SWATCH SUNDAY— Crafting a Layered Green Holo

Happy Swatch Sunday lovelies!

Today is a bit of a different post for me–instead of featuring single polishes on their own today, I’m showing off 3 polishes layered together to create one amazing look!

I’ve been really loving layering polishes together–it’s similar to creating franken shades only instead of mixing everything together, your layering one on top of another. Obviously this could only really work with layering more sheer shades over more opaque ones (which works well with a lot of the Layla Cosmetics hologram effect polishes I own.)

For this particular look I started with 2 base coats of Essie Turquoise & Caicos & then layered a coat of Layla Cosmetics Jade Groove over top. I’ve worn this Holo on its own but found it didn’t have enough of a green/mint pop to it on the nail. By adding some undies, it really showed off the colour I wanted. & then, because I’m absolutely Holo obsessed right now I finished off with a layer of Quo by ORLY Trash Glam (aka. ORLY Sparkling Garbage for my non-Canadian friends!) The end result is a whole lot of holo happening on the nail.

Seriously, this is a distracting amount of sparkle happening on the nail. In the sunshine, it was actually incredible how many rainbows you could see.

I love how you get the linear holo from Jade Groove but then the scattered holo from Trash Glam picks up the light too & it’s absolutely memorizing! I definitely need to find a linear holo top coat so I can transform every polish I own into a Holo Polish too! Let me know what your favourite ones are!

I hope everyone had an amazing Sunday. 💚✨

Vine Nail Art inspired by @ameliasaccount & @polishpeach

Happy Tuesday lovelies. Craving some serious greenery nails because Mother Nature decided to curse us with a whole ton of snow on Sunday… like 20cm of snow. So that’s fun! Just when it was starting to feel like Spring (for real) Mother Nature decided to ruin everything. That’s why I definitely needed something Spring-like on my nails.

I’ve done this design once before, & it’s originally inspired by @ameliasaccount who was inspired by @polishpeach. Instead of a white base, I decided to go with a brand new polish I recently picked up at Shoppers Drug Mart called Thyme is Money. It’s a beautiful pale green that’s part of the newly formulate Insta-Dri line & holy is it ever lovely!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Thyme is Money
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in green
  • Quo by ORLY Second Hand Jade
  • YSL Beauty Vert D’Orient
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in black
  • Small detail brush from Bundle Monster

Seriously, I can’t even begin to describe how much I love the outcome of these. Definitely achieved a much more delicate design versus my first attempt at this manicure. & the green of the leaves pop so well against the pale base polish.

I spent my Sunday off from work out shopping for new plants to fill our house with & I’m just loving the look of fresh greenery in every room. We’re trying to find the perfect hanging plant/vines for in the living room, but in the mean time at least I can enjoy them on my nails.

Here’s hoping that these nails inspired Mother Nature to get her act together. After all, nobody wants to deal with shoving the driveway when they would much rather be basking in the mildly pleasant Spring sunshine. Here’s hoping the snow will be melted in a few short days, & I can go back to wearing flats & the occasional Spring dress.

What do you think of my version of the vine design? Have you tried this shade from Sally Hansen yet? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Springy Fern Nails!

Good morning & happy Monday! I hope everyone is having a good start to their week. I’m barely awake because I had to be at work bright & early for a conference call, but that’s why they invented quad shot lattes! Today I’m showing off another Spring-y design to, maybe, remind Spring it’s supposed to be here. I’ve been completely obsessed with greenery lately, & I’ve been doing a lot plant inspired designs on my days as a result.

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Breathable Kiss Me, I’m Kind
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Rose to the Occasion
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art Pen in green
  • Yves Saint Laurent Beauty in Vert D’Orient
  • Quo by ORLY Second Hand Jade
  • Bundle Monster small detail brush

Oh how I wish Spring was truly here. Although it’s supposed to be above freezing all week so maybe we’re on the other end of winter. I certainly hope so! There are too many cute Spring & summer dresses sitting in my closet, just asking to be worn again.

what do you think of this fern design? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Perfect Shades for Spring!

