SWATCH SUNDAY — LA Colors Gel Color Craze Color Shifting Top Coat Retrograde

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful sunny Sunday once again. I know I shouldn’t complain about the beautiful weather — especially since we’ve been having cooler morning & evenings which are giving me all the Autumn vibes — but we’re still desperate for rain on the East Coast with all the fires we’ve been having.

Today though, it’s all about nail polish & I’m excited because I found a new & fun shade while perusing my local Walmart! They’ve recently– in like the last year or two — started selling LA Colors & I always love checking out what new shades they have in the display. I noticed these Color Shifting Toppers the last time I was there, so I decided to pick up two of them. The first one I’m excited to share is this green to blue shifty duochrome called Retrograde.

2 coats applied over Essie Frock n Roll + Top Coat

For this application, I applied two coats of Retrograde over a dark base — in this case, I picked Essie Frock n Roll. The base of Retrograde is fairly thin, as you would want a topper to be, but it has a fun metallic duochrome effect that builds very nicely. I feel like you could almost wear a couple coats of it on it’s own, since the base layer definitely disappears beneath the topper.

The shift is also gorgeous — there are flashes on blue & green, as the main ones, but you also get purples as well. Very mermaid-y, which I love, but the jewel tone is perfect for this time of year. I’m not usually someone who reaches for green very often, as well all know (& I’ve said plenty of times) but a shade like this with the multichrome shift is definitely one I will wear. In fact, I wore this manicure for almost 5 days!

LA Colors shades retail at Walmart for $3.97 CAD — which is a pretty awesome deal! The Color Shifting Topper line has 10 shades to choose from, all with celestial names. I picked up Retrograde & Nova, but I’m definitely going to be going back for more shades! They are all such fun colours, & I love anything that can switch up shades already in my collection with a fun twist. Also, I bet these would look beautiful swirled into a drag marble design. That might have to be my next thing to try!

What do you think of LA Colors Gel Color Shifting Topper? Are you a fan of the LA Colors brand? Like I said, I love how affordable these shades are — &, like the crackle shades they’ve released, I find they’re really stepping up their game! So many fun options you can play around with.

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Tropic Like It’s Hot

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. Not so much a sunny Sunday, but I feel like today’s Swatch Sunday pick makes up for that!

I haven’t really been buying much nail polish— seeing as I have quite the stash already — but I’ve been working hard lately & needed a little pick me up so I headed to my local Walmart & decided to treat myself to a couple new Summery China Glaze shades I don’t yet own.

Today’s pick — Tropic Like It’s Hot 🌴☀️

3 coats + top coat

The first thing I thought when I picked up this shade was “that’s a fun shade, but it’s not me.” However, my husband’s immediate reaction was “whoa that’s really cool” — & he rarely has reactions like that to polishes like that — so I decided to bust out of my comfort zone & pick it up — & I’m really glad I did!

This beautiful neon yellow had a surprisingly smooth & un-patchy. I did find I needed 3 coats to really make the colour pop though, but thankfully they dried fairly quickly thanks to thin coats.

The polish itself is a funky highlighter yellow, with just a touch of green to it. If I had to compare it to anything, I would say it reminds me a tennis ball for sure. & how Summer-y is that?

Tropic Like It’s Hot is absolutely a sunglasses necessary neon, in the best possible way. It’s blinding! & I love that. The perfect colour to show off your Summer tan & invoke all the beach vibes you can handle!

I purchased my bottle at Walmart 2 for $14 CAD (I also bought Summer Reign which I’m currently wearing on my toes.) I believe outside the deal, they are $7.97 CAD each.

What do you think of China Glaze Tropic Like It’s Hot? Do you love this punchy neon shade as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Sunday!

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Garnish Attention (2018 Decadence Collection)

Hello my beauties! I hope everyone had a beautiful week. Mine was busy, busy as I started at a new cafe part time as a barista, & it’s been a while since I did that! My hands are feeling the need for a little TLC, but I think I’ll save that for another post.

Today we’re all about the polish, & this one in particular— Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Garnish Attention from the 2018 Decadence collection. This shade was one of the limited edition shades released for the Holidays that year.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful dark navy blue is enhanced with a gorgeous green shimmer. It’s kind of giving me Wicked vibes, a little bit. Or maybe like Maleficent (from Sleeping Beauty). It’s definitely feeling a bit villainy, which I adore. That’s the kind of vibe we all need going into this new year. As for formula, first coat was definitely thin & streaky, but two builds to perfect opacity, & that’s what we like to see.

I also had no problems with removal, & no staining.

Look how pretty this is! That too shot just looks like some kind of rare sapphire, & I want it. Garnish Attention is absolutely stunning on the nails, even the short little nubby nails I’m currently rocking. I just love that bright greenish shimmer that comes out through the dark navy blue.

Sadly, this beauty was a limited edition released as part of the Holiday 2018 collection, so it’s not in current rotation. But maybe if we all ask for it, Sally Hansen could bring it back (even under another name) because I believe she deserves her moment in the spotlight!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Garnish Attention? Would you wear this shade? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Sunday

🖤

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE DECEMBER (2024) — Christmas Tree 🎄

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! & happy day after Christmas. I hope everyone who celebrates had a peaceful holiday, however they chose to spend it. I know this has been a hard year for so many, & so whatever peace you need, you’ve found it.

Today I have another prompt for Glam Nails Challenge December — Christmas Tree. & I wanted to turn my sparkly base into a tree, so I added some cute simple ornaments. & I think this look turned into perfection.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: NailStuff Essentials Base Coat *
  • Top Coat: Nail Stuff Essentials Quick Dry Top Coat *
  • Essie Off Tropic *
  • Icing Stores Under The Mistletoe
  • Essie (Un)Guilty Pleasures *
  • Essie Bikini So Teeny *
  • Essie Not A Phase *
  • Sally Hansen 5 Golden Blings
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

    *pr/gifted

I thought this was such a fun look. It kind of reminds me of the Andy Warhol Flowers painting/print, but with Christmas ornaments instead. A little Christmas twist & different from the Christmas tree looks I usually go for. Plus the green glittery polish is so beautiful! I didn’t realize how much glitter coverage it actually had. So pretty!

Again, merry Christmas. & happy Hanukah to those who are currently celebrating.

& don’t forget that you can see all the beautiful designs using the hashtag #glamnailschallengedec24 on Instagram. Only a few more prompts to go until this year is over!

🖤

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE DECEMBER (2024) — Wreath 🌲

Hello lovelies & happy Christmas Eve Eve! Today we have another fun prompt for Glam Nails Challenge December — Wreath.

I can’t believe how quickly we’re speeding through these designs!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: NailStuff Essentials Base Coat *
  • Top Coat: Nail Stuff Essentials Quick Dry Top Coat *
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet (one coat layered over China Glaze Slay Bells Ring)
  • Essie Off Tropic *
  • Essie Expressie Main Character Moment *
  • Color Club What’s The Matte-r
  • Essie Gel Couture Rock the Runway
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

    *pr/gifted

I had this idea about half moon wreaths with one big wreath accent. I think this is a cute & easy look you can get done easily. The bow on my big accent finger is a little wonky, but I still think they turned out really cute. The green pops on the red, & gives off big Christmas-y vibes.

What do you think about these wreath nails? Are they give big Christmas vibes? Let me know what you think? & don’t forget that you can see all the beautiful designs using the hashtag #glamnailschallengedec24 on Instagram.

🖤