Tribal Print Gradient Nails

I know I say this every time I do my nails, but these have to be one of my favourite gradients I’ve ever done. Seriously–just look! It turned out so pretty. I’d never claim to be a gradient expert, but damn if I don’t feel proud of how these turned out! & what does better with a gradient than a little stamping? I don’t think I’ve done any stamping since before the Lil Bubs was born, & I didn’t realize how much I missed it. 

For this manicure, I used:

  • Base Coat: Perfect Formula Pink Gel Coat
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Lounge Lover
  • China Glaze Glow With The Flow
  • China Glaze Plur-ple
  • Essie Butler Please
  • Yves Saint Laurent Noir Brilliant
  • Born Pretty Store Peel Off Liquid Tape
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate (QA66)
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge

Why don’t I stamp more often, seriously? Well mostly because I only have the same few stamping plates. But hopefully I can change that soon because it just makes for sure an intricate manicure. I would never freehand this design (at least not without a lot of crankiness & frustration!) 

For my gradient, I started off with a basic sponged gradient & then went back over the gradient dry brushing my colours for a bit of a rustic look. It lead to an interesting blend that I really, really like. 

What do you think of this mani? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 💜

Splatter Nails with @xromapolishandvinyls!

Happy Monday everyone! 

I was recently sent some nail vinyls to play with from @xromapishandvinyls & as soon as they arrived I couldn’t wait to pull them out & start creating. You know how much I LOVE my nail vinyls, & Xroma Polish and Vinyls have a ton of awesome creative designs available on their site

First design I grabbed to play around with was the splat stencils! 

For this manicure, I used:

  • Base Coat: Perfect Formula Pink Gel Coat
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Butler Please
  • ACO by Ardene Ice Mist
  • Quo by ORLY mini unnamed pink
  • Quo by ORLY mini unnamed mint 
  • Xroma Polish and Vinyls Splat Stencil 
  • Small dotting tool 

Isn’t this pattern so much fun?! I’m sure I’m not the only person who loves splatter nails but hates the clean up. Plus even with filling in my splats individually, this manicure was easy & surprisingly quick to do! 

These were so much fun to do & even more fun to wear! They even matched my OOTD. I’d definite recommend checking out Xroma Polish And Vinyls site yourself, & all the amazing patterns available. They ship world wide from Australia, & mine arrived super quick! I think it took only 6 business days & I live on the other side of the world in Canada so I though that was really impressive. 

What do you think of this manicure? Let me know in the comments below! 

Feeling 90s With Neon Spotted Nails 

Too many rainy days have left me craving some neon nails, so I decided to grab some bright colours to cheer myself up. In the process I saw my bottle of Layla Bubbly in Black & thought it would look really neat over a neon-ish base colour. 

For this manicure I used:

  • Base Coat: Perfect Forumla Pink Gel Coat
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat 
  • ORLY Scenic Route
  • Icing Breakfast at Tiffany’s 
  • China Glaze Sun Upon My Skin 
  • Icing Pink A Boo
  • Layla Cosmetics Bubbly Effect in Black

I’ve owned this bottle of Layla Bubbly effect for a while (I scored it on sale at Lawton’s in the clearence like 3 years ago) but this was the first time I really got it to work for me the way I imagine it’s supposed to work. I did wait until the next morning to add the black, so maybe that made the difference? Either way I’m super excited about how it turned out! Like crackle nails, it just offers an easy way to create nail art without excessive work (or mess). 

& incase you were interested in seeing what my base looked like before I added the Bubbly topper, here was the base. I tried to attempted @laqvid‘s wet dry brush design but I’m definitely going to need to give it more practice. 

What do you think of this design? Have you ever tried the Layla Bubbly Effect polishes before? Let me know the comments below! 

Fairy Dust-ed Half Moons 


Happy First Day of May! I hope the weather wher you are is more beautiful than the cloudy grey skies covering Halifax. 

I recently refreshed my bottle of China Glaze Fairy Dust & I’m obsessed all over again. I’ve been adding it to all my manicures because the sparkle is just so pretty. I realized I hadn’t done any half moons in quite a while so it felt like a good time for some. 

For this manicure, I used:

  • Base Coat: Perfect Formula Pink Gel Coat
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat 
  • OPI Two Timing The Zones 
  • OPI Lost My Bikini in Monoloki
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

So pink & purple is definitely my favourite half moon colour combination. I’ve done it a lot, but it just pairs so well together. 💜💗 & adding the holo glitter of Fairy Dust just improves it even more. 

 Feel a gradient coming on featuring these colours, with Fairy Dust of course. All gradients just need Fairy Dust, it’s pretty much a requirement. 


What’s is your favourite glitter top coat? Obviously my #1 is Fairy Dust but if I had to pick another I would say the Quo By ORLY Matte Glitter Topper or Essie Shine of the Times. If there is one thing almost as beautiful as holo glitters, it’s definitely flakies. 

Let me know your top picks in the comments below! 

Tropical Leaves Accent Nail featuring OPI Fiji minis. 

Recently I entered a contest hosted by OPI Canada on Instagram, and surprise! I won! And my prize was the OPI Fiji Collection minis. I will hopefully have full swatches of the minis coming soon, but first I have a mani featuring a few of the colours to share. 

For this manicure, the Products I used are:

  • OPI Two Timing The Zones
  • OPI Getting Nadi on My Honeymoon 
  • OPI Is That A Spear In Your Pocket? 
  • Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • What’s Up Nails Tropical Leaves Stencil

I seriously couldn’t think of a more perfect combination than these gorgeous colours and this pretty leaf accent nail. I ordered these stencils from What’s Up Nails recently on my vinyl buying splurge. They just looked so fun for Spring/Summer. 

These OPI Fiji polishes are gorgeous. I’ve always loved the mini sets OPI releases because it gives you the chance to try out a few polishes for a great deal, & then go pick up a big bottle (or bottles) of the ones you really love. 

Have you picked up any of the polishes from the OPI Fiji collection? Which ones are you favourite? Let me know in the comments below.