SWATCH SUNDAY — Milani 17A Deep Thoughts

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! How are we already the second Sunday into November. I should probably start thinking about Christmas shopping soon!

Today I found a super forgotten shade in my stash, that I hadn’t realized I’d never swatched! This is Milani 17A Deep Thoughts.

2 coats + top coat

Oooooh boy this is a beautiful deep, dark purple with a stunning purple/pink shimmer. It does appear darker on my nail than in the bottle—I’m scared maybe I didn’t shake it enough to get the shimmer to show up. It’s there — it’s just a little more subtle than I would like.

But, for a 13 year old polish this beauty is still looking amazing & applying amazing! I was actually really impressed with just how flawlessly the formula applied! This shade was released sometime in 2012 (according to my internet—Google—research). Sadly, Milani has since discontinued their nail polish production, which is a shame because they did it very, very well!

Close up! One of the things I love about this colour is that from far away, it almost looks black. & then when you get closer you can see it’s dark purple colour & the subtle shimmer, & it’s really just so beautiful. I’m quite obsessed with the overall package.

What do you think about Milani 17A Deep Thoughts? Do you love this deep dark purple shade? Do you remember Milani’s line of nail polishes?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

🖤

Pink Flakie Glitter Placement

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Is it chilly where you are — because it’s definitely chilly here.

Today I have another simple but beautiful design to share with you. I was already wearing this beautiful berry polish, & decided what it really needed was some glitter placement. My original plan was to do gold, but when I was browsing through my box of glitters I saw this beautiful pink flakie glitter I was gifted c/o: NailStuff & decided it would look just stunning over this base!

& I was right!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frosted Berries
  • NailStuff Pink Foil Glitter (no longer available)
  • Sally Hansen Salon Chrome Top Coat (no longer available — but works so good for applying these kinds of glitters!)
  • Small Nail Art Brush

How pretty is this combination? I’m so glad I went with these pink foil flakies rather than gold. Obviously gold would have looked beautiful as well, but there is just something extra special about the pink on pink. I can’t believe this is my first time using it!

Also this is a beautiful not-holiday look that could definitely be used for a manicure for an upcoming Holiday party because it has that touch of something a little extra special. Obviously I don’t need an excuse to wear glitter, but if you did — I definitely recommend pulling out some glitter to add to an otherwise simple manicure!

What do you think of this pink flakie glitter placement look? Do you like the contrast of lighter pink on darker pink? Are you also in shock that it took me this long to use this beautiful pink glitter? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Wednesday!

♥︎

Glittery Chevron Claws ✨🔪

Hello lovelies & happy Friday!

This week has been a whirlwind, & a lot has been going on, but I refused to skip out of a final (non challenge) design of the week!

Today is an easy design that turned out so perfect — glittery chevron claws. It’s just the perfect amount of sparkle.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Essie Hard to Resist (purple)
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Belle of the Ball
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Rockstar Pink
  • Deep Chevron Nail Vinyls

Look at the close up of that sparkle — isn’t that just so pretty? Also the pinky purple blue glitter just looks so beautiful paired with the dark base of Belle of the Ball.

What do you think of my glittery chevron claws? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Cosy Autumn Plaid🧣

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! & happy Thanksgiving Weekend to my fellow Canadians celebrating this weekend. It’s officially shifted into Fall weather (almost in overdrive) & the days are feeling cool, & the leaves are feeling crunchy!

Today’s look is one I’ve done a million (plus) times, but still remains a favourite. Nothing screams Autumn to me more than a plaid nail art look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Essie Hard to Resist (purple)
  • NailStuff.ca Essentials Raven *pr
  • OPI Icelanded A Bottle of OPI
  • Color Club What’s The Matte-r
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • Revlon Devine
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

I wanted to start off with a super dark base, so I went with my bottle of NailStuff Essentials Raven. Such a good black! (& I’ve been loving black lately.) Then using my other colours, I layered on lines to create the woven plaid look. Super easy, & comes out beautifully.

What do you think of my cosy Autumn plaid? Do you like these seasonal designs that aren’t necessarily Halloween centric designs? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Colour & Go 122 Chic Reloaded (2012)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It is a chilly, very Autumn-y feeling Sunday. The Fall chill is definitely in the air — & I’m drinking all the pumpkin spice things. It also means I’m craving all the Fall-ish nail polish colours, so I’ve been digging through my stash looking for shades from years past to put on.

& naturally that meant perusing through my Essence stash. I’ve been a hardcore Essence lover since they had those tiny little round bottles, & it continues to this day. When looking for a fun Autumn shade, this one immediately jumped out. This is Essence Chic Reloaded.

2 coats + top coat

Chic Reloaded is a beautiful dark grey metallic duochrome, that flashes purple or blue depending on the light. Similar to Essie For the Twill of It, or OPI Peace Love OPI, it has that beautiful oil slick effect to it. However, unlike the previous two mentioned shades, I feel like Chic Reloaded has a much stronger duochrome effect! Which, for a drugstore shade that cost me maybe $2.99 CAD at the time — circa 2012 — that is pretty darn amazing!

You can really see the two different shade in the close up shot! Such a fun effect on the nails. I also like that Chic Reloaded has a darker grey base, because it feels more moody.

The formula on this guy is also super easy to apply. My only complaint has nothing to do with the polish itself, but with my topcoat which I think is getting old & caused some shrinkage. Other than that, this shade is perfection & I would love to see Essence bring back more formulas like this into their current core collection!

What do you think of Essence Chic Reloaded? Are you a fan of the Essence line of nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

🖤