Category: OPI

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More Chevron Moons, and my new favourite nail art pen!

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I have a serious obsession right now with chevron moons. They’ve replaced regular half moon manicures as my favorite I-don’t-know-what-to-paint-on-my-nails designs. I have given up on trying to do the perfect tape manicure, but I have to say I’m really happy with how my freehand lines are coming along. Definitely a HUGE improvement from when I first started. Plus with my new Essence Nail Art tattoo pen, it’s so much easier to draw on thin lines as opposed to using my stripers! Plus I find the polish doesn’t gunk up the same way that my stripers do.

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Orly Decades of Dysfunction — off white base colour.
  • OPI My Dog Sled is a Hybrid — chevron moon.
  • Essence Nail Art Tattoo Pen
  • Seche Vite Rapid Dry Top Coat.

Seriously, I’m in love with this nail art pen. I bought a couple Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens years ago, but never really got into using them. However, I’m absolutely in love with this Essence Pen so I think I’m going to have to bring them back out and give them another try now that I know what technique to use to get nice lines. And it makes creating freehand lines such a breeze! Since most of the designs I create are freehand, that is a big help to me!

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So what do you think of my chevron moons? Like I said, I’m so in love with chevron moons right now–more so than any other kind. It’s a great, easy way to add something else to an otherwise plain manicure–in a short amount of time!

Also I just have to make a shout out to @mynailpolish_addiction on Instagram who twinned me with an awesome (and sparkly!) chevron moon mani and Starbuck Gingerbread latte! Jessica is actually the sweetest ever, we’ve become great friends since meeting through Instagram! You must check out her nail art because the girl is fantastic and SO talented!

**I purchase the Essence Nail Art Tattoo pen on my own accord, and have not be compensate for my comments in any way.**
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Gold Chevron Moons with OPI DS Extravagance.

This past weekend, the boyfriend took me away for a special birthday weekend away to Lunenberg. I decided a special romantic weekend away deserved special nails. For my birthday last week, the only thing I truly asked for was OPI DS Extravagance which is a purply pink polish with a scattered holo. I’ve been coveting this polish for quite a long time, so when my Mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday it was the only thing I asked for.

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I started off by painting my nails with OPI DS Extravagance. There are a million awesome things I could say about this polish but I think pictures speak for themselves. After my base color had dried, I freehanded chevron moons with Quo by Orly Trashy Glam (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite gold polishes).  Finally, I outlined my chevron moons with my black LA Colors Art Deco Striper in Black to crisp up the lines then applied Essie Good to Go Top Coat to finish. And tada!

 

They were the perfect nails for my special birthday weekend away. =) I loved them so much–so much so I kept them on a full 3 days which is not something I often do with manicures.

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So what do you think of these Chevron Moons? I’m so obsessed with them lately! I’m also really proud of how much cleaner my lines are starting to get. This time last year, I never could have freehanded lines that clean so I’m really proud of that fact. Practice really does make perfect.

 

What do you think of my Chevron Moons? What’s your current manicure obsession? I really need to get started on some Halloween inspired nails since Halloween is quickly approaching. =)

Have a great day lovelies!

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Favorite Fall and Winter pretty nail essentials.

 

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I never meant to take such a big break from blogging, but life kind of got in the way. While I still was painting my nails and posting to my Instagram, getting the energy to blog was another thing. However, I’m really going to take some time to get back into the swing of things again, and catch up on blogging.

Since the weather is now officially starting to feel much chiller, I thought I would share my Fall and Winter essentials. I don’t know about you but between the chilly days and working in retail my hands can get in rough shape. There for, I have a bevvy of products I used to just to keep ahead of rough looking cuticles and dry, dry skin.

Now, I’m sure everyone has there own routine and products that work for them. These are just the ones I use, and I like (at the moment). Things are always changing, and I’m always discovering new and awesome products that I fall in love with.

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These are my on-the-go purse essentials:

Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, Mary Kay Extra Emollient Night Cream, and Hand Cream.

