Nautical Themed Nails for #glamnailschallengeaug

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Hello lovelies! & happy Monday. This month I’ve decided to try something different & dedicate myself to a nail art challenge. This is not the first time I’ve attempted a nail art challenge, but when I saw the prompts for the Glams Nail Challenge for August, it seemed a little less daunting than those I’ve attempted in the past… while still sparking some creative new designs!

There are 8 prompts for the month of August, starting with Nautical Nails! It’s been quite a while since I attempted any kind of nautical design, so I was very excited for the opportunity. Plus it gave me a chance to test out a colour combination I’ve really wanted to do for a while.

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Eny
  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Bonder
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture
  • Morgan Taylor Baby It’s Bold Outside
  • Essie Parka Perfect
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • OPI I Just Can’t Cope-acabana
  • What’s Up Nails Anchor Vinyls
  • Skinny & Wide Striping Tape
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid detail brushes
  • NailStuff.ca small gold studs from Gold Mixed Decoration Wheel

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I honestly can’t remember the last time I did any nautical themed nails, so I was excited for the inspiration to give it a fresh go!

I’m absolutely smitten with how this look turned out. The colours go really well together & I like how it’s not your typical colour scheme for this kind the yellow has that nice pop of colour, & is a little bit different. It’s so funny, because a few years ago my best friend got married in a nautical themed wedding, & these nails would have been perfect for us bridesmaids to wear — matches her colour scheme she had used too! For reference, these were the nails I wore to her bridal shower in the Wedding colours.

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What do you think about these nautical nails? What colour scheme would you use to recreate this design? Let me know down in the comments below & stay tuned this month for more fun new designs thanks to the Glam Nails Challenge!

(More) Freehand Tribal Print Accent Nails

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far. I’m super excited today because not only did I get the chance to do some nail art, but I managed some freehand nail art!

It feels like absolute ages since I had any time for anything more complicated than polka dots on my nails, but I had a quick minute the other night to do my nails & you better believe I took it! I had been scrolling through my Instagram feed after my Swatch Sunday post, & obsessing over some tribal/Aztec inspired designs from the past & decided I wanted no, needed to do some accent nails! So I grabbed one of my custom engraved detail brushes from nailstuff.ca, & went to work.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • OPI Gelato on My Mind
  • Essence You & Me?
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Beatnik
  • Essence Black is Back
  • China Glaze Friends Forever Right?
  • Nailstuff.ca 7mm detail brush {PR SAMPLE}
  • Nailstuff.ca dotting tool {PR SAMPLE}
  • Straight nail vinyls

So my line work is definitely sloppier than previous designs, but I feel like I’m just out of practice. Plus I didn’t grab my thinnest detail brush, which definitely made a difference in my freehand work. Also I totally cut a few corners & used vinyls for my blocks of colours, just to save me a bit of time. But over all, I really like how this turned out. Obviously I wish I could have done this look on all my fingers, sometimes all you have time for is an accent nail (or two.)

Also trying out this Essie Gel Couture Top Coat again to see if the lasting power is good. I’m really on the hunt for something that will help my manicures last longer, as I’m just not able to do my nails every night like I used to. Maybe someday when my nights are more free, but right now I need something that will keep my nails from chipping after a day.

Also plan on picking up a bottle of Orly Bonder Base as I’ve heard that it can really improve Manicure lasting time as well! & that is what I need in my life!

so what do you think of these accent nails? Do you think tribal/Aztec nails look better as accent nails or a full hand design? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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!

Neon Summer Stripes

Good afternoon lovelies! Today I have some brand new nails to share with you, which was a spur of the moment design that turned out surprisingly fun!

I’ve been using a lot of the same polishes over the last couple weeks (probably because they’re out sitting on my desk, so easy to grab) so I wanted to pull out some other shades! & TADA! this design was created. I decided to still stick to my neon-ish shades, as the weather is warming up & finally feeling beautiful, but dug into the stash to see what other Neons I could find.

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Green Tea & Bamboo Strengthener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Pretty Peony {PR sample}
  • Color Club Disco Dress
  • China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle
  • China Glaze Thistle Do Nicely
  • NailStuff.ca 11mm Liner Brush {PR sample}

At first, I had just Too Yacht To Handle & Thistle Do Nicely & wasn’t so sure I liked to colour combination — which I hate when that happens — but as soon as I added my lines of Disco Dress, it brought the whole look together & I ended up being absolutely obsessed with the end result.

The imperfection of the stripes reminds me of a beach towel, or something. I originally was going to use vinyls to create everything, but I’m so glad I was lazy & freehanded things because I think it looks so much better the way they turned out.

What do you think of this look? What summer nail art look are you wearing right now? Share your thoughts down in the comments below!

Summer-y Neon Dotticure

{PR sample}

Good morning lovelies! & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a great start to their week — we’re having a beautiful Sunny day today & I plan on fully embracing all the sunshine. So what better day to share this fun neon dotticure I did last week.

Again, I had to reach for my fun Neons from Sally Hansen Canada! I’m seriously either grabbing these Neons & my Holos which is why you see me grabbing either so often!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Green Tea & Bamboo Strengthener
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Electri-Lime
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Fuchsia Fever 
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Lemon Chillo
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Miami Ice
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Peach Please
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Violet Voltage 
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod

Is there anything more fun than a dotticure? I just love how easy it is to do & how cute they look! With the white base, these remind me so much of candy! 🍭 I wore this design for a good 4 days before changing them up (this was day four) & they lasted an impressively long time without chipping! There was some growth near my cuticles, but other than that they were almost still perfect by day 4.

What design would you like to see next? What colours? Let me know down in the comments below!