Category: Freehand

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Freehand Herringbone Pattern Nails

Happy Friday lovelies, & happy almost weekend! Today I’m sharing a fun design I freehanded recently. As I’ve mentioned, oh, about a thousand times already, I bought a new striper a few weeks back, & I’ve been obsessed with them. These are the kind of designs I’ve been doing forever, & they never get old. This look was actually inspired by a mani swap I did with @armstrongnails back in 2015.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Claire’s Mood Nail Polish Pastel Blue Mood
  • Essence We Will Spock You
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black

You can always tell how in love with a manicure I am based on how many photos I take of each design. I was a little obsessed with this look. I only wish the holo had showed up a bit better in pictures, but I took these early in the morning before the sun really came out.

This herringbone pattern is making me think of Fall & making me so excited for Fall. 🍁 I already have so many polishes picked out for the season, & I can wait to start digging into my darker shades. You can never go wrong with khaki, plum or navy nails, am I right?

what do you think of this look? What colour are you most excited for this Fall? Share all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Petite Dotticure

Good Morning Lovelies & happy Tuesday. I hope everyone had a good weekend & those who had yesterday off had a good extra long weekend! Today I’m starting off with a dotticure. It feels like absolute ages since I wore polka dots of my nails, so this manicure was long overdue. Plus I was in need of a quick look that I could do, looked snazzy & still meant I could get to bed at a reasonable time. Polka dots are always the right answer!

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • ORLY Decades is Dysfunction
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art Pen in Navy
  • Essie Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Low
  • Small dotting tool

Don’t get me wrong, I love big bold dotticure designs (& I’ve been dreaming of a few as we get closer to Fall & Fall Polish season) but there is something about a teeny tiny dotticure that is just so satisfying. It’s such a fresh clean look, & so much more forgiving if your polka dots aren’t completely perfect. Also I still love using my Sally Hansen nail art pens for this purpose! So much easier to control when creating dots. & let’s be honest—when it’s 11pm & I have to be up at 5:45am to get ready for work, I don’t need to be re-dotting my nails for hours trying to get them right!

What do you think of this dotticure look? Do you prefer petite or regular sized polka dot designs? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below! & if there is any looks you’d love to see me do, share them too!

♥️

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Purple & Silver Racing Stripes

Happy August lovelies. Its that time of year… stores are beginning to set up for back to school & my cravings for all things Fall themed hit hard. Thankfully the 30+ degree weather has been keeping me in a Summer state of mind & keeping neon shades on my nails!

Today’s nails is a simple look that’s easy to do, but makes your nails look way longer than they actually are thanks to the vertical stripes. It’s also a great way to practice your freehand line work! I feel like mine has gotten a little rusty, so I’ve been taking every excuse to practice.

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essence We Will Spock You
  • YSL Beauty Violine Surrealiste
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black
  • Born Pretty Store Aurora Rainbow Nail Striping Tape in purple (item #40423) — I used the thickest tape of the 3

Using striping tape for your initial line in the middle makes creating your smaller black lines much easier. & then end result looks so cool! & gives your nails the appearance of extra length. Plus, like I said, for those of us still working on freehanding straight lines, this really helps with practicing.

I just love how these kind of look like racing stripes. Sadly the holo of Essence We Will Spock You didn’t want to show thanks to a hazy morning, but the little hint of holo with the purple looked awesome!

Do you have a trick for making your nails look longer? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Even More Negative Space Half Moons!

Happy Wednesday lovelies! Who else can’t even believe it’s already Wednesday. It feels like this week is speeding by like crazy. Dreaming of the weekend already… it feels like it’s almost here. Which means spending all weekend (hopefully) barbecuing!

Today’s design is one I actually did back in June, during my super crazy two weeks at work, & never got a chance to share with you! This design was actually what I wore when I had my first Head Office visit at work. I was super nervous as this was the first time I was meeting one of my big bosses, so I wanted to make sure I was representing the brand as best as I could…. right now to the nails!

The polishes I used for this design were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Grow Stronger
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Icing Mermaid Mint
  • Claire’s Matte Pastel Nail Polish Sorbet Mint
  • Claire’s Matte Pastel Nail Polish Sorbet Blue
  • Jordana Cosmetics Pop Art Nail Design in Blue Abstract

You know what’s awesome about working for a company which is geared towards a tween audience—you always have an excuse to do something fun with your nails! We sell a lot Nail goodies, so I’m always getting inspiration from them! This design was kind of a recreation of an old design that I had done, but with a few different polish picks.

You can seriously never go wrong with a good negative space chevron look. & the colour combinations are endless!

What do you think of this design? Are you as obsessed with negative space chevron looks as I am (I don’t think anyone is!)

Share down below all your thoughts!

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Floral & Holo

Holy how is it July already? Seriously, it feels like just yesterday I was posting Christmas designs & now it’s hot & humid & I’m so excited I can finally pull out all my fun Summer dresses to wear without needing leggings underneath. I’ve been rocking a lot of floral lately… especially on the nails.

I know that it doesn’t matter what time of year it is, I’m pretty much always going to rock floral. But when the sun is shining & the temps are climbing, wearing floral just feels right!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • NailStuff.ca holo powder (applied over Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Rose to the Occasion)
  • Essie Playdate
  • Color Club Pucci-licious
  • 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

Oh man, this holo powder from NailStuff.ca is one of my all time favourites. Easy to apply & such a strong holo look. I never thought of using it as a base for nail art, but it was the perfect base for this floral. Plus in the sunlight…. oh, in the sunlight. I’ve been obsessing over wearing holo nails on good days because it’s so distracting! I would be lying if I said I didn’t get caught staring at my nails once or twice (or five times) while wearing this mani!

what do you think of this design? Are you a fan of a holo base for nail art? Share your thoughts in the comments below & let me know what you think. ♥️