Category: Instagram

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Happy National Coffee Day Nails! ☕️


You know I love a good excuse to celebrate a holiday & what better holiday to celebrate than National Coffee Day! I joined my girls in #thenailartsquad for some caffeine inspired manicures in order to celebrate this day in style! 

Obvious if we’re doing coffee inspired nails, I had to do something Starbucks inspired! I also thought I would pull out some of the acrylic paints I recently picked up for my freehanding details. 



For this design, the products I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Flash
  • Essie Mochacino
  • Essie Cocktails & Coconuts 
  • Sally Hansen Hard To Get
  • Acrylic Paints (black, white, brown & green)
  • Silicone Mat
  • Tiny dotting tool 
  • Small Detail Brush

I had this idea of how I wanted this design to turn out, & it turned out exactly how I imagined in my head… I love when that happens! I used my pink silicone mat to create my “latte art” drag marble decals which (I think) turned out really good. I also tested out my acrylic paints for the first time, & they were so easy to use for nail art! I definitely understand why they are such a popular option for nail art—I would have had a much harder time creating my little Starbucks cup using just regular nail polish. Now I want to buy even more colours to test out designs! 

What do you think of these coffee nails in honour of National Coffee Day? What’s you favourite coffee drink of choice? Obviously I love pumpkin spice this time of year, but if we’re picking favourites I absolutely can’t wait for Gingebread lattes to return! 
Don’t forget to check out the hashtag #thenailartsquad to see all the coffee themed designs, as well as our past collaborations! 

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Bestie Twin Nails with @torisprettythings


I always get really, really excited when I can team up with fellow nail polish addicts I love, admire & am inspired by. So I was really excited when I had the opportunity to team up with Tori of @torisprettythings! 

I’ve been friends with Tori on Instagram for a long time, but somehow we’ve never come together for a collaboration. 😳 Thankfully we’ve finally amended that with these fun Fall polka dot nails inspired by a mani she found on Pinterest originally by Oooh Shinies. 


For this manicure, the polishes I used were: 

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Flash 
  • Essie Wrap Me Up
  • China Glaze Champagne Bubbles
  • Essie Leggy Legend
  • OPI My Private Jet
  • Small & tiny dotting tool. 

How perfectly Fall is this manicure? Both Tori & I are all about that Fall weather so we were pumped to team up on some Autumn inspired nails. I haven’t done a dotticure this fun in a while so it was really fun to sit down & play around. 

 Sometimes the simpler designs actually bring out your most creativity. This isn’t a super hard design & would be great for a nail art beginner! All you need is a dotting tool & some complimentary shades & people will be in awe of your nails. I am going to be doing a whole week of beginner nail art designs coming up (I’ve already been collecting & playing with manicure ideas) but this would definitely be on the list of great beginner designs. 

What do you think of this bestie twin nail collaboration? Don’t forget to check out Tori’s Instagram…. not just for all the beautiful nail art inspo she posts, but also her awesome OOTD & make up looks. 

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Happy National Sunglasses Day with #thenailartsquad 🕶

Good Morning! Today I’m sharing some fun sunglasses themed nails I did after teaming up with my fellow girls in #thenailartsquad in honour of National Sunglasses Day. 😎 Quick fact about me: I LOVE Sunglasses. In fact I usually have at least 3 pairs in my purse at any time. My favourite are those big bug eye classes (think Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen circa 2004) but coming in second? My pink sunglasses! & those are what I used as my inspiration for my sunglasses mani!

For this manicure I used:

  • Base Coat: L’Oréal All in One
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie In the Cab-ana 
  • Sally Hansen Hard to Get
  • Maybelline Audacious Asphalt 
  • OPI Two Timing the Zones
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art Pen in Fine Black
  • KaylaRayLoves Zig Zag Nail Stencil 
  • Small Nail Art Brush from Bundle Monster

I actually have 3 pairs of pink sunglasses I wear on the regular–my generic pink sunnies, my Hello Kitty pink sunnies & my Starkid pink sunnies. This particular design makes me think of the beach–the grey & white zig zags on my accent nail make me think of a beach towel which I love. I haven’t yet had the chance to go to the beach, but little Bubs & I are going on vacation next week to my parents so maybe I’ll get a little beach time! & of course I will have my pink sunglasses handy for the occasion. 

Are you celebrating National Sunglasses Day? Do you have a favourite pair of Sunglasses you can’t live without (or would inspire your own mani)? Let me know in the comments below! 

& don’t forget to get out the other amazing manis by my fellow girls by checking out the hashtag #thenailartsquad. 🕶 

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Dutch Ya Just Love OPI?

Happy Sunday! Today I have some shots of one of my favourite OPI shades–Dutch Ya Just Love OPI? which was originally released as part of the OPI Spring 2012 Holland Collection. This shade was on my “gimme” list a long time, & I finally scored it at Winners last year which was super exciting! I love the fact you can find so many hidden polish gems, especially those shades which are harder to find. 

Dutch Ya Just Love OPI? is a shimmery dark grape-y purple that takes 2 coats for total opacity. There are gorgeous magenta & golden shimmers that catch under the light. It also wears very well on its own–I managed to keep this polish on for 2 days with just minimal tip wear. 

This is one of those shades that I love to wear on it’s own without any need to nail art (which doesn’t happen too often with a non-holo shade!) There is just something about the pinkish golden shimmers against the grape base that makes me swoon. Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter this shade is perfect every season. It’s a particularly favourite shade on rainy days like I recently wore it. 

Do you have a favourite shade you love to wear on its own? Let me know your go-to shade in the comments below! 

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Hug Your Cat Day Collab! 😸


Happy Hug Your Cat Day! Did you know that June 4th was Hug Your Cat Day? I didn’t until @highchanceofpolish announced on Instagram she was organizing a collab for it, so obviously I had to join in on the kitty love. 

For this manicure I used:

  • Base Coat: Perfect Formula Pink Gel Coat
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat 
  • Colour Club Peppermint Twist
  • OPI Who You Callin’ Bossy
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard To Get
  • Sally Hansen X-treme Wear Mellow Yellow
  • Sally Hansen X-treme Wear Kiwi Bikini
  • Small Nail Art Brush from Bundle Monster
  • Small Dotting Tool
  • Kitty vinyls from The Base Coat 

For my design, I was inspired by my own kitties Abbath & Hades. It’s been a long time since I tried freehand kitty nails, but I think they turned out so lovely! 

So what do you think of my kitty cat nails? Are you celebrating Hug Your Cat Day? I feel like wearing my kitty cat shirt just for the occasion. 😸 & just for fun, how about my inspiration for this mani? Who doesn’t love kitty pictures?