Category: nail polish

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#GlamNailsChallengeFeb — Polka Dots

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Today marks Day one of GlamNailsChallengeFebruary, which I’ve been planning for since the prompts were released last month! I’m really excited, because there is a good mix of prompts that can be for Valentine’s Day (which I love doing nail art for!) & some non-holiday prompts as well.

First up, we have Polka Dots — & naturally I was feeling a pink inspired Valentine’s Day dotticure. You can always use more pink in your life. Plus I had this Quo by ORLY set that had been sitting around for absolutely ever that I bought & never used, so I figured why not pull it out & use it a pretty gradient dotticure!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen CSM Nail Primer
  • Quo by ORLY Holiday 2014 collection — “the Pinks” (none of these mini bottles have names associated, so I can’t give you specifics sadly.)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

Oh man, I love a good gradient dotticure, especially one that is as vibrant & pretty as this! I’ve done a few versions of this look over the years, especially for Valentine’s Day, which makes it a classic in my books! Especially great if you’re short on time, but want some pretty & standout nails! & you don’t even need tools to do it — a hair pin works just as easily as a dotting tool.

What do you think of my gradient dotticure for the first prompt of #glamnailschallengeFeb? I’m so exciting to be participating again this month, & can’t wait to play around with all the prompts to come!

It’s going to be a really good month for nail art so stay tuned!

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Greyscale Quatrefoil

Good morning lovelies & happy February! It’s officially the month of love. 💗 But before I jump headfirst into all pink, all the time, I thought I would share a look a I created a week or so ago, when I was feeling the grey January blahs.

Today’s look started out as just a grey smooshy design, which was lovely, but looked like the perfect base from some tile inspired nails! So I pulled out one of my many stamping plates I don’t use nearly enough, & switched things up!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area
  • Essence Rock My World!
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper (COFFEE10 saves you 10%)
  • Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-L003 (item #17921) — quatrafoil image (no longer available)

Seriously, how pretty is this greyscale look? I love how the base isn’t super in your face, & then the black really pops against it. Completely achieves the look I was trying to accomplish, & who wouldn’t want tile like this in their house? I know I certainly would! Plus it looks gorgeous posed against the greenery in my background (a plant shelf at work, right beside the window — the perfect nail art background!)

What do you think about this greyscale quatrefoil design? Would you wear something like this?

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Koala Bear-y

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! We’ve almost reached the end of January— can you even believe it? Which means it’s time to start thinking about some pink polish for February! So I decided to grab a pretty pink shade from my stash I have yet to wear in a full manicure: OPI Koala Bear-y.

2 coats + Essie Good To Go Top Coat

Originally released as part of the OPI Spring 2007 Australia collection, it then became part of the core collection. I picked up my bottle at my local Lawton’s on clearance, which meant I scored it for a steal at $4.99. I love when that happens!

The polish itself is a beautiful magenta berry cream, that pops against skin tone. It definitely feels like more of a Spring/Summer shade, which makes sense considering the collection it was released as part of, but I do think it’s a great pink for Valentine’s Day. & it’s dark enough that it’s fairly versatile as well.

Check out that close up. Glossy & beautiful! I did smooth things out with top coat, but the polish itself looks beautiful on its own as well. I’m definitely sad this is my first time actually wearing this polish, considering I’ve owned it for a few years now. Truth be told, I’m not the biggest pink polish person, unless I’m pairing it with something else. But once a year — when February approaches — I feel the need to rock some Barbie nails.

What do you think about this beautiful OPI pink? Do you have this shade as part of your nail polish stash? Also let me know what pinks your pulling out for Valentine’s Day! 💕

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Matte Gold Shatters Glitter Placement

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! Hopefully you’re having a wonderful start to your Monday, & not a rough one! I have today off, so the plan is to be productive—we’ll see how successful I end up being!

Today though, I have some nail art to show you! As I mentioned a few post backs, I’ve really been wanting to return to trying out some old nail art techniques I have done in forever. I used to love doing shattered glass glitter placements, like this one Here, but it’s been a minute since a did one. So it was definitely, definitely overdue.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat
  • Matte Top Coat: Butter London Matte Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen CSM Belle of the Ball
  • YSL Beauty Feuille D’Or
  • small dotting tool (mine are from NailStuff.ca — save 10% using COFFEE10)

I’m really quite obsessed with these, especially with the added effect using matte top coat! It really feels like absolute ages since I pulled out any shattered glitter like this a glitter placement look, & it was long overdue. Plus the gold looks so beautiful over this pretty navy base shade.

I also really like how this manicure has a bit of an edge to it! I feel like it needs to be worn with a leather jacket &, maybe, a pair of motorcycle boots.

What do you think about this glitter placement look? Are you a fan of these kinds of designs? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze For Audrey

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Today we are throwing it way, way back for our Swatch Sunday pick is a nail polish classic: China Glaze For Audrey.

This shade was originally released way back in 2007–NailPolishCanada.com says it was part of the Something Blue collection. Nowadays, it is part of the permanent core collection, which means it’s easy to find pretty much anywhere China Glaze nail polishes are sold.

I originally bought it back in 2011 of 2012, when Sally Beauty opened near us. Naturally, as soon as I saw the name I knew I needed to own it, as Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of my favourite movies.

2 coats + Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat

For Audrey is a beautiful robin’s egg blue that is as close to Tiffany blue as is legally allowed. There is some confusion online on whether or not it is an exact dupe to that little blue box, but I feel like I’ve real online (somewhere… can’t remember now) that only Tiffany can use that specific shade of blue as they have legal ownership. I don’t have anything from Tiffany’s, so sadly I cannot confirm just how closely the two match.

Either way, For Audrey is a beautiful shade, with a smooth & creamy formula. I applied everything in two coats, but I did need to add some top coat in order to smooth things a bit — that could be the polish formula, or it could be the fact my bottle is 10 years old, but I feel like having to add a bit of top coat is kind of a non-issue, especially since I always add top coat to my manicures anyways.

& the colour is perfect for dreaming of Spring. It’s just a bright, vibrant colour. It has me thinking of those warmer days to come!

What do you think of China Glaze For Audrey? Do you have this beautiful blue is your nail polish stash? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!