Category: Nostalgia

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Embracing the Nostalgia with Crackle Nail Polish

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. I decided to throw things back a bit (& embrace the crazy nostalgia taking over my life thanks to my very own mid-2006 emo playlist) with a fun look featuring a very nostalgic nail polish finish— crackle.

For anyone not around during the early 2010s, crackle nail polishes became huge around 2012, & by 2013 everyone & their mom was coming out with their own version of the crackle (or shatter) effect. Black was the beginning shade I remember being everywhere, followed by a whole assortment of different colours & finishes.

Recently I was going through my stash, & found a bottle of Avon Mosiac Effects Top Coat — aka their version of the crackle nail Polish — & decided to give it a little shake to see if it was still good. Sure enough, the formula is still perfect! So I had to give it a try to see how it looked after all this time.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Illamasqua Aorta
  • Avon Mosiac Effects Top Coat Black

I still have a couple crackle/shatter shades left in my stash, although most have long since dried up to be unusable. For this look, what you’re seeing is one rather thick coat over my base shade. I waited about 5 minutes for the cracked effect to set before applying my top coat, & I thought the end result was pretty perfect. I prefer my cracks to be larger so you can see more of the base shade underneath.

Is crackle/shatter nail polish going to make a comeback? I don’t know. I feel like these shades are so controversial, even 11 years later. You either love them, or hate them, & obviously I am firmly planted on the love side. I also think it’s a nostalgia thing, as I remember crackle being the first “nail art” trend I really feel in love with.

What do you think? Do you think crackle is due for its revival? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Rimmel London 660 Climax

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend & is excited for the week ahead. I’ve had a very busy 4 days, so I’m exhausted, but I did manage to take a very quick trip down memory lane for this week’s Swatch Sunday post.

Today’s pick is another super oldie from my early nail polish obsession days: Rimmel London 660 Climax. You might remember from a few years ago I featured another one of these Rimmel London shades called Pulsating, & shared how obsessed I was with them. So I thought it would be fitting to share its sister shade.

2 coast + Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat

How pretty is this purple? I love how it’s shimmery, with that beautiful pink glow. The first coat was pretty good coverage, but I found the formula needed another coat to be safe. I can’t remember how it applied back when I first bought it, so it might be an age thing (this bottle is about 12 years old) so I didn’t mind adding a second coat, & a little top coat to smooth things out very nicely. & to be truthful, for a polish that is older than my oldest nephew, I think she’s looking pretty good.

For fun, I decided to add a bit of extra sparkle with a pretty flakie topper by Essence called Essence Galaxy Flakes Rock My World.

This is one coat of Essence Galaxy Flakes Rock My World over Rimmel London 660 Climax. The flakie glitters add a pretty extra sparkle which I very much enjoy. The purple probably doesn’t show up as much over this lighter purple as it would over a darker shade, but it definitely made the perfect base for some nail art I’ll share this week!

What do you think about this nostalgic polish? Do you remember Rimmel London nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

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Dainty Negative Space Daisies 🌼

Features Gifted Product in Exchange for Content

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! The last Monday of June.

Today I’m showing off some new nail art I did with a few of the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel x Friends shades on my itty bitty baby nails. Yes — I am back to baby nails. I took last week off with posting because I was actually really, really mad with my break. But now I’ve had a week to reflect (& calm down) & I’m feeling better.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel x Friends Central Pink
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel x Friends A Moo Point
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel x Friends Yellow Taxi
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel x Friends The One With the Teal
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

This nail art look was inspired by @nailpolishedlife on Instagram — this look in particular. She does really stunning dainty designs, so I was excited to recreate this on myself. Also, it’s giving me Y2K vibes, which I’m really into right now. The nostalgia is real. But I think this was the perfect design to get me out of my nail art funk I’ve been in lately, & back to feeling like myself.

Plus this design was super easy to do, which is always a plus in my books.

What do you think about this dainty daisy design? Would you wear a look like this on your nails? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Products featured in this post were provided in exchanged for content.

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen x Friends Miracle Gel Collection

PR

Features Gifted Product in Exchange for Content

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s been super quiet on the blog front this week — there was a lot going on behind the scenes, so nail polish had to take a bit of a step back. But I’m super excited because not only am I starting with a very exciting Swatch Sunday post, but I’m starting with a very exciting, absolutely jammed pack Swatch Sunday post featuring the brand new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel x Friends collection!

To say I’m excited would be an understatement. As soon as I saw the collection being released — and heard the names — I was so hoping I would get a chance to get my hands on some of this collection. & Thanks to the absolute dolls at Sally Hansen, they gifted me with the most amazing PR package featuring all these beautiful shades. CLICK HERE to see a InstaReel featuring the whole fun package they sent me!

& now… let’s get onto some swatches!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen x Friends Miracle Gel Collection”
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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Race Red

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

I’m going to be honest — originally I had a different polish plan for this Sunday — new shades from the Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure. reformulation, as well as the OPI Nature Strong shades featured in my previous post. But I’ve been struggling with the cold from Hell this week, which means I’ve not been up to much, especially swatching 9 polishes, & wasn’t able to get the shades swatched.

I didn’t want to skip this week entirely though, so I decided why not go with my all time favourite OPI red: OPI Race Red.

2 coats, no top coat

This collection was originally released as part of the 2014 OPI Mustang Collection. I have a few of the shades from the collection in my stash that I’ve picked up over the years, either on clearance or at the Dollarama, but Race Red has always been my favourite. In fact, it’s probably one of my favourite red nail polishes of all time.

The colour itself is an orange leaning red. It’s a beautiful cream that applies in 2 easy smooth coats. Even after 8 years, & a whole lot of wears, it still applies like perfection for me.

Look how pretty that colour is! It’s actually very similar to the colour of our Suzuki, which is another reason why I love this shade so much. But my love of red nail polish knows no bounds, & this is no secret.

Obviously, my bottle is looking a little dusty & worn, but the polish is still perfection. My only sadness is that I only ever bought one bottle of this beauty.

As mentioned, this OPI Mustang Collection was released circa 2014, so these shades have long since gone out of mainstream circulation. I did find a few spots online, like Ebay, with bottles listed. I’m definitely going to need to find myself a dupe soon, because I’ll be very sad when my polish officially runs out.

What do you think about this OPI shade? Do you have OPI Race Red in your stash? What is your favourite OPI shade? Let me know down in the comments below!

Also stay tuned this week, because I’m determined to get those other shades swatches this week, which might mean this whole week will see some beautiful shades featured on this page!