SWATCH SUNDAY — Claire’s Poison Apple 🍎

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a beautiful Autumn Sunday, cool & crisp. It’s also the last Sunday of October, if you can believe it. How is this month almost over?

Even though I have some really exciting shades from Ella + Mila to share with you, I wanted to close off this month with a slightly Halloween adjacent shade with Claire’s Poison Apple.

This shade was the third in the collection they released in the early 2010s as dupes for the MAC Villainous collection — click to see the swatches of Evil Queen & Venomously.

3 coats + top coat

This beautiful foil red takes a few coats for perfect opacity, but it’s worth the work (& dry time). The formula is a metallic red with micro flakies. It has a subtle gold shift, although it shows up better in the bottle on the nail (as is the trend with this mini collection). For an almost 15 year old nail polish, the formula is still great & I had no issues with application.

Look at that metallic finish—so pretty! I love colour for this time of year. I do wish that you see that gold shift on the nail like you can in the bottle, but it’s beautiful nonetheless. & I’m so happy that I have all three in my stash, especially because I didn’t original think that I did have a full set.

What do you think of Claire’s Poison Apple? Do you like this villainous red? Do you think Claire’s should do another release like this? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Sparkly Holographic Swirls

*contains PR

Hello my lovelies & happy Tuesday!

I know, I’ve kind of switched up my usual posting schedule but only because the last little while has been a bit crazy! But I’ve got another fun manicure to share with you, featuring another favourite October polish. & I’m really happy with how the design turned out.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: NailStuff Essentials Base Coat *
  • Top Coat: Nail Stuff Essentials Quick Dry Top Coat *
  • OPI DS Extravagance
  • NailStuff Essentials Holographic Top Coat *
  • Essie Home By 8 *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

*gifted

I used to do hand painted swirl designs like this all the time when I first got into nail blogging, but it’s been a while since I did one so it felt like the right time. It’s a cross between like a paisley & a kind of lace design, I guess? I decided to add another layer of holo over my base of OPI DS Extravagance which gave it even more of a POW! effect & I love it.

Just give me all the sparkle. I really, really am craving sparkle, especially with these much shorter days we’ve been having.

What do you think of this holo swirl design? Do you like this hand painted design? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & tell me what your favourite holographic polish is!

Happy Tuesday

🖤✨

Happy Birthday Waterfall Nails 💖🧁💅

*includes PR

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday. & happy day after Canadian Thanksgiving. I’m sure my fellow Canadians are also feeling the post-holiday food coma.

Today is my birthday, so I wanted to do some special nails for the occasion. & when thinking about what nail polish I wanted to wear, there was only one that came to mind: Cadillacquer Lavender Sunset — the NailStuff exclusive shade released earlier this year. & I finally tried layering it over a darker base, which I’ve been meaning to try for a while & it looks absolutely spectacular!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: NailStuff Essentials Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Nail Stuff Essentials Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Cadillacquer Lavender Sunset
  • OPI Infinite Shine Mariachi Makes My Day (layered under Lavender Sunset)
  • NailStuff Essentials Holographic Top Coat
  • Essie Nail Art Studio Cosmic Chrome
  • Essie Separated Starlight
  • Essie Birthday Girl
  • Quo by Orly Black Striper
  • Nailstuff Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

So, with full disclosure, this was not originally the design I had planned for my birthday nails. I saw a cool manicure online that I loved, but apparently when I went back to find it… I had forgotten to save it. So when I attempted it from memory… things did not turn out the way I planned.

This was actually design attempt #4… maybe #5. I’ll be honest… I lost count.

But you know after all the hassle & frustration, I actually love how these ended up looking! So I guess it was all worth it. When all else fails, pull out some sparkly polishes & create a fun waterfall look!

What do you think of these birthday nails? Would you wear this sparkly waterfall look?

Let me know what you think! & have a beautiful day.

🖤

Autumn Gradient Nails 🍁

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! & happy October!

I know what you’re thinking — no Glam Nails Challenge? As much I’ve had fun the last couple months, I decided to take this month off because I have so many Fall/Halloween designs brewing in my head, I didn’t want to feel restricted!

First design of October is pure Autumn vibes. I created a beautiful subtle gradient using a few of the China Glaze Halloween 2019 shades & then added a little bronze leaf accent on a few nails. I just love how this design came together.

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
  • China Glaze Private Side-eye
  • China Glaze Arrest in Peace
  • China Glaze Get Off My Cold Case
  • Color Club Sidewalk Psychic
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate BP-L026

So originally I was just planning on wearing this Gradient, but even though it’s beautiful it felt like it was just missing something! The addition of a few stamped maple leaves brought everything together! & I think it looks so beautiful. It looks perfect paired with my cosy scarf — which was a necessity on a chilly day like today!

Fall is definitely in the air! 🍂🍁

What do you think about this Autumn inspired Gradient? Do you have favourite colours/designs to wear during October? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & stay tuned for lots of fun & spooky October designs to come!

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow Holo-Back

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! The last Sunday of September, which is absolutely mad!

Sorry for missing out on Swatch Sunday last week — I’ve been dealing with absolutely horrendous allergies lately, & I was full on wrote off last Sunday. I could barely think, let alone write a blog post! So I hope a brand new (still in stores) nail polish pick for this week’s Swatch Sunday will make up for my absence last week.

This is Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow in Holo-back.

2 coats + top coat

I’ve been seeing these Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow shades in store lately, & absolutely obsessed with them. so when I needed a new polish to cheer myself up I was immediately was drawn to this new collection. Because… you know: holo. & when you can find holographic nail polish at your local drug store, you need to try it out!

The Sally Hansen InstaDri line boasts a 60 sec dry time. For application, I did need to have 2 coats, so I feel like that adds a little time. While it did dry quicker, I’m not sure if it was only 60 seconds. I will say, I could see it drying down to a kind of textured finish (I’m assuming because of the scattered holographic glitters) but I don’t know if I would say it was only 60 seconds.

I did end up adding some top coat to smooth out (& glossy up) the finish. I’ve read online about people complaining that top coat removes the holographic finish but the top coat I used (Essie Speed Setter) didn’t cause any issues like that, as you can see.

Lots of scattered holographic glitters!

Obviously, I was drawn to this beautiful darker blue shade but the collection does boast 8 holographic shades in the line–although, I think my local Shoppers Drug Mart was sold out of a few of them. I was torn between this shade & Chrome Zone, which was a dark almost black holo. I would definitely pick of that one next!

The Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow shades can be found whenever you buy your Sally Hansen polishes. I picked up this bottle at my local Shoppers Drug Mart on sale for $5.99 CAD though they’re regularly $10.99 CAD.

What do you think about this beautiful Sally Hansen InstaDri shade Holo-back? Do you love being able to find holographic nail polish in mainstream stores? Have you tried the Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow shades — which one is your favourite? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Sunday

♥︎