Category: Inspired by.

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Neon(ish) Stars ⭐️

Happy Wednesday loves… I mean, I think it’s Wednesday. My days have been blurring into each other which has made it hard to keep things straight! I’m trying my best to keep to my posting schedule, but right now things are a wee bit hectic. & by wee bit, I mean life is all around insane. But just because I’m working 50+ hours a week doesn’t mean I don’t have time for pretty nails!

Who needs sleep anyways? That’s why they invented coffee!

Today’s nails were based on the fact I wanted pretty nails, with a pop of colour, that were relatively easy. I realized I hadn’t used my stamping plates in forever, so it felt like a good opportunity. Plus I love the look of a pop of colour over a neutral sheer base–@oliveandjune is always posting amazing inspiration on Instagram that I’m constantly saving, so I decided to try the look out. & I love it.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel In the Sheer
  • Sally Hansen Insta-dri Va-Va Violet
  • Born Pretty Store Image Plate BP-L006 (item #17924)
  • Born Pretty Store small clear jelly stamper
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier

I was in serious need of something bright & colourful to cheer myself (& my nails) up! Even with obsessive moisturizing, a ton of cuticle oil, & anything else moisturizing I can find, my hands have been hurting the last few weeks. The up & down temperature changes have been the main culprit I think, plus the fact that work is dry as heck. They’re not used to not being babied like they were! Plus paper cuts are seriously the devil. Still working on testing out my own hand pampering mask recipe, so once I find one I want to share I will make sure to post it! Also if you have any favourite hand treatments to share, let me know in the comments below!

What’s your favourite “cheer up” manicure to do when you’re feeling down? share it in the comments below!

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Vine Nail Art inspired by @ameliasaccount & @polishpeach

Happy Tuesday lovelies. Craving some serious greenery nails because Mother Nature decided to curse us with a whole ton of snow on Sunday… like 20cm of snow. So that’s fun! Just when it was starting to feel like Spring (for real) Mother Nature decided to ruin everything. That’s why I definitely needed something Spring-like on my nails.

I’ve done this design once before, & it’s originally inspired by @ameliasaccount who was inspired by @polishpeach. Instead of a white base, I decided to go with a brand new polish I recently picked up at Shoppers Drug Mart called Thyme is Money. It’s a beautiful pale green that’s part of the newly formulate Insta-Dri line & holy is it ever lovely!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Thyme is Money
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in green
  • Quo by ORLY Second Hand Jade
  • YSL Beauty Vert D’Orient
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in black
  • Small detail brush from Bundle Monster

Seriously, I can’t even begin to describe how much I love the outcome of these. Definitely achieved a much more delicate design versus my first attempt at this manicure. & the green of the leaves pop so well against the pale base polish.

I spent my Sunday off from work out shopping for new plants to fill our house with & I’m just loving the look of fresh greenery in every room. We’re trying to find the perfect hanging plant/vines for in the living room, but in the mean time at least I can enjoy them on my nails.

Here’s hoping that these nails inspired Mother Nature to get her act together. After all, nobody wants to deal with shoving the driveway when they would much rather be basking in the mildly pleasant Spring sunshine. Here’s hoping the snow will be melted in a few short days, & I can go back to wearing flats & the occasional Spring dress.

What do you think of my version of the vine design? Have you tried this shade from Sally Hansen yet? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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Vintage Florals & Stripes

Happy Tuesday lovelies! I hope everyone had an amazing Easter holiday/long weekend full of chocolate eggs & family fun. We had a huge Egg hunt for our little guy & all his cousins & it reminded me of the excitement of being a kid & finding those chocolate eggs on Easter morning. Plus, who doesn’t love chocolate!

Today I’m sharing more florals with you–because I just can’t stop! This design is a recreation from a few years ago. This time, though, I decided to go with blue as my base colour.

The polishes I used for this design were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze Boho Blues
  • Art Club Nail Art Striper in Blue Paisley
  • Quo by ORLY Nail Art Striper in White
  • Sally Hansen CSM Killer Heels
  • Sally Hansen CSM Red It Online
  • Sally Hansen CSM Rose To the Occasion
  • Sally Hansen CSM Blush Against The World
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in green
  • Quo by ORLY Second Hand Jade
  • Bundle Monster detail brush

Ugh these roses make me so happy. In real life, I’m not really a red rose kind of girl… but when it comes to nail art I can’t get enough! I just love the love of red roses against a contrasting background colour. & it’s been forever since I pulled out my bottle of China Glaze Boho Blues, & I forgot just how pretty of a colour it was. I love it.

It also is a beautiful base colour for Florals.

Is it starting to feel like Spring where you are? We just had a few days of Spring-like weather (which meant I got to wear my new Spring jacket!) so I’m very, very excited.

what do you think of this design? Are you sick of the floral designs yet? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 💙

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Purple Dry Brush Quatrefoil Nails

Happy Friday & almost Easter lovelies! I’m off today with Good Friday & ooooooh do I have so many blog things to do! This has been a crazy week & I’m still trying balance working Full Time & keeping to my blog posting schedule. Thank goodness I’m going at multitasking! Today I’m showing off some pretty purple nails I did forever ago but didn’t have a chance to post yet. 💜 These nails were inspired by a make up bag I saw at Marshall’s.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Go Ginza
  • Essie Play Date
  • Essie The Girls Are Out
  • China Glaze Grape Juice
  • Sally Hansen Hard To Get
  • Random clear nail polish
  • Born Pretty Store Clear Jelly Stamper
  • Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-L003 (item #17921) — quatrafoil image

I’m digging all these purples together. I thought about creating a sponge mani, but didn’t have any sponges so a dry brush was my next option! I really wanted the colours to blend together, kind of like a gradient. So I used a random bottle of clear polish (literally it has no label & I no idea where it came from) and smeared the brush strokes together by brushing the clear polish over it over & over again. The cheaper & random the clear polish, the better things will blend. You don’t want to use a quick dry top coat because it dries to quickly. The whole point is to smear all the shades together.

It feels like ages since I played with my stamping stuff. This is definitely one of my favourite images from this particular plate. It just makes doing Moroccan/quatrefoil designs just so, so easy (& definitely quicker than nail vinyls!

what do you think of this purple design? What design are you rocking for the weekend? Comment down below! 💅🏻

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Festival Ready Nails with NailStuff.ca!

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. Who else is ready for the weekend already? & not just because the Easter bunny will be dropping off all sorts of delicious goodies! In the mean time, I have some pretty Spring inspired nails to share with you.

I’ve never been to a festival before (like Coachella) but I feel like these would totally fit right in with the music & fashion. It really makes me want to pull out my maxi dresses & flower crowns.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Breathable Kiss Me, I’m Kind
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Rose to the Occasion
  • Zoya Blu
  • China Glaze Sun Upon my Skin
  • Quo by ORLY Breathable Feeling Free
  • NailStuff.ca Dreamcatcher-1 Nail Art Stickers
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier

These stickers are just so cute, I love them. Obviously I love to freehand my designs, but I could never imagine free-handing something this complicated on my nails ever! Even stamping, I don’t think I could make this work. But I love how they turned out so much. The feathers, especially, are just so pretty.

What do you think of these festival inspired nails? Would you rock them at Coachella? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! & share what Spring polishes your wearing on your nails this week!