I discovered Burt’s Bees Cuticle Cream last winter, and it seriously saved my cuticles during a seriously harsh winter. Not only does it smell amazing, but it makes you cuticles feel amazing and keeps them soft. Mary Kay Extra Emollient Night Cream is actually one of my favorite products for everything–I used it not just on my hands and cuticles, but as a lip balm as it infuses everything with a serious splash of moisture. It’s great and if you’ve never tried it, you must! And finally my last purse essential is hand cream. I usually carry at least two or three different hand creams on me at all times. Above is OPI Avojuice, which smells so good, and feels so good!

 

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My at-home essentials:

Vaseline Healthy Hand and Nail, Avoplex Cuticle Oil to Go, Witchcraft Cuticle Oil.

When it comes to my favorite at home products, I have a few I use nightly. Vaseline Healthy Hand and Nail is my all time favorite hand cream ever. (I also keep a small bottle of it in my purse as well, and a bottle at work). I’ve been using it for over a year, and I love how soft it leaves my hands. It’s also improved my nail health a lot in the time I’ve been using it. My nails definitely feel stronger. Next is my Avoplex Cuticle Oil to Go which I purchased from my local Chatters after hearing good reviews online. It smells so good–I’m not sure exactly what the smell is, but it’s fruity and fresh and I love it. I apply it and my Witchcraft Cuticle Oil every night before bed, and I find I’ve had a lot less issues with hang nails or dry cuticles since I started using both together.

 

 

So these are just a couple of my favorites. I know everyone has there favorites, and I am always up for new product suggestions so if you have any that you adore, let me know! (I’ve been hearing good things about Bliss Kiss Simply Pure Cuticle & Nail Oil, so I think that is going to be one of my next purchases.)

 

Have a great day lovelies!

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Fall floral.

First off, I apologize for being MIA the last week. Not only have I had an extremely hectic week at work, but I got struck down with the cold from hell. So while I’ve still been trying to paint my nails, I haven’t had the energy for blogging at all! I’m going to try and make up for that this week though!

 

I did this manicure I couple weeks ago, before fall officially hit but the weather was definitely Fall-like. I had pulled out my beloved Cashmere Bathrobe by Essie, and decided I wanted to do a pretty design with it. But what? I hadn’t done a floral in a while so I thought why not! Floral doesn’t just have to be for Spring/Summer 😉

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Essie Cashmere Bathrobe.
  • OPI I Snow You Love Me.
  • Bourjois Paris 1965 Le Rouge fidele
  • Bourjois Paris 1938 Mais Oui!
  • Bourjois Paris 1913 Cendres de Roses
  • ACO by Ardene Green Peace
  • Sinful Colors Strapped.
  • Nutra Nail Quick Dry Top Coat.

 

These turned out so well, and I had so much fun wearing these that I kept them on for almost 3 days. Who says that floral can’t be worn for fall as well. 😉

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A Blast from the past with Saran Wrap Nails.

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Do you ever try a new nail art technique, really like it, and then just never try it again–instead falling back on them same old designs? No? Just me then….

Last Summer I tried out the saran wrap technique for nails, and really liked how it looked. Then completely forgot about that cool technique. The other day I was trying to think of something different I could do on my nails when it hit me! Saran Wrap Nails! I’d already painted my nails using Essie’s We’re in this Together. So I grab a dark pink (Bourjois Paris 2013 Bon Anniversaire), painted over the lighter pink, then dabbed with pieces of a plastic bag I had around. And tada! Pretty saran wrap nails. I applied top coat, then finished them off with some glitters from OPI’s I Snow You Love Me (which I’m actually obsessed with) and then applied Seche Vite to seal everything in. Quick and pretty nail art!

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Seriously, why have I not done saran wrap nails in over a year?! What a travesty!  It’s such a neat look!

Also, I’ll apologize for the poor lighting in my pictures–I took them out the back door of work, on a particularly cloudy day so the lighting ended up really funky.