Category: Essie

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Negative Space Chevron Moons

Hello brightness, my old friend. 🕶 Well, bright nails at least. I was feeling some Summer colours, so I decided a colour block chevron moon design was much needed! & what better than some Summery shades to make it perfect.

I decided for this design to grab a few favourites from my stash. I feel like I have too many shades in my stash I haven’t worn yet. I have this habit of buying polishes on clearance & then promptly forgetting I bought them in the first place! For example this OPI shade (I Eat Maine-ly Lobster) that I picked up for only $4 at Lawtons. I also have about 4 others sitting untried. I really need to get on that!

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze I’ve Got A Blue Attitude
  • OPI I Eat Maine-let Lobster
  • The Base Coat Nail Vinyls stacked chevron vinyls

Ooooooooh I love this combination & how bright these are. I wasn’t sure at first how these colours were going to go together, but it turned out perfect! & oh so bright. Like, I need to grab my sunglasses bright. Which is perfect, since Mother Nature threw us a curve ball & had it snow yesterday. Not a lot, & it didn’t stick, but… seriously?! It’s the 21st of April! I should be wearing denim jackets & maxi skirts, not Ugg boots. Thankfully next week is calling for sunshine & warm temperatures the beginning of the week! So my Spring dresses won’t sit untouched in my closet much longer.

Is there anything better than chevron moons & negative space? I’ve been going through old manicures circa 2015 & I’m remember how much I loved doing both… I need to do them more often! Being back to work hasn’t been as easy a transition as I thought it would originally be. I need to take a little more time for doing my nails & having fun again.

what do you think of this design & colour combination? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Neon(ish) Stars ⭐️

Happy Wednesday loves… I mean, I think it’s Wednesday. My days have been blurring into each other which has made it hard to keep things straight! I’m trying my best to keep to my posting schedule, but right now things are a wee bit hectic. & by wee bit, I mean life is all around insane. But just because I’m working 50+ hours a week doesn’t mean I don’t have time for pretty nails!

Who needs sleep anyways? That’s why they invented coffee!

Today’s nails were based on the fact I wanted pretty nails, with a pop of colour, that were relatively easy. I realized I hadn’t used my stamping plates in forever, so it felt like a good opportunity. Plus I love the look of a pop of colour over a neutral sheer base–@oliveandjune is always posting amazing inspiration on Instagram that I’m constantly saving, so I decided to try the look out. & I love it.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel In the Sheer
  • Sally Hansen Insta-dri Va-Va Violet
  • Born Pretty Store Image Plate BP-L006 (item #17924)
  • Born Pretty Store small clear jelly stamper
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier

I was in serious need of something bright & colourful to cheer myself (& my nails) up! Even with obsessive moisturizing, a ton of cuticle oil, & anything else moisturizing I can find, my hands have been hurting the last few weeks. The up & down temperature changes have been the main culprit I think, plus the fact that work is dry as heck. They’re not used to not being babied like they were! Plus paper cuts are seriously the devil. Still working on testing out my own hand pampering mask recipe, so once I find one I want to share I will make sure to post it! Also if you have any favourite hand treatments to share, let me know in the comments below!

What’s your favourite “cheer up” manicure to do when you’re feeling down? share it in the comments below!

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Vine Nail Art inspired by @ameliasaccount & @polishpeach

Happy Tuesday lovelies. Craving some serious greenery nails because Mother Nature decided to curse us with a whole ton of snow on Sunday… like 20cm of snow. So that’s fun! Just when it was starting to feel like Spring (for real) Mother Nature decided to ruin everything. That’s why I definitely needed something Spring-like on my nails.

