Category: nail polish

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Milani 17A Deep Thoughts

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! How are we already the second Sunday into November. I should probably start thinking about Christmas shopping soon!

Today I found a super forgotten shade in my stash, that I hadn’t realized I’d never swatched! This is Milani 17A Deep Thoughts.

2 coats + top coat

Oooooh boy this is a beautiful deep, dark purple with a stunning purple/pink shimmer. It does appear darker on my nail than in the bottle—I’m scared maybe I didn’t shake it enough to get the shimmer to show up. It’s there — it’s just a little more subtle than I would like.

But, for a 13 year old polish this beauty is still looking amazing & applying amazing! I was actually really impressed with just how flawlessly the formula applied! This shade was released sometime in 2012 (according to my internet—Google—research). Sadly, Milani has since discontinued their nail polish production, which is a shame because they did it very, very well!

Close up! One of the things I love about this colour is that from far away, it almost looks black. & then when you get closer you can see it’s dark purple colour & the subtle shimmer, & it’s really just so beautiful. I’m quite obsessed with the overall package.

What do you think about Milani 17A Deep Thoughts? Do you love this deep dark purple shade? Do you remember Milani’s line of nail polishes?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

🖤

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Pink Flakie Glitter Placement

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Is it chilly where you are — because it’s definitely chilly here.

Today I have another simple but beautiful design to share with you. I was already wearing this beautiful berry polish, & decided what it really needed was some glitter placement. My original plan was to do gold, but when I was browsing through my box of glitters I saw this beautiful pink flakie glitter I was gifted c/o: NailStuff & decided it would look just stunning over this base!

& I was right!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frosted Berries
  • NailStuff Pink Foil Glitter (no longer available)
  • Sally Hansen Salon Chrome Top Coat (no longer available — but works so good for applying these kinds of glitters!)
  • Small Nail Art Brush

How pretty is this combination? I’m so glad I went with these pink foil flakies rather than gold. Obviously gold would have looked beautiful as well, but there is just something extra special about the pink on pink. I can’t believe this is my first time using it!

Also this is a beautiful not-holiday look that could definitely be used for a manicure for an upcoming Holiday party because it has that touch of something a little extra special. Obviously I don’t need an excuse to wear glitter, but if you did — I definitely recommend pulling out some glitter to add to an otherwise simple manicure!

What do you think of this pink flakie glitter placement look? Do you like the contrast of lighter pink on darker pink? Are you also in shock that it took me this long to use this beautiful pink glitter? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Wednesday!

♥︎

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Jewel Toned Autumn Abstract Stripes 💎💙

Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! It’s a chilly morning here on the East Coast — I actually broke out my winter jacket. Brrrrrrr.

With Halloween now over, we’re in that inbetween nail art stage where I’m never quite sure what to paint on my nails. But I was inspired by yesterday’s Swatch Sunday post to create a beautiful jewel toned design & I’m absolutely infatuated with how they turned out.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald
  • China Glaze December to Remember
  • China Glaze Up All Night
  • China Glaze Glamcore
  • China Glaze Cast A Spell
  • NailStuff 11mm Mermaid Tail brush

I won’t lie — this design was kind of time consuming. But when you look at the end result, it was totally worth it! From far away, the whole design is kind of dark, but when you look at them up close you see the details of the abstract stripes & it’s such a beautiful combination.

The colours all compliment each other really nicely, & the whole design—to me—just screams November vibes.

What do you think about this jewel toned abstract stripe design? Do you love the complexity of it, & the beautiful colours? What designs call to you during the month of November?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY—China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald (Fall 2010 Vintage Vixen Collection)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. The first Sunday of November! I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween. I definitely ate my weight in mini bags of Sour Patch Kids & Starbursts.

But now we’re moving on from Halloween, at least for another 363 days, & it’s time to focus on the latter part of this year! I thought for today’s Swatch Sunday post I would pull a favourite from my stash to share, that is the perfect colour story for a November day. This is Emerald Fitzgerald from the 2010 vintage vixen collection.

2 coats + top coat

The formula on this beautiful dark green was a bit on the thin side, but easy to apply. It needed two coats for full cover, but as you can see from my swatches, it covered beautifully. For a nail polish that is potentially 15 years ago — I purchased mine on clearance circa 2013 or so — she doesn’t seem affected by age at all. The dark green colour has a beautiful shimmer that’s very easy to see both in the bottle & on the nail.

Close up shot really shows of that shimmer that’s so prevalent in the formula & it’s truly stunning. It gives this colour a little bit more depth which is just stunning. & I’m not usually a green kind of girl, but I think because this one has kind of a blue-ish undertone to it, it has always drawn my eyes more than your typical green.

It really is the perfect green for this inbetween time after Halloween, but before Christmas/Holiday designs start. It’s just such. stunning jewel tone.

What do you think about this old school China Glaze shade? Like I mentioned, I purchased this guy going on 13 years ago — & it was released 15 years ago — so she’s not easily found in circulation nowadays, but I did find a few listings for it online when I was trying to find out information about it’s original released.

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

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Glittery Blood Drip Nails 🩸✨

Hello lovelies & HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🎃 My most favourite day of the year has arrived, & obviously I couldn’t let it pass by without one more design on my nails! & this one is fun because it kind of fits the vibe of my costume for work.

I always love a blood drip design on my nails, but this year I wanted to make it more fun by using a glittery red. Because who doesn’t want to bleed sparkle.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Essie Hard to Resist (purple)
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Midnight Drive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • NailStuff dotting tool trio
  • NailStuff 7mm Mermaid Tail liner brush

Check out that beautiful drip! This is not the first time I’ve attempted a go at this design, but I will say I think it’s the most proud of the freehanding of my drips! They actually look like they could be blood dripping down my nails!

I also think it shows that even if you’re rocking shorter nails (like I am right now), you can see have fun & awesome nail art on them!

What do you think of my final Halloween look of 2025? This has been such a fun month of nail art, & I’m super proud of every design I crafted this month!

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a safe & fun evening— with a ton of your favourite candies!