Category: Nail Art

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Leopard Print Inspired by @hottmama_of4

Hello lovelies how are you guys today?

Happy Cino de Mayo! Honestly, I didn’t even think about the fact it was coming up — I haven’t drank tequila in a good 5 years — so I kind of wish I had done something a little more festive! But I do have a super cute nail art look to share with you, that was actually inspired by a fellow nail artist on Instagram — @hottmama_of4! Heather posted this super cute blue & pink leopard print a few weeks back, & I knew I totally had to recreate it immediately!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Beatnik
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Fuchsia Fever
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

I feel like I haven’t worn a fun leopard print look in a really long time, so I really liked wearing this one! The colours worked so well together — which is why Heather’s caught my eye in the first place! It was a fun pop of colour to wear, & it felt nice to wear a few polishes I haven’t reached for in a while. I’ve been wearing a lot of pastels lately, so I think what I really need is a big pop of COLOUR in my life. This is inspiring me to pull out my neons again… I might need to do a neon rainbow stripe or leopard print look very, very soon!

phonto-2

I’m so happy I decided to recreate this look — Heather’s Instagram feed has so many fun & creative nail art looks. She always goes for colour, which makes me happy! I definitely have a few more looks of hers saved in my “to do” nail art file for the future!

Where do you get your best nail art inspiration from? Clothing, patterns, pinterest, other nail artists? I feel like nail art inspiration is everywhere, but I’ve been especially inspired lately by mugs & pots lately. Maybe it’s because my plant obsession is in overdrive right now, who knows!

 

Have a lovely day! ♥

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Pink & Purple Holo Half Moons

Hello lovelies. ♥️

I know, it’s been a while.

Sorry for the extended absence, but we had some devastating event occur here in my beautiful home province of Nova Scotia, & it kind of knocked the wind out of me emotionally, which left me with little urge to post. I’ve literally spent the last 2 weeks almost just playing around making macrame plant holders, & trying to calm my brain. But nails & nail art make me happy, so I’m glad to be back.

So let’s talk about nails shall we! More specifically, how about this holo half moon look!

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Layla Cosmetics Retro Pink
  • Color Club Eternal Beauty
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

I feel like you just can’t properly document a holo look like this in a light box, so naturally I needed to capture it in all its glory in the sun! & look at that holo shift, isn’t it beautiful? Color Club Eternal Beauty might possibly be one of my all time favourite holographic shades, & definitely hands down my favourite purple holo. The liner holo shift is just so strong, it’s blinding. I can’t get enough.

Isn’t this a look? I know I’ve done pink & purple moons a lot, but that’s because it’s a classic. I play around with other colour combinations, but deep in my heart I am a pink & purple kind of girl.

What do you think about this nail art look? What is you favourite holographic nail polish? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

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Watercolour Freehand Floral 🌸

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday!

I hope everyone is having a lovely week. The weather here has been pretty amazing & Spring like. You can’t help but love it! Our flowers are even starting to bloom in our front garden, so naturally I was inspired to create some pretty floral on my nails! This design was also inspired by a nail art look that popped up in my Facebook memories from 6 years ago (this one, in case you want to see the original.)

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Where’s My Chauffeur
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • OPI Be Magentale With Me (Sheer Tints)
  • OPI Don’t Violet Me Down (Sheer Tints)
  • Essie No Shrinking Violets (Silk Watercolours)
  • Essie Love Sheen (Silk Watercolours)
  • Essie Flowerista
  • OPI Lost My Bikini in Molokini
  • OPI My Dog Sled Is A Hybrid
  • Essie Poolside Service
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

Okay, so I know every time I do a floral, I say that it’s my new favourite — so I won’t even say it, but seriously this might be the most favourite floral I’ve ever done! I feel like the sheer polish plus darker outlining just gives this manicure such a beautiful feel. & I love the floral combined with the brightness of Essie Where’s My Chauffeur which is hands down one of my favourite polishes for Spring. I’m really really in love with this whole combination.

