GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE OCTOBER — Spider Web 🕸️

It’s that time of year my loves! It’s Glam Nails Challenge October!

I haven’t been doing these challenges a lot recently, just due to time constraints, but I couldn’t let October pass by without joining in. For those who don’t know, Glam Nails Challenge is a monthly challenge hosted by @nbnailart where they post a series of prompts for the month. I find it’s an awesome idea to jump in when I’m feeling stuck for nail art inspiration, or when it’s a month like October with a holiday theme.

& the first prompt of this month: Spider Webs.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat
  • Cadillacquer Aghast
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Electri-Lime
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Liner Brush

As soon as I put on Cadillacquer Aghast for yesterday’s Swatch Sunday post, I knew it would be the perfect base for this spider web look (with green spider webs). Obviously, my nails were in the cold state for these pictures, as they usually are, but I like how it makes the lime green spider webs pop. If I had been thinking, I could have added some glow in the dark to the spiderwebs, but it didn’t occur to me until after.

But It would make for an awesome Halloween night design!

What do you think about this fun spider web Halloween design? Are you excited for a whole month of Halloween-y designs? Have you decided what you’re dressing up as for Halloween yet? Let me know down in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Cadillacquer Aghast 💀 (Halloween 2021 collection)

•contains pr/gifted product•

Hello beauties & happy Sunday! & happy October 1st. It is officially the best month of the year — or at the very least my most favourite month of the year. & naturally I had to dig into my nail polish stash for today’s Swatch Sunday post for something a bit Halloween-y to share. I did this last year — dedicating each Swatch Sunday of the month to a Halloween inspired shade — so that is my plan again this year!

I’m starting off this month with a really fun one: Cadillacquer Aghast which was released as part of their 2021 Halloween collection.

3 coats + top coat.

In the bottle, Cadillacquer Aghast is a dark purple with fun slime green multi-sized glitters. But the magic really happens when you apply the polish to your nails, as it’s a thermal. With warm hands, it transforms from dark purple, to lighter blue, to a pale almost sky blue. It’s very very cool.

The formula itself is very thin, which is why it required 3 coats. I actually started with only two coats, but then I noticed some patchiness when it was at its lightest (hottest) state, & decided I needed another coat for good measure. The thin formula does mean you get a good look at those densely packed glitters, which are very fun! On it’s own, it dries down to a semi matte finish, but I chose to add top coat to mine so that it was shiny (& dried a bit quicker.)

Removal was a little less fun, but this is the kind of shade I wear for a special occasion (like Halloween nails) rather than everyday, so I was okay with it. Obviously, a peel off base coat would make removal way easier, but I wore these to work so I needed them to hold up a bit stronger.

I love how this colour transforms every time you look at it! Most of the time, it was in the darker stage as I am perpetually cold, but every so often I would look at it & see it in action! It’s like an ever transforming gradient on your nails, & that’s very fun. Also, I’m kind of obsessed with the look of purple & blue with this green. Very Halloween-y.

Sadly, this was a limited edition shade that was gifted to me by NailStuff.ca that is no longer available. However, if you’re looking for a similar shade she does have an awesome collection of Cadillacquer nail polishes to choose from!

What do you think of this Halloween-y shade? Are you a fan of thermal nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & let me know what Halloween nail polish you’re looking forward to wearing this spooky season!

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

All thoughts are honest & my own.

Purple & Gold Leopard Print (Recreation from 2014)

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! We’re officially mid-week, which means we’re just days away from October… how crazy is that? Wasn’t it just January?

I’m super excited though, because October is one of my all time favourite months for nail art, so I’m excited to get started on all sorts of spooky season nails. In the meantime, though, I have a fun nail art look which is a recreation of a nail art look I did all the way back in 2014. You know me, I love a good nail art recreation.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Belle of the Ball
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ski Bunny
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Five Golden Blings
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

I’ve actually been planning on recreating this nail art look (which was originally inspired by perfectlynailedUK) for a while, but I was just waiting for the right moment. This colour scheme is very much an Autumn colour scheme. Also, I switched things up slightly for my recreation, but I think I’ve captured the overall essence of my original manicure quite well! & I love being able to look back on old designs & see how far my nails have come.

