Blue & Pink Abstract Stripes

Good morning lovelies & happy Saturday! It’s been a while since I posted, but I have a new manicure to share with you!

This design was actually originally done earlier in the spring, but I never got a chance to share! Since I haven’t really had a chance to do any nail art since our baby girl arrived, I thought I would share this look with you now!

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Rose to the Occasion
  • Sally Hansen Sugar Fix
  • Art Club Nail Art Striper in Paisley Blue
  • Kiss Nail Art Striper in white
  • Kiss Nail Art Striper in Black

I can’t remember the last time I did an abstract stripe design, but it most definitely has been a while. (I went back through my Instagram feed, & this post from May 2018 seems to be my last time doing this technique, with a similar colour scheme. I guess I really love creating this style using shades of blue.

& honestly looking at these nails, it really makes me want to buy nail art stripers in every shade so I can do these kind of looks more often–I have a Sally Beauty gift card from Christmas waiting to be used that I feel like using on a few new stripers from some more line love!

what do you think of this design? What are your favourite colour combinations when it comes to stripes? Share down below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Quo by ORLY Color Amp’d LA Dreamin’

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. Today I’ve got a bright & girlie pink to share with you from deep in my stash: Quo by ORLY Color Amp’d in LA Dreamin’. This shade is from the Shoppers Drug Mart based Quo by ORLY range & I picked up this particular shade in the clearance last Summer for only $1!

For those who don’t know, these Color Amp’d shades are designed to wear like gel, lasting longer than your tradition polishes. They are designed to be paired with a Gel-like top coat that, when paired with the polish, will create that gel like bond on your nail.

For my swatches, I used 3 coats of polish & finished with top coat. The polish itself is very, very thin so you need a lot of layers in order to build opacity. You could definitely use some white undies to keep layers to a minimum, but for my swatches I wanted to show the polish on its own.

Even with 3 coats, there is still some visible nail line showing (although not as well in my swatches). Even though I don’t usually like thin formula polishes like this that show off nail line, there is something about this pink shade that I don’t mind it as much. It also has this slightly neon quality to it that I really like with my skin tone for Summer because it brings out the natural olive undertones in my skin & makes me look more tan… which is ALWAYS a good thing.

Who doesn’t love pink!? What colour do you feel like is your shade for Summer? I feel like with how much I’ve been wearing it lately, pink/coral is going to be the shade for me for Summer 2019!

Pink Vintage Roses

Good morning lovelies & I hope you’re having a lovely Thursday. The weekend is so close you can’t almost taste it!

Today I’ve got some brand new nail art that I haven’t done in a while–roses! I was feeling inspired by this pretty pink polish & decided that some vintage rose inspired nail art would look so pretty over it! (& maybe I was feeling slightly girlie & romantic.)

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Bamboo & Green Tea Strengthener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • ACO by Ardene Flawless
  • Kiss Nail Art Striper in White
  • Essie Peach Daiquiri
  • China Glaze Life is Rosy
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Racing Rose
  • QUO by ORLY Breathable The Antidote
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie First Timer
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool set & nail art brushes

So very in love with how these turned out, even if it’s been so long since I created roses that I’m a little rusty. But it’s like riding a bike: you never really forget how to do it, just takes some practice to get steady again.

I will say, having teeny tiny detail brushes really does make a huge difference in creating your petals, so a micro detail brush like THIS can give you a very realistic finished product! Same thing goes for your leaves–I feel like my floral designs have gotten so much better since I got amazing brushes. So it’s definitely worth it to invest in fantastic brushes & I’m lucky enough that I have received some fantastic detail brushes from NailStuff that have brought my floral designs to another level!

What do you think of this floral design? Would you like to see me attempting more florals again? Share your thoughts down in the comments below!

My Nails & My Cup — Holo Gradient Nails

Are you guys sick of the holo yet? I certainly hope not because I have another mani to share–this time I created a Holo gradient to match my new-ish tumbler that I picked up at Claire’s on clearance for $2. It came with cute little manicure tools inside, so I had to have it!

I posted on Instagram the other day what nail art I should do on my naked nails, while holding the above cup, & received an overwhelming amount of responses saying I should match my cup… so that’s what I decided to do!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Green Tea & Bamboo Strengthener
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze BFF
  • Color Club Eternal Beauty
  • China Glaze 2Nite
  • Quo by ORLY Falling Star
  • Latex free make up sponge
  • Creating the holo gradient may have been one of the easiest gradients I’ve ever done! I don’t know if it’s the sparkle or formula or what, but I was as to sponge on each colour separately (which kept from making a big old mess around my cuticles) & they blended together seamlessly!
  • I know the cup has a whole bunch of rhinestones, but I definitely did not have enough on hand to apply to my fingers (or enough colours that would match) so I decided a couple coats of a scattered holo top coat could give a similar look, so I grabbed Quo by Orly Falling Star because I find the glitters larger than some of my other holo toppers (like China Glaze Fairy Dust). Gave off just enough extra sparkle on the nail without being distracting!
  • so what do you think of the holo gradient? Which colour combination do you think I should try out next? Share your thoughts down in the comments below!

    SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Summer 2019 Neons

    {PR Sample}

    Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! Today I’m super excited to finally be able to share my swatches of these amazing Limited Edition polishes from Sally Hansen. I’ve been playing around with looks using these shades since I received them, & now I finally have the time to share these polishes with you.

    I was gifted these amazing polishes from Sally Hansen, which are currently popping up in stores for the Summer. The collection contains 6 brand new shades–my package also contained a bottle of Get Mod (white) as well Matte Top Coat.

    For my swatches below, I applied the polish just on its own–I started off trying it with the white undies, but it seemed like unnecessary layers of polish, so I decided to swatch all shades just on their own. & I was quite impressed with how they turned out!

    Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Summer 2019 Neons”