Glam Nails Challenge October — Skull 💀

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! Today we’re getting into the spooky season with this month’s GlamNailsChallenge: skull ☠️ .

Now that it’s October I feel like I can finally really start getting into the Halloween nail art looks. & it also means that I can finally use a brand new stamping plate I recently bought via NailPolishCanada.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

First off, I can’t believe this is my first time using one of the Color Club stamping plates — they stamp amazing! I was super impressed with how easily I picked up the image & applied it to my nails. It was a very speedy experience, which was way faster than how stamping usually goes for me. Originally I had only planned on an accent nail or two, but everything applied so easily that I just kept going, & got all 10 fingers stamped in like 15 minutes.

Second, I love how lovely the silver is over the purple. A nice spooky skull design, perfect for my first Halloween look of October!

What do you think about this skull design? Are you excited for Halloween designs? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what Halloween designs you plan on doing this month!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Satin Sister

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Another week has quickly sped by, & that means it’s time for another fun Swatch Sunday post. I recently put in an order through NailPolishCanada.com, & excitingly enough, my shades arrived earlier this week! I grabbed some gorgeous shades on clearance, so I am very excited to share what arrived.

First up, I have this Essie Winter 2016 shade: Satin Sister. Funnily enough, I just scored Getting Groovy (from the same collection) at Shoppers Drug Mart on clearance for $2 a couple of weeks ago.

2 coats, no top coat.

Essie Satin Sister is a beautiful creamy darkened teal blue. Depending on the light, it either leans to the blue side of things, or to the greener ends of things. The colour itself is great for Autumn. It’s deep & jewel toned, which I very much enjoy. It was kind of a spur of the moment polish pick, but I’m really happy with my decision.

Usually I’m more of a navy blue kind of girl, so this is a really nice change up for me. Its something a little bit different for me.

The formula is nice. This shade still has the skinny Essie brush of yester-years, but if didn’t affect my application to much. Like I said, I needed two coats for opacity — even without top coat. That’s not too bad. Obviously, I would love for a one coat wonder, but two coats isn’t too bad.

The only thing I’m a bit nervous about is removal, which I haven’t attempted yet. Definitely feel like this could potentially have some staining power, but hopefully not!

What do you think about this shade? Are you loving darker shades right now? Let me know all your thoughts down I the comments below! & shade what shade you’re currently wearing right now.

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Designer Series Mystery

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. Hope everyone is having a lovely & caffeinated start to their week. I’ve been playing around with the espresso machine my husband bought me for my birthday last week, so I’m very well caffeinated!

I’m also really excited to show off today’s Swatch Sunday post cause I pulled a great shade from deep in my stash, that I thought would be perfect in honour of Halloween: OPI Designer Series Mystery.

2 coats + Essie Gel Setter Top Coat.

This beautiful jelly dark purple is packed full of gold & shifty flakes. DS Mystery was originally released in 2009 (I do believe). For those who don’t know, the OPI Designer Series was a line of special polishes released, that were extra special. This shade was scored on clearance at a local salon, after they discontinued selling the Designer Series shades there.

For my swatches, I only needed 2 coats & added top coat for a little extra shine. The formula is smooth, & covers easily after 2 coats, even with the jelly base.

I don’t think that OPI has completely discontinued the collection, but I’m not 100% sure. NailPolishCanada still has some of the DS shades for sale, including DS Mystery. So if you need the polish in your life, I definitely recommend picking it up!

Originally I thought I would add some nail art over top of this shade, it was so beautiful on its own, I decided to enjoy it in all it’s flakie goodness. It’s definitely a great shade for Fall, & would make an excellent base for Halloween nail art as well!

What do you think about this OPI shade? Do you have any of the Designer Series shades in your stash? Let me know in the comments below, & what nIl art you would pair with this polish!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Zoya Kissy

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Hello lovelies! & welcome to not only the last Swatch Sunday of the month.. not only the last Swatch Sunday of the year… but the last Swatch Sunday of the DECADE! So obviously when selecting this weeks shade I wanted something perfect for New Years, but also something special. & I decided to dig deep deep deep into my nail polish stash & grab a very very special shade: Zoya Kissy.

This polish came into my life as a gift for Christmas 2011 & was the very first Zoya I ever owned. It was originally released as part of the Zoya Gems & Jewels collection for Holiday 2011–here is a vintage Vampy Varnish post featuring this shade (for those curious!)

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Kissy is a densely packed glitter topper with fuchsia bar glitters, Holo bar glitters & fuchsia microglitters. I believe that the base used to be more clear, but it had turned pinky over the years.

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You’re looking at 3 coats over my (almost) bare nail, which gave me pretty awesome coverage. I used a peel off base coat underneath so that they would be easier to remove. You can also use this shade over top a base shade (I thought about doing it over black or navy blue — the pink would really pop) & it will cut down on the coats of glitter you use, but will still look beautiful. I think this would also be gorgeous for a New Years Eve glitter gradient!

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Like I mentioned before, this glitter shade is about 8 years old… but you can still find it for purchase online which is amazing! NailPolishCanada currently has Kissy stocked, so if you need this shade in your life, you are in luck. It is also available on the Zoya website as well!

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What do you think about this beautiful glitter — do you have Zoya Kissy in your stash? Have you picked out what you’re wearing on your nails for New Years Eve yet? Hop on over to Instagram & let me know!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Jewel of a Girl

Happy Sunday lovelies! I’m continuing to share my favourite Fall shades this week with another fabulously vampy shade that I’m seriously digging right now: Color Club Jewel of a Girl. I recently picked up this polish the clearance section of my favourite pharmacy for the ever fantastic deal of $1.99.

This polish was originally released all the way back in Fall of 2010 as part of the Untamed Luxury collection. However, you can still buy it online over at NailpolishCanada.com.

For these swatches, I did base coat, two layers of colour plus top coat (Essie Speed Setter).

Color Club Jewel of a Girl is a deep rich shimmery wine shade, that definitely has purple undertones & can even lean a little brown. This colour just… it’s everything. It’s like Fall in a bottle & reminds me of that meme that pops up around Facebook this time of year. Doesn’t it just make you want to curl up in a knit blanket & drink pumpkin spice lattes & pull on your favourite pair of over the knee boots?

The formula was pretty spot on for this shade. The first coat was a little thin but as so as I applied my second coat, it was perfectly opaque. Because I know nobody has time for waiting for 4 coats of polish to dry.

I was also impressed with the shine of the polish just on its own–I added topcoat because it was 11pm & I was heading to bed shortly after so I needed dry nails, but even before they looked pretty good!

This polish is everything & I seriously can’t get enough. Not only because it was less than $2, but just the colour & shimmer are perfection. Even if Mother Nature is keeping Summer alive, I can bask in Fall vibes with my nails & pretend I’m wearing my favourite sweater dress instead of still living in my Summer dresses.

do you have Color Club Jewel of a Girl in your nail polish stash? Does this kind of shade make you think of Fall. Let me know what you think down in the comments below!