Golden Leaves

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! Switching things up with some Friday nails.

I was really feeling some leaf nails, especially as the Fall weather continues to be beautiful. This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, which is always feels fitting for some leaf pattern nails. I have a few of my leaf pattern nail stencils left from The Base Coat, so I thought they would be perfect to use over a base of China Glaze Loves ‘Em & Leaves ‘Em.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze Loves ‘Em & Leaves ‘Em
  • OPI Designer Series DS Classic
  • The Base Coat Fall Leaves Nail Vinyls (no longer available)

Check out that sparkle.

It’s been a while since I pulled out my bottle of OPI DS Classic from my stash — it’s such a beautiful gold & you get that bit of holo with it as well. It definitely pops against the darkened base of Loves ‘Em & Leaves ‘Em. It just works so well in this very Autumnal design.

What do you think about this Fall leaves design? Is it perfect for some Thanksgiving celebrating? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

Brown & Gold Shattered Glass Glitter Placement

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday!

Can you believe we’re in the final days of September? It’s kind of crazy. Where has this month gone already? It’s certainly been a busy month at our house with school starting. I can’t believe that we’re already a month in… & Summer is already feeling like a distant memory. Although, I cannot lie — I’m super pumped for my favourite month: October!

Now that we’re officially deep into Autumn, & the late September weather is in full force, I’m really feeling the Fall nail art. I realized the other day I haven’t done a shattered glass nail art design in way, way too long. I was wearing this beautiful brown shade, & realized it would be the perfect base for some gold shatter glitters, so I decided that was just the nail art look I needed in my life.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sinful Colors Essen-chills Smoky Palo Santo
  • Sinful Colors Twilight Twinkles
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

First of all, how absolutely beautiful is this brown shade? This is another one of the Sinful Colors Essen-chills scented shades that I picked up at Walmart earlier in the month. I really love the dense silver shimmer with the dark, dark brown base. & I know I keep saying this, but I’m just absolutely obsessed with brown nail polish, which is such a weird thing for me because I was not expecting to be a brown nail polish girl. But I totally am!

Second, this gold shard glitter goes so well over top. I used to be absolutely obsessed with these style of manicures a few years ago, & I think I need to bring them back again. It’s such an easy look to achieve, because it requires minimal tools. Sure, it does take a bit of time to do… but not nearly as much as you would expect! I think I’ll have to keep my eyes out for more of these style of glitter polishes

What do you think about this nail art look? Are you feeling these shattered glass nails? Have you ever tried a glitter placement look like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below — & get excited because Halloween designs are coming very soon!

Glam Nails Challenge September — Scarecrow

Hello lovelies & Happy Tuesday!

Haha I’m totally thrown off because of the holiday yesterday, & prepping for my little guy’s first day of school today! That’s the reason why this design is a few days late. But I’m super excited for these scarecrow inspired nails for the next Glam Nails Challenge prompt — I’m so about Fall right now, & these nails scream Fall to me! I’ve been absolutely loving all the Autumn shades I’ve recently picked up, so I loved combining them all into one design.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sinful Colours Essenchills Chamomile Calm
  • China Glaze Spice To Meet You
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Cinnasnap
  • Essie Get Your Groove On
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I’m so excited with how this look turned out! The colours go so well together, & I feel like they give off Scarecrow vibes from the combination. I’ll be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve been up close & personal with a scarecrow, but I felt like these orange-y & yellow tones really worked for the look. Also, there was no way I was going to be able to successfully freehand a scarecrow. But over all I’m so beyond happy with the end result!

What do you think about these scarecrow inspired nails? Are you following along with Glam Nails Challenge September? Are you excited about all the designs this month?

I’m really, really pumped for all the designs, so you definitely need to tuned!

Glam Nails Challenge August — Pear 🍐

Hello lovelies & happy Monday!

Can you believe it — the last prompt of GlamNailsChallenge August! A whole month of fruit themed prompts. I won’t lie — I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to the end but we did it! & I’m feeling super proud of myself right now. & it was so much fun.

& now that we’re almost at the end of August, I’m really feeling those darker colours. Which, is perfect, because it’s the perfect base for our final prompt this month: Pear 🍐.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Essie Carry On
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Sinful Colors Chamomile Calm
  • Essie Wrap Me Up
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area
  • Essie Get Your Groove On
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

Oh man, I searched & searched & searched for Pear nail art inspo on Pinterest, but there was not much to choose from haha. So I decided my best option was just to wing it — & it worked out in my favour! I really adore the yellow-toned pears over this super dark vampy base. I actually forgot about this polish, even though it’s one I love to wear this time of year, so I was very happy to find it! It was the perfect base for my Autumn-y pears.

& thats it for this month’s challenge! I’ve had a lot of fun with this quirky prompts, & I think I’m going to maybe tag along for next prompts challenge as well — it really helps me with ideas of how to paint my nails, which I need sometimes!

If you’re enjoying these monthly challenges, let me know! & don’t forget to check out all the amazing designs for #glamnailschallengeAug on Instagram to see all the fun designs my fellow nail artists have come up with!

Purple & Gold Drag Marble

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope everyone’s day is off to a lovely start. It’s super freezing here in Halifax today (-8 degrees BEFORE wind chill), & I am not a fan of the cold at all. But at least I got to start my day off with a sugar free caramel hazelnut soy latte.

Today’s nail art look was a random decision. I actually had originally planned on doing some floral nails, but it was late, I was tired, & I needed something faster. I haven’t done any marble nails in a while, especially a drab marble, so it felt like a good time to do them.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • Beyond the Nail Flowing Unicorn Mane
  • Sally Hansen CSM Pat On The Black
  • Essence Best Dressed
  • Essie Mosiac On Down
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Please excuse my dry cuticles. No matter how much hand cream or cuticle oil I apply, I just can’t seem to keep up with this horrendously cold weather/hand sanitizer combo. Ugh. But, at least my nails look pretty!

& that’s what is most important, right?

Really loving the end result of this marbling. I always have a bit of trouble with the first few nails, but we always get it figured it. Also I love the purple & gold colour combination forever. I don’t think I could ever get tired of purple nail polish! Plus I don’t think I’ve ever worn this pretty purple I won from Beyond the Nail a few years ago (via Instagram). They actually moved bases to my city, so I’m excited to start purchasing more shades from them in the future because they make gorgeous polishes!

What do you think about this purple marble? What nail art are you planning for this month. We’ve got St Patrick’s Day & Easter at the beginning of next month, so lots of fun nail art to come!

Have a great day lovelies! 💜