& obviously, a close up because I am so freaking proud of how these turned out! I know roses are my floral safe zone, but I think I would to branch out a little bit more, maybe try & perfect other styles. I definitely still have plans to try out a tulip design very very soon as well!

What do you think about this floral look? Has your garden started to come to life yet? Let me know what you think down in the comments below, & what kind of floral you’d like to see me attempt next!

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Crazy Dotticure Pattern Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, & didn’t eat too many chocolate eggs or jellybeans.

We had a pretty lovely weekend here in Halifax, which meant perfect weather for our annual Easter Egg hunt outside. Usually, all the cousins would gather out our house for it, but with social isolation & distancing it was just us. Never the less, our little guy had a blast finding all the eggs, & his baby sister had fun trying her first real taste of chocolate! I could definitely get used to warm sunny days, & they’re calling for sunshine & 16 degrees today, so I’ll take it!

So let’s show off some fun nails, shall we?

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Quo by ORLY pale peach (no label — it was a mini bottle circa 2013/2104)
  • Essie Splash of Grenedine
  • Essie First Timer
  • Essie Playdate
  • Essie Bikini so Teeny
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 to save 10% on your purchase!)

So I’ve been thinking about doing one of these dotticure pattern nails for a while, but for some reason was nervous to do it (& kept falling back into old trusted designs — like floral). But I’ve really been wanting to try something different, out of my comfort zone, & I’m really glad I did! At first I wasn’t sure about how these turned out, but I actually really adore them! So much so, I wore this look for a full 3 days until they started chipping.

These sort of remind me of like printed tiles, or something. I really like the bright pop of colour over the pale base shade. I’ve had this Quo shade in my minis drawer for a very long time, but I don’t think I’ve pulled it out to wear before. It makes a great almost neutral base for nail art.

What do you think about this dotticure? What was the last manicures out of your comfort zone you tried–did you grab a colour you never wear, or try out a design that made you nervous? Let me know in the comments below!

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Rainbow Easter Egg Inspired Accent Nail

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday!

I hope everyone is having a lovely week, however you’re spending it. I did a fun yoga class last night (via zoom) so I’m feeling refreshed this morning. If there is one thing this home isolation has been doing for me, it’s been inspiring me to work out almost daily, which is awesome!

Today I gave an Easter inspired design to share with you. I wanted a look that would be perfect for Easter celebrations, but could also be worn just to celebrate Spring!

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Claire’s matte Sorbet Blue
  • Claire’s matte Sorbet Mint
  • Claire’s matte Sorbet Purple
  • Claire’s matte Sorbet Pink
  • Essie Ballet Slippers
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • TheBaseCoat Chevron/ZigZag (regular) Stencils

I really, really wanted to do something Easter-y on my nails, without going your typical bunny ears/Easter egg design. I started off on my ring finger by applying 2 coats of Ballet Slippers & my Essie Gel Setter to dry. Then I took my nail vinyls, & applied them to my ringer finger. Using a dotting tool, I started from the bottom of my nail, I worked quickly applied the alternating colours. All my shades were matte, which dry quickly, so I actually pulled off the vinyl one I had filled a section. Next up, I decided outlining would bring the look together, so I went through with my tiniest brush, & outlined all my chevrons with my white polish, as well as the outside of my nail.

& I feel like the end result looks so cool, & dainty, & just Easter-y enough. Like a “grown up” Easter egg design.

Seriously, I’m obsessed. It’s been a while since I pulled out the zig zag chevron nail vinyls, & oh man have I missed them! I guess one thing I can thank this whole situation for, is that I’m really putting more effort into my nail art, & love rediscovering all these old tools of mine. It’s a fun way to distract myself from all the craziness happening outside of the house — or from the fact that I really miss my extended family. Hopefully the world returns to some form of normalcy again, so we can all get together & celebrate all the events we’re missing out on.

Do you have a special manicure planned for your Easter? What is your favourite Easter candy? Let me know down in the comments below! (Mine are Peeps by the way, I know… I’m strange but I LOVE them!)