Criss Cross Freehand Pattern

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. It’s definitely a very, very chilly Wednesday here on the East Coast, & I don’t think I’m quite ready for it! I’m naturally a person who is always cold, so when the weather shifts, there is not enough layers or tea in the world to keep me warm!

But even if I’m cold, I still have cute nails to show off! I picked up a couple nail art stripers on clearance at Lawton’s a while ago, but hadn’t really played with them, so I decided to play around with some line work. I originally intended to do a kind of x-pattern look, which so of shifted as I was doing it. I’m not sure what to call this kind of pattern, but I absolutely love it. & it’s a look that even looks good on nubby nails like mine!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Clean Slate
  • Color Club Art Club Pink Pastel

Oh man, I think this pattern turned out so neat! It actually wasn’t super difficult to do either; I started with painting an X on my nails, then when it each triangle section to repeat the same pattern over & over so you would get this interlocking/woven effect. It sounds complicated, but it really wasn’t. Just required a bit of a steady hand, & a little concentration, but the end result is totally worth it!

Also yes I’m totally obsessed with using my matte top coat again. I saw that Sally Hansen has a new Miracle Gel matte top coat, so I’m going to see if I can pick some up the next time I’m out. I also think I’m due for another “battle of the matte top coats”, so maybe I’ll have to add it to the mix!

What do you think about this look? Is this something you could see yourself rocking?

Also now that we’re hitting mid-November I was thinking of starting to post the occasional Winter/maybe Christmas look? Do you want to see that, or do you think it’s too soon?

Let me know down in the comments below!

Pink Stamped Reindeer Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Monday!

Hope everyone is well caffeinated. Today I’m starting off the beginning of this week with some fun stamped sweater nails. It’s been quite a while since I last pulled out my stamper, & this time of year always makes me want to use it more often.

Today’s stamping plate combo is one I’ve used before, but I love the sweater print with the reindeer head. I also pulled a polish shade from deep, deep in my stash (definitely pre 2009) but it still applies like a dream! You’ve got to love that.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • NYC Color Lexington Lilac
  • Revlon Iconic
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping plate BP-L032 (item #23268)
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping plate BP-L018 (item #19373)
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper (COFFEE10 saves you 10% site wide!)

I had totally forgotten about this pretty polish. I picked it up years & years ago, I think at Zellars (for my fellow Canadians, who remembers Zellars?!) & probably only wore it once or twice. I also really like this untraditional sweater colour scheme. Sometimes, even this time of year, I just really feel these pale muted colours.

Also be prepared to see this stamped reindeer head over the next couple months, because it’s one of my favourites!

What do you think about this stamped design? Do you love this colour scheme as much as I do? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a happy Monday!

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Don’t Let The Dead Bite (Halloween 2014)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Today I thought I would pull out a Halloween oldie from my polish stash for this week’s Swatch Sunday! This is China Glaze Don’t Let The Dead Bite from the China Glaze Apocalypse Of Color 2014 Halloween collection.

Don’t Let The Dead Bite is a milky jelly pinky polish that is packed full of multi sized & shaped red glitters.

2 coats + top coat

I am a sucker for a good Halloween collection, so I remember being very excited about finding this shade on clearance a few years ago. If I remember correctly, I bought this shade for Valentine’s Day, because I thought the glitters would be perfect for that.

My bottle has definitely changed a bit over the years, with the glitters bleeding a bit & making the base darken. It’s still a beautiful shade, but not quite in its original form. The formula, however, remains just as easy to work with as when I first bought it, which I appreciate.

I really like this shade, & to be honest, I kind of forgot I owned it until I was looking for something Halloween-y to adorn my nails with! I can’t believe October is almost over! How crazy is that?!

Do you remember this China Glaze collection from 2014? Did you get your hands on any of the shades? What is your favourite Halloween polish collection? Let me know down in the comments below!

Fall Waterfall Design

Hello lovelies, & happy Thursday! Lots of new manicures for you thousands week! Also still absolutely obsessed with Fall shades & colour schemes right now. I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to start decorating my house for Autumn, & I really need to get to Dollarama to stock up on cute Fall decor. But at least I can rock Autumn on my nails!

It’s been a while since I last painted some waterfall nails. I really wanted to wear this pretty dusty salmon pink shade (Sally Hansen So Much Fawn which I scored for $1 on clearance at Shoppers recently) & I really wanted to pair it with some darker, complimentary shades. & I’m obsessed with the end result!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure So Much Fawn
  • Sally Hansen CSM Pat On The Black
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Eco-Rose
  • L’Oréal Feeling Kilty
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

It’s been a while, but my lines are too shakey (thank goodness!) I’m really loving this hint of colour on the pale base. All the polishes are perfect for Autumn! 🍂 & you can never go wrong with a little hint of gold. Plus this is a surprisingly easy look to achieve!

What do you think about this Fall inspired waterfall? I’m absolutely loving this darker colour scheme.

Also it’s almost October which means it’s almost time for Halloween mania to begin! Share down below what designs you might want to see.

(I’m also participating in GlamNailsChallenge October so stay tuned!)

Fall Drag Marble

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! How this week is speeding by so quickly, I have no idea. I know I’ve been pretty quiet on here; we spent Friday-Monday away for my Grandfather’s memorial, so I was pretty busy last week & basically everything took a backseat! But I’m back & I’ve got some new fun nails to share with you!

As I’ve mentioned before, Fall colours are pretty much all I’m grabbing right now. I’m so here for them! Today’s look combines a few darker shades, perfect for September, but still keeps things a little light. I’ll be honest, I’m totally counting down the days until Halloween designs can start! But I thought I would get a few other designs in beforehand.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Gel Couture Princess Charming
  • Essie Kimono Over
  • Essie Brides No Groom
  • Essie Mosiac On Down
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio — I used the smalled one (COFFEE10 saves you 10%)

I won’t lie, it’s been a while since I attempted a drag marble, & even though I’m a little rusty, I think these turned out cool. Sometimes I find my drag marbles turn into a big blobby mess, so I tried really hard to make sure the colours kind of stayed separated. I’m going to keep practicing, because it’s such an easy way to fancy up your nails.

Loving this combination of colours. I’ll be honest with the fact I have been kind of distracted from looking at all the Fall shades popping up in stores. I’m not much for buying nail polish online unless they’re special shades, & I haven’t really been out in stores perusing nail polish like I used to. So I’m really trying to go through all my old nail polishes from years past, & using them! I definitely have a lot of nail polish to choose from, haha.

What do you think about this drag marble look? Do you like the colour combination I went with? Have you ever tried a look like this? Let me know what you think down in the comments below, & whether or not you would try this look!