Category: Fun

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Subtle Vertical Stripes

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Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! We’re back into our nail art routine & I have another fun look to share. Two things I’ve been trying to do this year: wear more of my polishes from deep in my stash, & bring my manicures back to the beginnings. Sometimes it’s fun just to go a little more simple. I’ve been seeing a few looks of simple vertical stripes — @xglitzandpolishx & @apolishedcolleen recently did beautiful versions that I’m obsessed with.

So I decided to do my own version!

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Treat Love & Color Gloss Fit (clear)
  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • China Glaze Jungle Queen
  • China Glaze Up All Night
  • Straight Nail Vinyls

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For this look, I decided on two shades that would compliment each other really well, but was kind of a subtle look. First I grabbed Jungle Queen because it’s a gorgeous shade which I don’t wear nearly enough & the grey-ness of it is something I love in the depth of January. It is a bit of a darker shade, so I needed to find something dark that it would still pop against. China Glaze Up All Night has been in my stash for a long time (since before baby #1) but I haven’t worn it… ever. That’s kind of crazy because it’s SUCH a pretty shade.

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I think my only regret with this look is a wish I had gone with skinnier nail vinyls/striping tape. But I think these single stripe nails are so chic, & they end up making your nails look SO long. Such a fun look to wear, & there are so many different ways to wear it & so many different colour combinations.

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Have you done this single stripe design yet? What do you think about this subtle version of this look? Hope over to Instagram (since my blog comments don’t seem to want to work), & let me know what you think & what colour combinations you would rock.

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#GlamNailsChallengeDec — Fireworks/Confetti

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Good morning lovelies & Happy Monday! Today is officially the last day of #GlamNailsChallengeDec & the prompt is Fireworks/confetti. I can’t believe this is the final prompt of this month, & the final prompt of this year! I’ve had so much fun stepping out of my comfort zone to join in on these challenges, & I’m really hoping to keep going into the new year!

For today, in honour of New Years Eve tomorrow, I naturally had to go with the fireworks inspiration because who doesn’t love fireworks!

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Treat Love & Colour Strengthener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie In Hot Purse-uit (Rebecca Minkoff collection)
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Goldie Rocks
  • Sally Hansen MG Good As Gold
  • Sally Hansen MG Five Golden Blings
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush(COFFEE10 to save 10%)

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I’ve attempted fireworks designs before, a few times, but they have never quite turned out as good as I pictured in my head… but I actually quite love how these look. I started off by drawing with my most opaque polish (Goldie Rocks), then my thinner holo glitter (Five Golden Blings) & then added some gold glitters in the middle (Good As Good). I really wanted these to look glittery, like how fireworks look right after exploding in the sky. & I think I achieved that!

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How pretty is this gold against the blue. I got the Essie Rebecca Minkoff collection from my Mum for Christmas, so obviously I couldn’t wait to dive right in & try them out. & can I just say this is one coat of this blue shade! I mean… that’s amazing & it makes such a perfect base for my golden nail art!

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What have you thought of this months challenge? Don’t forget to check out #glamnailschallengeDec for everyone’s final looks for this month!

I must say, even though Christmas made me fall a little behind, I had so much fun coming up with designs that I may not have come up on my own. & I love feeling inspired for nail art again!

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#GlamNailsChallengeDec — Presents 🎁

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Good morning lovelies! I hope everyone had the most amazing Christmas & Boxing Day. Our whole family was very spoiled, & I’ve very much enjoyed celebrating in the place I spent many a Christmas as a kid. ♥️🎄 it also means I’m super late on sharing the next prompt for #GlamNailsChallengeDec: Presents!

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Dimension Nails Pygmy Sloth
  • Unnamed Mariposa metallic gold
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Goldie Rocks
  • Essence Black is Back
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)

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Is there anything more beautiful than red & gold. I love how the gold presents pop over this beautiful vibrant red holo polish! Feels very Christmas-y! Also any excuse to wear this amazing shade from Dimension Nails is a good excuse… it’s such a perfect glitter shade for this time of year I knew I had to incorporate it a Christmas design for this year.

