicated, but it really wasn’t. Just required a bit of a steady hand, & a little concentration, but the end result is totally worth it!

Also yes I’m totally obsessed with using my matte top coat again. I saw that Sally Hansen has a new Miracle Gel matte top coat, so I’m going to see if I can pick some up the next time I’m out. I also think I’m due for another “battle of the matte top coats”, so maybe I’ll have to add it to the mix!

What do you think about this look? Is this something you could see yourself rocking?

Also now that we’re hitting mid-November I was thinking of starting to post the occasional Winter/maybe Christmas look? Do you want to see that, or do you think it’s too soon?

Let me know down in the comments below!

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Pink Stamped Reindeer Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Monday!

Hope everyone is well caffeinated. Today I’m starting off the beginning of this week with some fun stamped sweater nails. It’s been quite a while since I last pulled out my stamper, & this time of year always makes me want to use it more often.

Today’s stamping plate combo is one I’ve used before, but I love the sweater print with the reindeer head. I also pulled a polish shade from deep, deep in my stash (definitely pre 2009) but it still applies like a dream! You’ve got to love that.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • NYC Color Lexington Lilac
  • Revlon Iconic
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping plate BP-L032 (item #23268)
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping plate BP-L018 (item #19373)
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper (COFFEE10 saves you 10% site wide!)

I had totally forgotten about this pretty polish. I picked it up years & years ago, I think at Zellars (for my fellow Canadians, who remembers Zellars?!) & probably only wore it once or twice. I also really like this untraditional sweater colour scheme. Sometimes, even this time of year, I just really feel these pale muted colours.

Also be prepared to see this stamped reindeer head over the next couple months, because it’s one of my favourites!

What do you think about this stamped design? Do you love this colour scheme as much as I do? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a happy Monday!

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Abstract Colour Blocking (& covering up a chipped mani!)

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. This week is speeding by quickly, isn’t it? Crazy! Today I’m showing off a fun look I did earlier this week.

Full disclosure: I had painted my nails, went to work, chipped the hell out of them, & had ever intention of repainting them. Then I fell asleep at 7pm. When I woke up the next morning, I didn’t want to go to work with still chipped nails, so I thought of the easiest way I could cover up the “damage”, & decided to create this almost abstract colour blocking. & I think it turned out pretty cool for something that was painted on the fly. Haha.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frosted Berries
  • China Glaze Glamcore
  • Essie Mosiac On Down
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Silver

The colour choices — especially that silver — is giving me a bit too much of a holiday vibe, but I really do think this is a fun quick design. It was way easier than taking everything off, & repainting from scratch.

What I did was paint some base coat on the sections that a chipped, to protect the naked parts of my nails, then swiped the polishes over to cover up the chipping. I also used my bottle of Seche Vite, because I wanted to make sure they dried quick. & it turned out pretty neat! Also, in a weird way in kind of reminds me of argyle, or at the very least makes me want to do some argyle sweater print nails ASAP. Already playing the colour combination in my head as we speak.

Also, we totally got hit with a early winter storm, so I’m in full winter knit sweater nail mood when it comes to my nails. So that is your early warning there will probably be A LOT of sweater inspired nail art to come!

Have you ever tried to save a manicure or cover up some chipping to extend your nails another day? Any tricks you want to share? Let me know in the comments below!

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Gold & Purple Autumn Half Moons

Hello lovelies! How is everyone coping after Halloween & Daylight Savings Time? I’ll be honest — between a bit of a sugar coma, the increasingly cold weather & the change time, I’m a mess. I’ve literally been falling asleep at 7pm, which doesn’t help me get my nails done!

This design is actually from a few weeks back, when my nails were still longer, but I thought it would be fun to share. You all know how much I adore a good half moon, & I thought these would be perfect to share. Plus they’re just so easy!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Mosaic On Down
  • Essie Kimono Over
  • Hole Reinforcement Stickers

Ahhhhh love this colour combination. You can never go wrong with dark purple & gold. Also even though it’s such a simple look, half moons always have my heart. They make me so happy. Also I’m always so envious of people who can freehand half moons. I’ve been using the sticker method as long as I’ve been painting my nails, & it just makes the process so easy! (I have an old post here featuring my step by step process, in case you’re curious.)

I just feel like this is such a classy combo appropriate for almost every occasion. Birthday? Wedding? The Oscars? The opportunities are endless! ( & now I totally want to do a post where I create a half moon look for different occasions… definitely adding it to my notebook of ideas!)

What do you think about these half moon nails? Would you wear this look? Let me know in the comments below!

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#GlamNailsChallengeOct — Haunted House

Oh my gosh, we’ve made it! Today is the last prompt of GlamNailsChallengeOct & I can’t believe that October is almost over! It’s crazy.

The last prompt for this month’s challenge is Haunted House. I wasn’t 100% sure how I wanted to approach this prompt, but I decided a darkened sky haunted house landscape was the way to go. Just the right level of spooky, plus it gave me a chance to practice my freehand skills some more.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Go Ginza
  • Essie Bikini So Teeny
  • Essie All The Wave
  • Essie Under The Twilight
  • Essie Blank Page
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10)
  • Latex free make up sponge

This look was actually so much fun to paint! I started off by sponging on my colours one on top of each other, then topped everything with top coat. Next, I freehanded my design over top, one nail at a time. I was sort of inspired by this look, originally by @lieve91, but obviously I went with a blue background instead of the orange-y shades. I also added some ghosties flying around my haunted house, just cause I thought it would cement the whole haunted idea.

I’m actually really happy with how these turned out! They’re not perfect, but I’m definitely proud of hand painting these little details. & my spooky little tree might be my favourite part!

What are you pandemic Halloween plans. Because our province is doing pretty well, cases wise, our health authority has said that as long as we remain careful & distance, we can trick or treat. So we’re going to do some kind of trick or treating with the kids, & maybe settle in after bedtime for some scary movie watching!

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