Leopard print is just such a fun design to wear, no matter the season. But the combination of gold & purple is perfect for this late September, pre-Halloween nail art season. & now that I’m (more or less) feeling back to myself, I’m excited to get back into all the fun nail art designs I love to wear this time of year! & plan for those spooky season manicures to come.

What do you think about this nail art recreation? Do you like how I updated this old design? Do you ever recreate nail art looks from the past to see how your nails have improved? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Wednesday! ♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Layla Pro Nail Polish SG31

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. It has definitely been a while!

This is actually the first time I’ve painted my nails all week after surviving covid. & I won’t lie — it was a rough week for sure. I have never felt so sick in as long as I can remember. But I’m back, slowly & surely, & ready to share a fun nail polish for this week’s Swatch Sunday.

Once again, I went shopping in my own nail polish stash, & found a beauty I’ve owned for quite a while. This is Layla Cosmetics Layla Pro Nail Polish in SG31.

2 coats + top coat

I actually have a couple polishes from the Layla line I’ve picked up over the years in my local Lawton’s clearance bins. &, truthfully, I have two difference bottles for this particular shade; this bottle, titled Layla Pro & the Ceramic Effects line which is the exact same polish.

According to what I read online, the Pro line was released for nail polish professionals, in bigger bottles than their other shades. I picked up this bottle a few years ago for the very affordable price of $3.25 on clearance. What drew me initially to this shade is it’s very close to the original version of Color Club’s The Uptown — although not a direct dupe.

For my swatches, I did two easy coats. The first one applied fairly thinly, but the second one I applied a bit more generously. The flakies are very densely spread through the formula, so you get a lot of coverage. It’s a beautiful polish, with the perfect shift for Autumn weather.

I’m already kind of on a purple kick, & flakie kick, so it’s giving me the best of both worlds. I love the shift between orange, gold & green depending on how you move your hand. I also, obviously, had to top it with some matte top coat

Have you ever tried Layla Cosmetics polishes? Do you love a good flake polish? I feel like you don’t see shades like this as much anymore — outside the Indie polish world. I kind of miss when unique shades like this would pop up in mainstreams store. Can we petition for 2024 to be the year of the mainstream flake polish?

Have a fantastic Sunday!

Freehand Metallic X-pattern Nails

Hello loves, & happy Wednesday. It’s mid-week, & back to school is tomorrow! How exciting is that? I’m kind of sad Summer is over, but also there are so many fun Halloween & Autumn decorations popping up in store, I’m not too sad.

Today I’m sharing a fun freehand design I am very proud of. I was trying to come up with something fun & unique to share, & ended up creating these x-pattern nails. I do have nail vinyls with this pattern I could have used, but I really wanted to see if I can do it completely freehand.

& I did!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Quo by ORLY Color Amp’d Top Coat
  • Milani Nail Polish Deep Thoughts
  • Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Scarab
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Liner Brush

I found this old clearance Milani in my stash, & realized I’d never worn it, so I decided to give it a try. Right now I’m just loving deep, dark purples. Also, I’m kind of sad this was my first time ever trying this shade out as I’ve owned it quite a while. Now that I should have a smidge more free time, I think I need to officially go through my nail polish stash & check out all those untried nail polishes I’ve collected over the years.

Also, I’m so so so happy with how this x-pattern design turned out. My thumb ended up slightly off centre, but I more or less had all the nails pretty even. I’m really proud of how these turned out, & I think the beautiful teal shimmer over the deep purple looks incredible. It really pops! & it was such a fun design to wear.

What do you think of these freehand x-pattern nails? What colours are you loving right now? Right now, I’m all about dark nails, which I’m loving. Especially shades with just a little bit of shimmer to keep things interesting.

Have a lovely Wednesday! ♥︎