Category: Pure Ice

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY — Pure Ice Cookies ‘N Cream

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! The first Sunday of April at that — can you believe it? I mean, I feel like I’m always saying this, but I can’t get over how quickly this year is passing. I’m happy that we’re that much closer to Summer dress weather, but wow… this year is already 1/4 over! That is crazy.

Today I’m going old school though, with a polish from deep in my stash. I’ve been living for speckled nail looks lately, so obviously that means pulling out some from deep in the past. You might remember, a few years ago, the brand Pure Ice released a collection of speckled nail polishes that I think were based on nail polishes. Naturally, I bought three at the time. I don’t often pull them out, with the exception of this time of year because I feel like they’re absolutely perfect for Easter nails.

2 coats, no top coat.

As the name implies, Cookies ‘N Cream is a white base with multisized hex glitters that gives the impression of cookies & cream ice cream.

I applied 2 coats of polish for my application — a thinner first coat, followed by a thicker second coat which gave exactly the opacity I was hoping for. The base is thin enough that the black glitters show through perfectly, giving you the multi layered effect. It also dried down quickly. which left a semi textured in some places, thanks to the layered glitters, but this could easily be fixed with a thick coat of glossy top coat.

I really, really love the different sized glitters in this polish ( & its sister shades I own Boysenberry & Orange Sorbet) versus a speckled polish like Deborah Lippmann Polka Dots & Moonbeams. & it really does look like ice cream, which just makes me think of Summer, & I can’t wait for Summer days.

It also kind of makes me wish I had scooped up all 6 shades in the collection back in 2015 because every time I wear one I realize just how much I freaking love speckled nail polish, & this trend needs to make a comeback!

What do you think about Pure Ice Cookies ‘N Cream? Do you love these speckled polishes as much as I do? Are there any nail polishes you’re hoping the Easter Bunny brings you next weekend? Let me know down in the comments below!

Posted on

Purple & Gold Colour Blocking

Hello beauties & happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. Mine has been busy, & we’re anxiously awaiting another snowstorm. But at least I have some cute nails to show off!

Today’s look was kind of an experiment, I guess. I was just playing around on my nails, but I liked them so much I decided to wear them as a full manicure. I love when that happens! Especially because I am in a nail art rut right now, & struggling with ideas.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Quo by ORLY Breathable You’re A Gem
  • Quo by ORLY Colour Amp’d Venice
  • Quo by ORLY Colour Amp’d Stadium Way
  • Quo by ORLY Breathable Fairy Godmother
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

This feels very regal, like something you would see on the dress of Victorian royalty. The colours, & the gold accents — it all feels very royal. It’s a fun look, & relatively quick to do. I also haven’t really dug into my old Quo by ORLY polishes in a while, so I was happy to pull out a few I haven’t worn in a while.

Purple & gold is always a solid colour combination.

What do you think about this colour combination & nail art look? Are you a fan of this purple & gold combination? Let me know all your thoughts down below, & let me know what you’re wearing on your nails lately.

I’ve been starting to feel myself drawn to neon lately, so I would be prepared for some fun neon looks in the future!

Posted on

Another Spring-y Floral Accent Nail

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday!

This past weekend we had some beautiful weather, & looking in our gardens you can see greenery beginning to pop through the soil, so if there is any benefit to this current situation, it is the fact that there will be lots of time to enjoy our yard very soon! It also inspired me to do MORE floral nails!

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: UNT Ready For Take Off (I got mine from NailStuff.ca — remember to use my code for 10% off: COFFEE10)
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Pure Ice Boysenberry
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Essie Set in Sandstone
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Birthday Suit
  • Sally Hansen MG Blacky-O
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie First Timer
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush Trio (I used my favourite brush: the 7mm liner brush) 

After my Swatch Sunday post featuring untrieds on Sunday (including Deborah Lippmann Polka Dots & Moonbeams) I’ve been really trying to wear shades either I haven’t worn in a very long time, or maybe I’ve never worn. Boysenberry was a shade I bought when all the speckled egg polishes were coming out, but I think I’ve only worn a handful of times. It’s very springy, & the pale purple base is perfect for Spring!

Can I just say how much I adore how these little yellow flowers turned out. 🌼 Makes me hopeful for brighter days ahead, even if our reality right now is… very stressful & very scary. Right now I’m just going to stay home & concentrate on the things that make me happy, & that includes my vast collection of nail polish & painting my nails.

What do you guys think about this floral accent nail? What other flowers would you like to see me attempt? I think I’ve perfected my roses, so I am going to try & branch out into other floral varieties! Next up — going to attempt some tulips! But let me know down in the comments below what floral I should try next, or even what flower is your favourite!

🌸

Posted on

‘Tis the season… for prom nails.

Tis the season for Prom. I’m long past my prom years, but my old neighbour I used to babysit is attending her grade 9 grad this year, which is pretty much a mini prom for those graduating to high school. It’s also a very big deal to them, almost as much as prom is to high school seniors. So when she asked me to do her nails for the big dance, I was more than honored. Her dress was lime green with sparkles, so I went with that theme.

abby5

I did a glitter gradient at the bottom of her nails, with an accent nail of pure sparkle. (I also did her toes to match with a glitter gradient.) Her dress has a whole lot of glitter and sparkle going on, so we wanted to do something that would match. These are going to look awesome when the lights at the dance hit them! Just like a disco ball!

The polishes I used for her nails were:

  • Pure Ice Wild Thing
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Celeb City
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Ice Pop
  • NOPI Inner Sparkle.
  • Color Club Platinum Record.
  • OPI I Snow You Love Me.
  • Essie Good to Go Top Coat.

Continue reading “‘Tis the season… for prom nails.”

Posted on

Leopard Print Day Two–changing things up a bit.

So technically this isn’t new nail art. I was so in love with my leopard print nails from yesterday, I couldn’t take them off. However, my purple color chipped badly at work so I needed to change them up somewhat to pull off day 2 nails. I don’t often wear my manicures for more than a day, mostly because I chip them so badly at work on a regular basis. But I just couldn’t take off the leopard print–I am so proud of how great they look, I had to give them at least another day of work. So what could I do to chance this manicure up a little bit?

day2

After grabbing my blue Kosmic Colours nail polish, and painting on the color I still wanted to do something fun. I picked up OPI’s I Snow You Love Me at Chatters for a sweet deal a couple weeks ago, and read online about how awesome it was for a glitter placement manicure. I’ve never done glitter placement on my nails, but I really wanted to try.

day2b day2c

It really wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. All it took was a steady hand and my dotting tool. The blue wasn’t completely dry when I started so the glitters kind of sunk into the color a little bit, but it still turned out neat. Like little diamonds on my nails. I’ve been really wanted to try out studs and such on my nails as I see them on so many awesome manicures on my favorite nail art blogs, but I haven’t had a chance yet. These little glitters definitely gave me a taste of how pretty it can look though!

day2d

day2e

So how do you save a manicure you really love? How long do you tend to keep your manicures on your nails?