Category: Inspired by.

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St Patrick’s Day Shamrocks 🍀

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. & Happy St. Patrick’s Day Eve!

I feel like the older I get, the less I tend to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day — the 3 day hangover just isn’t worth it — but I am always here for a special reason to paint my nails! & St. Patrick’s Day is the one day a girl where my green nail polishes I rarely wear get their moment to shine. I’m not normally a green girl, with the exception of March 17th.

Today’s look is a simple St. Patrick’s Day look… but I was very excited for an excuse to pull out my shamrock nail vinyls I haven’t used in ages.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • LA Girl Color Addict Urge
  • Essie Satin Sister
  • UR SUGAR Nail Vinyls shamrocks (What’s Up Nails has very similar ones available)

I’m not going to lie, these turned out messier than I intended — I’m not sure because I was rushing to get them done, or wasn’t feeling the colours. However, I do really like these little shamrock nail vinyls, & I think the whole look turned out simple but cute. It’s March Break here, & work has been very busy, so I’m feeling a bit run down at the end of the day. Hence a little more simple nail art this week. I literally fell asleep at 7:30 the other night after I got home.

I’m definitely looking forward to things going back to (slightly) normal next week. Hopefully it means I’ll have some more Spring nail art looks to share. & obviously, it’s time to get thinking about Easter nail art looks too!

What do you think of this St. Patrick’s Day nail art look? Are you a fan of holiday inspired nail art, or do you keep things simple with just polish colours? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

♣︎

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Embracing the Nostalgia with Crackle Nail Polish

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. I decided to throw things back a bit (& embrace the crazy nostalgia taking over my life thanks to my very own mid-2006 emo playlist) with a fun look featuring a very nostalgic nail polish finish— crackle.

For anyone not around during the early 2010s, crackle nail polishes became huge around 2012, & by 2013 everyone & their mom was coming out with their own version of the crackle (or shatter) effect. Black was the beginning shade I remember being everywhere, followed by a whole assortment of different colours & finishes.

Recently I was going through my stash, & found a bottle of Avon Mosiac Effects Top Coat — aka their version of the crackle nail Polish — & decided to give it a little shake to see if it was still good. Sure enough, the formula is still perfect! So I had to give it a try to see how it looked after all this time.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Illamasqua Aorta
  • Avon Mosiac Effects Top Coat Black

I still have a couple crackle/shatter shades left in my stash, although most have long since dried up to be unusable. For this look, what you’re seeing is one rather thick coat over my base shade. I waited about 5 minutes for the cracked effect to set before applying my top coat, & I thought the end result was pretty perfect. I prefer my cracks to be larger so you can see more of the base shade underneath.

Is crackle/shatter nail polish going to make a comeback? I don’t know. I feel like these shades are so controversial, even 11 years later. You either love them, or hate them, & obviously I am firmly planted on the love side. I also think it’s a nostalgia thing, as I remember crackle being the first “nail art” trend I really feel in love with.

What do you think? Do you think crackle is due for its revival? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

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Vintage Inspired Polka Dot & Floral 🌹

Hello loves, I hope you’re having a beautiful start to your Thursday!

Today’s look is giving me early blog vibes, & most specifically this early design featured in the younger days of this blog. I love a good floral, & to be honest I haven’t really been inspired to paint floral on my nails in a while. I think June was the last time I posted any kind of floral, & even that was a simple daisy design. So to say I was long overdue would be an understatement.

So obviously I decided lets do a throwback inspired design, grabbed some pink & red polishes, & I ended up with this pretty look! The throwback vibes are strong, & I’m okay with that. I feel like old school nail art designs are making a comeback — heck one of the indie brands even released a whole collection of crackle nail polish — so I thought I would join in on the fun.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • L’Oreal Vintage Vinyl
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ski Bunny
  • L’Oreal Feeling Kilty
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Racing Rose
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Cinnasnap
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Montley Hue
  • China Glaze Shore Enuff
  • Essence Cosmetics Green is the new Grunge
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Dotting tool (I always use mine from NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Ooooh it’s so pretty! I mean, being a self confessed perfectionist I can definitely see some flaws, but I’m not going to concentrate on those, & instead focus on the good things… like floral being on my nails again after far too long. It just feels good, especially during these frigid days we’ve been having. I’m not a fan of Winter once Christmas is over, so I don’t really enjoy January at all.

A girl can only drink so many extra hot coffees in a day.

So I would expect to see a few more florals popping up on my nails over the next few weeks, especially as we start inching closer to Valentine’s Day.

What do you think of this floral design? Have you missed seeing it around? What is your favourite nail art design to do of all time — or for others to do? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below.

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Glam Nails Challenge December—Fireworks 🎆

Good morning lovelies & happy Wednesday! I can barely believe it, but it is the last prompt of Glam Nails Challenge December! We’ve made it to the end. Which means.. it’s almost the end of December… & the end of 2022! So let’s celebrate with something fun.

Today’s prompt is Fireworks! I was inspired by a previous design I did with the same prompt, but decided to go with a blue/silvery colour theme. Giving me all the New Years Eve vibes.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • China Glaze New Year, New Boo
  • China Glaze December to Remember
  • China Glaze Blue Iguana
  • China Glaze 2NITE
  • China Glaze Dancing & Prancing
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Not going to lie, these nails are giving me some Snow Queen/Elsa vibes on top of fireworks. Definitely the blue on blue on blue. Could also be the fact my 3 year old spent most of Christmas running around the house scream singing “Let It Go” at the top of her lungs. Haha.

It definitely took some serious layering to get this design to look the way I imagined in my head, but with the combination of colours & glitter, it really gives you the effect of watching Fireworks explode in the sky. I love them.

What do you think about this Fireworks inspired design? Are you all ready for this year to be over? It’s definitely been an interesting year, full of a lot of change, so I’m interested (& hopeful) to see what 2023 will bring! Hopefully nothing but good things.

Thanks for following around with another month of Glam Nails Challenge! I had so much fun this month, & it was a great way to end the year. Don’t forget, all the designs for this month can be found on the Glam Nails Challenge December hashtag on Instagram.

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Glam Nails Challenge December— Gifts 🎁

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & Merry belated Christmas. I took yesterday off to enjoy the chaos, but I’m happy to be back today to share the next prompt for Glam Nails Challenge December. & the next prompt is… gifts!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Me, My Elf & I (Holiday 2022)
  • Sally Hansen MG Goldie Rocks (Holiday 2019)
  • Sally Hansen MG Living In The Presents (Holiday 2021)
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Who doesn’t love a Christmas toned manicure? The gift accents are pretty simple, but the combination of colours works for a collection of presents.

Hard to believe Christmas is over for another year… & that 2022 is almost finished too. Now we’re in the weird in between time where you’re not sure what day it is & you eat chocolate for breakfast. I swear, I don’t think I ate anything green yesterday at all, unless you count the sour apple toxic waste candy I had last night. Haha.

What do you think about this present theme manicure? What design were you wearing on your nails for Christmas morning? Did Santa bring you any new polishes?

Let me know down the in comments below!