GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER (2024) — Rainy Weather 💦

Hello beauties & happy Monday!

Sorry for my quietness & lack of Swatch Sunday post yesterday — I’ve been dealing with the most horrendous allergies the last few weeks, & this weekend was especially brutal so I was basically a write off yesterday. As much as I love & adore Fall, I don’t love & adore how my seasonal allergies ramp up as soon as the season changes.

But I’m not going to let my allergies get in the way of the next post, because we only have a few more prompts left for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge. The next prompt is Rainy Weather, & I decided to go a little bit different for my design so I hope you like it!

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
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • China Glaze Up All Night
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

Okay, so I’ve seen this look a few times & I thought it would be a cool idea for this rainy weather prompt. Basically you start with matte nails & then add “drops” of shiny top coat which is supposed to give the effect of like raindrops. Did I completely capture what I was going for? Well… you be the judge of that. But I think for a first try, this look did up coming out pretty cool & I do like it.

& it’s definitely something I want to try again in the future!

What do you think of these rainy weather nails? Do you see the idea I was trying to capture? Let me know what you think down in the comments below, & if you have any tips for this style of design.

Are you following along with the other nail art designs for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge September? Don’t forget, you can check out #glamnailschallengesept24 on Instagram, & see all the other beautiful designs being shared!

Happy Monday!

♥︎

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER (2024) — Fox 🦊

Good morning lovelies, & happy Monday! I hope you had a beautiful weekend, & got to enjoy something fun. Today, I’m continuing with my Glam Nails Challenge September posts, & the next prompt is Fox. 🦊

Now, animal designs have never felt like my strong suit, but the more I wore this look, the more the design grew on me. & considering I went into these unsure what I was even really doing, I must say I’m happy with the end result.

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
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Claire’s Evil Queen (over Hard Candy Scam)
  • Avon Black Crackle
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Pump-kid
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod!
  • Essie Cocktails & Coconuts
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

I was feeling a little self conscious about these nails when I wore them to work, but I got two compliments on them so that definitely made me feel a bit better!

Like I said, animal themed nails are not my strong suit, but doing this challenge is all about challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone. So, I can’t let myself get scared by nail art I’m not used to. I’m really proud of my little foxes, even if they’re not “perfect”.

What do you think of this design for this prompt of Glam Nails Challenge September? Do you like my little fox? What nail designs do you find the most intimidating? Let me know down in the comments below!

Are you following along with the other nail art designs for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge September? Don’t forget, you can check out #glamnailschallengesept24 on Instagram, & see all the other beautiful designs being shared!

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Claire’s Evil Queen 🖤👑

Hello beauties & happy Sunday! Can you believe it’s already the middle of September. Like how did that happen? I’m in full cosy Fall mode 24/7, so obviously that means pulling out a fun Autumn shade to show off. & this shade from the early days of my nail polish stash is perfect!

This is Claire’s Evil Queen.

1 coat over Hard Candy Scam + top coat

This beautiful shimmery duochrome has thin dark maroon vase packed wth a thick sea of shimmery fuchsia & blue glass flecks. Unfortunately it does show up better in the bottle than on the nail, but it does have a beautiful finish that I’m obsessed with (& is why I’ve held onto this bottle for over 15 years!)

Check out that shimmer! It’s just so beautiful. 😍 I love how it shifts in the sunshine. Obviously, if I had applied another coat I could have had it a bit thicker. I have also worn it on its own without any undies, but I do find you need more coats than you might want to deal with to get full opacity.

What do you think of Claire’s Evil Queen? Do you remember when these shades were released, all the way back in the late 2000s? They were alleged dupes of the MAC Villainous Villains collection — although I sadly never got to compare (although Throwback Lacquer has a fantastic post about the original polishes!)

Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

🖤

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER (2024) — Pumpkin

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Can you believe we’re already mid-week for our first week of September. I promise, the allure of Autumn will not be all I focus on… although with these cute nail art prompts for this month, it might be hard! Today though, we have the second prompt of Glam Nails Challenge September & it is pumpkins! Now, with the exception of my beloved pumpkin spice, I tend to relate pumpkins more with October but I did a little Pinterest perusing, & came up with a cute pumpkin look that isn’t too Halloween-y.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze Instant Chemistry
  • Color Club Poppin’ Bottles
  • ‘Ard As Nails Not Your Mama’s Pumpkin Spice
  • Essie Souq Up the Sun
  • Essie Cliffhanger
  • Claire’s Matte Nail Polish 75192 (shimmery emerald green)
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

When I say I’m obsessed with these — I’m freaking obsessed with these! & I think the fact that my nails are a smidge shorter now actually makes this manicure look better! But these just turned out so cute, & I love the little pumpkins, & I love the shimmer & sparkle. I love everything! Considering I went into this manicure prompt not 100% sure what I was going to end up with, I’m so, so in love with the final result.

The cutest little pumpkins ever!

What do you think of my little glittery Autumn pumpkins? Do you like what I did with this prompt? Would you wear a design like this on your nails? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& I always love knowing what you’re wearing on your nails right now too!

Enjoy your Wednesday

♥︎

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER (2024) — Plaid

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & Happy Labour Day! We’re jumping right into the Autumn nail art designs with this month’s Glam Nails Challenge September.

I was debating whether or not I was going to do another month, but then my first design I did happened to be a plaid design — which is the first prompt of this month, so I was like… let’s just do this! I had so much fun last month while feeling challenged creatively, I think I want to give it another go. & this month definitely has some great prompts as well!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Just In Wine
  • Essie East Hamptons Cottage
  • Essie Mani Thanks!
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper Black
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper Red
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

Does anyone else just immediately want to pull all the plaid out of their closet as soon as the mornings start feeling slightly cooler? I definitely do. I also want to paint plaid on my nails, because it just feels fitting. Pair these with a pair of over the knee socks, & the Autumn vibes are strong. I also feel like this is an easier, simpler design to do — albeit you do need a bit of a steadier hand for straight lines. But with a long striper brush, it does simplify the design a bit.

Definitely a design I recommend any beginner nail artist to try, & just trust the process. If you look at a plaid material, the pattern isn’t perfect so don’t worry about trying to make yours perfect. Sometimes the messier the better it turns out!

What do you think of this design? Are you excited for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge? Like I said, I was feeling inspired so I wanted to keep the good nail art going! & I feel like this is going to inspire some really beautiful nail art designs this month!

If you’re curious about the prompts to come, here is a little sneak peak of the prompts for this month.

& don’t forget to follow along with the above hashtag to see everyone’s gorgeous designs they post! Also, @glamnailschallenge reposts a lot of the beautiful designs on her page, so you can get a little snippet there as well!

Happy Monday!

♥︎