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. 🖤

Cosy Fall Dotticure

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! I hope everyone’s had a good weekend. I can’t believe how long it’s been since I posted some legit nail art. The tilt-o-world that was covid made it difficult to even write a blog post, let alone paint my nails. But I did have this look saved up that I wore pre-plague, so I thought I would share it today.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Quo by ORLY Color Amp’d Top Coat
  • OPI Pepe’s Purple Passion
  • OPI Rolling In Cashmere
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I was digging through my nail polish stash for something I haven’t worn in a long, long time, & came across two OPI shades from my early nail polish days!

Pepe’s Purple Passion was originally released as part of the Muppet’s collection, & I love it for its deep maroon colour with glitter. Definitely an Autumn shade. & I thought some golden polka dots would be the perfect addition. Rolling in Cashmere was released as part of the Gwen Stefani Holiday Collection, & I think it pairs so well with this deep maroon. The beauty is in the simplicity.

What do you think of this dotticure? Are you feeling those cool Autumn vibes?

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen x Sesame Street InstaDri Collection

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Hello loves & happy Sunday! I know we may be sick of the Sally Hansen x InstaDri content this week, but I’m just so excited to share the shades from this collection with you!

The Sally Hansen x Sesame Street InstaDri collection consists on 10 polishes — 4 creams, 2 glitter toppers, 2 metallic/shimmery shades, & 2 jelly glitters. It’s a great assortment of different shades brought together under one great collection. There is also a fun set of press on nails as part of their Salon Effect Perfect Manicure line (although I won’t be featuring those as part of my swatches.

Each shade is based around a corresponding Sesame Street character (or, characters) which is a fun idea. & I think all the polishes fit perfectly!

So now onto the swatches!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen x Sesame Street InstaDri Collection”

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze High Hopes

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! I feel like it’s been a while since I did a Swatch Sunday post, even though it’s only been 2 weeks. Today I dug deep deep into the stash for a bit of an oldie shade: China Glaze High Hopes.

2 coats + top coat

According to Google, this shade was originally released as part of the Spring 2010 Up & Away Collection. I believe I purchased this bottle myself circa 2013/2014, although I’m not 100% sure. It’s been in my stash a while though.

Formula on this beauty is smooth & easy to apply. The colour is a beautiful vibrant coral that was a smidge hard to photograph accurately. But I feel like these photos capture it most accurately.

The bright colour feels perfect for Summer, but would be easy to transition into Fall by pairing it with a deep burgundy. Yes, my mind is going there. I’m trying my best not to start thinking about Autumn, but our local Dollarama has Halloween already popping up, & Halloween is my favourite season!

But back to High Hopes! This shade is lovely & the colour is a great alternative to my usual go-to red manicure that I love so much.

I did find a few listings online for this shade — Sparkle Canada has it listed for sale, as well you can find the Gelaze version on the China Glaze website. I also found an Amazon listing, but I’m not sure if it’s a secondhand seller or not. However, there are definitely a few listings floating around for this fun vibrant shade!

What do you think about this beautiful vibrant coral shade? Do you have China Glaze High Hopes in your nail polish stash?

Let me know all your thoughts, & what shade you’re currently loving this week!

🖤