SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie High Voltage Vinyl (Essie Fall 2021 Collection)

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. I hope everyone is having a beautiful weekend! The weather here is perfect Autumn weather — cool enough to wear a light jacket, but not too cold I can’t still wear my favourite skirts. Definitely my favourite time of year.

So naturally, let’s show off some Fall nail polish. & I feel like I’ve found the perfect shade for the occasion: Essie High Voltage Vinyl.

2 coats + top coat

Described on the Essie site as a “warm rockin’ onyx green nail polish amped up with refined gold pearl” I feel like this colour screams early Autumn. The green is a beautiful dark green which is complimented perfectly by the bronze-y gold. The dark shimmer is really pretty, & applied surprisingly smooth with subtle brush strokes (it kind of just looks more like the finish, & less like me mucking up.)

Green isn’t usually a colour I reach for to wear on its own, but I like that this one is a little bit different & that underlying gold shimmer is doing something to me! It just screams Autumn, & sweater weather. Could you imagine this guy with a coat of Essie Shine of the Times over top? I bet it would be absolutely stunning (& I wish I had thought of it when I put this shade on… rather than when I was writing this blog post! Next time!)

Sadly, looking online it doesn’t look like this shade is available for purchase, which makes me sad because it’s such a fun shade for this time of year. I’m sure there is a beautiful dupe out there though!

What do you think of Essie High Voltage Vinyl? Do you think it’s a beautiful Autumnal shade? Would you wear this unique green nail polish?

I’d love to know your thoughts & what you’re currently wearing on your nails right now.

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

Recreating my Wedding Nails (on my shorties) 11 years later! ✨👰🏻‍♀️💅💍

Hello lovelies & Happy Saturday! I know I don’t often post on Saturday, but today was a special exception with a special nail design!

I really wanted to recreate my wedding nails in honour of my wedding anniversary, especially as I’m rocking some serious shorties right now. So in honour of the occasion, here’s a brand new version of a very special design.

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 You Do Blue!
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • China Glaze Champagne Bubbles
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Good As Gold
  • Essie Brides No Grooms
  • Essie She’s Pampered
  • Essie Into the A-Bliss
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • Essie Sew Psyched
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • NailStuff dotting tool
  • NailStuff 7mm Liner Brush

For those curious, here are my original nails I painted for my wedding day, & my recreation I did in 2018.

I was absolutely obsessed with my original nails that I painted back in 2015 for my wedding day — it was really important to me to create a beautiful design I would love for years, & years to come. & again, when I recreated them I equally loved the design!

But you know what? I think I love them the most on short nails! Long nails look beautiful no matter what, but trying to recreate the exact same look on nails 1/2 the size really makes them pop! The only thing from my recreation I’m not 100% sold on is the much more yellow gold, but it definitely gives it a more colourful vibe. (& the right amount of sparkle! ✨)

What do you think about this anniversary look? Do you love a floral look as much as I do? I’d love to know if this design holds up all these years later. I certainly adore them as much as I did all those years ago & wouldn’t change a thing about the nails I had on my wedding day.

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

🖤

Chic Red & Gold Fall Dotticure

Hello loves & happy Wednesday. I hope everyone’s had a fantastic start to their week so far. To say I’ve been enjoying the Fall weather & chill in the air would be an understatement.

I’m also enjoying all the deep, dark Autumn polishes. This is the time of year where my nail art creativity thrives. I want to do all the designs! Today’s one is a simple look, but chic & classic.

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
  • Quo by Orly Trust Fund over Berry Cobbler
  • Morgan Taylor Just Tutu Much
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool

Oh I love a good dotticure. They’re just so classic. & I’ve been in a real red polish era lately.

Red nail polish will always be my favourite.

What do you think about this classic red dotticure? Do you love the simplicity & chicness of this design? Let me know what you think, & if you’d also wear this design!

🖤

Lavender & Gold Romantic Celestial Nails ✨🌙

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! The weekend is upon us… unless of course, you’re like me, & working the entire weekend.

Today though, I’m excited because I feel like I created one of the prettiest nail designs I’ve done in absolute ages. Soft, & romantic… I’m kind of (very) in love. I also feel like this is kind of a different look for me, but the vibe reminds me a bit of a pair of press on nails I tried out a few years ago that I loved.

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
  • Joe Fresh Gel Look Mauve-ulous
  • Revlon Daydreamer
  • Joe Fresh Gold Rush
  • Essie Get Your Groove On
  • Icing store nail stickers — the stars
  • NailStuff Mermaid Tail Brush — 7mm liner brush

I feel like I perfectly colour matched these nail stickers from Icing I’ve had in my stash for a good… 7 years, to the freehand lines & crescent moon I pained. They look so good together! I was also going to try & add some rhinestones to this look, but it was getting late, & I was so scared of messing up what I had already painted, so I kept them as it.

But aren’t they giving a fun celestial vibe? I was inspired by a few manicures I saw on Pinterest, & these stickers as well. So much so, that when I was at Dollarama, & saw a nail sticker kit with similar stickers, I had to buy it. I’m already planning on a similar vibe, with a mix of dark & light purples, closer to Halloween.

So what do you think of this celestial nail design? Do you just love the pattern & colour combo. I’m kind of obsessed with the shift on Revlon Daydreamer. It is absolutely dreamy.

Let me know what you think about this look, & let me know what kind of nail vibe you’d like to see in the future.

☼ ☽

Nude & Gold Herringbone Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having the best start to their week.

The weather has made a serious shift, from hot humid & sunny to rainy & wet. But the temperatures are coming down, & I can feel the pumpkin spice lattes calling. Seriously, I may just have to start my shift off at work tomorrow with one!

But I’m trying my hardest not to go full Autumn vibes on my nails, & I think this look is another good transitional design. We’re not dark & moody, but the nude & gold combo is definitely giving end of the Summer feelings. I feel like it’s been literal years since I last created a herringbone design like this, so I definitely felt rusty, but the final result turned out beautifully.

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 Gel Couture Princess Charming
  • Essie Leggy Legend
  • Art Club Striper in Black
  • Small dotting tool

Were my lines the easiest to draw? Absolutely not. Am I super proud of how they look? Absolutely. These felt so chic to wear, & I truly forgot how much I adore a herringbone pattern nail art look.

What do you think of this nail art look? Do you enjoy simple but striking nail art designs like this? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & any other nail art designs you’d like to see me create!

Happy Tuesday!

♥︎