Category: nail polish

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Quo Beauty Green With Envy

Good morning lovelies, & happy first official Sunday of December! It’s time.

Every year, I try & find shades that are Christmas-y/seasonal to share during my December Swatch Sunday posts. I’m going to be honest — I don’t have as many Christmas collections as I thought I did, so I’ve started having to get creative with my picks. Also, I definitely plan on making my way to the Chatters by my work day to see if they have any new collections to check out.

This week’s pick is a relatively new shade from Quo Beauty: Green with Envy.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Quo Beauty brand, it’s the in-house brand for the Canadian Pharmacy Shoppers Drug Mart. The collections range in price between $12.49 CAD to $13.99 CAD depending on the finish, but they do semi-frequently go on sale which will usually save you a few dollars. I also love to wait for when the Quo Beauty nail polishes go on clearance, because I’ve scored shades for anywhere between $1-$3 before!

2 coats, no top coat.

First coat went on surprisingly thin, especially for a matte polish — I always find matte shades have relatively thicker formulas, but this one left a little to be desired on the first coat. Second coat, though, left me with perfect opacity, & full nail coverage.

Dry time, like most matte shades, was pretty quick, I like the soft finish with little bit of shimmer giving that velvet effect. The whole combination gives Green with Envy the effect of a beauty velvet Christmas dress, like the matching ones my Mom used to dress me & my sister in when we kids. Hence why I picked it for this week’s Swatch Sunday pick.

What do you think of Quo Beauty Green with Envy? Do you like these kind of velvet effect matte polishes for the holiday season? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you’ve tried any of the Quo Beauty nail polishes before. Also — if you can think of any 2022 holiday shades I must track down to swatch for this year, let me know! Still on the hunt for the Sally Hansen Merry & Bright shades I didn’t get to swatch yet, but they seem to be the most popular ones.

Happy Sunday loves!

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Silver Stamping & Wrapping Paper Inspired 🎁

Hello lovelies, & happy Thursday! & happy December 1st! It is officially Christmas season, & the countdown to Christmas is on. I should probably get my shopping done before it gets too crazy, haha.

But — in honour of this brand new festive month, I thought some Christmas wrapping paper inspired nails would be a fun start. I love my Christmas pattern stamping plates this time of year because they have some many fun patterns you can use, which always makes me think of wrapping paper. While I’m dedicated to doing Glam Nails Challenge December, I also want to do some fun other Christmas manicures on my off days.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • OPI Just Be-Claus
  • ACO by Ardene Dancing Queen
  • Essie No Place Like Chrome
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper 
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate (no longer available)

Please excuse my ring finger which was a bit of a mess up, but that’s okay. I love the crisp silver over the sparkly base — OPI Just Be-Claus topped with ACO by Ardene Dancing Queen (which is a sparkly fuchsia pink). It definitely gives off the wrapping paper vibes I was hoping for.

& it also Christmas-y/Holiday vibes while not being out right blatant. & I like that as well.

What do you think about this stamped pattern nails? Do you enjoy the more subtle holiday designs like this, or do you like in your face Christmas vibes?

& let me know what other Holiday nail art looks you might want to see!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Merry & Bright Collection (Holiday 2022)

PR — Features Gifted Product

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

Can you believe it’s already the 20th of November? Like… it’s almost December! This year is almost over. Which means it’s my favourite time of year — Holiday nail polish collection time! & I was super excited, & grateful, because my besties over at Sally Hansen were kind enough to send me 4 of the beautiful shades from the new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Merry & Bright Collection for Holiday 2022. They also sent me a gorgeous gold & green stone happy face bracelet which I’m absolutely loving.

But let’s get onto the swatches, shall we?

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Merry & Bright Collection (Holiday 2022)”
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Red Toned Skittle Nails 🔥

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday. A beautiful sunny—albeit chilly—day here on the East Coast. You really can’t ask for a better late Autumn day. It’s got just the right amount of chill to make it feel like Christmas will be here soon… without needing 4 pairs of tights under your pants. Haha.

Today I have a fun red toned skittle manicure to share with you inspired by @heysolomiya on Instagram. I know, I know… I literally just posted a skittle manicure on Tuesday, but she posted a fun reel of some different skittle looks, & I was too obsessed with hers not to try another fun colour pairing. This time, though–& truthfully, after some false starts–I decided on a red toned skittle look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Deborah Lippmann Through the Fire
  • Deborah Lippmann Good Girl Gone Bad
  • Deborah Lippmann New York State of Mind
  • Deborah Lippmann It’s Raining Men
  • Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow

I decided to go with my Deborah Lippmann reds because they make some of my favourite red polishes, & I had enough for almost every finger. They combination turned out absolutely perfect, which I was so happy about, because this isn’t my first time trying to recreate this look, but it’s definitely the best combination I’ve ever done. & all these reds together scream✨ Holiday ✨ to me.

What do you think about this skittle look? Do you prefer skittle pairings with all the same colour, or pairing different complimentary shades together? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Fall Houndstooth Skittlette

Hello beauties — long time no see! I know, it’s been quiet on the blog front, again. It was an interesting weekend, that saw me get that lovely stomach sickness my kids had. Not fun. Have I mentioned I hate Winter & sickness season?

But I’m back, I feel better, & I even managed to paint my nails! I was feeling some Fall inspired skittlette nails, inspired by fellow Canadian nail blogger GrapeFizzNails & here stunning colour combinations — only I wanted to throw a little extra accent nail action into the mix. Mostly because I’ve been itching to use the old Born Pretty stamping plate featuring this houndstooth pattern.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Pat on the Black
  • Sally Hansen CSM Berry Fancy
  • Sally Hansen CSM Clean Slate
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let It Snow
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Goldie Rocks
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Shooting Star
  • Born Pretty Store Classic Patterns Stamping Plate BP-L006 
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

Okay, please ignore the weird stamped hair on that accent finger. Haha. Second how Autumn-esque is this colour combination. I love how these turned out with the darker plum/purple shades & then the sparkle from the golds on my middle finger. It turned out really pretty, & I really like the whole combination. Who needs to wear just one colour on their nails when you can wear all the colours on your nails!

What do you think of my houndstooth skittlette design? Do you like these colour combining manicures? What colours are you feeling right now? Have you gone full on holiday-manicure mode yet? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!