SWATCH SUNDAY— OPI Infinite Shine Heart & Coal

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. The last Sunday before Christmas! Can you believe that Christmas is only 6 days away? That means its time to kick the Christmas designs into high gear!

But, in the meantime, I have a fun Christmas related polish to shade for Swatch Sunday: OPI Infinite Shine Heart & Coal from the 2020 Shine Bright Holiday Collection. I found this beauty at Winners, during my Christmas shopping adventures this past week, & kind of couldn’t leave without it! They had a few a the shades from the collection left, but I decided to be good & just buy this one.

This is also, somehow, my first full sized Infinite Shine shade which is also really exciting!

2 coats + 2 coats OPI Infinite Shine Gloss Top Coat

Heart & Coal is a beauty black with an abundance of tiny holo scattered glitters. A lot of holo glitter. The first coat of this shade was a bit thin, but the second I applied the second coat, it was perfect opacity. The formula can be a bit grainy–thanks to those thickly packed holographic glitters–but applying two coats of top coat definitely smoothed things out a lot. A part of me would be curious to see how it would look without top coat, & if it would dry similarly to those sand effect shades of a few years ago.

Look at that macro shot! You can see those beautiful shimmers, plus you can really see that the black base has a bit of a shimmery finish to itself as well. A lovely holiday polish to wear! Especially if you’re not in the mood for a traditional red or green polish to wear to celebrate.

I also like the lasting power of the Infinite Shine line. According to the OPI site, it’ll give you up to a 11 day lasting manicure. I’m not sure about that, but I did get a good shift out of these where I was unpacking boxes & being all around rough on my nails, & my nails looked as good as the beginning as at the end.

What do you think about this polish? Do you have OPI Heart & Coal, either regular or Infinite Shine, in your stash? What is your holiday manicure you’re wearing right now? Let me know down in the comments below!

Glam Nails Challenge December— Ornaments

Contains PR sample/Gifted product

Hello lovelies & happy Friday!

I swear I’ve been meaning to post this design for 2 days, but with Christmas right around the corner (& 12 hour work days) I’ve been struggling to find a good nail blogger balance with real life.

But! Today I have my next prompt for GlamNailsChallengeDecember: ornaments. & I decided to go with a simply bauble look for this design — something festive, but not too over the top. & naturally I had to pose in front of my own Christmas tree for the photographs.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Tutu the Ballet
  • Sally Hansen MG Snow What You Want
  • Sally Hansen MG Under the Tree
  • Sally Hansen MG Wrapped in Love
  • Sally Hansen MG Five Golden Blings
  • Sally Hansen MG Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen MG Buffalo Nickel
  • Sally Hansen MG Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

How cute did these turn out?! I tried to give these baubles a fun vintage look. Also it gave me a chance to use a few more of the beautiful shades of the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Joy of Colour collection for this holiday (plus a few older Sally Hansen shades). & I’m really really happy with how they look.

Plus I’m absolutely in love with this glitter sandwich I did using Snow What You What & Tutu the Ballet which I’ve been itching to do since I got it.

What do you think about this ornament look? Do they scream Christmas to you? Are you almost ready for the holidays?

Let me know in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Joy of Colour collection (Holiday 2021)

PR sample/Gifted product

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! & a very exciting Sunday at that because today we’re going full holiday mode with Swatches of the Sally Hansen MiracleGel Joy of Colour Holiday 2021 collection. You might have seen that Sally Hansen Canada was so kind as to gift me this collection, & I was like a kid on Christmas morning opening up the package! I’m always very excited when Sally Hansen releases a new collection, but add in some Christmas glitter, & I reach full on “I need to own this collection!” so I’m. very excited to share it with you today.

So let’s get onto the swatches!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Joy of Colour collection (Holiday 2021)”

Glam Nails Challenge December — Jingle Bells

contains PR/gifted items

Hello lovelies & happy December! Yep… that’s right. It’s December! Which means the countdown to Christmas is officially on! & the abundance of Christmas designs can begin! As promised, I’m participating in GlamNailsChallenge for December, as I love a holiday themed nail art Challenge.

& the first prompt for the month: Jingle Bells.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice (2021 Joy of Colour collection)
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Gift For Blue (2021 Joy of Colour collection)
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Essie Muse Myself
  • China Glaze Ever Glaze Cashin’ Out
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper 
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate (no longer available)
  • Small detail brush

How cute did these turn out?

I started over with a base of my two colours which are both shades from the new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Joy of Colour collection for Holidays 2021, that were so kindly gifted to me from Sally Hansen. I really like the soft grey with sparkle of Gift for Blue against the more poppy brightness of Red It Twice. Next I stamped the bell image onto my nail using my Nailstuff stamper & Starrily Vantablack. I knew that it needed some kind of colour, so with a very tiny detail brush, I went in with my Essie Water-colours shade Muse Myself… which, over the sparkle, totally comes across as gold! I finished with some red & green accents, just to tie everything together, & topped everything with topcoat to seal the look in.

What do you think about this design? Would you wear these Jingle Bell nails? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & don’t forget to follow along below with the prompts on Instagram with GlamNailsChallengeDec.

Have a lovely Wednesday!

Smooshy Marble Nails (inspired by @grapefizznails)

Hello lovelies & Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. Here on the East Coast you can feel that Winter is quickly approaching — it was downright cold this morning. & I am not a girl who enjoys the cold! Especially because it absolutely wreaks havoc on my nails if I get busy, & forget to keep up with my nail care routine!

But enough about the cold, let’s concentrate on the good stuff: this icy smoosh design inspired by @grapefizznails! Anne is a fellow Canadian nail guru who creates the most stunning smoosh nails I’ve ever seen! Literally, it’s like witchcraft I swear. As soon as I saw her latest smoosh design I knew I needed to attempt a recreation ASAP.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Under The Twilight
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Tutu Ballet
  • Sally Hansen MG Get Mod
  • Essie Getting Groovy
  • Sinful Colors Twilight Twinkles
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper

How absolutely gorgeous did this turn out? Obviously nothing compared to the original, but I think I channeled my inspiration very well. It gives me a nice Fall Icy feel, which works well with these chilly November days. It was also pretty easy to create as well. Anne has some pretty awesome tutorials on her instagram on how she creates her smoosh marbles, as well as drip marbles & other nail art! So definitely check them out, especially if you want to recreate this look as well.

What do you think about this smooshy marble design? Do you think my recreation lived up to its inspiration? Would you wear this look on your nails as well? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!