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Was Santa good to you? Hopefully you were spoiled not just with presents under the tree, but lots of lovely family time & memories. Those are my favourite Christmas presents.

Don’t forget to hop on over to Instagram to see the other looks for #glamnailschallengeDec. I love going through & seeing everyone’s interpretations of the same prompt! So many cute versions of the same idea.

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#GlamnailschallengeDec — Christmas Trees

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Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! & happy Christmas Eve Eve! We are quickly approaching Christmas & the end of GlamNailsChallengeDec! Today’s prompt for this challenge is Christmas trees! Naturally I went to Pinterest to find a look I liked, & found this tutorial originally posted on Instagram by @thebasecoat.

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Icing Stores matte teal shimmer
  • Quo by ORLY Falling Star
  • China Glaze Ruby Pumps
  • Ardene Ice Mist
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 to save 10%)

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For this look I started off by applying the triangle nail stencil to my accent nail, then one at a time applied my colours to the empty spaces to create a triangle on the nail. I followed the Base Coat’s tutorial for colours. It was also way easier using a pre designed nail vinyl than attempting to position striping tape or straight nail vinyls into the same shape.

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Honestly this look was too simple to do, but turned out so cute! I think this is such a perfect Christmas Day look—who doesn’t love Christmas trees! & the mixing of colours is very Christmasy. I absolutely lovely it!

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What do you think about this design for Glamnailschallengedec? Have you figured out your Christmas design yet? Don’t forget to check out Instagram for all the other amazing look for #glamnailschallengeDec!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Deborah Lippmann Stronger

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Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday! I’m currently on a very, very long drive to Northern New Brunswick to start our Christmas celebrations, but I wanted to make sure I got a Swatch Sunday post done for today! & I thought since we are only 3 days away from Christmas, we needed to get glittery! & boy, are we going all out!

Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is Deborah Lippmann Stronger. This shade was originally released in 2013 & created in part with Kelly Clarkson. I picked up my particular bottle at Winners/Marshall’s a few years back, probably on sale because that’s usually the way.

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The polish itself is a smoky purple jelly base which is packed full, & I mean full, of multi coloured & holo glitters. There are varying sizes as well, which you can really see in my macro shots. Absolutely stunning. This is definitely what I like to call a party glitter — the kind of polish designed for a special occasion, like Christmas or New Years Eve, when you just want everything about you to sparkle. Or maybe if you’re having a down day, & you want eye catching movie star worthy nails for buying bananas.

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Normally a shade like this, I would wear layered over a corresponding shade like dark purple or navy blue. This cuts down on the coats you need, which helps make removal easier & saves on polish. For my swatches though, I pulled out my UNT peel off base coat & applied the polish all on it’s own to see it in it’s true glory.

For my swatches I did 2 coats of polish which for me was enough, but wasn’t completely 100% opacity. I feel with the holo though, it fills in the gaps & you don’t even notice you can kind of see my naked nail. If I really wanted full coverage, sponging would be the way to go, especially when you have a bit of a trickier formula due to the dense glitter.

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I applied two coats of top coat to my nails to seal & smooth my glitter. One layer of super quick dry top coat (YSL Beauty Quick Dry Top Coat) & then a thicker glossy top coat (Essie Gel Setter) just to smooth everything out.

I definitely recommend wearing a peel off base coat with glitters like this, just because it makes removal so much easier than trying to soak off a thick layer of glitter. I’ve done it–it takes way too long, uses way too much nail polish remover, & is no fun at all. Peel off base coats, like UNT Ready for Take Off, make life so much easier because you can just pop it off & move into the next manicure. & that makes me happy!

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So what do you think about Deborah Lippmann Stronger? Do you have a favourite glitter like this? Any secrets to removal you can share? Hop on over to my Instagram, & let me know what you think!