Category: Sally Hansen

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Fall Leaf Stamping 🍁

Sorry for my lack of posting this week. If you follow me on Instagram you would have saw that I was struck down by the gluten gods this past weekend & I’ve been recovering from a particularly bad attack the last couple days. I spent Monday & Tuesday in bed sleeping but I finally had a bit of a burst of energy, enough at least that I could post this mani. 

& can I just say I freaking love how this design turned out?! Okay so my husband may have said that he thought they looked like spiderwebs but he’s a boy & it doesn’t count. 😂 

For this manicure, the products I used were: 

I started off with a base shade of This Isn’t Iceland the used my other OPI shades to create a Saran Wrap splatter. I topped that with clear nail polish that I knew would smear the polishes so it blended them together better. Then I stamped the leaf print over top over the blend using Back to Black to finish the design. I topped everything with top coat to seal in the design, & used a brush dipped in acetone to clean up around the cuticles. I love using Back to Black for stamping because not only does it stamp well, it cleans up easily & doesn’t leave my cuticles stained black when using acetone. There is nothing worse! 

I’m digging this pattern. I wish I could have gotten a picture with an actual leaf but mine aren’t quite on fire yet. I’ll have to repeat this stamping again when the leaves are in full colour change, just for the chance to take a picture! That, or I’ll recreate one of my all time favourite Fall designs. 

What do you think of these Fall leaf nails? Do you see leaves or spider webs? Let me know what you think in the comments below! 

Some of these lovely polishes were all gifted to me by OPI as part of the #PreenMeVIP program. 

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Fall Inspired Floral Accent Nails 🌻🍁

I am not one of those people that thinks floral should exclusively be worn only in the Spring/Summer. Seriously, I don’t think there is a season that can’t use a little floral inspiration. For today’s design, I used some Fall inspired shades to achieve my look.


For this design, the polishes I used are:

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Cashmere Bathrobe
  • Essie Wrap It Up
  • Essie The A List
  • Essie Too Too Hot
  • Essie Peach Daiquiri 
  • China Glaze Sun Upon My Skin
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art Pen in Green
  • Essie Off Tropic 
  • Dotting Tool from Bundle Monster
  • Small Nail Art Brush from Bundle Monster

Floral nails always take a few (dozen) polishes to get right, but I never seem to mind because of how beautiful they look. My flowers still aren’t as perfect as I dream about them being, but I still always have fun painting them on. Hopefully if I keep practicing, some day I can get my floral up there with the likes of @polishpeach & @just1nail! They’re serious floral nail goals–I wish I knew the secrets to painting such realistic & beautiful designs!


& just for fun, here is a shot of my nails & my sons sippy cup that is inspired by a Starbucks cup! When I was pregnant my Mom & my Aunt both bought me one so now the whole family can match with our coffee cups. Haha I think it’s too cute & I figured why not borrow it for a “coffee shot” since I had forgotten to take one with my own coffee.


What do you think of this Fall floral design? Do you think floral nails are perfect for any time of year? Let me know your thoughts on this mani in the comments below!

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Geometric stamping over Sally Hansen Mermaid’s Tale 

Yesterday I featured a swatch of Sally Hansen CSM in Mermaid’s Tale–a beautiful teal jelly glitter shade. Today I have the mani I did using that shade as my base colour! I’ve really had a lot of fun getting into stamping, & practicing, so I decided to try stamping a pattern over the glitter. I knew black wouldn’t show up over such a dark base, so I decided to grab something fun & bright (Turquoise) & the end result turned out perfect. 

For this manicure, the polishes used were:

  • Base Coat: Finger Paints Peel Off Base Coat for Glitter
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Under the Twilight 
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Mermaid’s Tale
  • China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise
  • Born Pretty Store Clear Jelly Stamper item #24059
  • Older Born Pretty Stamping Plate that’s no longer available — this plate contains the same image. 

Can I just say how impressed I am with how well Turned Up Turquoise stamps? I was shocked with how opaque it was on the nail, especially over such a dark base colour. I wasn’t sure how it was going to look, but it turned out awesome! I always find myself so drawn to dark shades in the Fall months, but the pop of colour over top works well for a transitional manicure–just enough of Summer & just enough of Fall, all in one design. 


What do you think of this stamping? What polishes do you love for stamping? Share all your secrets in the comments below! I’m going to be ordering a bunch of new stamping plates (especially Halloween/Christmas themed plates) in the next couple days so I’m looking for all the best stamping polishes for playing. 

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SWATCH SUNDAY: Sally Hansen CSM Mermaid’s Tale


Have you ever had a polish that you’ve thought & thought & thought about but for one reason or another just don’t buy for whatever reason? I’ve got a few on my list, but a major one is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Mermaid’s Tale. 

Mermaid’s Tale is a dark teal jelly stuffed full of assorted sized glitters both large & small. It was originally released as part of the Under The Sea collection in 2013 & stayed as part of the permanent collection.  Recently I’ve noticed it popping up in the clearance section at my favourite pharmacy’s polish clearance, so I had no excuse not to pick up this long overdue lemming. 

Because Mermaid’s Tale is a jelly base, I was scared about building opacity so I applied two coats over a base of Essie Under the Twilight. It helped achieve the look without having to apply 40 coats. I tend to do this a lot with jelly based glitters to avoid polish waste–all you need to do is find a creme shade close to your glitter shade to keep any visible nail line from showing. From what I’ve seen online, without undies it takes 3-4 coats for opacity. That’s a lot of glitter to remove when you go to change your polish! 

Oh goodness, seeing this shade on my own nails makes me so happy to own it! Originally I started listing after Mermaid’s Tale because it was a very close dupe to Deborah Lippmann’s Across the Universe for about half the price. & because I waited, & waited & waited I got the polish for only $5 which is half the price Sally Hansen CSM shades usually go for in stores around me. 


What do you think of Sally Hasen Complete Salon Manicure in Mermaid’s Tale? Have you ever waited a long time to buy a much loved lemming shade? What is you #1 all time lemming shade? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

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Black & White Chevron Accent Nails


I hope I’m not the only one who takes pictures of their nails, & then totally forgets to post them. I blame it on my excitement over the exciting polishes which have come my way recently (hello OPI Iceland collection!) I did these nails a few weeks back, & totally forgot to share them! So while going through pictures on my phone, I knew I’d have to post them ASAP because who doesn’t love a good chevron design.

For this manicure, the polishes I used are:

  • Base Coat: Cutex Brittle Nail Fix
  • Top Coat: Cutex Quick Dry Top Coat
  • OPI My Chihuahua Bites!
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard To Get
  • Essence Back to Black
  • Snail Vinyls Single Chevron Vinyls

You can never go wrong with a good Black & white accent nail (or nails). Also this mani shows off my love for OPI My Chihuahua Bites! which is forever & always my favourite coral-y red. I’ve been so caught up with Fall colours & polishes I haven’t even thought about bright polishes, & looking at pictures of this design is making me think I might need one or two more Summer-y manicures before I officially say hello to Fall. Plus red nails are forever my favourite, even if I don’t wear them as often as I used to. 


What do you think of these black & white chevron accent nails. Do you have a favourite accent nail/colour combo you love to wear? Let me know in the comments below!