Category: Personal

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Remembrance Day Poppy Nails

It’s November 11th & here in Canada that is Remembrance Day. 

For those who might not know, Remembrance Day represents a day to reflect on all those who have fault & served in the military. At 11am, of the 11th day, of the 11th month we pause to remember. Growing up & coming from a military heavy family, this day has always held extra meaning to me—from a great grandfather who served as a sniper in the First World War, to cousins & family friends who served in Afghanistan, I always make sure no matter what I am doing to stop & take those moments to pause. 

In honour of today, & the poppy, I created a special design. 

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Grow Stronger
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Icing Steel My Heart
  • ORLY Decades of Dysfunction 
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Black Heart
  • L’Oréal Carmin Parisien
  • Xroma Polish & Vinyls Skinny Wave Vinyls
  • Small & large dotting tool 

I hope you too will also take a moment to Remember today.  ♥️

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Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month 💜

The month of November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, & my fellow girls in #thenailartsquad & I wanted to create some manicures to bring awareness to this terrible disease that has touched so many of us. 

The color for Pancreatic Awareness Month is purple, so we grabbed a selection of our favourite purples. 

 For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze Plur-ple 
  • ACO by Ardene Ice Mist
  • Nicole by OPI One Less Lonely Glitter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Trouble Maker
  • Essence Nail Art Stampy Set stamping plate. 

For my design, I picked to go with purple hearts. Like so many, I’ve lost someone I loved to this terrible disease—-when I was just a little girl, my Poppy was diagnosed & passed away from pancreatic cancer. I don’t remember much about him sadly, except from pictures & home movies. 

This is why I think it’s such an important cause to bring attention to because I feel like so many people have lost someone they love way too soon. 

We’d love for anyone out there who would like to bring awareness to Pancreatic Cancer to join us in posting a purple design using the hashtag #pancreaticcancerawarenessmonth

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Happy Birthday Nails! 🎉🎈🎂 

I know, it’s Sunday which means normally I would be sharing a swatch with you. But today is not just any Sunday… it’s my birthday! So obviously I had to do something fun on my nails in honour of the occasion & I couldn’t think of anything more fun to put on my nails than a glittery purple cupcake nail (which are a few of my favourite things.) After perusing Pinterest searching “cupcake nails” I had an idea of how I wanted my design to look, & I’m so happy that they turned out exactly how I imagined! 

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • ORLY Plum Sugar
  • Nails INC Cherry Road
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard To Get
  • Color Club Evolution
  • Cosmetic Arts Unnamed Baby Pink
  • Color Club A Warm Place
  • URSugar Zig Zag Nail Vinyls item #AUB39877 
  • Dotting Tool
  • Small Detail Brush


I really really love my birthday cupcake nails. I feel like it’s been ages since I freehanded anything & I was a little nervous about my cupcake but it turned out so cute! These are going to be fun to wear for my birthday celebrations with my family later this afternoon. Last year I spent my birthday in a dark room with an eye infection, so I’m determined to make up for that this year! 

Have a great Sunday everyone! 💜

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Born Pretty Store Review — Potted Plant Stamping Plate L036 item #38420

Good morning! I was recently sent some awesome items from Born Pretty Store for review & I can’t wait to show off what I received. Today I’m reviewing this Potted Plant Harunouta Stamping plate L036 (item #38420) featuring my current garden obsession–cacti! 🌵

As soon as I saw this plate, I knew I needed it! I’ve been trying to get into stamping more, even though I find it a tad challenging. This cute plate comes in it’s own little envelope, sealed with blue plastic to protect it from scratches. For this manicure, I was inspired by some outfits I recently bought for my son, & thought this plate would be perfect to recreate the look! 

For this manicure I used:

  • Base Coat: L’Oréal All in One
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI That’s Hula-rious 
  • OPI Care to Danse
  • Born Pretty Store Black Stamping polish (from this set) 
  • Harunouta Potted Garden stamping plate L036 —item #38420
  • Born Pretty Clear Jelly Stamper 

For stamping, I used the Born Pretty Store brand stamping polish which I received as part of another set for review. I am still relatively new to this stamping thing, so it took me a little bit to get the hang of stamping. My advice–do not try to do this at midnight when you’re sleep deprived. I tried a couple different looks–including filling in the design. I also tried a couple different stampers in my collection but decided on my clear Jelly stamper (also from Born Pretty.) It took me a couple tries to figure out how to pick up the images perfectly, but as you can see when it finally worked for me, the images were perfect. 

For this particular design, I stamped both the cactus pattern on my middle finger & the stripes on my pinky. The black stamping polish was definitely the best for picking up the images (I tested with some of my other blacks & couldn’t pick anything up). You definitely have to move quick though–if you wait too long, you won’t pick up anything! But even with all the work, the end result is gorgeous. & I couldn’t stop staring at my nails. 

All in all, I love this stamping plate. For me the cactus is what caught my eye (because cactus! 🌵) but their are so many cute designs to choose from depending on the occasion. I can definitely see myself using this plate for a while slew of occasions! You can definitely expect to the cute images from this plate pop up again! 

If you’re interested in ordering this plate (or something else) from Born Pretty Store feel free to use my discount code COFFK31 to save 10% off any regular price items! I’ve been ordering from them for years, & I love the wide variety of products you can find for all your nail polish addict needs! 

Stay tuned. I have a few more items coming out to share! 

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Hug Your Cat Day Collab! 😸


Happy Hug Your Cat Day! Did you know that June 4th was Hug Your Cat Day? I didn’t until @highchanceofpolish announced on Instagram she was organizing a collab for it, so obviously I had to join in on the kitty love. 

For this manicure I used:

  • Base Coat: Perfect Formula Pink Gel Coat
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat 
  • Colour Club Peppermint Twist
  • OPI Who You Callin’ Bossy
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard To Get
  • Sally Hansen X-treme Wear Mellow Yellow
  • Sally Hansen X-treme Wear Kiwi Bikini
  • Small Nail Art Brush from Bundle Monster
  • Small Dotting Tool
  • Kitty vinyls from The Base Coat 

For my design, I was inspired by my own kitties Abbath & Hades. It’s been a long time since I tried freehand kitty nails, but I think they turned out so lovely! 

So what do you think of my kitty cat nails? Are you celebrating Hug Your Cat Day? I feel like wearing my kitty cat shirt just for the occasion. 😸 & just for fun, how about my inspiration for this mani? Who doesn’t love kitty pictures?