Negative Space & Purple Abstract

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! Hope everyone’s week is lovely so far. It’s almost the weekend, which is always exciting.

Todays look is a random one I came up with while in the middle of painting my nails. I was feeling a little stuck on what to paint on my nails, but was feeling purple, & somehow ended up with this slightly abstract purple look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
  • Top Coat: Essence Extreme GEL Top
  • OPI Infinite Shine Sound of Vibrance
  • OPI Infinite Shine Mariachi Makes My Day
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

How fun is this look?! Negative space has recaptured my heart, & I love the purple on purple look of these two shades together. They’re close enough they match very well, but enough of a difference they create this colour block look. Plus I love the abstract waves.

& I got a ton of compliments when I wore this design to work, which always makes me know I have a successful design! If people notice when I’m serving them, I know my nails are perfect!

What do you think about this look? Would you wear them on your nails?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below & how you feel about these abstract purple tips.

Purple & Blue Stamped Geometric Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope it’s as sunny & beautiful where you are, as it is here in Halifax.

Today I have a fun stamped nail are look to share with you! I know… who is she? It’s been a bit since my last foray into stamping, & I was looking for a quick & easy nail art look, so I landed on this stamped pattern. & I have to say, I’m really happy with how the finished look turned out!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Essence Extreme GEL Top
  • Essie Mint Candy Apply (blue version)
  • L’Oreal Color Riche Le Vernis Violet Vendome
  • BODICO Stamping Plate B-12
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

I was super pleased with how these turned out! I love, love, LOVED this stamping plate from BODICO, but if you remember from this (very old) review, I had a bit of trouble getting a clear pattern to show up. So I was super pleased that I got such a clear & crisp image for this design.

I absolutely adore the contrast of purple over the pale blue. It really pops! We all know blue & purple are probably two of my favourite nail polish shades, so pairing them together just makes for the perfect combination.

& this geometric pattern is just so much fun — I love that it almost looks like flowers.

What do you think about this geometric stamped design? Do you love the end result as much as I do? I always forget about my other nail art tools like my stamping plates, or even my nail vinyls, so I’m really trying to make a conscious effort to pull them out more. We will see how successful I am, haha.

Have a lovely Tuesday!

Pink & Purple Leopard Print

Hello lovelies & happy end of May!

Can you believe this month is officially on its way out? Summer is here — & I’ve been living for these warm Summer dress worthy days. Today I’m showing off a fun, bright look to perfectly compliment the weather: a pink & purple leopard print.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
  • Top Coat: Essence Extreme GEL Top
  • LA Girl Extreme
  • Essence Lilac Vibes
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

I love how this pink pops against this grey-ed out purple. It makes it look really vibrant. I featured this purple base for Swatch Sunday a few weeks back, & I’m glad I decided to do some nail art with it! It was the perfect base for this leopard print. This colour scheme is great!

What do you think of this leopard print look? Are you a fan of the pink against the purple base? What are you wearing to celebrate Summer days? Let me know in the comments below!

Purple Floral for @brydiedoesnails Birthday Collab!

Hello beauties & happy Tuesday. A very Monday-esque Tuesday, but I feel like that’s always the way after a holiday.

It’s feeling very Spring-like today, even though we have a big rainstorm heading our way. But while the sun is out, I thought I would share you a lovely design I did as part of a birthday collab for @brydiedoesnails birthday today!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI After Alter
  • Essie PlayDate
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • OPI Good Grief
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

I decided I wanted to recreate this beautiful floral by Brydie, & it was not an easy decision to make! She has so, so many beautiful designs–especially floral!–that I must have saved quite a few trying to decide. Bit this soft purple just worked so well with the semi-sheer base. The over all look turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, & I’m very, very happy with them.

Here is a look at all the beautiful designs done in honour of @brydiedoesnails! You can check out all the looks by clicking on the hashtag #brydiesbirthdaycollab on Instagram.

These are the girls that all participated in the collab!

@pbnjnails
@phoebesummernails
@emilygilmour.nails
@polished_yogi
@naomisnailart
@polishedbypeyt
@lecame.shesaw.shepainted
@matteabout nails
@_jazzy_nails.
@ghthenailartist
@neeles_nails

Have a lovely day darlings!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Lilac Vibes (Neon Pastels)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! & happy Easter. I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday (if you celebrate). Today I’m celebrating another week, & another Swatch Sunday post!

This week, I pulled out this Essence beauty: Lilac Vibes. I found this shade at my local Shoppers Drug Mart last Summer, & I have been meaning to share it ever since! But I thought since Spring is in full swing, it would be a great colour pick for this week’s Swatch Sunday post.

2 coats, no top coat

The formula on this shade is super creamy, & easy to apply. I possibly could have gotten away with one coat, but I applied a second to hide a few patchy spots on the nail. It dries to a beautiful shine, as pictured, without any top coat needed — although if I’m wearing long term, I always had top coat to help my polish last.

The colour is really pretty, & vibrant. It’s not quite pink, not quite purple. But the soft shade is enough you could get away with it for a variety of occasions. It also reminds me a bit of one of my favourite ORLY shades: Scenic Route — although Violet Vibes seems to lean a bit more on the blue side.

As mentioned, I picked this shade up at my local Shoppers Drug Mart last Summer. It wasn’t part of the core Essence display, but one of those little separate displays for limited edition shades. Like all Essence polishes sold at Shoppers, it was $2.99 CAD, which is a very good price.

It’s no longer listed as available on the Shoppers Drug Mart beauty site, but I did find the shade also listed on the Essence website as available so I’m not 100% sure if it is a core shade or not, but it does look like it is still available for purchase — although I do believe that is the US site, so shipping would not be available for Canada.

What do you think about this Essence shade? Are you a fan of Essence nail polish? Let me know what you think about this fun shade down in the comments below, & what your favourite Essence shade is!