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!

Glam Nails Challenge December—Let’s Party 🎉

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! The last Wednesday of 2021. Can you believe it?

With Christmas over, it’s time to start thinking New Years Eve nails. & the last prompt of Glam Nails Challenge December is Let’s Party! & when I think News Years Eve, & partying on New Years Eve, I think silver & sparkle. So that was the theme I went with for my party nails.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Dimension Nails Kronosaurus  (gifted c/o: NailStuff.ca)
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Buffalo Nickel
  • Essie Ignite the Night
  • Starrily Eclipse
  • OPI I Snow You Love Me
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I had this idea in my head about how I wanted this design to look, with silver/sparkly dots, & then a few scattered glitters from OPI I Snow You Love Me — but wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out until the very end. But I think it turned out exactly like I pictured in my head! Just the right amount of sparkle.

If I wasn’t working New Years Eve & New Years Day… & if the world wasn’t a very scary place, these would totally be the nails I would wear to dance & celebrate New Years Eve! Of course, my New Years plans involve kombucha & probably falling asleep on the couch before midnight (& the biggest veggie platter I can find!) but it doesn’t mean I won’t do it all with sparkly nails.

Because we all know, sparkles make everything better!

What do you think about this sparkly party design? Do you have a fun design planned for New Years Eve? Let me know what nail trends/colours you’re excited for in 2022.

Festive Glitter Gradient ✨🎄

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday! & happy Christmas Eve Eve. I hope everyone is ready for their holidays, & for those still working long hours & not sure how they’re going to be ready — I feel you! Hopefully everyone is also staying safe with everything quickly changing in the world.

I said I was dedicated to 5 nail art looks this week in preparation for Christmas, & I wasn’t lying! Today is day four, & I went with a classic look that I do some incarceration of every year: a Christmas glitter gradient. Last year’s was very similar to this years, but that’s okay! When you find a classic that works for you, you go with it! (Plus my nails are so much longer this year!)

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Icing Emerald City
  • Icing Tis The Season

Hello Christmas sparkle! I was actually going to use my other Christmas-y glitter from Icing, Santa Baby, but unfortunately it’s on the goopier side, so I decided to go with my other very Christmas-y glitter for this look. I’ve mentioned before how I love the speed & ease of a glitter gradient, plus the versatility, so I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of them.

What do you think about my glitter gradient? Do you like this years version, or last year’s shorty version? Let me know what nail art design/style you repeat year after year & never get tired of!

Halloween Glitter Gradient with Sally Hansen x Sour Patch Kids InstaDri

PR Sample/Gifted

Hello lovelies & happy Friday.

It’s officially 2 days until Halloween, & I’m super pumped. I’m really feeling the spooky Halloween spirit. & I just recently received the most amazing PR package from Sally Hansen this week featuring their amazing Sally Hansen x Sour Patch Kids InstaDri line (& about 2 pounds of Sour Patch Kids… my favourite sour candy!) I will have Swatches on Sunday, but I. The meantime I created this fun & witchy glitter gradient featuring a few of the shades.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Hallo-Queen
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Fab-BOO-lous
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge

I know I already said it, but I absolutely love how witchy these feel. I will have full swatches coming soon, but this glitter topper — Hallo-Queen — is so pretty. I love the combination of the multi coloured black, orange & holo glitters. It makes for such a perfect gradient. I also used a bit of the glow-in-the-dark polish overtop, although I haven’t really had the time to test it out properly. It’ll be fun for Halloween night though!

What do you think about this witchy gradient? Is this a Halloween nail art look that you were the rock for the big night? Let me know down below all your thoughts on this combination!

Mermaid Gradient Nails

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday!

How is it almost the weekend again? I’m not complaining, it’s just crazy how this weekend is speeding by. & it’s Victoria Day weekend here in Canada, which has always felt like the kick off to Summer to me! Of course it’s going to be a rainy mess all weekend here in Halifax, but you can’t win them all.

Today I’m sharing some very fun, very Summer-y nails. I’ve been saying forever that I needed to order some new mermaid nail vinyls, so when I placed my Mother’s Day order at Beyond The Nail, I made sure to include some mermaid nail guides in there!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter + Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat
  • Beyond the Nail Blazing Blush
  • Beyond the Nail Honeymoon
  • Beyond the Nail Auburgine
  • Beyond the Nail Mermaid Scale Nail Guides
  • Latex free make up sponge (I buy mine from Dollarama)

Okay, so I know I call pretty much every manicure I do my favourite, but seriously just look at this design. I’m obsessed!

I decided to go all out with a gradient (another look I haven’t done in a while) for my scale base, then added my Aubergine over top. & I am so freaking in love with how these three polishes look together. Seriously— I wore this design for three whole days, before I snapped my middle finger nail clean off. Plus the combo totally matches my current hair colour combo.

I can’t even begin to explain my love for this look. I also really like the mermaid scale guides because they were super easy to use, & they’re quite large so I managed to split them so I could use one guide per 2 nails. That makes me so happy!

What do you think about these bright & colourful mermaid nails? Does this design scream Summer to you? Have you done mermaid nails in a while? Let me know down in the comments below!