Category: Freehand

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Frankenstein’s Monster French Manicure 🧟‍♀️

*contains PR

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! I hope everyone’s week is going well so far. Today I’m sharing another perfect Halloween manicure to get us ready! This look was partially inspired by @polished_yogi & a recent post featuring Halloween designs — but I decided to take my own spin on it.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: NailStuff Essentials Base Coat *
  • Top Coat: Nail Stuff Essentials Quick Dry Top Coat *
  • Matte Top Coat: NailStuff Essentials Matte Top Coat *
  • Essie Expressie Main Character Moment *
  • Quo By Orly Black Striper

*gifted

I love the look of French manicures on other people, but I’ve never been able to make them look good on me. If someone knows the trick to making them look so good, I would love to know. However, I do think these are probably the best looking French nails I’ve ever attempted, & they’re fun too!

I do a version of Frankenstein’s monster nails every year, so it’s fun to try & keep it fresh. I only wish I had thought to add some glow in the dark nail polish over my tips because I did the black stitching because it would have looked really cool. Oh well, always next time!

What do you think of these Halloween-y nails? Do you like this stitched up French manicure look? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

Happy Thursday!

🖤

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Happy Birthday Waterfall Nails 💖🧁💅

*includes PR

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday. & happy day after Canadian Thanksgiving. I’m sure my fellow Canadians are also feeling the post-holiday food coma.

Today is my birthday, so I wanted to do some special nails for the occasion. & when thinking about what nail polish I wanted to wear, there was only one that came to mind: Cadillacquer Lavender Sunset — the NailStuff exclusive shade released earlier this year. & I finally tried layering it over a darker base, which I’ve been meaning to try for a while & it looks absolutely spectacular!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: NailStuff Essentials Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Nail Stuff Essentials Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Cadillacquer Lavender Sunset
  • OPI Infinite Shine Mariachi Makes My Day (layered under Lavender Sunset)
  • NailStuff Essentials Holographic Top Coat
  • Essie Nail Art Studio Cosmic Chrome
  • Essie Separated Starlight
  • Essie Birthday Girl
  • Quo by Orly Black Striper
  • Nailstuff Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

So, with full disclosure, this was not originally the design I had planned for my birthday nails. I saw a cool manicure online that I loved, but apparently when I went back to find it… I had forgotten to save it. So when I attempted it from memory… things did not turn out the way I planned.

This was actually design attempt #4… maybe #5. I’ll be honest… I lost count.

But you know after all the hassle & frustration, I actually love how these ended up looking! So I guess it was all worth it. When all else fails, pull out some sparkly polishes & create a fun waterfall look!

What do you think of these birthday nails? Would you wear this sparkly waterfall look?

Let me know what you think! & have a beautiful day.

🖤

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(More) Autumn Abstract Stripes

*contains PR

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! & a chilly Wednesday at that. October is really speeding along, isn’t it?

Today I’m excited because I recently received some PR from Essie & they were more than generous sending me 25 polishes (!!!) from their regular line, Expressie line & Gel Couture line. Happy early birthday to me. So naturally, as soon as I received these shades I had to grab a few to do my nails with! & since it’s been a while since I rocked them, I decided to test out some new polishes with a little abstract stripe action.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Base Coat: LA Colors Mega Grow Treatment 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Expressie Feel The Hype
  • Essie Expressie Never Skip A Beat
  • Essie Expressie Power Moves
  • Essie Expressie Take A Breakdance
  • Essie Nail Art Studio Separated Starlight
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

Oh man, I’m so excited by new nail polish — it’s actually hard to convey via blog post, but expect to see a lot of Essie manicures over the next little while. There are some shades I received that I can’t wait to swatch for you!

What do you think about this Autumn abstract stripe design? Are you as excited for some fun Essie manicures to come? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Wednesday

♥︎

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER (2024) — Autumn Nature

Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! Also — happy last day of September! Crazy to think this month is over. & it seems fitting to be sharing my last design for Glam Nails Challenge September!

Today’s prompt is Autumn Nature which to me seems very abstract. So I decided to go with a beautiful Autumn toned floral for this last prompt.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Base Coat: LA Colors Mega Grow Treatment 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Color Therapy Slicks & Stones
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Essie Mrs Always Right
  • Essie Coconuts for You
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tools from Dotting Tool Trio

How pretty did these turn out? I love how applying the Essie shades in my floral design over the dark base kind of muted them, which gives even more of that Autumn nature feel.

I was inspired to do a floral after looking at our own flower garden which is still blooming madly in this Autumn weather. Who says Fall can’t call for flowers too? With the dark base shade, I thought this was the perfect representation of Autumn nature, & I just love them!

I wore this manicure for a full 3 days until it started to chip.

What do you think of this last design for Glam Nails Challenge September? Have you enjoyed all this prompts this month? I hope so!

Don’t forget, you can check out #glamnailschallengesept24 on Instagram, & see all the other beautiful designs being shared!

Happy Monday!

🖤

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Jewel Toned Drag Marble 💎💎

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! It’s a rainy miserable Friday here, but it’s almost the weekend, so I won’t be picky.

&, I have a pretty drag marble to share I recently wore! So things are looking up.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Base Coat: LA Colors Mega Grow Treatment 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Black & Blue
  • Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure. Black stone
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Burnished Wine
  • NailStuff.ca smallest dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

It’s been a little while since my last drag marble design, & this one turned out beautifully. The colours alone are stunning, & they look like gemstones. I’m obsessed.

I had originally just painted my nails with Black & Blue, but they were feeling kind of plain, so I broke out the drag tool & turned them into something stunning. & the colours are perfect for Autumn— but truthfully I would probably wear these any time of the year!

So what do you think of this drag marble? Have you ever tried a drag marble design before? I’ve never been good at water marble, so they’ve always been my marbling go to design! & I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of how they look!

So pretty & eye catching!

Happy Friday!

🖤