Happy Sunday lovelies! Today I’ve taken another trip through my stash & picked out 5 polishes that I’m loving for Spring! I did a similar post last year, so I thought I would do another round of my favourite picks for Spring. & yes, I did put Essie Bikini So Teeny on the list again, but this is a brand new bottle so it counts!

Zoya — Daisy

There is something about yellow polish that is so perfect for Spring & Zoya Daisy is a perfect yellow. This shimmery yellow is bright & reminds me of sunshine & I love wearing it as a base for roses because they pop so well. Also yellow always makes you look so tanned!

BUY HERE

Quo by ORLY — Platina

I love white nail polish, this is no secret. & my love for this limited edition Quo by ORLY shade from Spring 2018 is HUGE! The off white with subtle shimmer means you get the look of wearing white nail polish without having to worry about looking like you’re wearing white out on your nails. & the perfect base shade for floral accent nails!

Quo by ORLY polishes can be found at your local Shoppers Drug Mart.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure — Rose to the Occasion

So, yeah… sorry about my bottle shots. This was one of the polishes from Sally Hansen’s Beautifier Collection I won from Lauren’s List & we lost one of the others in transit so my bottle is a mess. But the polish itself–a beautiful blush pink–is one of my favourite colours for Spring! I’ve been buying everything in it–shirts, shoes, nail polish! I just can’t get enough.

You can find this Sally Hansen shade wherever Sally Hansen polish is sold.

Essie — Bikini So Teeny

I literally cannot include a favourite polishes for Spring without including one of my all time favourite shades–Essie Bikini So Teeny! This vibrant corn flower blue also has that subtle shimmer that I love so much. One of my favourite bases for vintage roses or just on it’s own for days when I need something quick & easy.

BUY HERE

Wrenn Polish — I Know Guac is Extra!

I have never been a green person, but wearing this green from Wrenn Polish has converted me! Sometimes you need a little greenery on your nails & this is the perfect shade for that. The creamy green is just. so. good. Seriously, if you’re looking for one green to add to your collection, this is the one you need. (Seriously, I’m obsessed!)

BUY HERE

& just for fun, I had to create some nail art using my Spring Polish picks! How pretty do all the shades look paired in a stripe design. My nails are so short & breaky lately, they need some added length…. even if it’s all an illusion. Haha. I just my Bundle Monster striping Brush for my freehand stripes.

so what do you think of my favourite picks for Spring? Do you have a particular shade you’re loving for the season? Share all your thoughts in the comments below!

St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Nails ☘️

Happy Saturday Lovelies… & happy St Patrick’s Day! It’s been quiet on the blog this week, & if you follow me on Instagram you’ll know I had a bit of an accident involving my son where he scratched my cornea with his nail leaving me temporarily blind Wednesday. It was a little difficult to try & do my nails & write a post so I took a bit of a hiatus but I still wanted to try & do something fun in honour of St. Patrick’s Day, so I can up with a fun shamrock design.

Green is not a usual colour choice for me. I own quite a few greens, but I usually save them for either Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day so I was excited to pull a few out to play with.

The polishes I used for this design were:

  • Base Coat: Quo by Orly Kiss Me, I’m Kind
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Wrenn Polish I Know Quac is Extra
  • OPI That’s Hula-rious
  • China Glaze Be More Pacific
  • Essence The Green & The Grunge
  • YSL Beauty Vert D’Orient
  • URSugar Nail Vinyls — shamrocks (item #AUB39877)

I started off with a dry brush base using all my greens but YSL Beauty Vert D’Orient & let it dry completely. Then I added the shamrock vinyls over top my design & painted over the whole nail with Vert D’Orient & immediately removed the vinyls revealing my dry brush shamrocks. I think it was a cute way to use a whole bunch of greens & a great design for St Patrick’s Day!

What do you have planned for your St Patrick’s Day? Mine will be spent working & the only green things I’ll be drinking with be green kombucha & matcha lattes… but that’s okay with me! Hope you have a fun (& safe!) St. Patrick’s Day whatever you get up to. 💚 Also head over to my Instagram later on for a bonus nail art look featuring these Shamrock vinyls from URSugar! 🍀☘️🍀