Category: Polka Dots

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Summer-y Dotticure featuring Essie

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone is having an awesome week so far.

I’m excited because I have another fun (& easy) nail art look to share with you featuring some brand new (to me) shades I recently picked up. I worked like a mad woman over the Canada Day long weekend, so I decided to treat myself to a few new Summery nail polishes. & when I was looking at these brand new shades, I was like “hmmm, what can I do with these polishes?”

& the answer was obvious: dotticure!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • Essie Throw in the Towel
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Essie In the Cab-ana
  • Essie Blanc
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

How gorgeous are these shades together? Originally I planned on buying Essie Bahama Mama but then when I was in the nail polish aisle I noticed Bahama Mama is very close to Sally Hansen InstaDri Zip Wine so I decided to hold off (for now), & go for some more vibrant Summery shades. Essie In the Cab-ana is an old favourite & my old bottle is running out, & the other two shades were fun, bright pinks, & I seem to be very drawn to pink nail polish lately.

I think I might do a polish haul instagram reel soon, since I have been really loving (& buying) pinks, so why not show them off.

What do we think about this dotticure look? I feel like this is kind of reminiscent of my early dotticure days, where they were a bit more abstract. Let me know what you think down in the comments below, & what colours you would pick for a dotticure like this!

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Glam Nails Challenge September — Scarecrow

Hello lovelies & Happy Tuesday!

Haha I’m totally thrown off because of the holiday yesterday, & prepping for my little guy’s first day of school today! That’s the reason why this design is a few days late. But I’m super excited for these scarecrow inspired nails for the next Glam Nails Challenge prompt — I’m so about Fall right now, & these nails scream Fall to me! I’ve been absolutely loving all the Autumn shades I’ve recently picked up, so I loved combining them all into one design.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sinful Colours Essenchills Chamomile Calm
  • China Glaze Spice To Meet You
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Cinna–snap
  • Essie Get Your Groove On
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I’m so excited with how this look turned out! The colours go so well together, & I feel like they give off Scarecrow vibes from the combination. I’ll be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve been up close & personal with a scarecrow, but I felt like these orange-y & yellow tones really worked for the look. Also, there was no way I was going to be able to successfully freehand a scarecrow. But over all I’m so beyond happy with the end result!

What do you think about these scarecrow inspired nails? Are you following along with Glam Nails Challenge September? Are you excited about all the designs this month?

I’m really, really pumped for all the designs, so you definitely need to tuned!

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Blue on Blue Polka Dots 💙

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend, & for my fellow Canadians, a relaxing long weekend! It’s finally starting to feel like Summer now, which I am absolutely here for. I mean, I could take a few more 20+ sunny days, but I’m a whimp when it comes to cold, so anything less than 12 degrees feels like Winter to me.

Today I’m show off some simple blue polka dot nails. As I mentioned in my last post, I’m rocking some serious shorties again, so my nail art inspiration is a little lacking right now. But polka dots always make me feel better!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Avon Vintage Blue
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen Blue

Oh wow, these nails are short. & just when they were really starting to get long again. It’s always my middle finger, on either hand, misbehaving. Ah well, I’d been thinking about a short return to square nails, so this is the perfect excuse.

& now I just need some serious nail art inspiration. I have a few days off coming up, so I’m going to try & come up with some fun & funky nail art looks to share! Time for a deep dive through my Instagram saved folder & Pinterest.

What do you think about this simple blue on blue polka dots? Are you feeling this kind of look? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below! & share what nail art looks you might want to see coming up, perfect for short nails!

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#GlamNailsChallengeFeb — Mandala

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Hope everyone’s week is off to a good start. We had another stormy day here in Halifax yesterday—lots of freezing rain. Seriously ready for it to be Spring already!

Today I have another new design for #GlamNailsChallengeFeb! Today’s prompt is Mandala. & I’ll be honest—this was not an easy prompt for me. Originally I tried stamping because I have a plate that has a few mandala patterns, but that did not work out, so then I tried free handing a pattern, which was also a fail. But when I typed “mandala nails” into Pinterest, I saw a few beautiful looks using dots, so I decided that would probably be my easiest (& least frustrating) option!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • L’Oréal Vintage Vinyl
  • Sally Hansen CSM So Much Fawn
  • Sally Hansen Good.Kind.Pure. Almond Tan
  • Essie Mosaic on Down
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

As you can see from my close up, this isn’t the most perfect mandala pattern, but I’m still happy with how it turned out. I was originally inspired by this Pinterest post, but obviously I need more practice (& maybe not to start at 11pm) to get mine to look as beautiful as that! But you know, doing this challenge is all about testing myself, & that means even those manicures I’m not 100% comfortable with!

What do you think about this “Mandala” look? Is this dotticure version something that you would try yourself? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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#GlamNailsChallengeFeb — Polka Dots

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Today marks Day one of GlamNailsChallengeFebruary, which I’ve been planning for since the prompts were released last month! I’m really excited, because there is a good mix of prompts that can be for Valentine’s Day (which I love doing nail art for!) & some non-holiday prompts as well.

First up, we have Polka Dots — & naturally I was feeling a pink inspired Valentine’s Day dotticure. You can always use more pink in your life. Plus I had this Quo by ORLY set that had been sitting around for absolutely ever that I bought & never used, so I figured why not pull it out & use it a pretty gradient dotticure!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Strong Start
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen CSM Nail Primer
  • Quo by ORLY Holiday 2014 collection — “the Pinks” (none of these mini bottles have names associated, so I can’t give you specifics sadly.)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

Oh man, I love a good gradient dotticure, especially one that is as vibrant & pretty as this! I’ve done a few versions of this look over the years, especially for Valentine’s Day, which makes it a classic in my books! Especially great if you’re short on time, but want some pretty & standout nails! & you don’t even need tools to do it — a hair pin works just as easily as a dotting tool.

What do you think of my gradient dotticure for the first prompt of #glamnailschallengeFeb? I’m so exciting to be participating again this month, & can’t wait to play around with all the prompts to come!

It’s going to be a really good month for nail art so stay tuned!