Category: nail polish

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Happy 6th Blogiversary Coffee & Nail Polish

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday. I know what you’re thinking — this isn’t my usual Sunday content. But I’m making a special exception for this Sunday because IT’S MY BLOGIVERSARY!

6 years ago today, I posted my very first post here on coffee & nail polish, & I haven’t stop since. A lot has changed since those early, early days of blogging but my love of nail polish has not. & I can honestly say I can’t imagine not having this place, my very own place, to share that love! So whether you’ve been reading since the beginning, or just recently found me, I just want to say thanks for being here! & have a piece of cake (or a very large fancy coffee) for me!

In honour of today, I thought I would do something I did for a previous blogiversary, & recreate one of my early nail art looks. This orange floral look was the second ever nail art I posted here on the blog, & one of the first really good florals I ever painted. I was going to attempt to repaint this using all the originally polishes I used, but sadly both my bottles of China Glaze Metro Pollen-tin, as well as my bottle of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls are long gone. So I updated the look using newer polishes in the stash.

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Firey Island
  • ACO by Ardene Lemon Sorbet
  • Essie First Timer
  • Essie Off Tropic 
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

Back when I started this blog, I think I had a single dotting tool (Essence brand — I still have it around here somewhere) I had bought from Shoppers Drug Mart for like $1.99, some cheap dollar store brushes I never ended up using, & a bunch of striping polishes. & that was the extent of my nail art tools. But you know, I thought that was amazing & I loved teaching myself how to create nail art looks with them, like that beautiful floral. & honestly, I remember being so beyond proud of myself for posting those. I thought they were the best nails I ever painted!

Flash forward: check out those roses! I’m in love. But I will definitely say this — the tools you use definitely make a huge difference in your ability to paint. Everyone always comments on how much my painting has improved, but I definitely think it has a lot to do with the fact my tools have improved as well. That’s always my #1 tip to those who ask me what tips I have for improving their painting: invest in good brushes! I absolutely adore my nail art brushes from NailStuff.ca, but I also have amazing brushes I used to use from Bundle Monster (now Maniology) that definitely helped my improve my skills. &, of course, practice!

So what do you guys think of this floral recreation? Have you ever recreated an old manicure?

Thank you guys SO much for sticking around, for finding me, for liking my posts & leaving comments. You honestly have no idea how much it means to me to see people loving what I do, & the fact after 6 years people still love it! ♥♥♥

Have an amazing Sunday!

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Easy Yellow Floral Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! How is your isolation going? So far I’ve attempted to organize baby girl’s wardrobe, watched 2 &1/2 seasons of Gossip Girl, & spent a lot of time drinking coffee & hanging out with the fam. I’ve also been organizing my nail art supplies, again, because I tend of having a habit of letting them get a bit messy in between. & while organizing my supplies, I realized it’s been a long time since I attempted using my striping polishes & nail art pens in a full manicure. Once upon a time, they used to be the main way I would draw my flowers, so I thought it would be fun to attempt a simple floral design using my old favourites.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • ACO by Ardene Lemon Sorbet
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in Magenta
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in Purple
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in Turquoise
  • Art Club 2Way Nail Art Striper pen in Neon Green

I’m so used to using my good nail art brushes that creating my leaves & vines were more difficult than I thought they would be. I used to be absolutely obsessed with these strippers & nail art pens, & I think they’re still an amazing option for beginner nail artists or traveling as all your polish & tools are co,boned together. Is it the best floral I’ve ever done? Well, no. But I do think it’s still a very beautiful floral & I love them a lot! Plus the colour combination is very, very Springy! & I’ll take any hint of Spring I can get.

What do you think about this floral? What are you favourite nail art tools? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Dipping into my Untrieds

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I was trying really hard to figure out what I should share for this weeks Swatch Sunday post, & realized I have a WHOLE lot of untried nail polish I have bought over the year (or was given to me) that I’ve never actually worn. Even once. So I thought it would be fun to grab a few of those neglected shades for this weeks Swatch post! So I posted a poll on my Instagram asking did people want to see Spring shades or untrieds, & while it was pretty close, 55% vs 45%, Untrieds won!

So let’s get to the polishes!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Dipping into my Untrieds”

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI I Eat Mainely Lobster

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday. I hope everyone is keeping sane & healthy. 🌸 I feel like the best we can do under these extraordinary circumstances is try & keep things are calm & normal as possible… all while practicing social distancing. I for me, that’s keeping on painting & sharing my nails. I hope they make you as happy as they make me!

It’s Swatch Sunday & today I’m showing off a beautiful bright coral polish from my stash: OPI I Eat Mainely Lobster. This shade was originally released circa Fall 2011, but then was added to the core collection I do believe. I picked up my bottle c/o: Lawton’s when they were clearing out a bunch of OPI shades!

How Spring-y & cheery is this polish?

This shade is a beautiful pinky coral that has a lovely subtle shimmer. This shade was originally released as part of the Touring American collection in 2011 (thank you Google!)

For my swatches, I did base coat (Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Hardener is what I’ve been using lately!), 2 coats of polish & then I sealed everything in with top coat (Essie Gel Setter) which gave it that glossy plumped finish.

Like I mentioned, I found this shade at my local Lawton’s on clearance, but I did still find it available at a few places including NailPolishCanada.com & Target so I don’t think it a discontinued shade (yey!) So if you’re looking for a beautiful shade to adorn your fingers & toes for Spring, I definitely recommend this shade. It really is just so lovely.

What do you think of this coral polish? Is I Wear Mainely Lobster a part of your nail polish collection? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

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A Peek Into My Stash — video edition

Hello lovelies.

Today is a spur of the moment post, but I did a quick(ish) Instagram tour of my nail polish stash via Insta-stories. I thought it would be neat to save all my videos together, so those not on Instagram can see how I organize my polishes!

Check out my video below to get a look into how I keep all my nail polishes organized.

How do you organize your nail polishes? What do you think about my stash? Would you like to see more videos like this? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!