Category: Nail Art

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SWATCH SUNDAY — L.A. Colors Color Craze Crackle Top Coat 🖤⚡️

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! How is everyone enjoying these last few days of June? We’re currently gearing up for the last day of school (tomorrow) in our house, & the beginning of Summer vacation. It has come so quickly!

Today I’m sharing a throwback vibe — but a currently available polish. Any of my fellow millennials will probably remember the chokehold crackle nail polish had in the early 2010s — I had every colour. So I was super excited to see it is making a resurgence. I never stopped (unironically) loving it, so whenever I see it pop up again, I can’t help but buying a bottle.

& lucky for us, L.A. Colors is bringing back crackle for us to love & enjoy!

1 thick coat

So for those who don’t remember the crackle faze of nail polish, it is a specially design nail polish that when applied over a base shade, dries down & creates a crack effect, showing the shade underneath. Lots of different brands have come out with their versions, from OPI (the first I remember) to Zoya, to Sally Hansen & Claire’s.

L.A. Colors is bring back the fun with their two Crackle Top Coats — available in black & white. I purchased mine at my local Walmart for $3.99 CAD.

As you can see, the crack effect on this pretty thick & dramatic. Depending on how much polish you have on your brush, you can have bigger thick cracks (like this) or smaller thinner cracks like this. The black polish itself is opaque, which I like. It makes the effect even more dramatic. I haven’t picked up the bottle of white yet, but I’ve heard it also is pretty opaque— so I’m curious. I used the Sally Hansen which crackle years ago, but I found it very thin so it was kind of a disappointment.

Personally, I would love to see L.A. Colors release even more shades (& finishes — like shimmers) with this crackle line. For a very affordable mainstream brand, they have some out with some beautiful finishes & styles of nail polishes, & I hope they keep them coming!

What do you think of crackle nail polish returning as a trend in 2025? Are you a fan of this style?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you would rock crackle again!

Happy Sunday

🖤

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Lover Inspired Nails (in honour of my little birthday Swiftie)

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Today is a very special Wednesday because it is my baby girls 6th birthday. 🎉 🎂

So crazy to believe that she’s 6 already!

I wanted to create some special nails in her honour, & since her favourite thing right now is Taylor Swift — well obviously taut is where my inspiration came from. She also told me I should do nails that were pink, blue & yellow with hearts — & as soon as she told me that, Taylor’s Lover era popped into my head. & since Cruel Summer has been playing on repeat at our house, it fit perfectly.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter Top Coat
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Essie Bikini So Teeny
  • Butter London Coming Up Roses *pr
  • Claire’s Scented Nail Polish Orange
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Violet Voltage
  • Essie Gel Couture Gossamer Garments *pr
  • Nails INC Heartfelt Holidays
  • Claire’s Mini Glitter Shade (no name)
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

How pretty does this manicure look? I love the Lover vibes it’s giving. If this isn’t the perfect manicure to wear while belting out Cruel Summer, I don’t know what is.

& my little girl was so excited to see these nails! She’s having a Taylor Swift inspired birthday party with her friends next month, & she is already planning her nails for the occasion.

What do you think about these Taylor Swift inspired birthday nails? Do you love them as much as I do? Would you wear them? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Wednesday lovelies — enjoy some cake today in honour of my little girl.

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Gel Couture Tailored By Twilight

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Sunday — the first Sunday of Summer.

Surprisingly, today’s Swatch Sunday post isn’t super Summery, but I’ve been wearing really vampy polishes lately for some reason. While usually Summer screams neon for me, but I just find myself being drawn more towards darker shades. & today’s Swatch Sunday pick is just that: dark & vampy. & I love it.

This is Essie Gel Couture Tailored By Twilight. *gifted/PR

3 coats + top coat.

The first thing about this beautiful dark plum polish is the fact it is very jelly, which is not something I usually think I want when I’m reaching for a darker shade, but it really works with this particular shade. The formula is smooth, easy to apply, but with the darker colour I feel like I needed 3 coats in order to be able to fully cover the nail, & not have any streaky spots. But it did dry down quickly, especially with the added benefit of quick dry top coat (I used Essie Gel Setter.)

The more coats you apply, the darker the shade. You can see around my cuticle line where it is a bit lighter, but again I feel like for me 3 coats was what I needed to be fully in love with these nails.

Look how beautiful that shade is. I love love love a dark purple, & this one is just gorgeous.

Essie Gel Couture Tailored by Twilight is part of the core collection, so you should be able to find it anywhere you purchase your Essie shades, ranging in price from $11.49 CAD to $16.49 CAD (when not on sale).

What do you think about Essie Gel Couture Tailored by Twilight? Do you like these darker, vampier shades — even as the days are warming up? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & if you would wear this shade.

Happy Sunday.

♥︎

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Pretty Floral Bouquet Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is enjoying their week so far — & if things are feeling rough right now, I hope at least you have a little bit of calm in your life to sooth those moments.

Today I’m excited to share off some pretty floral nails I did recently. After a bit of a nail art hiatus, I’m feeling good again about painting my nails — even if 95% of the nail I’ve been doing has been hand painted florals. Floral just makes me happy, so I’m going to keep wearing it.

Today’s look is especially pretty because I painted it over another beautiful holographic base shade. When the sun is shining, that just calls for all the holo!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Euphoric
  • NailStuff.ca Holo Top Coat*
  • Color Club Pucci-licious
  • Butter London Coming Up Roses*
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Essie Set in Sandstone*
  • Essie Cute As A Button
  • Essie Wind in the Willow *
  • Essie Off Tropic *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool 

*pr/gifted

These were a bit time consuming to paint, but the end result was totally worth it. I absolutely love the bright floral over the super shiny holographic base. It was exactly how I was hoping it would turn out, & I couldn’t be happier with it.

I just love floral nails so much.

What do you think of this beautiful floral bouquet nails? Do you think it looks pretty over such a holographic base? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you’re enjoying all the floral nails I’ve been sharing.

Happy Wednesday

♥︎

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Hand Painted Lilac Nail Art 💜

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! Trying to get back into my regular posting schedule, so I’m excited to share a second nail art post this week! & I’m beyond in love with today’s nail art inspiration. When walking my kids to school, I couldn’t help but notice all the lilacs in bloom — & bam, I knew just the inspiration for my nails!

I’ve done a lot of floral on my nails over the years, but I’ve never taken such a literal flower to paint on my nails. But for something I’ve never attempted before, I’m so in love with the end result. & I totally think I managed to capture the inspiration as well.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Essie Expressie IRL
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Planet Purple
  • NailStuff.ca Holographic Top Coat *
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Heather Hue
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Violet Voltage
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Lilac Insomniac
  • Essie Wind in the Willow *
  • Essie Off Tropic *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool 

*pr/gifted

Do you think I captured the Lilac vibe correctly? I literally had pictures of lilacs in front of me while I was painting (which I don’t usually do — I kind of just wing it), but I really wanted to capture what lilacs look like correctly.

I think while a little abstract, they really do look like lilacs. & I just love the purple on purple. It all comes together so beautifully. Plus the holo comes alive in this beautiful sunshine we’ve been having.

What do you think about these lilac nails? Do you love how they look as much as I do? Like I said, I don’t often have literal picture inspiration when painting floral on my nails, but I really wanted to capture these flowers accurately. & it was kind of fun — I might it more often!

Happy Friday!

♥︎