Category: NOTD

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER (2024) — Plaid

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & Happy Labour Day! We’re jumping right into the Autumn nail art designs with this month’s Glam Nails Challenge September.

I was debating whether or not I was going to do another month, but then my first design I did happened to be a plaid design — which is the first prompt of this month, so I was like… let’s just do this! I had so much fun last month while feeling challenged creatively, I think I want to give it another go. & this month definitely has some great prompts as well!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Just In Wine
  • Essie East Hamptons Cottage
  • Essie Mani Thanks!
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper Black
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper Red
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

Does anyone else just immediately want to pull all the plaid out of their closet as soon as the mornings start feeling slightly cooler? I definitely do. I also want to paint plaid on my nails, because it just feels fitting. Pair these with a pair of over the knee socks, & the Autumn vibes are strong. I also feel like this is an easier, simpler design to do — albeit you do need a bit of a steadier hand for straight lines. But with a long striper brush, it does simplify the design a bit.

Definitely a design I recommend any beginner nail artist to try, & just trust the process. If you look at a plaid material, the pattern isn’t perfect so don’t worry about trying to make yours perfect. Sometimes the messier the better it turns out!

What do you think of this design? Are you excited for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge? Like I said, I was feeling inspired so I wanted to keep the good nail art going! & I feel like this is going to inspire some really beautiful nail art designs this month!

If you’re curious about the prompts to come, here is a little sneak peak of the prompts for this month.

& don’t forget to follow along with the above hashtag to see everyone’s gorgeous designs they post! Also, @glamnailschallenge reposts a lot of the beautiful designs on her page, so you can get a little snippet there as well!

Happy Monday!

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Sidewalk Psychic

Hello beauties & happy September first! Can you believe it? We are into the ‘ber months, which means this year is officially 2/3 of the way over. That is crazy. But, I can’t be too upset because this is truly my favourite time of year so I’m going to embrace every chilly morning & sweater moment I can!

Today I’m starting off this new month with what I feel like is a very Autumn appropriate nail polish pick for this season change: Colour Club Sidewalk Psychic.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful burnt orange holographic is another stunner from Color Club’s hologprahic line which I’m a huge fan of. It’s a liner holo, so you get that beautiful rainbow all over the nail. It was originally released as part of the 2015 Halo Hues collection, but I scored my bottle at Winners — as I do with a lot of my Color Club shades.

The colour feels absolutely perfect for Fall, because it does have that “leaves changing on the tree” kind of vibe. It’s a bit of a rusty colour, which is perfect for September & Autumn. It, like most Color Club holos, stamps beautifully & opaquely, so it would be perfect for a stamped leaves manicure!

We don’t have a lot of places around here which still sell Color Club consistently, but I did find it available on Harlow & Co, so she is still available for purchase it looks like if you wanted to get your hands on this pretty polish!

What do you think of Color Club Sidewalk Psychic? Are you a fan of this orange-y holographic shade? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Cactus 🌵

Good morning lovelies & happy Wednesday! Can you believe that this is it — the last prompt of this month’s challenge! Crazy to think August is almost over, & September is (basically) here. But we’re finishing out this month’s challenge strong with a handpainted cactus design, & I’m really proud of how these turned out!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Quo by Orly Breatheable You’re A Gem
  • Pacifica Rainbow Gloss
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • Essie Turquoise & Cacaos
  • Essie Chillato
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie Cute as a Button
  • Essie Set in Sandstone
  • Nailtural Keep Palm, Swim On
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

Okay, so originally I was going to use my cactus stickers from NailStuff.ca for this design, but I could not find them anywhere! So I had to pull out my freehand skills, & freehand paint some cute cacti on my nails… & you know, I think I did a pretty good job! I’m actually super proud of these & feeling pretty in love with how beautifully they turned out.

My whole reason for doing this challenge this month was the inspire me to get out of my nail art box, & feel creative again. My favourite months of the year are coming up, & I want to be in love with nail art again; feel creative again. & I am really excited to finish the rest of this year with some fun nail art looks!

What do you think about these cactus nails for Glam Nails Challenge August? Have you enjoyed taking this nail art journey with me this month? I’m not 100% sure if I’m going to do Glam Nails Challenge for September, but either way I’m pumped to get into some fun Fall designs & colours.

Have a lovely Wednesday

♥︎

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Sun 🌞

Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! I hope everyone is having a beautiful start to their day — can you believe this is the last Monday of August?! September is so close, it’s kind of crazy.

Today we have our second last prompt for Glam Nails Challenge August, which is sun 🌞. I decided once again to do my own interpretation, which I think turned out so beautifully!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Claire’s 72640 (dark burgundy)
  • Essie Mani Thanks!
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

I went a little out of the box with these suns, but I think you can still get the idea of what they’re supposed to be! I think they’re really cool & interesting, & I really love how they turned out.

This has been such a fun challenge to do this month, & I’m really glad I got back into my nail art groove. I think I needed something like this to stretch my creative muscles, & I’m excited to finish it strong on Wednesday!

What do you think about this sun design? Do you see the vibe I was going for? Have you enjoyed these prompts this month as much as I have? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& hop on over to Instagram to see all the other beautiful designs using the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug24.

Have a happy Monday!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Claire’s Khaki Green

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! Another beautiful sunny Sunday. I know we still have a little under a month of Summer left (according to the calendar) but man oh man, do I feel the Autumn polish vibes calling. So I decided to pull out one of those more Fall-esque shades for today’s Swatch Sunday post. 🍂🍁

This is Claire’s Khaki Green.

2 coats + top coat

I’ve written before about my absolute love of Claire’s polishes, even after all these years. Working for the company really introduced my absolute nail polish obsession, especially they were always very good for duping current trends in their polish brand — like crackle, feather, etc.

Khaki Green is a beautiful olive geeen with a stunning shimmer of golden bronze that really pops on the nail, especially in the sunshine. It is definitely giving late Summer/early Autumn, & would be the perfect addition to any Fall nail polish collection. & I love how the shimmer actually shows up better on the nail than in the bottle, which I feel like is virtually unheard of (it’s usually the other way around.)

Seriously — look at that shimmer. It’s just so stunningly beautiful!

The formula on this guy was good & easy to apply. It actually had a good shiny finish, although I did add top coat to really gloss it up. Over all, a good shade from a mainstream brand that isn’t necessarily known for their nail polish. I always love when you kind find hidden gems where you wouldn’t normally think to look.

Sadly, this shade is a few years old now so (I’m guessing) no longer in rotation. But I definitely recommend checking out the shades they release, because there are always fun colours & finishes you wouldn’t expect.

What do you think of Claire’s Khaki Green? Do you like this shade of olive green with shimmer? Is this kind of colour one you would reach for come Autumn? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday 🖤