Soft Matte Half Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone’s had a good start to the year so far. It’s been relaxing on my end, that’s for sure. But now it’s time to drive right back into all things nail polish, nail art & manicures in general. I was kind of trying to figure out what kind of vibe I wanted to start off 2023 with, & I decided to let my nostalgia win with not only a half moon manicure… but a matte half moon manicure.

Two of my favourite things combined into one.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Zoya Devin
  • Essence Into the Unknown
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

I was on instagram early into Fall, & I saw someone post that half moon manicures were going to become popular again, & all I could think was “I never stopped doing them”.

These have always been a favourite nail art look of mine, & I just find it such an easy technique to do. But I really, really love this look with the matte top coat applied as the finishing touch. Matte nails are my absolute favourite in the Winter months, so expect lots of matte nails in the coming months.

What do you think of this nail art look? Are you a fan of the half moon design? Let me know what you think, & what nail art trends for 2023 you’re excited to try!

New Years Eve Golden Dotticure ✨

Hello Beauties & happy New Years Eve! I told you I would sneak in one more manicure before the year was over. Obviously, it being New Years Eve, I needed to give it my all, & decided to go with gold, silver & black for the full effect.

I also didn’t want to go too crazy because I am still exhausted from working through Christmas, & honestly by 10pm I’m just wrecked. So I decided to go with a classic dotticure… but with a NYE twist.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • OPI Rolling in Cashmere
  • Essie Hors d’Oeuvres
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Dotting tool (I always use mine from NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)

I like how I flipped the colours I would usually do. Normally, I would go with black (or another darker colour) as my base, & use the lighter colours as my dots. But I thought I needed more gold & silver, so I decided to use it as my base instead, & use black as my accent… & I love how it turned out! Very glam, with a hint of glitter. Perfect for New Years Eve celebrations, both over the top, & simple.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who has visited this blog, liked my designs, & especially commented this last year! You make it worth it to keep posting, & make me excited to keep posting — especially as other social media changes so much! 2022 was a fantastic year for me, albeit challenging & full of change, but this blog was my happy place to come to, & I’m very excited to see what 2023 has in store!

Have a happy New Year Lovelies! Wishing everyone peace, calm, & joy.

♥︎

New Years Eve Glitter Gradient

Hello lovelies & happy New Years Eve… Eve. Only 2 more days of this year left, & I can barely believe it. It really feels like the last few months, & especially the last few weeks, have absolutely flown by. With less than 48 hours left of this year, I figured why not sneak in one or two more manicures.

& naturally, with New Years Eve so close, I have to be all about the glitter. What better excuse than wearing all the glitter than counting down to a new year? I’m not much for getting dressed up, & going out on NYE… but you know I’m always going to have my nails ready for a night of snacks on the couch & sparkling kombucha.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Kimono Over
  • Color Club On the List
  • Color Club Take Me to VIP
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust

Ooooooh look at the sparkle. I made sure to take pictures with my flash on, because I really wanted to be able to properly capture the sparkle. Like how much fun is this to wear for New Years Eve? I did this look completely without any tools, just layering of glitter, & it turned out so perfectly, & glittery. It almost makes me wish I had something exciting planned for New Years Eve.

This is super simple to do though! You just need to gently apply the glitter at the base of your nails, & brush up gently. It gives you a thicker glitter near your cuticle, & gives a lighter effect as you go up. I ended up using 3 different glitters because layering also gives it a beautiful effect. I just love glitter so much.

Do you have you plans for New Years Eve solidified yet? I think we’re going to do some sparklers & snacks with our kids, & neighbours, & then some snacks on the couch leading up to the end of the night.

I’m also going to see if I can sneak in one more New Years Eve manicure before the end of the year, so I will see you tomorrow for one more look.

♥︎

Glam Nails Challenge December—Fireworks 🎆

Good morning lovelies & happy Wednesday! I can barely believe it, but it is the last prompt of Glam Nails Challenge December! We’ve made it to the end. Which means.. it’s almost the end of December… & the end of 2022! So let’s celebrate with something fun.

Today’s prompt is Fireworks! I was inspired by a previous design I did with the same prompt, but decided to go with a blue/silvery colour theme. Giving me all the New Years Eve vibes.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • China Glaze New Year, New Boo
  • China Glaze December to Remember
  • China Glaze Blue Iguana
  • China Glaze 2NITE
  • China Glaze Dancing & Prancing
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Not going to lie, these nails are giving me some Snow Queen/Elsa vibes on top of fireworks. Definitely the blue on blue on blue. Could also be the fact my 3 year old spent most of Christmas running around the house scream singing “Let It Go” at the top of her lungs. Haha.

It definitely took some serious layering to get this design to look the way I imagined in my head, but with the combination of colours & glitter, it really gives you the effect of watching Fireworks explode in the sky. I love them.

What do you think about this Fireworks inspired design? Are you all ready for this year to be over? It’s definitely been an interesting year, full of a lot of change, so I’m interested (& hopeful) to see what 2023 will bring! Hopefully nothing but good things.

Thanks for following around with another month of Glam Nails Challenge! I had so much fun this month, & it was a great way to end the year. Don’t forget, all the designs for this month can be found on the Glam Nails Challenge December hashtag on Instagram.

Glam Nails Challenge December— Gifts 🎁

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & Merry belated Christmas. I took yesterday off to enjoy the chaos, but I’m happy to be back today to share the next prompt for Glam Nails Challenge December. & the next prompt is… gifts!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Me, My Elf & I (Holiday 2022)
  • Sally Hansen MG Goldie Rocks (Holiday 2019)
  • Sally Hansen MG Living In The Presents (Holiday 2021)
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Who doesn’t love a Christmas toned manicure? The gift accents are pretty simple, but the combination of colours works for a collection of presents.

Hard to believe Christmas is over for another year… & that 2022 is almost finished too. Now we’re in the weird in between time where you’re not sure what day it is & you eat chocolate for breakfast. I swear, I don’t think I ate anything green yesterday at all, unless you count the sour apple toxic waste candy I had last night. Haha.

What do you think about this present theme manicure? What design were you wearing on your nails for Christmas morning? Did Santa bring you any new polishes?

Let me know down the in comments below!