Category: Glitter

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Matte Spring Floral Accent Nail

Hello lovelies & happy Friday!

The weekend is finally here, which is always exciting. Of course, I work all weekend, but that is besides the point . The weather is finally beginning to feel more Spring-like around here, on occasion, so naturally I want to match that mood with my nails.

Especially since around here, it can turn back to Winter in the matter of a few hours.

I’ve really been craving Spring florals so much lately. Floral just makes everything better. & I just thought a floral would look so beautiful as an accent to this new glittery polish I recently picked up.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Glam Doll Electronia
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen MG After Alter
  • OPI Two-Timing the Zones
  • L’Oréal Jardin Des Roses 
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • L’Oréal Pistache Royale
  • Sally Hansen MG Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

How cute does this mani look paired against the flowers I got at work? Give me all the florals!

I really like the simplicity of this floral over the glitter, & the matte top coat brought everything together. It gives the glitter polish the look of almost robin’s eggs–serious Spring vibes–& the white flower pops against the blue base. I love it.

What do you think about this Spring-y accent nail? Are you a fan of simple accent nails like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Maybelline Color Show Blue Marks The Spot

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s another snowy Sunday here, which is not what I was hoping for. But it matches well with the nail polish I picked for this week’s Swatch Sunday pick: Maybelline Color Show Blue Marks The Spot. This shade is actually a super oldie, going back to (I think) 2013! I picked my bottle up on Clearance a few years ago, after Maybelline had stopped making the Color Show brand.

3 coats, no Top Coat.

The first thing about Blue Marks The Spot is that it is very, very thin. This is 3 coats of polish, & you can still see the nail below. I’m not sure how many coats you would actually need for full opacity, but I’m going to guess it’s more than I would want to do haha. You could definitely do a white or blue base, though, if you wanted to the sheerness.

The formula is sheer, like I said, but other than that it’s not too hard to work with. The coats dry quickly, & the glitters are very well dispersed so you don’t have to worry about digging around trying to find them.

Obligatory macro shot.

I used to be so, so scared of glitter nail polishes & never want to wear them because removal would be impossible. Obviously, taking off glitter polish isn’t my favourite thing, but I’m not quite so scared of wearing my glitters like I used to be. Which, is good, because I love, love, love these spotted polishes & have quite a few in my stash from different brands.

What do you think about this fun spotty nail polish? Do you remember the Maybelline Color Show line, & these spotted polishes in particular. I also have the green one, Drops of Jade, I’m kind of sad I didn’t get the whole range of these shades were they were out, but maybe some day I’ll discover more in the bottom of a clearance bin to complete my collection haha.

Have a lovely Sunday!

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Red Pink & Purple Sparkly Glitter Gradient ✨

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! It was feeling like Spring here this weekend, but now we’re officially back in Winter mode with about 30cm of snow that fell yesterday. I’m just so over Winter. It’s cold, & slushy, & I miss wearing cute dresses. I can’t wait for us to officially defrost.

But in the meantime, I guess I’ll distract myself with some pretty nails.

It’s been a long while since I did a gradient on my nails that wasn’t just some glitter. Honestly, I find the clean up–even with liquid latex!–a pain, & I don’t have time for it. But I was really, really feeling a sparkly gradient after putting on my Swatch Sunday pick Essence Me & My Lover, so I decided to give it a try.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Millionails
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essence Me & My Lover
  • Aco by Ardene Boudoir
  • Aco by Ardene Wish
  • Latex free make up sponge

Check out those layers of glitter! It’s been a long time since my last gradient like this with lots of glittery shades, but I’m obsessed with how it turned out.

Instead of doing the classic gradient sponging where you apply all three colours onto the sponge & then apply it to the nail, I sponged each layer of glitter on the nail instead… which still gave me the same effect without having to worry about the clean up! I find it’s easier to do that with glittery shades like these, because they blend into each other easier, & you don’t have those unblended lines you might get with a cream polish. & of course, sealing it all in with top coat also helps blend things.

What do you think of these glittery gradient nails? Would you wear a super glittery gradient like this on your nails? Let me know what you think down in the comments below, & what colour combination you would wear!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Me & My Lover (Sparkle Sand Effect)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. ❤️

I thought since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, I should pick out something sorta Valentine-y for my nails. After digging through my stash, & through a lot of red nail polishes, I decided on this oldie from Essence: Me & My Lover.

2 coats, no top coat.

This shade was originally released in 2014/2015, which is when I picked it up at my local Shoppers Drug Mart. It is a sparkle sand effect shade, which means that it dries down to a textured finish.

Unlike some other sand effect polishes I’ve used, Me & My Lover has a finer grit, so the textured finish is a bit more subtle. It’s there, but it’s also easy to smooth out with a coat of glossy thick top coat.

The red is a beautiful pink leaning red — there seems to be some gold glitters & magenta glitters mixed in. It makes for a very, very beautiful polish. It also dries fairly quickly, which is an important thing when it comes to textured polishes. No body has time to be waiting around for their polishes to dry for hours.

The formula is also really easy to work with, which I always get excited about when it comes to extra old polishes in my stash. I’m definitely glad I decided to pull it out, because it was just the red I was looking for!

What do you think of this Essence shade? Do you remember the textured polish craze? Do you still have any of your old textured shades—which ones were your favourites?

Let me know in the comments below!

& have a happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow!

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Blue Valentine Nails 💙

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday!

Today I have a fun early Valentine’s Day look to share with you I did before my tragic nail break last week. I was feeling something Valentines-y, but not pink, so I decided to recreate a look similar to one I did last year.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Millionails
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Blitz
  • Essie All the Wave
  • Dimension Nails Great Blue Heron (gifted c/o: NailStuff.ca)
  • China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod!
  • Color Club On The List
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

How pretty did these turn out? I love the blues all together, & it’s a fun alternative to your usual pink on pink Valentine’s Day designs. Also I’m pretty proud of how my hearts turned out.

I even took a picture of both hands, because people always ask me if I paint both hands when I do my own nails. My apologies for the potato quality photo, I took these in not the greatest lighting.

What do you think about these blue Valentine nails? Do you like untraditional colours when it comes to holiday nails?

Let me know all your thoughts on these nails down in the comments below, & let me know what untraditional colour scheme you would do for a Valentine’s Day look!