Category: nail polish

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SWATCH SUNDAY — LA Colors Gel Color Craze Color Shifting Top Coat Retrograde

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful sunny Sunday once again. I know I shouldn’t complain about the beautiful weather — especially since we’ve been having cooler morning & evenings which are giving me all the Autumn vibes — but we’re still desperate for rain on the East Coast with all the fires we’ve been having.

Today though, it’s all about nail polish & I’m excited because I found a new & fun shade while perusing my local Walmart! They’ve recently– in like the last year or two — started selling LA Colors & I always love checking out what new shades they have in the display. I noticed these Color Shifting Toppers the last time I was there, so I decided to pick up two of them. The first one I’m excited to share is this green to blue shifty duochrome called Retrograde.

2 coats applied over Essie Frock n Roll + Top Coat

For this application, I applied two coats of Retrograde over a dark base — in this case, I picked Essie Frock n Roll. The base of Retrograde is fairly thin, as you would want a topper to be, but it has a fun metallic duochrome effect that builds very nicely. I feel like you could almost wear a couple coats of it on it’s own, since the base layer definitely disappears beneath the topper.

The shift is also gorgeous — there are flashes on blue & green, as the main ones, but you also get purples as well. Very mermaid-y, which I love, but the jewel tone is perfect for this time of year. I’m not usually someone who reaches for green very often, as well all know (& I’ve said plenty of times) but a shade like this with the multichrome shift is definitely one I will wear. In fact, I wore this manicure for almost 5 days!

LA Colors shades retail at Walmart for $3.97 CAD — which is a pretty awesome deal! The Color Shifting Topper line has 10 shades to choose from, all with celestial names. I picked up Retrograde & Nova, but I’m definitely going to be going back for more shades! They are all such fun colours, & I love anything that can switch up shades already in my collection with a fun twist. Also, I bet these would look beautiful swirled into a drag marble design. That might have to be my next thing to try!

What do you think of LA Colors Gel Color Shifting Topper? Are you a fan of the LA Colors brand? Like I said, I love how affordable these shades are — &, like the crackle shades they’ve released, I find they’re really stepping up their game! So many fun options you can play around with.

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Nicole by OPI Shoot for the Maroon 💫

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful Sunday at that — although, still desperately waiting on some rain in this part of the country (we really need it!) So today I thought I’d wear something a little moodier, a little cooler in hopes of encouraging some rainy weather.

I also thought it would be fun to pull out a polish from my stash from a now discontinued brand: Nicole by OPI. In my earlier nail polishing days I was absolutely obsessed with the Nicole by OPI days, so I’m sure you can imagine how many shades of I have in my collection. This is Shoot for the Maroon.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful flakie purple has a deep dark base, with a metallic micro flakie effect that gives it beautiful dimension. Depending on how you move your hand, it shifts pink, purple, golden & even a little green. Super beautiful!

You can really see those micro flakies. I love the shiftiness of this shade & the dark jewel like tone. It’s a beautiful polish that just says Autumn & I’m here for it.

Sadly, the NOPI line was discontinued in the latter 2010s, so they’re no longer available in stores. I have seen some bodies available online, but not sure how easily you can find them. It’s a real shame, because I feel like this line was a great mainstream line for more specialty formulas — like this shade!

What do you think about Nicole by OPI Shoot for the Maroon. Do you still own any of the NOPI shades? What were your thoughts on the brand — let me know what you think down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday!

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Burgundy Strip Accent Nails

Hey Beauties & happy Friday. I hope you’ve had a beautiful week. It feels like the world is on fire right now — literally —so it can be so hard to sit back, & feel any semblance of happiness. Here is hoping for calmer & peaceful days ahead.

I was feeling something Autumn-ish. I know, I just can’t help myself! But I tried not to lean too hard onto the Autumn aesthetic — well, not yet at least.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Good To Go Top Coat
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Cinnasnap
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Love You Lotus
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Black Stone
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Almond Tan
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Clean Slate
  • Sally Hansen CSM Ruby Do
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush Trio (I used the 7mm liner brush)

A little rustic looking close up, but kind of gives that hand knit sweater feel to them. & even though I’m probably a month & a half away from needing any kind of knit sweater — I’m dreaming of those days! — it doesn’t mean I can’t wear a version on my nails!

Can’t you just imagine wearing this look while perusing the Halloween aisle & sipping on a pumpkin spice latte? I can. & it gets me so excited!

What do you think of these Autumn-esque accent nails? Would you wear this design on your own nails? Please share all your thoughts in the comments below — I love hearing what people think!

Happy weekend

🖤

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Pastel Marble Sponging

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. A brand new week — & this month is certainly speeding quickly by. It’s already the 13th of August, & while that means I’m that much closer to PSL season, the velocity at which this Summer is passing can slow down just a smidge.

Today’s nail art look was kind of a happy accident. Originally I was going to try to create some pastel galaxies, but it turned into more of a marble effect. Either way, I think they turned out absolutely stunning. & I love them.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Good To Go Top Coat
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Sensationail Nailtural Born to Explore
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Beatnik
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Feelin’ Grape
  • Essie Separated Starlight
  • Latex free Make Up Sponge

Such a neat effect. & I added the little bit of sparkle to give it a more dimension effect & I really think it looks cool. Like little geodes on my nails.

What do you think about this marble nail effect? Do you like the combination of colours? Let me know what you think down in the comments below! I’ve been really trying to switch up & do some new nail art looks I haven’t done in a while — so please share any old designs you’d love to see me recreate!

Happy Wednesday

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Throw in the Towel 🕶️ (2020 Sunny Business collection)

Contains PR

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a sunny, hot & humid Sunday here — & we are still without some much needed rain unfortunately.

Today though, I’m sharing a bright & summery nail polish shade with you, that I kindly received gifted from Essie. This is Essie Throw in the Towel.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful bright coral pink is gorgeous Summery shade! The formula was a bit on the thin side, but built easily to opacity. My nails are on the shorter side right now, so if they were longer I would probably do three coats to avoid visible nail line.

The colour is very vibrant & eye catching, which I love. I used to be all about the corals on my nails in the early days of my nail addiction, but started leaning towards more blues & purples — & I’m realizing now how much I love a bright coral on me!

You can definitely see in my close up that this shade is a big on the sheer side, but it doesn’t make me love it any less. It’s light enough I don’t find that too distracting.

Essie Throw in the Towel is part of the Essie core collection, so you can purchase it anywhere you buy your Essie nail polishes. In Canada, it usually ranges anywhere between $9.99 CAD to $14.99 CAD.

What do you think about Essie Throw in the Towel? Do you love this bright coral pink as much as I do? Doesn’t it just scream Summer? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Sunday!

🖤