Category: nail polish

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Dainty Matte Freehand Tribal Print

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! Hope everyone is having a lovely start to their week. We’re almost mid-way through November, which is crazy, & I’m going through a bit of a nail art lull.

The other night I decided to play around with some freehanding, & came up with this fun, dainty tribal print look! I also pulled out my matte top coat, because it’s been so long since I used it! I feel like it really finished this look off perfectly!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Orly Decades of Dysfunction
  • Quo by Orly Breatheable Aloe, Goodbye!
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Ruby Do
  • Color Club Art Club Pink Pastel
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

Honestly, this was just one of those kind of designs where I sit down unsure of what I’m going to do, & just stay playing with lines. Originally I had wanted to do a sweater kind of pattern, but it took on a life of its own, & I love love love how they came together. Plus it gave me a chance to practice my line work, which I haven’t done in a while. The end result was something dainty & beautiful, that I’m kind of in love with. & super proud that I managed to make both hands match!

Also check it out — all the snow is gone. In fact, the weather has been downright balmy the last few days. From snow to almost 20 degree days! It’s so crazy. Guess putting my coconut nog in my coffee was a little premature!

What do you think about this design? What are you wearing on your nails for November? Let me know in the comments below!

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Gold & Purple Autumn Half Moons

Hello lovelies! How is everyone coping after Halloween & Daylight Savings Time? I’ll be honest — between a bit of a sugar coma, the increasingly cold weather & the change time, I’m a mess. I’ve literally been falling asleep at 7pm, which doesn’t help me get my nails done!

This design is actually from a few weeks back, when my nails were still longer, but I thought it would be fun to share. You all know how much I adore a good half moon, & I thought these would be perfect to share. Plus they’re just so easy!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Mosaic On Down
  • Essie Kimono Over
  • Hole Reinforcement Stickers

Ahhhhh love this colour combination. You can never go wrong with dark purple & gold. Also even though it’s such a simple look, half moons always have my heart. They make me so happy. Also I’m always so envious of people who can freehand half moons. I’ve been using the sticker method as long as I’ve been painting my nails, & it just makes the process so easy! (I have an old post here featuring my step by step process, in case you’re curious.)

I just feel like this is such a classy combo appropriate for almost every occasion. Birthday? Wedding? The Oscars? The opportunities are endless! ( & now I totally want to do a post where I create a half moon look for different occasions… definitely adding it to my notebook of ideas!)

What do you think about these half moon nails? Would you wear this look? Let me know in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Revlon Iconic 390

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! & happy November 1st! We’re officially down to two months of this year, & here’s hoping the last two months of 2020 is a gentle ride.

Today I’m starting off this brand new month with some pretty grey nails: Revlon Iconic. The perfect November nail polish pick!

2 coats + top coat

This shade was (is?) part of the permanent Revlon nail polish collection, although Google has been less than its usual helpful self. As you can see, I scored my bottle on clearance for only 99 cents.

The polish itself is a dark grey with almost teal/ greenish undertones. The shade itself very much screams late Fall to me — it’s the perfect transitional shade as we leave the beauty of early Fall behind, but aren’t quite ready for our Holiday polish picks & designs yet! (Just a whole lot of sweater nails — get ready

I must say, the formula on this shade was pretty freaking flawless. It was almost completely opaque on the first coat, but I applied 2 just so no spots were missed. & finished off with some glossy top coat, just to give it some extra lasting power & shine.

I’ve always been a fan of Revlon nail polish, as they have great classic colours, & the formula seems to last well on my nails. Plus, they’re always a great affordable drug store brand to grab when you’re out & about. It’s not often they’re not on some kind of deal at one of our local drugstores!

What do you think about this beautiful grey shade? Do you own Revlon Iconic in your nail polish stash? What polishes do you usually reach for during this month? Are you starting your Christmas looks early this year?

Let me know in the comments below!

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#GlamNailsChallengeOct — Haunted House

Oh my gosh, we’ve made it! Today is the last prompt of GlamNailsChallengeOct & I can’t believe that October is almost over! It’s crazy.

The last prompt for this month’s challenge is Haunted House. I wasn’t 100% sure how I wanted to approach this prompt, but I decided a darkened sky haunted house landscape was the way to go. Just the right level of spooky, plus it gave me a chance to practice my freehand skills some more.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Go Ginza
  • Essie Bikini So Teeny
  • Essie All The Wave
  • Essie Under The Twilight
  • Essie Blank Page
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10)
  • Latex free make up sponge

This look was actually so much fun to paint! I started off by sponging on my colours one on top of each other, then topped everything with top coat. Next, I freehanded my design over top, one nail at a time. I was sort of inspired by this look, originally by @lieve91, but obviously I went with a blue background instead of the orange-y shades. I also added some ghosties flying around my haunted house, just cause I thought it would cement the whole haunted idea.

I’m actually really happy with how these turned out! They’re not perfect, but I’m definitely proud of hand painting these little details. & my spooky little tree might be my favourite part!

What are you pandemic Halloween plans. Because our province is doing pretty well, cases wise, our health authority has said that as long as we remain careful & distance, we can trick or treat. So we’re going to do some kind of trick or treating with the kids, & maybe settle in after bedtime for some scary movie watching!

What do you think about this manicure? Let me know in the comments below!

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#GlamNailsChallengeOct — Bats

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! Can you believe we are so close to the end of October? Seriously… where did October even go? I can’t believe that it’s almost Halloween. I seriously want to petition to make Halloween a whole week instead of just one day. It’s just over too quickly!

We’re also down to our second last design for GlamNailsChallengeOct! Today’s prompt is Bats. While I would have loved to freehand some cute bats on my nails, after my first attempt, I knew it was going to end up being super frustrating & I decided to pull out some nail stickers to create my cute Halloween look.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • NYC Color Frightening Fingers in Red
  • Essie Shine Of The Times
  • Dollarama Halloween Nail Stickers

Aren’t these super cute?

I was actually really impressed with these nail stickers. While I don’t wear them a lot, they’re great to grab for a quick nail art look. These particular stickers were bought at my local Dollarama, while picking up Halloween decorations, & they stick to the nail really well. I wore this look through a long day at work, & I didn’t have them peel off or stick off the nail at all. Granted, I applied two coats of top coat, but even still you can’t even feel the sticker on the nail. I love it! & I also love the little bit of glitter on the stickers. They’re actually some of the cuter stickers I’ve used.

What do you think about this nail art look? Do you ever use nail art stickers? Which brand are your favourites? Let me know in the comments below!