I’ve done this design once before, & it’s originally inspired by @ameliasaccount who was inspired by @polishpeach. Instead of a white base, I decided to go with a brand new polish I recently picked up at Shoppers Drug Mart called Thyme is Money. It’s a beautiful pale green that’s part of the newly formulate Insta-Dri line & holy is it ever lovely!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Thyme is Money
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in green
  • Quo by ORLY Second Hand Jade
  • YSL Beauty Vert D’Orient
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in black
  • Small detail brush from Bundle Monster

Seriously, I can’t even begin to describe how much I love the outcome of these. Definitely achieved a much more delicate design versus my first attempt at this manicure. & the green of the leaves pop so well against the pale base polish.

I spent my Sunday off from work out shopping for new plants to fill our house with & I’m just loving the look of fresh greenery in every room. We’re trying to find the perfect hanging plant/vines for in the living room, but in the mean time at least I can enjoy them on my nails.

Here’s hoping that these nails inspired Mother Nature to get her act together. After all, nobody wants to deal with shoving the driveway when they would much rather be basking in the mildly pleasant Spring sunshine. Here’s hoping the snow will be melted in a few short days, & I can go back to wearing flats & the occasional Spring dress.

What do you think of my version of the vine design? Have you tried this shade from Sally Hansen yet? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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Floral Accent Nails featuring Color Club Eternal Beauty

Happy Friday lovelies! Two posts in a row, I’m on a roll! Today I’m sharing more floral accent nails because my obsession isn’t dying down any time soon. It’s just a floral kind of week I guess!

Today’s design features Color Club Eternal Beauty from the Halo Hues collection which I picked up at Winners a few weeks back. It’s a stunning purple holo, so I decided that it would look lovely with some roses. Honestly, I think every polish looks lovely with roses.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Color Club Eternal Beauty
  • Essie Go Ginza
  • Essence Out of Space Stories We Will Spock You
  • Sally Hansen CSM Killer Heels
  • Sally Hansen CSM Red It Online
  • Sally Hansen CSM Rose To the Occasion
  • Sally Hansen CSM Blush Against The World
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in green
  • Quo by ORLY Second Hand Jade
  • Bundle Monster small detail brush
  • Bundle Monster small & large dotting tool

Check out those rainbows… seriously! Eternal Beauty is such an absolutely beautiful shade & the holo is absolutely vivid & incredible. I finally understand the Color Club Halo Hues obsession & the reason people rave about them so much! They really are just incredible polishes. I really need to go back & pick a few more up before the rest of the world snaps they all up! You can never own enough holos! They make those chilly but sunny days just so much better.

what are you wearing on your nails on this Friday? Let me know in the comments below!

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Purple Dry Brush Quatrefoil Nails

Happy Friday & almost Easter lovelies! I’m off today with Good Friday & ooooooh do I have so many blog things to do! This has been a crazy week & I’m still trying balance working Full Time & keeping to my blog posting schedule. Thank goodness I’m going at multitasking! Today I’m showing off some pretty purple nails I did forever ago but didn’t have a chance to post yet. 💜 These nails were inspired by a make up bag I saw at Marshall’s.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Go Ginza
  • Essie Play Date
  • Essie The Girls Are Out
  • China Glaze Grape Juice
  • Sally Hansen Hard To Get
  • Random clear nail polish
  • Born Pretty Store Clear Jelly Stamper
  • Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-L003 (item #17921) — quatrafoil image

I’m digging all these purples together. I thought about creating a sponge mani, but didn’t have any sponges so a dry brush was my next option! I really wanted the colours to blend together, kind of like a gradient. So I used a random bottle of clear polish (literally it has no label & I no idea where it came from) and smeared the brush strokes together by brushing the clear polish over it over & over again. The cheaper & random the clear polish, the better things will blend. You don’t want to use a quick dry top coat because it dries to quickly. The whole point is to smear all the shades together.

It feels like ages since I played with my stamping stuff. This is definitely one of my favourite images from this particular plate. It just makes doing Moroccan/quatrefoil designs just so, so easy (& definitely quicker than nail vinyls!

what do you think of this purple design? What design are you rocking for the weekend? Comment down below! 💅🏻