Category: Red Nails

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI First Date at the Golden Gate

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely & enjoyable weekend. I’m excited because I’m really embracing all the Autumn vibes with today’s Swatch Sunday pick. I know, I know… it’s still Summer. But my pumpkin spice loving heart is ready for more, & today’s polish pick is definitely filling the void.

Today I’m rocking OPI First Date at the Golden Gate which was originally released as part of the 2013 Fall/Winter collection (so perfect for Fall almost 9 years later!) This shade came to me during a Chatters sale, although I can’t exactly remember. The bottle is dusty though, so she’s definitely been around a while.

3 coats, no top coat.

The formula on this shade is soft & smooth, & applied to the nail easily. I did have to go with 3 coats of polish, as it was a bit on the thin side, but they dried surprisingly fast. This is always a bonus when you have to apply anything more than 2 coats.

I also like how syrup-y the finish looks, even without top coat.

The colour of this one seems absolutely perfect for Fall & I can’t believe I haven’t really reached for it much this time of year. First, it’s a not-quite-red — & we all know I adore read nail polish! But the shade has this burnt quality, with brown undertones, which reminds me of when the leaves shift around the end of September, beginning of October.

& that’s my favourite time of year!

What do you think about OPI First Date at the Golden Gate? Do you have this beauty in your collection? Do you enjoy me posting these throwback Fall collection shades? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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Stamped Red Sparkly Nails (Autumn Vibes)

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their week, & it’s not too hard wherever you are. Today is the first day in a while that actually feels not unbearably hot — at least it does early in the morning as I write this! & even though I love love love the heat, I’m excited for a cooler day because its giving me Fall vibes, & I’m already wishing for those cooler days of boots, tights & lots of layers!

But since we still have a few weeks before it will even begin to feel cool enough to wear tights with my dresses, I guess I will need to fill my Autumn vibes with nail polish & nail art.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Red Handed
  • Quo Beauty FX Shimmer & Shine
  • Essence Shine, Last & Go Into the Unknown
  • Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-L006 (no longer available)
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

Oh man, I am enjoying this look.

Originally I had painted my nails red, adding the sparkle, but I felt like I wanted to jazz them up a bit, & it had been a while since I did any stamping! I thought navy blue would be just enough darkness so a subtle transition manicure between Summer & Fall, & I was right. It gives me just enough of a Autumn feel, without going full on. Although I’m drinking maple pumpkin in my coffee as I write this, so I’m not really scared to go full tilt into all the Fall colours!

I also have a stamping plate I bought last year for Autumn/Thanksgiving that I never got a chance to use, so I’m pumped to be able to pull it out this year!

What do you think about this nail art look? Are you ready for all the Fall polish/nail art content? Let me know what you think, & what colours you’re excited to wear in the upcoming season!

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Subtle Red Colour Blocking

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a fantastic start to their week. Can you believe we’re in August now? That’s just… this Summer is really speeding by!

Today I’m sharing an easy nail art look I wore recently. We all know — I love red nail polishes. & I was feeling a red manicure. So I decided to pair a couple of red polishes together in a fun (& super simple) nail art look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
  • Top Coat: Essence Colour Shine Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Warm Regards
  • Sally Hansen CSM Red Handed

I really like the subtle red on red nail art. Like I said, I really wanted to wear red nails — I always want to wear red nails — but I wanted to spice it up a smidge, & this subtle colour blocking seemed like an easy, cute option! From far away you might not notice to two colour paired together, but up close you can see the fun pattern. Next time, I might do a similar look, but with all red abstract stripes.

Any excuse for red nails!

What do you think about this subtle colour blocking design? Is this a nail art design you would wear?

Let me know what you think down in comments below — & what colour you would wear this design in!

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Red Sparkle & Daisies (My Nails for National Nail Polish Day)

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! It’s almost the weekend! I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far.

Today I’m excited to show off the manicure I was wearing for National Nail Polish Day — & yes, that more red nail polish haha. I figured I wanted to wear nails that were all encompassing of my personality, & red nails with daisies just did that!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
  • Top Coat: Essence Extreme GEL Top
  • Essie Too Too Hot
  • Essie Shine of the Times
  • Essie Blank Page
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

First off, check out how long my nails currently are! I know I’m enviably due for a break, just because I work a job that is not the kindest of hands/nails, but for right now I’m just going to bask in how long & beautiful they are right now.

Second, I’m so excited for beautiful sunny outdoor shots. I’m living for the sunshine. Not only does it make my nail pictures look lovely, but it just makes my mood so happy.

Third, I adore this Essie-centric manicure for National Nail Polish Day yesterday. I think this is the first time I’ve done a manicure with Essie Too Too Hot & obviously I had to top it with Shine Of The Times. Then, I added some daisies because if I’m celebrating a day dedicated to nail polish, I need some floral (my favourite).

What do you think about this vibrant red look? Did you do your nails special for National Nail Polish day? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Race Red

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

I’m going to be honest — originally I had a different polish plan for this Sunday — new shades from the Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure. reformulation, as well as the OPI Nature Strong shades featured in my previous post. But I’ve been struggling with the cold from Hell this week, which means I’ve not been up to much, especially swatching 9 polishes, & wasn’t able to get the shades swatched.

I didn’t want to skip this week entirely though, so I decided why not go with my all time favourite OPI red: OPI Race Red.

2 coats, no top coat

This collection was originally released as part of the 2014 OPI Mustang Collection. I have a few of the shades from the collection in my stash that I’ve picked up over the years, either on clearance or at the Dollarama, but Race Red has always been my favourite. In fact, it’s probably one of my favourite red nail polishes of all time.

The colour itself is an orange leaning red. It’s a beautiful cream that applies in 2 easy smooth coats. Even after 8 years, & a whole lot of wears, it still applies like perfection for me.

Look how pretty that colour is! It’s actually very similar to the colour of our Suzuki, which is another reason why I love this shade so much. But my love of red nail polish knows no bounds, & this is no secret.

Obviously, my bottle is looking a little dusty & worn, but the polish is still perfection. My only sadness is that I only ever bought one bottle of this beauty.

As mentioned, this OPI Mustang Collection was released circa 2014, so these shades have long since gone out of mainstream circulation. I did find a few spots online, like Ebay, with bottles listed. I’m definitely going to need to find myself a dupe soon, because I’ll be very sad when my polish officially runs out.

What do you think about this OPI shade? Do you have OPI Race Red in your stash? What is your favourite OPI shade? Let me know down in the comments below!

Also stay tuned this week, because I’m determined to get those other shades swatches this week, which might mean this whole week will see some beautiful shades featured on this page!