Category: nail polish

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Spring Floral with Peak-a-Boo Holo

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday!

I’ve been slacking a bit on my posting this week, haha. Sometimes real life just gets in the way of blog life. But I’ve got a big, big coffee to start my day, & I’m finally sharing this floral I teased on my Instagram stories last week. 💗🌸

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel In The Sheer
  • Starrily Eclipse
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Orchid-ing Aside
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Violet Voltage
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in Pink
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in Blue
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in Turquoise
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri VaVa Violet
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Thyme is Money
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let’s Snow
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Black Heart
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie In The Cabana
  • Color Club Art Club Pink Pastel
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Whew, this was a lot of polishes to bring it alive, but the end result…. well I think it speaks for itself! Also check out that peak-a-boo holo! I’m kind of a obsessed with dainty holographic looks over a nude-ish base. It’s a nice introduction to Spring, & since here on the East Coast it’s apparently going to be above average temperatures for the next 3 months, I think we’re going to have an early Spring! Which, you know… I’m okay with. Give me Spring dresses, no snow, & pastels, & I’ll be happy. It’s the least 2021 can do for us after the dumpster fire that was last year.

What do you think about this Spring floral, & it’s sneaky holo base? Are you, too, ready for more Spring? Let me know what you are looking forward to the most about Spring down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Beyond The Nail Flowing Unicorn Mane

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope your week is off to a lovely start!

Today I decided I needed to feel a little Spring-y, so I pulled an oldie from my stash: Beyond The Nail Flowing Unicorn Mane. As I’ve mentioned before, I won this shade (& the whole Spring Mystical Dreams Spring collection) back in 2017 as part of an Instagram contest. & I definitely have enough long overdue in sharing these shades! But with a winter that doesn’t seem to want to give me even a hint of Spring, I definitely needed some Spring nails to cheer me up.

2 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

How perfectly Spring-like is this beautiful lilac purple shade. The base itself is creamy & smooth, but it has a beautiful layer of holo. The holographic glitter is full, & does not get hidden on the nail. You can see a bit of sparkle in my light box, but this shade truly comes alive in the sunshine.

This kind of pale pastel purple just exudes Spring vibes, & now has me craving warm Spring days more than anything. Or even just days when I don’t have to wear 2 pairs of tights under my jeans while going to work & could rock a cute shirt without multiple sweaters layered overtop.

Close up! You can really see how dense that holo truly is. I’m kind of obsessed with this kind of peak a boo holographic glitter right now. It’s sort of subtle until you hit that right lighting, & then it just comes alive on the nails! Obsessed.

Sadly, this shade is an oldie & has been discontinued by Beyond the Nail. But they have some super beautiful other shades happening over on their site—holo, not holo—as well as things like decals & nail vinyls, so I definitely recommend checking them out!

Have a happy Sunday loves! ☕️

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SWATCH SUNDAY — B01 Pistache Royale

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their day so far. I definitely need an extra coffee today! But at least my nails are pretty!

Today I’m channeling & calling for Spring with my Swatch Sunday pick from L’Oréal: Pistache Royale. It’s been way too chilly & Winter-y, so we need some serious Spring vibes happening (& some warmer temperatures would also be lovely.) I found this beauty at my local Lawton’s in the clearance, along with a few other Spring-y shades I might have to go back for!

2 coats + Essie Good to Go Top Coat

The L’Oréal Colour Riche line touts that it is “a unique formula infused with 4 precious oils for mirror shine and rich colour with an easy, one-stroke application.” The brush is nice & wide, so it does go on pretty easier. The formula is also quite buttery, which I love because it makes for very smooth application.

The colour is very beautiful, a stunning minty pastel green that is perfect for Spring. I was also happy that it was beautiful coverage in 2 coats, because I think we all know that pastels aren’t the greatest ones for full coverage, & can sometimes be chalky, but Pistache Royale had neither problem. It was downright perfect!

Look at that shade — is it giving anyone else mini chocolate chip ice cream vibes? My husband said it reminded me of Mini Eggs, so I’ll definitely have to add it to me yearly mini egg inspired manicure come Easter time.

What do you think of L’Oréal Pistache Royale? Is it giving you the same Spring vibes it’s giving me? Let me know in the comments below!

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#GlamNailsChallengeFeb — Bears 🐻

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. I’m another day late on posting this prompt for #GlamNailsChallengeFeb, so I apologize. It’s been one of those busy kind of weeks!

The latest prompt for #GlamNailsChallenge is Bears. I don’t think I’ve ever done a “bear” design before, but I had this cute panda image on a stamping plate I bought from Essence a few years ago, so I decided it would be perfect for this design!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • L’Oréal Color Riche Blanc De Lune
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Malibu Peach
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Orchid-ing Aside
  • Zoya Daisy
  • L’Oréal Color Riche Pistache Royal
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper (COFFEE10 saves you 10%)
  • Essence Stamp It Stampy Design Plate (no longer available)

I started off with my tie dye base & then decided to stamp the panda over top. I figured pastel was more fun than simple black & white! I thought it was a fun look. The image was so teeny it was a bit difficult picking up completely, but it turned out cute over all!

What do you think about this bear design for #glamnailschallengeFeb? Are you a fan of my pastel tie dye background? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen CSM Black & Blue

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is off to a lovely start to their Sunday — the weekend is almost over! & February is quickly rounding the corner too.

Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is another score from my favourite nail polish clearance section at Lawton’s: Sally Hansen Black & Blue. I’ve actually picked up this polish a few times when out shopping for nail polish, but never actually bought it. So obviously when I saw it on clearance (& for $1 too!) I just knew that I needed to add it to my stash.

3 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

Sally Hansen Black & Blue itself is a grey-ish blue-ish multichrome shimmer (there is some purple in there too depending on the way you move your hand). It’s also very, very, VERY sheer. Like super sheer. The above swatch is 3 coats of polish, and if I move my hand in certain ways you can definitely see my nail line. The blue shimmer is very prominent, while the purple all depends on how you move your hand around — as you can see above, I managed to capture it a bit, but it’s not the easiest to pick up on camera. I have a feeling this shade would definitely probably stand out more layered over a darker shade, as a lot of people have done for swatches, If I was going to wear this shade for everyday wear, that’s probably how I would do it too!

This is definitely a pretty, although very sheer, shade. Application was pretty easy considering it has one of those shimmery formulas that love to streak, & I didn’t find it was too, too watery. The colour, all things considered, is pretty. I could definitely see it being the perfect base for some mermaid nails (whenever I finally get more mermaid scale vinyls — I haven’t had any in AGES.) That being said, I’m kind of glad that I waited to get this shade on clearance, because I don’t think it’s going to be one that is in my frequent nail rotation. That being said, we will see how it looks layered over a darker shade… it may very well blow my socks off!

What do you think about this Sally Hansen shade Black & Blue? Do you have this shade in your collection? What is your favourite thing to do with shades that are more on the sheer side? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!