Category: Holographic

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen InstaDri Pink Aurora 💗🌌

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a beautiful sunny–but chilly–day here on the East Coast. They keep telling us that Spring is on its way, but I won’t like… it’s getting harder, & harder to believe it. (Especially when they’re calling for over 20cm of snow at the end of the week)

But never the less, I’ll keep trying to summon Spring with whatever is on my nails, & today I was feeling something pink! Pink is not a colour I often reach for as a single manicure, but it does feel very Spring-y to me, so I thought I would grab for one in my stash. & as soon as I saw this sparkly pink looking back at me, I knew it would be perfect for today’s Swatch Sunday post.

This is Sally Hansen InstaDri Pink Aurora.

3 coats + top coat

I always do love a sparkle, & this sheer pink jelly is full of iridescent & holographic glitters. The jelly base is thin–very thin–so multiple coats as necessary for even a hint of opacity. Personally, I feel like I’m more likely to use this as a glitter topper rather than on its own, but I wanted to swatch it as it comes.

The sparkle on this beauty is lovely. I feel like from far away, it could come across as more subtle, but you can see it much more prominently unclose. I will say though –this shade was not easy to photograph at all. I tried in both my lightbox & outside & it was a struggle.

This shade is part of the Primsmatic Shine line of InstaDri, & I’m pretty sure I picked up my bottle 2+ years ago. I’m not sure if it’s still available in store, but I did find it on the Sally Hansen website–however it didn’t have an option for buying, so I’m thinking it’s probably discontinued unfortunately.

(I also found this Reddit thread looking for dupes which has some great alternative polish options.)

What do you think of Sally Hansen InstaDri Pink Aurora? Do you like this sheer sparkly pink? Would you wear this shade on its own, or as a topper over another pink?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday

♥︎

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Instagram Collab — Mix & Match Christmas Pattern Nails

Hello beauties & happy Friday! & Happy boxing day. I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful, festive Christmas. This year has definitely been the least Christmas-y feeling Christmas in a long, long time — but I still wanted to make sure I had some festive nails for the occasion.

It’s been a long time since I participated in one of the Instagram Nail Art collabs hosted by @essieyall & @petitenaillover. So I really wanted to join in for one final collab for this year! & end the right right.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Gel Couture Wider Than I Seam
  • Essie Nail Art Studio Lustrous Luxury
  • Essie Expressie Feel The Hype
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel A Moo Point
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

How cute did my little freehand shapes turn out? I’ll wanted a fun Christmas-y look without using red & green. & I had found some (new to me) shades at Shoppers Drug Mart on wicked clearance –like $3 a bottle! — so they inspired me to create this mix & match Christmas design for the collab.

& I really love how they turned out.

Wishing everyone the happiest holiday season ever, & a safe end to 2025. This year has been such a struggle, so I look forward to the New Year, & everything that 2026 holds.

& don’t forget to click over to Instagram & check out the hashtag #christmasnailartmanicollab2025 to see all the other amazing gorgeous designs & nail artists. You might find a new artist you love!

♥︎

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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.

🖤