Spring-y Pastel Sponge (Happy 8th Birthday Coffee & Nail Polish)

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday!

Sorry for being MIA this week, so far. It’s been rough — the kids have been & fighting some viruses which has led to a couple hospital trips. I actually originally had planned on posting this look yesterday, but spent the previous evening in the ER with my daughter (she’s fine!), & didn’t get home until 7am.

So not a lot of nail posting was happening yesterday. Just napping. & a very sleepy day at work.

But I did do these fun pastel sponging nails with the intention of sharing for my 8th Blog-iversary yesterday, so I really wanted to share these with you! Especially because they’re pretty, & springy, with just a sprinkling of holo glitter.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sun-showers
  • Sally Hansen MG She’ll-ebration
  • Londontown Lakur Mint No Chip
  • Essie Playdate
  • OPI Gelato on my Mind
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge

Such an easy look to do, & I always love these spongy designs for Spring. They make a great base for other nail art designs, or they’re just pretty on their own! & a layer of China Glaze Fairy Dust is pretty much mandatory, especially when sunny days are expected.

I’ve been doing these sponge nails a long, long time. When I was looking for a nail design to celebrate my blog-iversary, I wanted a look I’ve been doing a while, & this one just felt right!

Can you believe this blog has been around for 8 years now? While I’ve been blogging since it became a thing, 2003 or so, I don’t think I’ve had a continuous blog for this long. So it’s so exciting! & here is to many more years—as many years to come as the internet will have me.

Have a lovely day 💕

Glam Nails Challenge March — Checkered 🏁

Hello lovelies & happy Monday!

Today I’m excited because today’s prompt for Glam Nails Challenge March is checkered, & that’s a design I don’t think I’ve ever done in all the years I’ve been doing my nails. So I was very excited for this challenge, & decided to make it even more of a challenge by free-handing the whole look. Haha it’s not like I didn’t have a stamping plate I could have used. I just wanted to see if do it.

& instead of the classic black & white, I decided some Spring-y colours, & peak-a-book negative space, would be perfect.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sinful Colors Fit Chick
  • Sinful Colors Blue Me Away
  • Sinful Colors Fitspo
  • Sinful Colors Yolo Yellow
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

I picked up a few of these funky bright Sinful Colors shades at my local Walmart, 3 for $6, so I went with that colour scheme because it would be the most fun. Bright, funky & colourful! Perfect for these almost Spring days we’ve been having.

Also I’m really, really proud of how this freehanding turned out. I was very nervous to attempt something as complex & time consuming as this. But you know what, I’m really glad I did, because they turned out so freaking perfect.

What do you think about this checkered design? Are you feeling these bright, & colourful shades? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Glam Nails Challenge March — Chevrons

Hello loves & Happy Monday!

A chilly March Monday at that, which is why some Spring colours are definitely needed right now. Today, I have the next prompt for Glam Nails Challenge March which is chevrons. & we all know, I love me some chevrons. I decided to take inspiration from a design I did a few years ago, but with a more pastel/Spring colour scheme.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Tutu the Ballet
  • Sally Hansen MG Crying Out Cloud
  • OPI Two Timing the Zones 
  • L’Oréal Jardin Des Roses
  • L’Oréal Pistache Royale
  • Sally Hansen MG Get Mod
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

I love the messy feel of these chevrons. It kind of reminds me a bit of tie dye as well, which I really like. Is tie dye still cool?

The girls at work said they reminded them a bit of Easter eggs, which wasn’t quite the look I was going for, but that’s okay. I guess you can put these on the list of manicures perfect for Easter as well. Truthfully, I’m just loving these pastel shades right now, which means I’m very ready for Spring to be here.

What do you think of these chevron nails? Do you like the messy tie dye feel of them? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you would wear these nails too!

Glam Nails Challenge March — Geometric

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! It’s officially half way through the week, & honestly it feels like it’s speeding by. Maybe because this week has had hints of Spring, not just Winter storm after winter storm.

Today I have a fun & funky nail art look to share for Glam Nails Challenge March. Today’s prompt is Geometric, & it’s definitely been a while since my last geometric design, so I was definitely excited to get creative! I used to love coming up with designs like this, so it was fun to get a little old school with my nail art.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • OPI Where Did Suzi’s Man-go
  • Dimensions Nails Blue Morpho Butterfly
  • Quo Beauty Flash Dry Loud & Proud
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

How much fun are these? I love them because the colours aren’t necessarily ones that I would normally pair together, but they’re so much fun! It’s definitely a more striking look than I’ve been wearing lately, & just felt so much fun on my nails. Plus the black looks really good as the outline.

Honestly, when I was doing these I really wasn’t sure if I was going to like them, which happens sometimes, but when they were all finished, they made me so happy. Does that ever happen to anyone else? You’re in the middle of your mani & you’re like “I’m not sure I’m going to like these…” but then when you’re finished, you’re just so in love. Maybe I’m the only one.

What do you think of this geometric look for Glam Nails Challenge March? Would you wear this design? Are you fan of bold nail art looks like this? Let me know down in the comments below!

Colour Block Outlined Half Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday!

Today I have another fun look to share with you. I was feeling some nails a bit out of my comfort zone, & these turned out exactly how I pictured in my head. I wanted some neon half moons, but I decided to take them to the next level with some black outlining, & the end result is AWESOME!

& the timing was perfect, because these nails ended up getting the spotlight they deserved during a special photoshoot at work this past weekend.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Millionails
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Orly Oh Cabana Boy
  • Orly Fireball
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush
  • Paper Hole Reinforcement stickers

Oh man, I just love these.

I feel between the neon brightness & the graphic black lines, these are very unlike my usual manicure style, but that’s probably why I like them so much! They definitely took a few extra minutes (& more patience than I realized I had) but the end result is so worth it.

Plus they’re so pretty! & bright. I feel like with all the bitterly cold days we’ve been having, I’ve been craving neons & bright colours more than I usually do. But… also, this colour combination could also totally work for Valentine’s Day too.

What do you think about this look? Are you a fan of the outlined nail look? Do you like these two bright neons together?

Let me know down in the comments below!