Category: Nail Art

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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!

♥︎

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Funky Red Animal Print

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! A super sunny & beautiful Wednesday. I’m just loving this gorgeous Summer weather.

Today I’m excited to share some fun & funky nails — & something a little bit different from what I’ve been posting. It’s been absolute ages since the last time I did animal print, so it felt long overdue.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Essie Gel Couture Electric Geometric *
  • Essie Gel Couture On the List
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool 
  • Madam Glam Acrylic Nail Art pen in Black *

*pr/gifted

I got so many compliments on these nails when I wore them to work, which always gives me a little confidence boost. I wanted something vibrant & fun, & I feel like these nails really checked off all my needs.

Leopard print has always been one of my go to nail art looks — in fact, I think one of my first posts all those years ago was a red-toned leopard print. They’re easy, & eye catching, & always fun to wear. If these don’t say Summer vibes, I don’t know what else does! Plus this Essie shade — Electric Geometric — is such gorgeous coral red.

What do you think about these animal print nails? Do you love them as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & tell me what Summer themed nail arts you want to see next!

♥︎

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Pink Gel & Floral Nail Art 💖🌸

Hey lovelies! I totally meant to post this manicure last week, but I got knocked out by the cold from hell which left me ravaged & not in the mood to do any posting! But my sinuses are finally recovering, & now I can finally show this fun look I did last week!

I was super curious about doing nail art over my gel manicure base, so I wanted to give it a try. I plan on also doing some nail art using all gel, but I was curious what would happen if you painted some nail art over just gel. (Including topping it with a regular top coat.)

Products used for this manicure: 

  • Olive & June Peel Off Base Coat *
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Base Coat *
  • 2 coats Olive & June Gel Polish XOXO *
  • 1 coat Olive & June Gel Polish Pink Goldfish *
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Top Coat *
  • Sinful Colors Bold Color
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple *
  • Essie Satin Sister
  • Butter London Coming Up Roses *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool 
  • China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

**gifted/PR

I think these are so just so pretty! I will say, the quick dry top coat I used (China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat) did dry down in a way that made the nail art flowers almost look like 3D stickers — which I thought I was very cool. I’m curious what would have happened if I had used the Olive & June Gel Top Coat — & I might have to experiment to see what happens!

As I mentioned, I’m still so new to the world of gel, so I’m enjoying playing around with it.

What do you think of this little bit of nail art? Would you like to see me do a series or feature on nail art using only gel nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Wednesday

💖