Purple & Gold Matte Geometric Stripes

Hello loves & Happy Tuesday.

Anyone else feeling the full on February blahs? I feel like it’s translating to my nails, because post-Valentine’s Day, I’m struggling to think of what to wear on my nails! Too early to go too hard on the Spring looks, but I don’t really want to do Winter designs either.

I am feeling stumped.

But you know what never fairs me? My striper brush. I had painted my nails & thought about doing a single gold line — like this — but decided I was feeling something a bit more abstract so that’s what we went with! & I love how they turned out, especially with the addition of the matte top coat.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Trouble Maker
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Goldie Rocks
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

How beautiful is this dark purple & gold together? I’m kind of sad that Trouble Maker was discontinued from the Sally Hansen CSM line, because it’s such a beautiful perfect purple. & my bottle is starting to sadly get low. That’s the hardest part of being a nail polish addict… you find those polishes that you love to wear so much, & they never stick around forever. Although Essie Kimono Over is a close second in my heart, so at least I still have her for my dark purple craving days!

What do you think about this purple & gold geometric look? Are you a fan of these kinds of designs, or do you prefer a bit more complicated nail art? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what nail art you think that February calls for!

Have a lovely day!♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Barielle Shades Secret Encounter

Hello beauties & happy Sunday! It’s an absolutely frigid day here in Halifax — this whole weekend has been in the negatives. I’m not a fan of the cold, mostly because I’m a petite person who wears multiple layers in October. Also, the cold absolutely wrecks havoc on my nails, so we’re back to some serious shorties… again!

But you know what makes short nails so much better? A pretty polish colour. & today’s beautiful shade is also one I had to dig super deep into the stash to find: Barielle Shades Secret Encounter.

2 coats + Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

I’m actually surprised that when I looked up this shade in previous blog entries, I haven’t posted about it! I picked up this shade in 2015, on clearance at Winners (where else). But according to the internet, this shade was originally released as part of the 2008 Fall Affair Collection. So she goes back a few years.

The colour itself is this beautiful deep cranberry with metallic shimmer. I needed two coats for full coverage but the formula was easy to apply. The brush was definitely on the thinner side, which made cuticle line application a little more difficult, but that was the trend for most bottles of nail polish back then.

I was looking for something kind of Valentines-y to wear, & I think this is a great option! Like I said, this shade is one of the older ones in my collection, but she’s held up quite well over the years. I do believe Barielle is still making nail polish, although I haven’t seen any in my neck of the woods in a long time. However, according to their website, this shade is no longer in rotation.

What do you think of Barielle Shades Secret Encounter? Do you like this throwback shade as a Valentine’s Day option? I had originally planned on doing a little heart accent on this guy, but didn’t quite have enough time. Either way, I think it’s a beautiful polish colour all on it’s own.

Happy Sunday loves!

♥︎

Bright & Simple Swirls

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! A freaking chilly Tuesday here. We went from it feeling like Winter this weekend, to it feeling like Spring yesterday, right back into a cold snap. My nails are definitely not happy about the back & forth, but I’m trying to keep them looking cute regardless.

Todays look was a really simple one I did last week. I wanted something a little bit bright & colourful, & I was especially feeling Essie Flowerista as my base shade, so this is what I ended up with!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Flowerista
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Passion Flower

I really wanted to do some nail art over my base, but I was running short on time. However — I thought these wavy lines using my Color Club Striper was perfect! I thought about doing them in more than one colour, but I think the purple over the fuchsia is more than perfect. I like the simplicity. It’s a great pop of colour which is exactly what you need when it’s still January.

What do you think about these bright & simple swirls? Are you feeling the simplicity of this design or do you prefer nail art that is more complex?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below. I love when people share their thoughts on my nail art!

Have a lovely Tuesday! 🌸

SWATCH SUNDAY— Revlon Unicornicopia

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday here which only means one thing — let’s wear some holo. I was digging through my nail polish stash for this week’s Swatch Sunday, & decided to take a peek into my Revlon stash. There was a few polishes in there I’ve realized I bought, but never worn, but the one that really caught my eye was Revlon Unicornicopia.

3 coats, no top coat.

Revlon Unicornicopia is a beautiful liner holographic lavender that was originally released in 2017. The formula is a bit thin — I needed 3 coats for full coverage — but I found it dries quickly. I had no issues with the coats pulling when you apply another, something which I’ve found with other holographic shades.

The sparkle is quite pretty, & I like the pale lavender shade it has. It’s almost pastel, which obviously makes me feel Spring vibes (yes… still). We still be digging out from a big snowstorm on Friday, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still be dreaming of Spring.

& obviously I needed to show off a sun shot of this holo. The liner holo definitely shows up better in the sunshine than under my daylight bulb with camera flash. Both are gorgeous though! & I’m really glad I finally pulled this shade out. It deserves its day in the sun.

What do you think about Revlon Unicornicopia? Do you love this beautiful lavender holo as much as I do? Do you have any of the Revlon Holochromes in your stash? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a lovely Sunday!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Pucci-licious

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday!

I hope everyone’s day is off to a great start & that your first week of 2023 has been lovely. It’s finally kind of looking like Winter here in my part of the East Coast, so naturally that means I’m feeling the complete opposite with this week’s Swatch Sunday pick.

I’ve been in a serious purple mood lately. The last 4/5 of my manicures have a purple theme (& I have another one ready to go!) So naturally when picking this week’s Swatch Sunday pick I wanted to keep the trend going. & one of my all time favourite purples?

Color Club Pucci-licious.

2 coats + Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

I’m not going to lie, I’m actually surprised I haven’t picked this shade to swatch yet. It’s absolutely one of my all time favourite purple polishes.

Color Club Pucci-licious was originally released as part of the Poptastic collection, but then made its way into the permanent line up. The polish itself is a cool toned vibrant purple cream. On its own it’s quite glossy, but I did add top coat to mine as I was adding some crackle overtop.

I used two easy coats for my swatches, & it was perfectly levelled with the second coat.

As you can see from the top of my bottle, I bought this guy at my local Lawton’s in the clearance section. However, you can still find this guy for sale on the Color Club Website so I don’t think he’s been discontinued (thank goodness!) It’s also available via NailPolishCanada.com — on sale! — so that’s a good option as well.

The shades look much different on the two sites, but they’re definitely the same polishes. That’s kind of the thing about photographing Pucci-licious—depending on your lighting when photographing it, it can look very different. I did my best to capture my swatches as close as real life as possible!

What do you think about Color Club Pucci-licious? Do you own this beauty of a shade in your own nail polish stash? L

et me know all your thoughts, & what colours your currently wearing to get you through the January blahs.

Have a lovely Sunday! 🖤