Fall Ombré

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Hello lovelies & Happy Wednesday! I don’t know about where you are, but here in Halifax the weather is already starting to have that gorgeous Fall chill. It also has me thinking about Fall Manicure ideas, & one design I’ve been seeing pop up on my Instagram feed is the ombré look. A few years ago, ombré designs were super popular, & one of my favourites. So I can’t lie, I’m so pumped that ombré nails are making me a resurgence!

For those wondering the difference between an ombré & a gradient, an ombré is when you wear a different colour on each nail, while a gradient blends a few colours together on each nail.

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Currently wearing soak off gel to grow out my natural nail.
  • Top Coat: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Cosmetic Arts Baby Pink (no name)
  • L’Oréal Jardin Des Roses
  • Kosmic Colours dusty dark pink (no name)
  • ORLY Red Rhapsody
  • Essie Carry On
  • Wet n Wild 2% Milk (to make my pinky & ring finger look more dusky)

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I’ve done a few ombré manicures over the years in different colour schemes, but I was really feeling something dusky, in the rose family. This combination really felt like it suited our increasingly Autumn-like weather. On my pinky & ring finger, I applied 2% milk over my lighter pink shades so they would match closer with the rest of my colours.

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Ah, this makes me so happy! I’m so glad that this design has come back into rotation & is cool again. Not that I care that much about being trendy — my love of crackle nail polish will attest to that — but it certainly gives me a great excuse to wear multiple shades at once.

(Like I need any excuse to paint my nails!)

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What do you think of the ombré nail art trend–have you given it a try yet? What colour combination are you dying to try? Share what shades you’re planning on pairing, down in the comments below.

🍁🍂

Red Plaid Holiday Nails

Good Morning Lovelies! Can you believe it’s only 13 days until Christmas… where has this year gone?! Even though I’ve been insane at work with Christmas coming, I’ve been trying to do my nails when I can–& trying to get in as many Christmas-y designs in as often as I can.

(Not going to lie… painting them has been a struggle, but having time to take pictures is another story all together!)

Today I have some pretty red plaid nails that are a combination of stamping & freehand. I LOVE plaid nails, but sometimes they can be time consuming depending on how many lines you have to free hand. By combining a plaid stamping pattern I had with a bit of freehanding, I managed to come up with a cute & relatively easy plaid look that’s perfect for this time of year!

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Grow Stronger
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Good Cheer-y (from the Decadence collection)
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Black Heart
  • L’Oréal Getting Kilty
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper

I’m not going to lie–I’m a little rusty, & my nails & cuticles have seen better days. But it feels so good to be painting my nails again, & it always feels nice when people randomly compliment me on how pretty my nails are. Of course, then stock comes & they end up a mess… but still nice to have them done in the first place! (& more than just a since colour.)

Going to try & cram as many Christmas designs in as possible over the next week or so, since I’ve been so bad at actually posting the last few months. But January is coming… & things are going to slow way down so I’ll be able to get back into my regular posting life soon. For everyone who has stuck around (& continues to stick around!) thank you so much! It means so much to me.

Now the most important question remains… should I do Christmas tree, snowman or penguin nails next? Let me know in the comments below!

Leopard Print & Stripes

Happy Saturday lovelies! I know, a Saturday post… how crazy is that?! Today I’m sharing a super fun design I did a few days ago. First off, yes my nails are exact short again–the crack on my middle finger let go. BUT that’s okay, because I’ll just create fun designs that make me happy.

& this leopard print look makes me extra, extra happy!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Witchcraft protein Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze What’s She Dune
  • L’Oréal Feeling Kilty
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in Black
  • Kiss Nail Art Striper in Black
  • Small dotting tool

I started off by doing the leopard print, & realized the blank base needed something extra, so I added the stripes. & I really think they completely the look! Kind of reminds me of something that @nailsbyarelisp or @badgirlsnails.

I love the look of leopard print, but I think this is my first time doing one in this colour combination–I’ve done rainbow & neon & pink & grey, but never such a neutral colour scheme. & I’m absolutely in love with this look!

This would be a cute look to wear with a cat costume for Halloween, although it’s not a Halloween look. But if you were going for a more “glam” kitty for Halloween, leopard print are totally appropriate. But in general I feel like this is a fun, not too crazy, look for this time of year. I rocked this design while doing interviews at work , so who says leopard print isn’t work appropriate!

What do you think of this leopard print design? Share your thoughts down in the comments below!

Negative Space Red Chevron Moons

Good Morning & Happy Wednesday! We’re already half way through our week–how crazy is that. We’re also one week away from August… even crazier. This Summer is certainly rocketing by! I’m already feeling that familiar draw towards dark polish, pumpkin spice & cosy knits that starts happening around this time of year.

But not yet… we still have a bit of Summer left so bring on the bright polishes!

Today’s design was brought on by wanting to wear red nails, but more than just a solid colour. It wasn’t intentional, but these totally ended up reminding me of Bring It On! Does anyone else remember that movie. I was so obsessed with it when it first came out… & now I totally need to rewatch it again.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • L’Oréal Magic Top Coats —The Shift Me
  • Essie 5th Avenue
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black
  • Snail Vinyls small single chevrons (so sad the shop is closing!)

I love red nail polish, but I find it the hardest colour to do nail art over simply because it seems to be a colour I turn to during holidays (Christmas, Canada Day, ect) but it is by far one of my all time favourite polish colours. I seriously love how these turned out, even if they totally remind me of cheerleader uniforms. Also I’m pretty sure this red is my new favourite red polish — I’ve been wearing it a lot lately, especially as a pedicure.

What do you think of this design? Let me know in the comments below! & let me know what your favourite 2000s teen movie is!

Pastel Sponging & Freehand Geometric Lines

Happy Friday lovelies! Yesterday was spent surviving the craziness of the mall with the big Build-A-Bear event! Our store was insane, mostly from the people who gave up on waiting in the 8+ hour line. Props to anyone who stood in that line & waited it out… you’re the real brave people!

Today’s look was accomplished thanks to some brand new stripers from Kiss! I was in the need of some new ones, & found them on clearance so I knew I had to pick them up. A brand new striper is one of my favourite things for creating crisp lines. & since it had been so long since I’d done a geometric design, I decided to play around a little bit!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie High Class Affair
  • L’Oréal Royalty Reinvented
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sweet Tea
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ocean Daze
  • Essie Splash of Grenadine
  • Kiss Products Striper in Black
  • Kiss Products Striper in White
  • Kiss Products Striper in Silver Glitter

Please excuse the tip wear & chip on my ring finger — I wore these nails for over 2 days before I thought to take a picture of them. I was just to enthralled with how they looked, I completely forgot about photographing them!

If I had to pick a favourite nail, I think it would probably be my middle finger. The design feels very Art Deco. Definitely going to need to try this design again over a gold or bronze. It was be very Gatsby, which is a style I haven’t tried a whole design over. I definitely think it looks really cool over my pastel sponging though.

what do you think about this geometric design? Which nail is your favourite? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!