Category: Holographic

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles (Holiday 2024)

Good morning, & happy Sunday.

I don’t know about where you are, but here on the East Coast we’ve gone from balmy & hot to crisp sweater weather almost overnight. Which, as a girl who dreams of wearing her knee all boots, all year round, I couldn’t be happier!

So naturally that means I want to wear all the Autumn colours — or Autumn adjacent — all the time. Today’s polish pick is actually from last Winter’s Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Holiday Collection, but I feel like this colour fits in perfectly for this time of year. This is Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles.

2 coats + top coat

So I actually got this shade at my local Shoppers Drug Mart during a promotion for their Beauty Mingle Event. You pay $5 for a spin on their wheel, & you can win a prize. My Mum was playing, letting my kids each have a spin, & my daughter landed on FREE NAIL POLISH. There was a few beauties left from previous collections, but ultimately I landed on this beauty as it was the one from last year’s Holiday collection I had been most fixated on.

The formula on Hot Cocoa Cuddles is a beautiful chocolate brown shimmer, densely packed with holographic scattered glitters. It reminds me a bit of OPI My Private Jet, although the base colours are definitely different (& the scattered holographic glitters in the latter definitely apply to the nail much more densely.)

You can see the beautiful copper shimmer that comes through, with those scattered holographic glitters. I do wish the holo glitters were as dense on the nail as they are in the bottle, but you do still get those flashes of rainbow. Personally, I think this colour is perfect for Autumn! Deep reds, burnt orange, bronze-y browns, & any jewel tones — those are the shades I love for September! & Hot Cocoa Cuddles fits perfectly into that colour palette — plus the time is just too cute!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles? Do you remember this shade from last year’s Holiday collection? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

&, as always, I would love to hear what you’re wearing on your nails right now, & what colours your loving right now.

Happy Sunday

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen InstaDri Prismatic Shine Purple Prism 💜✨

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! The Summer weather is officially back in full swing — after some rainy chilly days — & I’ll be truthful, I’m loving it. I’m a hot hot hot Summer kind of girl always. Give me the sunshine!

& you know what looks awesome in sunshine — glitter. & today’s Swatch Sunday pick is a glitter bomb. This is Sally Hansen InstaDri Prismatic Shine Purple Prisim.

3 coats + top coat

I love a good purple, & I’ve really been loving glitter lately, so Purple Prism really brings the two worlds together. The base is a sheer purple jelly, which is packed full of multicoloured glitters, including holographic ones.

The base is very, very sheer so you need multiple coats. This is 3 not too thick coats — to achieve the bottle colour I would need at least one more thin coat, or to apply it thicker on the nail.

I do love the jelly like formula, with the exception of how it always seems to dry for me. There is always shrinkage at the tip, no matter how hard I try to cap my edges properly. I’m thinking it’s the fault of my quick dry top coat.

Look at all those glitters! Perfect to show off on a sunny day!

With how sheet the jelly formula, you could definitely get away with using it as a topper over another purple polish, & skip needing so many applications. The glitter might not be as dense on the nail, but it would definitely be beautiful!

How fun is this shade! Do you own any of the Sally Hansen InstaDri Prismatic Shine shades in your collection? Sadly my Shoppers Drug Mart has cleared out its stock of these shades, but I’m still hoping to find a few more of these beauties in my favourite clearance sections someday.

Happy Sunday!

🖤

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Purple Broken Glass Glitter Placement

Good morning lovelies — happy Friday & Happy July! Can you believe June is already over? How crazy is that. Of course, we’re starting off July foggy & lame. So much for Summer days. So I feel like this manicure is definitely matching the vibe.

June saw a lot of things, including quite the break on my ring finger, which is why I didn’t do a lot of nail art. But I did return to an old favourite design during that growing out period, & it made me realize I (still) need to get more shattered glitters for nail art, to add to my stash.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • OPI In The Moon For Love
  • OPI Infrared-y to Glow
  • Small dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

This design has been a go to favourite over here for a long, long time. & I’m always happy to return to them, even if I’m not finding nail polish brands making the kind of shattered glitter toppers like they used to. I mean, I could use loose glitters, but have you met me? I’m a clumsy person, & it usually results in a mess. Haha.

What do you think about this design? Are you a fan of glitter placement designs? Which glitter shade is your favourite for a design like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& happy Friday.

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect 08 Flash Black

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. & happy Father’s Day to those who are celebrating those Dad figures in their lives.

Today’s Swatch Sunday post is another beauty pulled straight from my stash. Years ago, my local Lawton’s Drugs used to have a crazy selection when it came to their clearance nail polish. Honestly, it was my favourite place to shop because you could always find something new & different to you (it’s one of the first places I ever found Color Club). They also used to sell a ton of shades by the brand Layla Cosmetics, which is a European brand.

Today’s polish is from the height of the initial holographic craze, circa 2014/2015 or so — although I found blog posts dating back to 2012. This is Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect 08 Flash Back.

2 coats + Top Coat

This beautiful liner holographic nail polish is a stunning dark grey (I wouldn’t quite call it black) with a very strong & beautiful liner holograph effect. The formula was smooth & easy to apply — especially for a nail polish that is over a decade old.

The trick with holographic shades like this, is you really have to make sure your first coat is dry-dry before attempting a second coat, other wise it can drag up your first coat. But other than that, I have 0 negatives about this shade. I have 3 or 4 others from this collection, & I just love them all. They were my first real introduction to liner holographic nail polish.

Sunny days were just meant for holographic nail polishes. Look at those rainbows! 🌈

Do you remember this line of nail polishes by Layla Cosmetics — or any of their interesting polishes. I loved finding them in the clearance because they were usually $3-$4 & they had so many cool ones — thermals, spotted, etc.

What do you think about this holographic shade? Do you think it’s as fun as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

🖤

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Pretty Floral Bouquet Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is enjoying their week so far — & if things are feeling rough right now, I hope at least you have a little bit of calm in your life to sooth those moments.

Today I’m excited to share off some pretty floral nails I did recently. After a bit of a nail art hiatus, I’m feeling good again about painting my nails — even if 95% of the nail I’ve been doing has been hand painted florals. Floral just makes me happy, so I’m going to keep wearing it.

Today’s look is especially pretty because I painted it over another beautiful holographic base shade. When the sun is shining, that just calls for all the holo!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Euphoric
  • NailStuff.ca Holo Top Coat*
  • Color Club Pucci-licious
  • Butter London Coming Up Roses*
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Essie Set in Sandstone*
  • Essie Cute As A Button
  • Essie Wind in the Willow *
  • Essie Off Tropic *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool 

*pr/gifted

These were a bit time consuming to paint, but the end result was totally worth it. I absolutely love the bright floral over the super shiny holographic base. It was exactly how I was hoping it would turn out, & I couldn’t be happier with it.

I just love floral nails so much.

What do you think of this beautiful floral bouquet nails? Do you think it looks pretty over such a holographic base? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you’re enjoying all the floral nails I’ve been sharing.

Happy Wednesday

♥︎