Category: Glitter

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen InstaDri Pink Aurora 💗🌌

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a beautiful sunny–but chilly–day here on the East Coast. They keep telling us that Spring is on its way, but I won’t like… it’s getting harder, & harder to believe it. (Especially when they’re calling for over 20cm of snow at the end of the week)

But never the less, I’ll keep trying to summon Spring with whatever is on my nails, & today I was feeling something pink! Pink is not a colour I often reach for as a single manicure, but it does feel very Spring-y to me, so I thought I would grab for one in my stash. & as soon as I saw this sparkly pink looking back at me, I knew it would be perfect for today’s Swatch Sunday post.

This is Sally Hansen InstaDri Pink Aurora.

3 coats + top coat

I always do love a sparkle, & this sheer pink jelly is full of iridescent & holographic glitters. The jelly base is thin–very thin–so multiple coats as necessary for even a hint of opacity. Personally, I feel like I’m more likely to use this as a glitter topper rather than on its own, but I wanted to swatch it as it comes.

The sparkle on this beauty is lovely. I feel like from far away, it could come across as more subtle, but you can see it much more prominently unclose. I will say though –this shade was not easy to photograph at all. I tried in both my lightbox & outside & it was a struggle.

This shade is part of the Primsmatic Shine line of InstaDri, & I’m pretty sure I picked up my bottle 2+ years ago. I’m not sure if it’s still available in store, but I did find it on the Sally Hansen website–however it didn’t have an option for buying, so I’m thinking it’s probably discontinued unfortunately.

(I also found this Reddit thread looking for dupes which has some great alternative polish options.)

What do you think of Sally Hansen InstaDri Pink Aurora? Do you like this sheer sparkly pink? Would you wear this shade on its own, or as a topper over another pink?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — ACO by Ardene Bonne Nuit

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. We’re halfway through January & that’s kind of crazy.

But everyone in my social media feeds keep taking nostalgic trips back to 2016, so I thought I would do the same — only with nail polish! & back on 2016 I was all about the Ardene brand of nail polishes, so I thought I would share a beauty from that time: Aco by Ardene Bonne Nuit.

1 coat over Rimmel Blue Eyed Girl + top coat.

So yes, I did use some under-polish for swatching this beauty because it. is. thin. But I think it applies beautifully & you really get that shift of colour from blue to a purple hue. There is a nice micro glitter shimmer as well, which I remember loving a lot in the mid-2000s!

Now this shade is definitely a relict of another time, because Ardene no longer sells this brand of nail polish. I still have a drawer of this brand in my stash, that I stare at frequently, & every so often pull out for nostalgia sake. I also love that they were so trendy when it came to finishes, at a very affordable price point!

What do you think of this very mid-2010s nail polish? Do you remember what shades you were obsessed with circa 2016? Let me know what shades you were obsessed with back then, & if they are still top of your list 10 years later!

Happy Sunday loves!

🖤

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Red & Gold Shattered Glitter Placement ✨❤️

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! It’s another chilly wet Winter day, & the January vibes are just not it. Have I mentioned I’m not a fan of Winter?

But I have just the thing to cheer myself up… new (sparkly) nails! There is nothing that I love more than some sparkle when I’m feeling down, & I recently pulled out a glitter topper I had almost forgotten I owed. The end result was another perfect glitter placement design.

I’m never going to get tired of these!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive Gel Like Top Coat
  • Orly Color Blast Garnet Luxe Shimmer
  • Sinful Colors Twilight Twinkles
  • Small dotting tool

I know this isn’t a super complicated look — still trying to ease myself back into nail art inspiration — but I love how these look. They’re just fun, & pretty, & I never get tired of red nail polish. I also feel like these would be so pretty for February & Valentine’s Day nails!

What do you think about these red shattered glitter nails? Do you love? Also — as always, if you can think of any glitters similar to these in different colours, let me know. I used to have a holographic silver one by Color Club that dried up that I’m desperate to replace!

Happy Wednesday

🖤

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Sideways Glitter Gradient using Olive & June’s New Flash Glitter Gel Polishes

contains PR/gifted product

Hello lovelies & Happy 2026! We made it!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas season, & holiday. It was definitely a weird one this year, but we survived & it’s a brand new year. I decided to take a bit of a break at the end of the year, BUT I did end 2025 with sparkle. Just before Christmas, I was sent some amazing nail mail from Olive & June featuring their brand new Flash Glitter Gel nail polishes — which was an amazing Christmas surprise!

So naturally I needed to wear these gorgeous shades for New Years Eve, & I decided to attempt a gradient using all these shades. I’ve not done a ton of nail art with gel polish, but I’m so happy with my sideways gradient! It looks like a rainbow going across my nails. I was definitely a little nervous going in, but I am so beyond in love with how this design turned out!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Olive & June Peel Off Base Coat
  • Base Coat: Olive & June Gel Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Olive & June Gel Top Coat
  • Olive & June Gel Sparkly Pink Drink (rose gold)
  • Olive & June Gel Pop Fizz Mani (gold)
  • Olive & June Gel Mani on the Dance Floor (grey silver)
  • Olive & June Gel Karaoke is a Good Time (purple)
  • Olive & June Gel Out Past Curfew (black)
  • Olive & June Gel Rosé Rhymes with Partay (pink)
  • Flat Nail Art Brush

I have to say — creating this gradient was not as hard as I thought it would be. The longest process was curing between each layer, but they came together so beautifully. & compared to other gradients, they were much harder to mess up. I used a flat nail art brush (clean up brush) to blend the two shades together, & it worked so perfectly. I’m kind of sad I wore these with a peel off base coat, because I could have easily worn these for a full week instead of just the night.

This was my first experience with flash glitter, & I get it now! The way it sparkles under flash is incredible. It makes me feel like a disco ball in the best possible way — & I think we all need to sparkle a little more this year. That’s definitely on my list of New Years resolutions for this year.

If you’re interested in trying out these Olive & June Glitter Flash Gel polishes, they have the whole set listed online (including gel lamp), or you can purchase the shades individually. They also have really cool Flash Glitter press on nails which I have not tried, but look really really cool, & would be a great option for someone who doesn’t want to (or cannot) wear gel nail polish!

What do you think about my New Years Eve nails — did I start my 2026 on the right foot finger? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what your resolutions are for this year!

♥︎

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Instagram Collab — Mix & Match Christmas Pattern Nails

Hello beauties & happy Friday! & Happy boxing day. I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful, festive Christmas. This year has definitely been the least Christmas-y feeling Christmas in a long, long time — but I still wanted to make sure I had some festive nails for the occasion.

It’s been a long time since I participated in one of the Instagram Nail Art collabs hosted by @essieyall & @petitenaillover. So I really wanted to join in for one final collab for this year! & end the right right.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Gel Couture Wider Than I Seam
  • Essie Nail Art Studio Lustrous Luxury
  • Essie Expressie Feel The Hype
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel A Moo Point
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

How cute did my little freehand shapes turn out? I’ll wanted a fun Christmas-y look without using red & green. & I had found some (new to me) shades at Shoppers Drug Mart on wicked clearance –like $3 a bottle! — so they inspired me to create this mix & match Christmas design for the collab.

& I really love how they turned out.

Wishing everyone the happiest holiday season ever, & a safe end to 2025. This year has been such a struggle, so I look forward to the New Year, & everything that 2026 holds.

& don’t forget to click over to Instagram & check out the hashtag #christmasnailartmanicollab2025 to see all the other amazing gorgeous designs & nail artists. You might find a new artist you love!

♥︎