Holly Jolly Dotticure 🎄

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope your week is off to a lovely start so far — & if it’s not, well we’re halfway to the weekend!

Today I’m officially kickstarting the Christmas & holiday nails with this Christmas inspired dotticure. I wanted red & green, & festive, & I think I captured that look idea perfectly.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel has Central Pink
  • Sally Hansen MG A Moo Point
  • Sally Hansen MG Me, My Elf & I
  • Sally Hansen MG Red It Twice
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

This look was super, super easy to achieve. I started with my semi-sheer base of Central Pink, & then one by one added dots of each colour to my nails, trying my best to make it not look too crowded. Then after I gave the dots a few minutes to dry down, I finished off everything with a thick coat of top coat.

It’s important to wait a few minutes between dotting & adding top coat, just so your dots don’t get smeared. There is nothing worse than a beautiful clean dotticure, & you mess it all up by smearing the polka dots with your top coat.

What do you think of this festive dotticure? Do you like the simplicity of the small polka dots over the sheer base? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & what nail art looks you’re exciting to see upcoming over the next few weeks!

Enjoy your Wednesday loves. 🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Yves Saint Laurent 6 Rouge Dada

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Is everyone having a lovely Sunday so far? Who has started their Christmas shopping?

Today I was feeling some red nails, so I searched through my stash, & found this beautiful Yves Saint Laurent shade that I’ve owned for a few years. If there is any time to pull out all my red polishes, now is the time! So here is Yves Saint Laurent 6 Rouge Dada

2 coats + top coat

At first, I was expecting I might need a lot coats of this to get a good opacity, but I actually managed to get full coverage in two coats. The formula, like I said, is a bit thin but easy to apply, & I didn’t have to worry about any pooling around the cuticle line or anything — especially nice when you have a red like this, which can be a bit difficult to clean up.

Because of the syrup-y formula, this would definitely be a great choice for a glitter sandwich. It also dries quickly, so you wouldn’t have to worry about huge layers of polish staying wet on your nail. It also means you probably want to add a nice thick glossy top coat over top, to plump up the finished look.

I did not use a more plump top coat, which I’m kind of regretting, but I did end up adding glitter over my base when I wore it for the day.

Sadly, it looks like with the expect of second hand stores, the Yves Saint Laurent polishes are no longer available for purchase, which is a shame. The whole collection, including this shade, is still listed on their website, but I couldn’t find any options for buying.

What do you think about Yves Saint Laurent 6 Rouge Dada? Do you like this glossy, syrupy red? Do you own any Yves Saint Laurent (or other designer) shades in your nail polish stash? Let me know down in the comments! & stay tuned, because I have plans for lots of fun glittery, holiday polishes to share in the Sunday’s leading up to Christmas!

Have a lovely day ♥︎

Holiday Inspired Red & Gold Velvet Dotticure

Hello loves & happy Friday!

It’s officially (pretty much) the weekend which means I’m in full holiday haze. It also means, I have been thinking about holiday manicures a lot. Even though I no longer attend many holiday parties — I’m more of a homebody these days — that doesn’t mean I don’t mind if my nails have somewhere special to go.

Today’s look is totally something I would wear to a fun holiday party, paired with the perfect little black dress.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Santee Magnetic 04 Metallic Tropical Rose
  • Starrily Magnetic Wand
  • Santee Magnetic 21 Sand Burst
  • Smallest sized dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

First off, I apologize for how difficult these were to photograph. Apparently using flash on these particular magnetic base gave it almost this blurry effect in some pictures.

I’ve had these magnetics in my stash for… a while haha. Apparently I picked them up for 99 cents at my local Lawton’s on clearance… & just never tried them out! I used my Starrily Magnetic Want, & it gave this red base the coolest crushed velvet effect. It’s absolutely gorgeous! I wish I had pulled them out sooner.

What do you think about these holiday nails — are they giving you Christmas vibes? We have our first Tax Free Event this weekend at work, & it’s going to be crazy, so I need all the festive spirit I can get! I would much rather be drinking egg nog & nibbling on Christmas cookies with my pretty nails.

Enjoy your weekend loves, however whatever you’ve got planned. 🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — ORLY Color Blast Garnet Luxe Shimmer

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

Is it too early to start sharing some very holiday appropriate nail polish shades? I mean — the holiday parties are already starting, aren’t they? So some jewel inspired red nail polish is just what I need in my life. Today’s pick is another oldie from the stash, from the now defunct ORLY Color Blast line: Garnet Luxe Shimmer.

2 coats, no top coat!

This stunning shimmery cherry red applied to the nail beautifully in two smooth coats. The formula was smooth, & easy to apply, & self levelled without any need for top coat. It also had a beautiful shine without any need for top coat.

This shade is 100% a Christmas red if I ever saw one. I’m not even sure where I originally picked this polish up — I don’t see a Winners/Marshall’s tag on it, so I’m assuming (maybe) Sally Beauty, but I honestly don’t remember. All I know is it is a great red, & I’m sure happy to have it as part of my collection.

Sadly, as mentioned, the Color Blast line is no longer in production — however I did find a few similar ORLY shades on their website which are very similar: Stronger than Ever, Crawford’s Wine, & Cran-Barely Believe It. I only have Stronger Than Ever in my own stash, so I’ll have to do a comparison to see how close they really are!

What do you think of ORLY Color Blast Garnet Luxe Shimmer? Are you feeling the holiday vibes with this shimmery red polish? Are you ready to jump head first into all the Christmas/Holiday polishes I can share?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Black & Red Chevron Claws 🔪🩸

Hello loves — it’s Friday. I hope everyone has had a not too stressful week.

I’m definitely excited for this weekend, as there is a big Halloween celebration where I work & I plan on dressing up as Wonder Woman for work. Haven’t decided on the manicure yet, though.

Today though, I have a simple design that could definitely be used as a Halloween look. I wanted some black & red Chevron claws & I’m so happy with how they turned out!

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 Xtreme Wear Red Carpet
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out
  • Snail Nails Deep V chevron vinyls

I had a bit of an internal debate over whether to do black or red for the chevrons themselves, but I’m quite happy with how this look turned out! I always love a chevron moon design, especially chevron claws. They’re fun, & look especially good when my nails are at a longer length.

It’s also a pretty simple design to do, as long as you have the patience to wait for your base to dry fully.

What do you think about my chevron claws? Do you like this combination of black & red — does it give you Halloween vibes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to binge the new Blink 182 album. Happy Friday. 🖤