Category: OPI

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Mani Swap with @hjs_nails!


Good morning lovelies! Hope you’re enjoying your week so far, & what’s left of August. Isn’t it crazy how quickly the month is speeding by? Don’t get me wrong, I’m beyond excited for Fall but it is crazy to think how quickly this Summer has speed by. 

I thought I would break up the Fall colours I’ve been obsessing over, & joint in a fun (& bright & colourful) mani swap with Hannah of @hjs_nails! For this swap I picked her super neat abstract design, & she recreated my recent watercolour lines design (& lets be honest, she did it 100x better! I’m so jealous!) 

For this design, I used: 

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Pretty Peony
  • Essie In The Cab-ana 
  • Essie Splash of Grenedine
  • Essence Back to Black
  • Small Bundle Monster dotting tool 

I thought this was such a neat design when I originally away Hannah’s so when she was looking for someone to swap with I knew already what design I was going to pick! Plus it’s such a great pop of colour which I kind of just needed in my life. You can never go wrong with a good abstract nail & the right pop of colour. 

What do you think of our swap? Let me know in the comments below! & don’t forget to head over to Hannah’s instagram & give her a follow if you’re not following her already. 💜

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OPI Fall/Winter 2017 Iceland Collection Part 2


Okay so I somehow managed to get the second half of the OPI Fall/Winter collection swatched (even with a baby who has decided he doesn’t like bedtime) so if anyone feels like bring me cupcakes or a really large coffee you are more than welcome to! & for you I have 6 more shades to share from this gorgeous collection, dipping into the darker & richer shades from this trip to Iceland OPI is sending us on. 

All of these lovely polishes were all gifted to me by OPI as part of the #PreenMeVIP program, as well as OPI’s natural base coat & top coat which I used for all swatches! 

Less is Norse

I like this shade, I like it a lot! OPI named this the Hero Shade of the collection, & I get it! Two coats for opacity (although it could potentially be a one coater if you’re really careful) & it goes on really smooth. The formula is just great which I like in a navy blue. & the underlying dust dusty-ness of the shade makes it just a little bit different than other Navy shades I own. 


Turn On The Northern Lights

If you’re looking to buy one shade from this OPI collection, personally I think this is the shade you need. It’s beautiful. Two coats gives you this shimmery indigo that just glows on the nail. You get that hint of fire-y red/pink/gold shimmer coming through & it makes me so excited. & the fact the shimmer shows up just as well on the nail on the bottle gives it even more points. The only thing I didn’t love was it’s weird smell–it smelled kind of skunky going on–but for this gorgeous colour I’m okay with that! 


This Isn’t Greenland

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this shade was “interesting” because as you know, I’m not much of a green polish kind of girl. But once I put it on, I really kind of liked it. This is two coats of this pistachio shade & I really needed three because I’ve got some streaks happening. I could definitely see this myself wearing this for a nice fresh punch of colour when I’m not in the mood for my usual blues or purples. & I think it would make an awesome base for some Fall leaves nail art! 


That’s What Friends Are Thor

I don’t have many brown shades in my massive stash, but brown in a Fall/Winter collection makes a lot of sense. & this chocolate-y brown is actually quite pretty. The Formula was great, only 2 coats, & dried down quite nice. It dries down slightly darker than in the bottle, but not in a way that changes the colour too much. 


Krona-logical Order

Yep, another brown! This shade however is much more dusty with grey undertones. This was two much needed coats (coat one was extremely streaky). Its a nice shade, although not really my usual go to, but I could definitely see myself grabbing it if I was needing something a little more dark & vampy on my nails. It works really well for this collection. 


Suzi & The Arctic Fox

& last but not least in the collection we have a surprise favourite shade for me! This dark grey, with blurple understones, took two coats for full opacity. It looks quite dark & grey but once you put it on & look at it under lighter circumstances you see that blurple coming through. It’s reminds me of a darker version of OPI Miss You-niverse which is one of my all time favourite OPI shades! Love love love it! 


& that’s it! What do you think of OPI’s Fall/Winter 2017 collection? Are there any shades which stood out to you from the collection you just have to have? For me I know I’ll be wearing Aurora Berry-alis, Turn On The Northern Lights & Suzy & the Artic Fox a lot this coming season! Let me know all your thoughts on this collection down below. 

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SWATCH SUNDAY: OPI Fall/Winter 2017 Iceland Collection Swatches Part 1!

Good Morning lovelies. It’s my favourite day of the week (& not just because the Mr takes Little Bubs to watch cartoons so I can sleep in!)… it’s Swatch Sunday. & it’s so exciting that I actually had to break it up into two days because I have the entire OPI Fall/Winter 2017 Iceland Collection to share with you. I’ve been obsessing about Fall shades for a few weeks now, so it makes me so excited to get to show off some finally! 

All of these lovely polishes were all gifted to me by OPI as part of the #PreenMeVIP program, as well as OPI’s natural base coat & top coat which I used for all swatches! 

 Icelanded a Bottle of OPI

Okay I’ll be the first to admit this kind of shade is not my usual go to polish grab, but once I put it on I really liked it. & as far as a Fall shade, this taupe-y brown is perfect. This was two coats, & the formula dried down really nice. If someone was looking for a great neutral shade that was office appropriate but not a simple nude, this would be a great choice for them! 


