Category: NOTD

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party

Hello my loves & Happy Sunday! This is the second Sunday of December, so I’m keeping with the Christmas-ish polish tradition, & trying to share shades that are related in some way to the holiday!

This past week I did a poll on my Instagram asking if people would rather see China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party (Holiday 2015) or OPI Bring Out The Big Gems (Holiday 2022) this week, & with an overwhelming majority, Ugly Sweater Party was the winner!

2 coats, No Top Coat

China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party is a pink jelly formula, packed tightly with an assortment of glitters, including holographic. The formula is a tad on the thick side, but with a little bit of patience, I easily covered my whole nail in two coats. You could probably sponge on the glitter for a denser packed glitter effect, but I much prefer it applied this way as I like the overall finish.

Truthfully, I don’t know if I can remember ever wearing this shade as a full manicure like this before. I originally bought the polish because I loved the name, & glitter is my weakness, but I think I’ve truthfully only used it in glitter gradients, or maybe as a single accent nail, which makes me sad.

I was also surprised I had never swatched this shade previous Decembers, so I was happy. to do both for todays post! This is definitely a fun glitter shade, & just screams Christmas party to me! My Christmas party days are long behind me, but to be honest if I were every invited to one — & didn’t have time for a full nail art look — this would be my #1 polish pick for such an occasion.

Do you remember China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party from its original 2015 release? Did you have this sparkly shade in your stash, or do you still have this glitter on rotation? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Holo Stamped Snowflakes ❄️

Hey beauties & happy Friday!

I’m trying to share at least one non-Glam Nails Challenge design each week, so I thought I would go for some snowflake stamped nails. Our Halifax weather is nothing close to snow right now–it’s currently, as I write this post, warm-ish & raining–so I thought if I wanted snow, I would need to put it on my nails.

& you know what is more fun than just snowflakes on your nails… holographic snowflakes on your nails.

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
  • Dimension Nails Kronosaurus (c/o: NailStuff.ca)
  • SuperChic Lacquer Throwing Shade (c/o: Nailstuff.ca)
  • Discontinued Born Pretty Store Christmas pattern stamping plate
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

Lots of holographic sparkle happening in the sunshine. This was not the easiest to photographic in the bright sun, I won’t lie, but I tried my best to capture the effect. The snowflakes really did show up well though, & I like the snowflake pattern. It’s really pretty.

There is just something about Christmas & snowflake nail art. It’s like Christmas, & watching The Muppets Christmas Carol: it just doesn’t feel like Christmas is coming without it. Also this again is not your traditional Christmas colour scheme, but I still like it. I love red nail polish, but I feel like I can overdo it a bit in December, so I’m trying to ration the red nail designs a bit.

What do you think about this holographic stamped snowflake look? Have you been enjoying all the nail art I’ve been posting so far this month? We’re 17 days away from Christmas, so I’m going to try & show off as many nail art looks as possible before the big day!

Enjoy your weekend loves! & stay safe if you have to go our shopping. Christmas shopping can be dangerous.

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE DECEMBER — Christmas Plaid

Good morning lovelies & happy Wednesday! & happy Day two of Glam Nails Challenge December. Also… can you believe it’s December 7th? I mean… it’s raining here on the East Coast & above freezing so it certainly doesn’t feel anything close to December. At least I have Christmas nails to keep me in a somewhat festive mood.

But onto the nails — prompt #2 is Christmas Plaid. I do love a good plaid manicure, & for today’s look I decided to go with a sparkly plaid design.

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
  • Quo Beauty Green With Envy
  • ACO by Ardene Crystal Fog
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • China Glaze New Year, New Boo
  • W7 Gold Dazzle
  • Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Originally I thinking of a sparkly green plaid, but as soon as I put Crystal Fog over Green with Envy it gave it a teal/turquoise colour instead. But I decided to go with it, & I think all the sparkly lines still give it the Christmas Plaid look I was hoping for. & I do love all the sparkle & shimmer of the look. If there is any time to break out the glitter, it’s obviously Christmas.

What do you think about my Christmas plaid design? What colour combination would you wear for a Christmas plaid. I feel like usually I go for more a red look, but I’ve been wearing a lot of red nails lately (& I’m sure there will be more!) so it’s fun to change things up a bit.

Don’t forget to check out all the fun #glamnailschallengedec looks on Instagram, & stay tuned because we have a whole lot more Christmas-y looks coming in the next few weeks!

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE DECEMBER— Santa Claus 🎅

Hello lovelies! Did everyone survive the weekend & any holiday shopping they may have had to do? I certainly survived a crazy Tax Free Weekend. I forgot how crazy Christmas shopping can get, hah. I went to go get a coffee from Starbucks, & the line up was OUT THE DOOR. It was a very busy weekend.

But it’s the first prompt of Glam Nails Challenge December, & I am super excited for another fun festive month of designs. The first prompt of the month? Santa Claus.

I know I have been stamping a lot more lately, but as soon as I saw the prompt I knew just the stamping plate I wanted to use for this design featuring some super cute Santa designs.

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
  • Essie The A-List
  • Essie Sweet Souffle
  • Essie Glitter On Top
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • Sally Hansen MG Peach Please
  • Sally Hansen MG Ski Bunny
  • w7 Gold Dazzle
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set
  • Discontinued Born Pretty Christmas plate
  • Small dotting tool (I always use mine from NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)

How cute is this little Santa face? I definitely could never be able to freehand a cute little face like that on my own! I’m always envious of people with superior free handing skills. However, thankfully I went on a stamping plate hoarding spree a few years ago, & do I have so many Christmas ones to chose from… which really helps with challenges during this month!

Are you excited for a month of Christmas themed designs? You can follow along with Glam Nails Challenge December on Instagram. There are already so many cool, & fun nail art looks that I know this month is going to be a very exciting month.

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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!