Category: nail polish

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Bewitched

Hello lovelies, from the frozen North. Well, not quite, but after a big one Winter storm, it certainly feels like it.

Have I mentioned I am SO over Winter?

So obviously this means I need to obsessively apply holo nail polish to my nails every chance I get. My local Walmart has a few of their Color Club collections in for $5, including the range of holos. So I’ve been buying myself the occasional one when I need to cheer myself up. Today’s Swatch Sunday pick: Color Club Bewitched.

2 coats, no top coat

Color Club Bewitched is a beautiful lilac liner holo with a pretty shift of pink. On my first coat, I was a bit nervous this was going to take a lot of coats to build opacity, but the second coat covered any patchiness the first coat might have had.

The holo is very strong on this polish & really pops — especially in the sunshine. I really like that it has that little bit of shift as well because this definitely makes this shade different than other holographic polishes in my stash.

Also you can’t say no to $5. Especially when it’s after a particularly rough day, or another snowstorm. I think I’ve bought most of the liner holos they have in the collection, with the exception of a few… but we still have six more weeks of Winter (at least), so I’m sure I’ll have time to add more.

What do you think of Color Club Bewitched? Do you have this holo in your collection? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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Holo & Roses

Hello loves! Hope everyone is having a great week so far.

Last week I was feeling a bit off with the Winter blahs, so I decided to best way to make myself feel better would be with some new nail polishes! My local small Walmart has their Color Club holographic shades on sale for $5 right now… so naturally I needed to get myself a new one! After way too long pacing the nail polishes aisle I picked up this beauty: Color Club Bewitched!

& what is better than holo in your nails… holo with floral!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Millionails
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Color Club Bewitched
  • Essie Watermelon
  • Claire’s Matte Pink
  • Cosmetic Arts Unnamed Mint
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Claire’s Matte Mint Green
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Black-y O
  • Essie Blanc
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Seriously, I don’t think there is a nail art look I love more than floral.

& with my patience for Winter dwindling more by the minute, I’m so ready for all floral, all the time. I thought about doing a more complicated floral, but once I did the roses, I was loving the simplicity of just a few roses & vines.

Also how can I get a phone case with a holo background & roses, because I think I need one! Like if I can get this replicated on a phone case, I would be so happy.

What do you think about this nail art look? Are you ready for Spring as much as I am? Let me know in the comments below!

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Blue Abstract Swirly Stripes

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! & happy February. One month of Winter down, only a few more to go. & we’re officially into another favourite month of mine for nail art — bring on ALL the Valentine’s Day nail art.

However, before I jump full tilt into all pink all the time, I thought I would share this fun blue swirly look I recently did on my nails. I’ve talked endlessly about my love for these swirly abstract stripes, so when I’m stuck on inspiration I always turn to this look. & yep — went with blue again! I was feeling some fun Essie blues, & I feel like they pulled everything together so well.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Millionails
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Ballet Slippers
  • Essie Blanc
  • Essie Suite Retreat
  • Essie Bell Bottom Blues
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

The best part of this style is how easy it is to muck it up. You just add more layers, & (usually) it’ll bring everything together. The sheer base of Essie Ballet Flats, which I haven’t worn in a really long time, just helps the colours pop out a bit. You see the lines a bit better, I find, with a more sheer, or naked base.

I also did a cute version on my daughter who loved mine so much she wanted to match. I shared a Reel on instagram of them, if you’re curious. Also, this is a surprisingly easy look to do on a two year old, if you can get them to sit still long enough haha.

What do you think about these blue swirly stripes? Are you still a fan of this style of nail art — I know they’ve been really, really popular on Instagram lately, but I don’t think I’ll ever be sick of them. They just are too easy, & too cute! They make me very happy.

Have a lovely Tuesday, & stay warm!

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Blue Valentine Nails 💙

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday!

Today I have a fun early Valentine’s Day look to share with you I did before my tragic nail break last week. I was feeling something Valentines-y, but not pink, so I decided to recreate a look similar to one I did last year.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Millionails
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Blitz
  • Essie All the Wave
  • Dimension Nails Great Blue Heron (gifted c/o: NailStuff.ca)
  • China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod!
  • Color Club On The List
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

How pretty did these turn out? I love the blues all together, & it’s a fun alternative to your usual pink on pink Valentine’s Day designs. Also I’m pretty proud of how my hearts turned out.

I even took a picture of both hands, because people always ask me if I paint both hands when I do my own nails. My apologies for the potato quality photo, I took these in not the greatest lighting.

What do you think about these blue Valentine nails? Do you like untraditional colours when it comes to holiday nails?

Let me know all your thoughts on these nails down in the comments below, & let me know what untraditional colour scheme you would do for a Valentine’s Day look!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Smith & Cult The Message

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Today I have another fun new to me brand to share with you, that once again I found thanks to Winners! Smith & Cult The Message.

It actually came in a gift set, which included 2 other polishes & an adorable make up bag. & the price for all those goodies? $9 on clearance. Even if I wasn’t already itching to try out the brand, a deal like that cannot be passed up! Plus I’ve been following Smith & Cult on Instagram for YEARS but have never actually seen their polish in stores! So it was definitely meant to be.

2 coats + top coat

First things first — these are some heavy duty bottles. The feel very upscale compared to other nail polish brands, which is neat. Of course, finding a spot in my drawers took a second, but they’re definitely the kind of bottle you want to display. Also I originally thought that I had got a dented polish top, but all my shades were like that, & it appears to be intentional.

The formula of the polish itself was smooth & easy to work with. I needed two coats for full opacity. The shimmery red is very nice, which shows a bit more berry on my nails than straight up red.

The Message is definitely a red polish I could easily throw on if I was stuck on anything else to wear— red is always my go to in those moments— & also would be a lovely choice for Valentine’s Day! This would definitely be a lovely date night polish. I ended up topping my nails with some liner holo top coat (Starrily Eclipse… my go to), which I’ve been wearing for the last couple days. Excited to see how this polish holds up during an extended shift at work.

Like I mentioned, I found this shade at my local Winners — I’ve also seen some single bottles at Marshalls as well. If you’re not finding them at yours, or don’t have a Winners/Marshalls you can also purchase Smith & Cult polish through their website, as well as on Amazon. Although, I will say — the prices are considerably higher than the deal I got at Winners, so they’re definitely on the higher end of nail polish prices.

What do you think about this beauty of a red? Have you tried Smith & Cult The Message, or any of their other shades? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & tell me what’s the most you’ve ever spent on a single nail polishes?