I’ll Have a Gin & Tectonic

Oooooh this pink leaning peach shade is very pretty. & it definitely brings out the yellow/olive undertones in my skin. It took 2 coats to opacity & top coat is a necessity to avoid any streakiness. It’s a gorgeous shade, although I do think more Spring than Fall when I see it. Paired with one of the darker shades in the collection in a half moon or chevron moon & I bet it would look lovely & more Fall appropriate!


Reykjavik Has All The Hot Spots



Hello frosty pink rose gold perfection. Whatever you want to call this shade, it’s very pretty! It’s also 3 coats which I’m okay with because of the end result. There are some streaks but I feel like that’s part formula & part my lack of carefulness. This one definitely feels very Fall to me & even though it’s been forever since frosted polish was part of my collection, I can definitely see myself featuring this shade a lot this season! 


Aurora Berry-alis

You know sometimes when you see people posting swatches of a shade & you think it’s so pretty but figure it can’t possibly look that beautiful in real life? Well this berry shade is actually as gorgeous as it looks. It’s slightly dusty but rich at the same time. I used 2 coats for my swatches below. It’s juicy & the formula is flawless & I never wanted to take it off. Expect to see me wearing this shade a lot this Fall! (Definitely going to need a back up bottle!)


Check Out The Old Geysirs

Now this shade screams Iceland! For my swatch, I needed 2 coats of this greyed blue for full opacity. I was quite impressed the shimmer showed up on the nail as well as it showed in the bottle. It gave a little extra pop on the nail! You know how much I love a good blue shade, & this shade was very very pretty. Reminds me of icicles! 


 One Heckla of a Color!

& finally for today’s swatches we have this 2 coated purple creamthat as you can see dries slightly darker than the bottle colour. OPI describes this shade as a “frosty purple” on their site which I would necessarily agree with the frosty part, but it does have that little bit of underlying dusty-ness to it that a lot of these shades have that works really well to bring the whole collection together. 

& that’s it for today? What do you think of the OPI Fall/Winter collection? Any favourites you see already that you have to have? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

I hope to have part 2 of the collection (the much darker shades!) up either tomorrow or Tuesday! 

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Patterned Watercolour Nails Inspired by @thesammersaurus

So I’ve been feeling a little stuck, inspiration wise, & when I feel lost for ideas I love browsing through the feeds of my favourite nail artists to see what catches my eye. I was scrolling through @thesammersaurus‘s instagram feed & came across a gorgeous geometric design from 3ish years ago. I’ve been a massive fan of Sammy’s for a long time–she was one of the first nail art blogs I discovered–& I love how she comes up with awesome, creative designs & rocks those shorter nails!  It gives hope to those out there who don’t have crazy long nails. So when I discovered this gorgeous design I loved, I popped over to her blog & found all the details of her design to make painting my recreation way easier! 

For the manicure, the products used were:

  • Base Coat: Cutex Brittle Nail Fix
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Go Ginza 
  • Essie Play Date
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard To Get
  • OPI My Favourite Ornament 
  • Xroma Polish & Vinyls X Stencil (I cut off the bottom) 
  • The Base Coat Triangle Pattern Stencil
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge 

Thanks to my vast collection of vinyls, I was able to cheat & skip having to place striping tape/skinny vinyls individually for a relatively easy to do manicure! (Thank god for that!) I also used a make up sponge instead of the Saran Wrap technique for my colour blending on the accent nails. But even though I didn’t follow her exactly, I feel like this recreation turned out Pretty on point. Just please ignore the shrinkage on my middle finger nail. 😂


Do you have a favourite nail art you love to turn to for nail art inspiration? Where is your favourite place to get nail art inspiration from? Let me know in the comments below! 💜

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Rainbow Wave Nails 🌈 

Hello Lovelies! It’s been a little while. I spent last week & the beginning of this week away on vacation which meant no posts! But I’m back & refreshed & I have pretty nails to share with you. 

It’s been way too long since I share one of my favourite sponge manicures with you. This manicure is actually from a while back (whoops). I’m so bad for doing my nails & then completely forgetting about them in the recesses of my phone. But I think this kind of rainbow design is perfect for warm Summer days… even if today is feeling less than Summer-y. 

The polishes used for this manicure:

  • Base Coat: L’Oréal All in One
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Hard Candy Sky
  • Essie Chillato
  • ORLY Scenic Route
  • Nicole by OPI Love Song
  • Color Club Peppermint Twist
  • OPI Where Did Suzi’s Man-go?
  • OPI Who You Calling Bossy?
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge
  • Xroma Polish & Vinyls skinny wave vinyls

Am I the only person obsessed with sponging? I just used up the rest of my peel of latex for my more messy manicures, BUT  while I was away on vacation I found a peel of by a brand I’ve never heard of in the local pharmacy (which is a big deal because I was in a pretty small town!) so I’m excited to try it out for gradients & the like, as well as seeing how it will fair as a peel of base coat. It’s not glue or latex based so I’m really curious to see how it fairs, especially since it means I can pull out my make up sponge again! There is nothing worse than trying to clean up nail polish mess from around your cuticles. Ugh. 


What is your favourite way to use a make up sponge on your nails? Let me know in the comments below!