SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Willow in the Wind

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Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend so far. We celebrated my daughter’s birthday this weekend (her birthday is today) with a mermaid themed party, so it’s definitely been busy! But that doesn’t mean I didn’t have time to paint my nails for this weekend’s Swatch Sunday — especially since I received the most epic nail polish package from Essie on Friday! So obviously, I couldn’t let this weekend pass by without painting my nails with at least one colour!

Today’s pick: Essie Willow in The Wind from the Swoon in the Lagoon collection (I also received Swoon in the Lagoon & Frilly Lillies as well.) This colour is so out of my usual comfort zone, but I couldn’t get past how beautiful & unique this shade was, so I had to wear it first!

2 coats + top coat

I would describe this green as a kermit green, which is so far outside my usual go to shades, but there is something so vibrant & fresh about this shade! This is two coats, but the formula was pretty flawless, so I feel a bit like my second coat was more of a “comfort” coat than anything else — with the except of a few sparse spots that needed another coat. The wide brush on the Essie bottle made it easy to apply the polish to my whole nail in one quick swipe, which is always a good thing.

So squishy & lush! This is definitely going to be a part of my regular nail art arsenal for floral, because I feel like this is the perfect green for leaves! Is it a shade I’m going to wear on it’s own on the regular? Probably not. But as part of some nail art, I think it’s going to be amazing. & who knows… maybe I’m becoming a green girl!

Essie Willow in the Wind should be available anywhere Essie shades are available, including these online stores:

What do you think of this lush green shade from Essie? Are you as obsessed with Willow in the Wind as I am? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Have a fantastic Sunday! ♥︎

Products featured in this post were provided in exchanged for content.  All thoughts are honest & my own.

Girly Blue & Pink Freehand Chevron Moons 🌙

Hello loves & happy Wednesday!

Already the middle of the week –how crazy is that? Today I’m sharing another cute look on these new shorties of mine. Whenever I have a bad break, I always get stressed about what I’m going to be able to paint on my nails. But the truth is, nail art looks just as cute on short nails as it does on long… & sometimes it looks even cuter! I always find that a moon/chevron moon design looks best on a shorter nail length, which is why I tend to do them more when my length is short.

Today’s look I went simple, & girlie.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Londontown KUR Nail Hardener & Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive Fast Dry Top
  • Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure. Love You Lotus
  • Sally Hansen GKP Blue Moonstone
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Passion Flower

Back in the early days of my Instagram, I saw a tutorial from @christabellnails that showed how do easily do the v-shape of a chevron moon, & I’ve been doing it that way ever since. Obviously, I do still do the occasional vinyl look too, but this is so much easier if you don’t want to have to wait for your base shade to full dry.

Also these colours are so cute together! Blue Moonstone from the Good Kind Pure line is still one of my favourites to grab for a quick manicure, so I enjoyed pairing it with this soft pink base. & just a little hint of purple around the edges.

What do you think of these freehand chevron moons? Do you like a simple design like this, or are you a fan of a more poppy complicated look? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& have a happy Wednesday! ♥︎

*contains PR/gifted items

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Nature Strong Emflowered

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Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful sunny Spring Sunday here on the East Coast, which is lovely to see. So I thought that something bright & Springy would be perfect for this week’s Swatch Sunday post.

Today’s pick is actually a polish I’ve had in my stash since last year when I teamed up with TradeSecrets.ca & was sent some beautiful shades by them from the OPI Nature Strong line. Somehow, I completely managed to forget to share some swatches, so I thought today was the perfect day to share. Today’s pick: OPI Nature Strong Emflowered.

2 coats + OPI Nature Strong Top Coat

The formula on this shade was really easy to work with & apply. I’ve used a few of these different “natural” formulas over the years, & I’m always impressed with how you notice very little difference with these cleaner shades. It applied easily, in two coats, with full opacity. & it dried down quickly between coats as well, which is always a plus! The formula was a bit on the thinner side so I was careful not to over fill my brush, but I had no issues with cuticle flooding.

The colour of this one is definitely stunning. I love a good purple-y pink shade, & Emflowered definitely is my kind of pink. It’s vibrant & lush, & I’m kind of obsessed. Also, we’re giving off some Barbie vibes & I really like that. Maybe it’s the influence of the movie coming out soon, but I’m digging bright pinks right now.

Over all, I really like this pink, & the shades I’ve tried from the OPI Nature Strong line so far. The colours & formulas have all been spot on, & they’ve lasted pretty well on my nails, even through a long shift at work.

You can find the OPI Nature Strong line on TradeSecrets.ca, as well as a ton other OPI collections to choose from. I’ve kind of been itching to buy some new polishes, & there are a few shades calling my name (especially since @GrapeFizzNails has been sharing her own fun OPI Nature Strong shades on Instagram) so I think I might need to do a little online shopping… maybe for Mother’s Day? I’ll definitely do a haul of what I get in that case!

What do you think of this beautiful shade (or any OPI Nature Strong shades you might have tried)? Let me know down in the comments below!

Have a lovely Sunday darlings!

Products featured in this post were provided in exchanged for content. 

All thoughts are honest & my own.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Perfect Manicure Press On Nails (Review)

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Features Gifted Product in Exchange for Content

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! The weekend (& holiday) is upon us, so I thought I would switch things up with an extra post. Recently, I was gifted some of the new Sally Hansen Salon Effects Perfect Manicure & was excited to try them out.

As you might remember, I tried out the Kiss brand press on nails around Halloween, but to be honest I’m not someone who wears them on the regular. I am, however, a huge Sally Hansen fan so if they’re jumping into the press on nail game, I figured it would be fun to get them a try.

Continue reading “Sally Hansen Salon Effects Perfect Manicure Press On Nails (Review)”

Hot Pink Stamped Floral

Good morning loves & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone survived the weekend & Monday relatively unscathed. It was rainy here all weekend which absolutely sucked. It was absolutely torrential.

Spring… you can come anytime!

So I’m honour of our cold & wet days, I decided I needed some hot pink nails. & why not throw some floral stamping on there too, just for fun.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • China Glaze Strawberry Fields
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Discontinued Born Pretty Store floral pattern stamping plate (featured here)
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

How pretty are these? I hope they’re pretty because oh boy did I struggle with clean up! I don’t know what was happening, because usually I don’t have so many issues, but my cuticle line just wanted to be stained black.

& also I’m so over this both of Seche Vite & it shrinking every manicure I do. I’ve never had a bottle shrink so bad! Look at my middle finger! So beyond frustrating. But regardless of the issues, my nails did turn out pretty. China Glaze Strawberry Fields is so pretty, I can’t believe I don’t wear it more often!

What do you think of this floral design? Are you feeling early Spring vibes in the middle of January? & to my friends on the other side of the world in the middle of Summer… how is it there? Is it nice?

Have a lovely Tuesday darlings!