SWATCH SUNDAY — Julep Madelynn & Pahlish Seto Taisho (Teacup Soldier) {gifts from @manigeek!}

Happy Sunday lovelies! 💕 I know I skipped out on my Swatch Sunday post last weekend, but I’m back with TWO new-to-me shades, courtesy of the oh-so-amazing @manigeek!

Karen recently posted a swatch of the purple Julep polish Madelynn & when I commented how beautiful it was, she offered to send it to me! Seriously, how sweet is she! The polish was originally gifted to her by @dyslizakitty. I was super excited when the saw the polish arrive, & even more excited when I saw she included a surprise extra polish as well.

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Julep Madelynn & Pahlish Seto Taisho (Teacup Soldier) {gifts from @manigeek!}”

Freehand Herringbone Pattern Nails

Happy Friday lovelies, & happy almost weekend! Today I’m sharing a fun design I freehanded recently. As I’ve mentioned, oh, about a thousand times already, I bought a new striper a few weeks back, & I’ve been obsessed with them. These are the kind of designs I’ve been doing forever, & they never get old. This look was actually inspired by a mani swap I did with @armstrongnails back in 2015.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Claire’s Mood Nail Polish Pastel Blue Mood
  • Essence We Will Spock You
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black

You can always tell how in love with a manicure I am based on how many photos I take of each design. I was a little obsessed with this look. I only wish the holo had showed up a bit better in pictures, but I took these early in the morning before the sun really came out.

This herringbone pattern is making me think of Fall & making me so excited for Fall. 🍁 I already have so many polishes picked out for the season, & I can wait to start digging into my darker shades. You can never go wrong with khaki, plum or navy nails, am I right?

what do you think of this look? What colour are you most excited for this Fall? Share all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Purple & Silver Racing Stripes

Happy August lovelies. Its that time of year… stores are beginning to set up for back to school & my cravings for all things Fall themed hit hard. Thankfully the 30+ degree weather has been keeping me in a Summer state of mind & keeping neon shades on my nails!

Today’s nails is a simple look that’s easy to do, but makes your nails look way longer than they actually are thanks to the vertical stripes. It’s also a great way to practice your freehand line work! I feel like mine has gotten a little rusty, so I’ve been taking every excuse to practice.

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essence We Will Spock You
  • YSL Beauty Violine Surrealiste
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black
  • Born Pretty Store Aurora Rainbow Nail Striping Tape in purple (item #40423) — I used the thickest tape of the 3

Using striping tape for your initial line in the middle makes creating your smaller black lines much easier. & then end result looks so cool! & gives your nails the appearance of extra length. Plus, like I said, for those of us still working on freehanding straight lines, this really helps with practicing.

I just love how these kind of look like racing stripes. Sadly the holo of Essence We Will Spock You didn’t want to show thanks to a hazy morning, but the little hint of holo with the purple looked awesome!

Do you have a trick for making your nails look longer? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

Mermaid Nails

It feels like ages since I last pulled out my mermaid stencils for some mermaid nails. The other night I was playing with some new flakies from NailStuff.ca & after looking at them on my nails, I couldn’t help but think they would make an amazing base for a mermaid nail design! I’ve had this mermaid tail idea floating around a while, so I grabbed some more vinyls from What’s Up Nails (I believe it’s suppose to be a whale tail) & have it a go.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • FingerPaints Fun Peel Off Base Coat (to apply flakies)
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ocean Daze
  • NailStuff.ca Flakies — these guys aren’t currently available but there is a huge selection here!
  • What’s Up Nails Scale Stencils
  • What’s Up Nails Whale & Tale Stencils
  • Color Club Eternal Beauty
  • Layla Cosmetics Mermaid Spell
  • Color Club Crystal Baller
  • Wrenn Polish Mesmerizing
  • Wrenn Polish Summer Sands
  • NailStuff.ca Summer Nail Wheel — Silver seahorse stud

This design didn’t quite turn out how I pictured on my head, but that’s mostly the tail look on my ring finger. I really wish it was bigger. I do however love the holo scales over the flakie base just makes me so happy! I also wish I had done that look on the majority of my fingers with just the stud being my accent! (& if I had more of these nail vinyls left, I probably would have… going to need to buy some more ASAP!)

Also holo & flakies have to be the most beautiful combination. Definitely trying out these flakies OVER holo next!

What do you think of this mermaid nail design? Are you a fan of the holo & flakie combo? Let me know what you think down in the comments below! 🧜🏼‍♀️

White & Purple Drag Marble 💜

Good Morning lovelies & happy Tuesday! Hope everyone had a fantastic beginning to their week.

Today I’m showing off some brand new nails & a design I haven’t done in a while: drag marble. I literally couldn’t remember the last time I attempted one–I’ve been trying so many awesome marbling techniques–that it felt like a good time to give an old favourite another try!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Lets Snow
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Just Maui’d
  • Color Club Eternal Beauty
  • Bundle Monster drag tool.

Drag marbles were my first foray into marble nails because they seemed like the least messy option! Definitely takes a bit of practice to keep your nails from looking swampy (or one colour completely taking over the entire nail!) but once you get that down, the end result can be stunning!

Of all my nails, I think my ring finger probably turned out the best, followed by my middle finger. Sadly, I was using a more than half empty bottle of top coat, so there were way too many bubbles happening… but I guess that helps add to the marble effect! & thankfully you can’t really see them from far away. It was just me they bothered immensely.

What do you think of this drag marble design? What’s your favourite marble technique? Let me know all your thoughts down below!