Geometric Colour Blocking (Autumn inspired)

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. The excessively humid heat we’ve been having here seems to have broken, & the weather has that hint of Fall weather that always starts around the end of August.

I’m so ready for Sweaters, scarves & my favourite knee high boots.

& Fall nail art, of course.

I’m already making plans for September nail art & joining in for next month’s Glam Nail Art Challenge. But, in the mean time, I’m feeling a little more creative than I’ve felt most of this Summer. & today’s nail art look is a fun nail art look that makes me feel like old school nail art Shannon (circe 2015-2016).

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Quo Beauty Tint of Mint
  • Quo Beauty Whistler
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Zip Wine
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Petal to the Metal
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

Okay, so I’m obsessed. Originally this look started off as just a Autumn themed colour block, but I felt like something was missing — which happens a lot. I added an outline of the rose gold (Petal to the Metal) & then decided to get risky & add a few chevrons over the mint. It looked so good, I did the same thing on the block of grey, & tada! Freehand nail art perfection!

& all done completely freehand.

What do you think of this Autumn toned geometric colour block? Are you feeling the Autumn shades yet, or are your strictly Summer until September? Let me know what you think, & what nail art/nail polish collections you’re looking forward to this upcoming season!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Quo Beauty Tint of Mint

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

My first Swatch Sunday post in a while. Last weekend was a bit of a sad week in our house as we lost our beloved cat. So this last week I just wasn’t feeling the blogging vibes. But it’s a new week, & I’m excited to get back into my blogging routine.

& we’re starting that off with a new Swatch post. Today’s pick: Quo Beauty Tint of Mint.

2 coats + Essence Colour Shield Top Coat

Quo Beauty is a Canadian brand, sold through Shoppers Drug Mart, as well as Loblaws stores. I picked up this shade a few months back at my local Superstore on a really good sale (I think like $4 each?).

Obviously, I was first attracted to the colour. I sound like a broken record at this point, but we all know I love a good pastel Buffy Season One-esque polish.

Formula on this one wasn’t too bad, although I did end up adding top coat to smooth things out a bit. The formula is a bit thin, so two coats is necessary. But it built nicely, & after a little swipe of top coat, everything looked perfect. Although, I will say: the colour seems to lean a bit more of the blue side than on the mint side.

This particular polish is from the Quo Beauty Breathable line. Like the Quo by Orly shades that Shoppers Drug Mart previously sold, they also have a few different lines: Breathable, Flash Dry, & Extreme FX.

I decided that since I was on a roll with my Quo Beauty, I should pull out another one of their shades that I recently found in the clearance for only $1. Quo Beauty Xtreme FX Shimmer & Shine. I thought the shimmery gold was a nice touch over this pale mint. I do love a nice touch of sparkle, especially when I’m wearing just nail polish & not nail art.

Also I’m already dying to apply this over a pretty burgundy/wine shade I own from Quo that’s been sitting in my stash, just waiting for the end of August/early September.

As I mentioned, Quo Beauty nail polish can be purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart & select Loblaws stores across Canada. I believe the regular price is normally around $11.99 (CAD) but I find they’re always having awesome sales, & you can find quite a few fun shades in the clearance, especially during seasonal shifts.

What do you think of the Quo Beauty brand? Have you tried out any of their nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Glam Nails Challenge March — Geometric

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! It’s officially half way through the week, & honestly it feels like it’s speeding by. Maybe because this week has had hints of Spring, not just Winter storm after winter storm.

Today I have a fun & funky nail art look to share for Glam Nails Challenge March. Today’s prompt is Geometric, & it’s definitely been a while since my last geometric design, so I was definitely excited to get creative! I used to love coming up with designs like this, so it was fun to get a little old school with my nail art.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • OPI Where Did Suzi’s Man-go
  • Dimensions Nails Blue Morpho Butterfly
  • Quo Beauty Flash Dry Loud & Proud
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

How much fun are these? I love them because the colours aren’t necessarily ones that I would normally pair together, but they’re so much fun! It’s definitely a more striking look than I’ve been wearing lately, & just felt so much fun on my nails. Plus the black looks really good as the outline.

Honestly, when I was doing these I really wasn’t sure if I was going to like them, which happens sometimes, but when they were all finished, they made me so happy. Does that ever happen to anyone else? You’re in the middle of your mani & you’re like “I’m not sure I’m going to like these…” but then when you’re finished, you’re just so in love. Maybe I’m the only one.

What do you think of this geometric look for Glam Nails Challenge March? Would you wear this design? Are you fan of bold nail art looks like this? Let me know down in the comments below!

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE MARCH — Sweets

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I’m super excited — not only is it the beginning of a brand new month, but it’s the beginning of another month of GlamNailsChallenge! & I decided it would be fun to participate this month since the prompts are all so much fun!

First prompt of the month is Sweets! & I decided to go with a fun dripping ice cream/icing inspired look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Quo Beauty Breathable Tint of Mint
  • Essie Blanc
  • Quo Beauty Flash Dry Loud & Proud
  • Dimension Nails Blue Morpho Butterfly
  • Sinful Colors Wonder Mint
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

How absolutely adorable did these turn out? Please excuse the very annoying snow in the background, & focus on the cute & spring-y vibes this design is giving off! I am so ready for Spring, even though Mother Nature doesn’t seem to be participating. We’re getting another 10cm of snow today, & I just really, really want to pull my cute floral dresses out again. & the snow is really impeding on that.

Also, this look was super easy to do, but oh man, I don’t know how people get their drips so perfect. That was the one place where I was kind of struggling. But after a bit of work, I’m pretty how with how they turned out. & I love my little rainbow sprinkles!

What do you think about this adorable nail design? Are you ready for all the Spring colours. I’m really, really loving pastels right now, & looking forward to wearing them a lot more frequently. I’m also really, really excited for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge, because it’s been a few months since I last participated, & there are so many fun prompts to get me feeling creative!

#GlamNailsChallengeFeb — Plants 🪴

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday. I’m totally late posting this manicure thanks to a crazy work weekend! But late is better than never.

The next promo for #glamnailschallengeFeb is plants! & I am definitely plant obsessed, so I was excited for this prompt. Plus anything floral or plant related are definitely favourites for me to create on my nails. For this particular look, I decided to go with my pothos & philodendrons for inspiration.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Good to Go
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Quo by ORLY Planita
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essence The Green & The Grunge
  • Essie First Timer
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush(COFFEE10 to save 10%)

Oh man, I love a dainty manicure, & I feel like these vine-y leaves are super dainty & beautiful. They were also super easy to do… well relatively easy to do. You just have to kind of work with your brush, & it really makes it easier to create the leave shape.

Also how perfect does this design look against my heart leaf philodendron. It was the perfect prop for my photos! He loves in our living room window in one of my macrame hangers, & gives my morning coffee some serious jungle vibes. 🪴 I love him.

What do you think about this plant design? Do you think I nailed the prompt? Let me know what your favourite plant is down in the comments below!