Tiny Galaxies On My Nails 🪐✨

Hello lovelies & happy Monday. & happy Labour Day.

I hope everyone had a good weekend. It was rainy, & wet, & a bit spooky… very Autumn. I even broke out the tights which was exciting (minus the rain). Today is supposed to be a seasonable nice day, & no rain, so I’m going to enjoy it.

Today though, I have some cute nails to show. How long has it been since I did a galaxy look? A while for sure. These cute little galaxies were super simple to do, & I didn’t even use any sponges or anything. The only tools I had was my detail brush for the stars.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Strengthner
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Home by 8 *pr
  • ACO by Ardene Unnamed Shimmery Blue
  • Essie Nail Art Studio Lustrous Luxury
  • Essie Cosmic Chrome *pr
  • NailStuff 7mm Liner Brush

Oh I love how these turned out.

I knew I wanted to do a galaxy look, but I decided it at 9:30pm & then realized I didn’t have any sponges so I had to pivot. But I”m actually really happy with the effect it created. It is absolutely giving Space 🌌 & I love love love them.

What do you think of my tiny little galaxies? Would you wear this nail art look?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & enjoy the beginning of your week!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Revlon Elusive (2013 Evening Opulence Collection)

Hello loves & happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is enjoying their first full weekend of September (& long weekend). I am in full Autumn swing, & enjoying a bit cooler weather. I just want to pull out all my plaid, & go on a thrift hunt for a brand new pair of knee high boots. It also means I want to wear nothing but dark tones on my nails, & today’s Swatch Sunday pick is perfect for that!

This is Revlon Elusive from the 2013 Evening Opulence Collection.

2 coats, No top coat.

This beautiful black jelly glitter was originally released back in 2013, & having Googled the collection — the advertising is very 2013, if you know what I mean. I believe it was released for Fall/Winter, so this colour is fitting in perfectly for the Autumn season, but also wouldn’t look out of place at a holiday party.

This base is a thin-ish black jelly, packed with multi-sized teal glitters. It dries matte, which I was a bit nervous about because I was worried it would be too textured, but it dried fairly smoothly for me which is a win in my books! I applied 2 thin-ish coats for coverage, although it does look a bit translucent in some photos so some people might feel more comfortable with either 3 thin coats, or 2 more thickly applied coats.

My only complaint — it did chip during my shift at work. Now that could be the fact that it’s a 13 year old polish, or it could be that my top coat is getting okay. Definitely won’t stop me from wearing it again!

Also, I had to apply top coat to see what it would look like shiny, & I do feel like it makes the glitters pop a bit better, but honestly I love it both ways. Giving me a glitter like this, & I will always be a happy girl!

What do you think about Revlon Elusive? This shade was obviously released back in 2013 so it’s no longer in circulation. I would love to see Revlon do a throwback collection with some of these glitter shades they used to do. Plus, Y2K & 2010s fashion is making a comeback, so let’s bring it back on our nails!

Have the best Sunday darlings!

♥︎

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

♥︎

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!

🖤

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

🖤