SWATCH SUNDAY — ACO by Ardene Love Potion No.82

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! We’re officially a full week into February now, & a week away from Valentine’s Day. Here in Halifax were also anxiously awaiting not one, but two big Winter storms this week. Which kind of sucks, after a couple days of beautiful almost Spring like weather! I was really looking forward to maybe pulling out a few of my dresses.

But let’s not dwell on that, & instead concentrate on the important things—like today’s Swatch Sunday pick: Ardene Love Potion No.82! I’m still feeling all the pink love, so naturally I had to dig deep into my stash to find something perfect for Valentine’s Day, but with a twist. & I think this oldie shade was the perfect pick!

Two coats + Essie Good To Go

For those who don’t know, Ardene is a Canadian clothing store that used to be more of an accessory story, & sold a ton of fun nail polish. Having used to work for the company, that meant I got first peeks at all the polish, which is why I own so many. This particular shade entered in my stash pre-2014. For a lesser expensive brand, I actually think a lot of the shades they used to introduce were really funky & different, with lots of glittery shades—like this! & considering they used to sell for $3.99 a bottle, or 3/$10, that’s a pretty good deal.

As with most glittery shades like this, the formula is cruelly, which allows you to see the layers of glitters. However, two coats does coat the nail well, showing off the multi coloured, multi sized & multi shaped glitters which I’m very happy about! No visible nail line peaking out.

This is definitely a fun shade for Valentine’s Day, especially with a name like Love Potion No.82. But it could also be a fun shade for Summer, or just when you’re feeling funky. I did add some top coat (Essie Good to Go) to smooth things out a bit because the layers of glitters can be a bit bumpy. I also think that a little matte top coat would also look incredible over this polish.

This is definitely one I think I need to wear more often!

What do you think about this old school Ardene shade? Do you think Love Potion No.82 is a fun Valentine’s Day shade? What is your favourite pink glitter bomb polish? Let me know in the comments below!

Pinky Stripes

Hello lovelies & happy, happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a lovely day.

This week is almost over — & so is this month! Hard to believe we’re already a month in 2021. But I’m very excited it’s almost February because that means all the Valentine’s Day looks! I’m also planning on participating in GlamNailsChallengeFebrury which has some pretty awesome prompts!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat
  • Londontown — Jane Austen
  • Londontown — Bell Flower
  • Londontown — Opal
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Clean Slate
  • Sally Hansen CSM Ruby Doo
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10% on your purchase!)

Vertical stripes are such an easy & cute nail art look — plus they have the added bonus of giving your nail the illusion of looking longer! Which I’m always here for, especially right now when the Winter cold is leaving my nails brittle & peel-y, so they’re not growing long like I would like. I also feel like this colour combination is a great one for Valentine’s Day, with the combinations of pinks & purples.

This time of year is the only time of year when I wear this much pink on my nails. But I’m definitely not complaining! Also currently planning another Valentine’s Day inspired Swatch Sunday post with some shades I’m loving for the big day!

What do you think about this stripey look? Would you wear an easy stripe design like this? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

70s Inspired Swirls

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! Today I’ve gone some fun nail art to share with you, inspired by some brand new polishes I found at my local Winners. My mum gave me a gift card for Christmas, so I decided to venture out to see if I could find any fun polish goodies.

& I did!

So naturally I needed to do some nail art. I decided to use a cute set from the brand Cherimoya called Hide & Go Chic. The internet has no picture of this set, or info, & the bottles are lacking names sadly. I ended up using 5 of the 6 shades that came in the collection.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat
  • Matte Top Coat: L’Oréal The Matte Velvet Top Coat
  • Cherimoya shimmery dusty blue
  • Cherimoya shimmery white
  • Cherimoya shimmery brownish grey
  • Cherimoya shimmery coral
  • Cherimoya shimmery golden rod
  • NailStuff.ca 11mm Mermaid Tail liner brush (COFFEE10 saves 10% off your purchase!)

I’ve been seeing a lot of these swirly stripes designs all over Instagram, so I thought I needed to do another version of this fun design. I really liked these dusty, muted shades in this collection, & thought they would be perfect for a 70s inspired sort of swirly pattern.

At first, I had these shimmery stripes with glossy top coat, but after I added the matte top coat I feel like it completed the look. & I totally wish I had a dress or peasant blouse in this pattern. How pretty would that be?

Also for a polish set that was only $5, I’m really in love with the shades. They’re probably more something I’ll use more for nail art versus wearing them on they’re own, but overall, all the shades are super cute. Especially the dusty blue & golden rod! Love those shades (especially for Spring… anyone else dreaming of Spring yet?)

What do you think about this design? Are you digging these shades as much as I am? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

#GlamNailsChallengeDec — Wrapping Paper

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! Hope everyone had a lovely & not too stressful weekend. We went out on a family (car) adventure to look at Christmas lights, which was lovely, & one of my favourite Christmas activities!

Today I’m sharing another beautiful Christmas-y look for #GlamNailsChallengeDec: Wrapping Paper.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Essence Give Me Nude, Baby
  • Essie Sparkle On Top
  • Zoya Ray
  • Essie Mosaic On Down
  • Deborah Lippmann Through The Fire
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Nail Art Striper Brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)

I loved how open this prompt was, because there were so many options! I decided I wanted to go with a nude-ish base, a little sparkle, & some Christmas-y stripes. It’s the kind of wrapping paper I would love to see my gifts wrapped under the tree. I loved the shimmer from the glitter (Essie Sparkle On Top) & the bit of shimmer in the nail polish.

There is just something about the subtle ness of the nude base, the bit of sparkle & the stripes that I just love.

What do you think about my wrapping paper inspired nails? Would you rock this design? Have you figured out your Christmas nail look? Let me know in the comments below!

Abstract Colour Blocking (& covering up a chipped mani!)

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. This week is speeding by quickly, isn’t it? Crazy! Today I’m showing off a fun look I did earlier this week.

Full disclosure: I had painted my nails, went to work, chipped the hell out of them, & had ever intention of repainting them. Then I fell asleep at 7pm. When I woke up the next morning, I didn’t want to go to work with still chipped nails, so I thought of the easiest way I could cover up the “damage”, & decided to create this almost abstract colour blocking. & I think it turned out pretty cool for something that was painted on the fly. Haha.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frosted Berries
  • China Glaze Glamcore
  • Essie Mosiac On Down
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Silver

The colour choices — especially that silver — is giving me a bit too much of a holiday vibe, but I really do think this is a fun quick design. It was way easier than taking everything off, & repainting from scratch.

What I did was paint some base coat on the sections that a chipped, to protect the naked parts of my nails, then swiped the polishes over to cover up the chipping. I also used my bottle of Seche Vite, because I wanted to make sure they dried quick. & it turned out pretty neat! Also, in a weird way in kind of reminds me of argyle, or at the very least makes me want to do some argyle sweater print nails ASAP. Already playing the colour combination in my head as we speak.

Also, we totally got hit with a early winter storm, so I’m in full winter knit sweater nail mood when it comes to my nails. So that is your early warning there will probably be A LOT of sweater inspired nail art to come!

Have you ever tried to save a manicure or cover up some chipping to extend your nails another day? Any tricks you want to share? Let me know in the comments below!