Category: nail polish

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Bare With Me

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. I hope everyone had a wonderful week — & is ready for the new month! I truly can’t believe it’s almost August. Wasn’t it just June? This Summer is definitely speeding by & I’m trying to soak in every sun soaked moment.

After a whole lot of neon, though, I thought I’d switch things up a bit with a more neutral shade. I recently picked up 2 new shades at my local Shoppers Drug Mart that were on clearance for $2! As soon as I saw this blushy neutral I knew I needed it in my collection.

2 coats + top coat

According to my internet research, Essie Bare With Me was released in 2017 as part of the Wild Nudes collection — & is now, sadly, discontinued. Online, it’s described as an apricot, but I feel it’s more pinky/blushy myself.

The formula was easy to apply & smooth, & dried down without much patchiness. I did smooth things a bit with top coat, but it does dried relatively shiny on its own. I just much prefer my nail polish with top coat.

Bare With Me is a very complimentary to my own skin tone, which I really like. It’s nice & subtle — which is not a look I tend to go for, but sometimes you just need to switch things up. I actually ended up wearing this shade for a few days with a coat of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Moonlit Top Coat over it, & it looks absolutely gorgeous together.

Unfortunately, like I said, this shade has been discontinued— probably why I scored it for $2 — but if you do track it down it’s definitely a lovely soft shade to have in your collection. I also think it’ll make a great base for some naked, but not really naked, floral designs.

What do you think of Essie Bare With Me? Do you like a good neutral shade on occasion? What is your personal favourite neutral to wear? Let me know down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday!

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Neon Stained Glass (featuring Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s Collection)

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Hello lovelies & happy Friday! It’s a fantastic Friday here… especially since the countdown to our family vacation has officially hit one week, & I could not be more excited! It’s also been hot & beautiful this week, meaning I’m all about the neon. Good thing I reverently received a fun package from Sally Hansen, huh? I wanted to create a beautiful stained glass inspired look since the formula on the shades I received would be perfect for it… & I was not disappointed.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen MG Toadally Buggin’
  • Sally Hansen MG Did I Blue That?
  • Sally Hansen MG Nostalchick
  • Sally Hansen MG Beet Me At The Mall
  • Sally Hansen MG Mixtape
  • Sally Hansen Instadri Ghouls Night Out
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Liner Brush

I’m not going to lie, I’m absolutely obsessed with this nail art look. I wore it from Tuesday to Thursday, & was actually sad to take it off! This is not my first version of this design, but it might be my most favourite I’ve done.. at least in a while! The colours blended so beautifully together, & I think my lines turned out really good. Anytime I freehand a clean line manicure, I always feel some crazy pride!

Especially since it doesn’t always happen, haha.

What do think of this fun stained glass look? Are you feeling the neon shades this weekend? Would you wear a bright & eye-catching look like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Essie Summer Abstract Stripes

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Hello loves & happy Monday! Another new week… & crazily enough, the last full week of July. This month is almost… over? That’s kind of crazy. This Summer is definitely not dragging, that’s not for sure.

Even though I can see Autumn vibes sneaking into stores, I’m still in full Summer mode! So I have another bright & colourful design to share with you. I haven’t shared any design with the beautiful Essie shades I were gifted last month, so I thought it would be by time to share another. & yes… we’re doing another abstract stripes design. This has become my go to when I’m lacking inspiration, & I truly don’t see that changing any time soon.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Essie Cute As A Button
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Essie Blanc
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush Trio (I used the 11mm liner brush — it’s been my go to lately)

I really, really like these colours together. Not only are they super bright, & vibrant, but they compliment each other really well. I’ve been doing this look for over 7 years, & it still hasn’t gotten old to me. I feel like this is a look that is super accessible to most people, because no matter what your nail art level, you can totally do this design. Seriously! I recommend anyone looking for a fun & easy nail art design to give this one a try. You won’t be disappointed.

What do you think about these Summery Abstract stripes? Have you tried this design yet? What colour combination would you choose? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s Collection (& new Miracle Gel Top Coats)

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Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope you’re ready, because I have quite the swatch heavy post ready for you today. As I’ve previously mentioned, I was gifted part of the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s collection, & I’m really excited to share these shades with you!

As a child of the 90s, this collection hits me right in the nostalgia. So I was pumped to be able to share these shades with you. The actual collection contains 8 funky 90s inspired shades, & I have 5 of them to share today! I was also lucky enough to receive two of the new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel special effects top coats, to add a little extra sparkle to your manicure.

These limited edition 90s shades can be found wherever you buy Sally Hansen. I’ve found them at my local Shoppers Drug Mart & Walmart stores — both in special edition displays.

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s Collection (& new Miracle Gel Top Coats)”
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Olive & June Summer Stripes

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Hello beauties & happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their day so far. It’s rainy but warm here in Halifax, so typical Summer weather for us. Today I’m showing off another fun design I did using some recently gifted nail polish from Olive & June.

I was feeling a stripe-y beach towel inspired look, & I thought the Summer collection from Olive & June would be perfect for that! For this look, I started my stripes over my bare nails & drew on the stripes for each colour individually. It was definitely time consuming, but I think the end result turned out perfect!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer
  • Top Coat: Olive & June Long Lasting Top Coat
  • Olive & June Not A Cloud
  • Olive & June House of O&J
  • Olive & June Flowerpot
  • Olive & June How Do You Spell Bougainvillea?
  • Olive & June Bocce Ball
  • Olive & June Starshower
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush Trio (I used the 11mm size)

I think this manicure really shows off how concessive this whole collection is. The colours really do all compliment each other, & I quite enjoy them! Like I said, this design was pretty time consuming to get right, but I think in the end is came together perfectly.

I also tried to sneak in some Starshower but it was much harder to draw stripes off! Next time, I would probably use it as my base shade, & draw my stripes over top with a little bit of naked sparkle peeking out from underneath.

What do you think of this stripe design? Do you like this combination of colours? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

happy Wednesday! ♥︎