Purple & Gold Drag Marble

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope everyone’s day is off to a lovely start. It’s super freezing here in Halifax today (-8 degrees BEFORE wind chill), & I am not a fan of the cold at all. But at least I got to start my day off with a sugar free caramel hazelnut soy latte.

Today’s nail art look was a random decision. I actually had originally planned on doing some floral nails, but it was late, I was tired, & I needed something faster. I haven’t done any marble nails in a while, especially a drab marble, so it felt like a good time to do them.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • Beyond the Nail Flowing Unicorn Mane
  • Sally Hansen CSM Pat On The Black
  • Essence Best Dressed
  • Essie Mosiac On Down
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Please excuse my dry cuticles. No matter how much hand cream or cuticle oil I apply, I just can’t seem to keep up with this horrendously cold weather/hand sanitizer combo. Ugh. But, at least my nails look pretty!

& that’s what is most important, right?

Really loving the end result of this marbling. I always have a bit of trouble with the first few nails, but we always get it figured it. Also I love the purple & gold colour combination forever. I don’t think I could ever get tired of purple nail polish! Plus I don’t think I’ve ever worn this pretty purple I won from Beyond the Nail a few years ago (via Instagram). They actually moved bases to my city, so I’m excited to start purchasing more shades from them in the future because they make gorgeous polishes!

What do you think about this purple marble? What nail art are you planning for this month. We’ve got St Patrick’s Day & Easter at the beginning of next month, so lots of fun nail art to come!

Have a great day lovelies! 💜

#GlamNailsChallangeFeb — Stars

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & happy March — how crazy is that? We have reached the end of February already! But I did have one more manicure from #GlamNailsChallengeFeb to share: stars! ✨⭐️

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • L’Oréal Colour Riche B01 Pistache Royale
  • China Glaze Flying Dragon
  • Bodico Stamping Plate B-17
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper

I really, really adore how this manicure turned out. I haven’t tried to use this stamping plate since I reviewed it, but I decided to try it out with a matte shade from China Glaze, as I find they sometimes work quite well for stamping. & I think my stars turned out really, really well! & I think the bright purple really pops against my pale minty pastel base. It’s giving me Spring/Summer vibes, which is perfect because I’m officially over winter. I just hope that this March doesn’t last as long as last year.

What do you think about this star design? Which design from February has been your favourite? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

#GlamNailsChallengeFeb — Mandala

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Hope everyone’s week is off to a good start. We had another stormy day here in Halifax yesterday—lots of freezing rain. Seriously ready for it to be Spring already!

Today I have another new design for #GlamNailsChallengeFeb! Today’s prompt is Mandala. & I’ll be honest—this was not an easy prompt for me. Originally I tried stamping because I have a plate that has a few mandala patterns, but that did not work out, so then I tried free handing a pattern, which was also a fail. But when I typed “mandala nails” into Pinterest, I saw a few beautiful looks using dots, so I decided that would probably be my easiest (& least frustrating) option!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • L’Oréal Vintage Vinyl
  • Sally Hansen CSM So Much Fawn
  • Sally Hansen Good.Kind.Pure. Almond Tan
  • Essie Mosaic on Down
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

As you can see from my close up, this isn’t the most perfect mandala pattern, but I’m still happy with how it turned out. I was originally inspired by this Pinterest post, but obviously I need more practice (& maybe not to start at 11pm) to get mine to look as beautiful as that! But you know, doing this challenge is all about testing myself, & that means even those manicures I’m not 100% comfortable with!

What do you think about this “Mandala” look? Is this dotticure version something that you would try yourself? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

#GlamNailsChallengeFeb — Hearts 💕

Hello lovelies & happy day after Valentine’s Day (aka 50% off Chocolate Day!).

Today I’m sharing my design for yesterday’s prompt for GlamNailsChaengeFeb: Hearts! Which is a very fitting prompt for February 14th. 💗 This look was one of those ones that kind of just came to me as I was doing it, which are definitely the best kind. & I just adore the end result.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • L’Oréal Jardin Des Roses
  • OPI Koala Bear-y
  • L’Oréal Royalty Reinvented
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Cherry Delightful
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

As you can see from my close up, this isn’t the most perfectly clean freehanding, but I kind of like it. It works with this kind of design. It sort of reminds me of another Valentine’s Day nail art look I did a few years back which was inspired by napkins I saw out & about.

What do you think about this hearts look? I’m definitely ready to be done with pink for a while — I think I’ve pink-ed myself out. Haha. But I’ve got a whole bunch more prompts to come, so stay tuned for some beautiful (not pink) nail art looks to come!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Deborah Lippmann 99 Luftballons

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday! & happy Valentine’s Day! 💗💕 Hope your day is filled with every kind of love — from Friends, from Family, from Pets. & if you’re just not into the holiday what so ever, don’t forget: tomorrow is 50% off chocolate day.

Today I’ve got one more pink polish to share— Deborah Lippmann 99 Luftballons!

3 coats, no top coat.

Base is a beautiful, but sheer, fuchsia pink jelly with an assortment of multi coloured glitters. Like with most polishes like this, I would usually layer it over a corresponding shade to cut down on coats required — & keep clean up from being as complicated & frustrating. But for my swatches, I wanted to show the polish in its true glory.

I will say, I have a few glittery shades like this from Deborah Lippmann, & this shade versus Stronger was definitely a little less packed with glitters. If I wanted to wear this shade on its own, & cut down on coats, I would probably sponge the glitter on instead.

I would just make sure to wear a peel of base coat first!

I originally got this mini bottle as part of a bigger set via Winners a few years ago. From the looks of things, this shade was originally released in 2013, so the only listings I could find for it were via Ebay & Poshmark. It could also pop up at places like Winners, Marshall’s or TJMax as those stores seem to get old school shades like this all the time.

It’s definitely a pretty glitter to wear for whatever occasion you may need a little extra sparkle.

What do you think about Deborah Lippmann 99 Luftballons? Would you wear this pretty pink glitter? What is your favourite glitter polish? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!