GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER (2024) — Autumn Harvest

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Today is a balmy not-so-Autumm day here on the East Coast, not Fall-like at all. But that’s okay because we’re continuing on with our Fall inspired manicures for Glam Nails Challenge September with the next prompt which is Autumn Harvest. & I won’t lie, this one had me a bit stumped at first! So I decided to pull out some acrylic paint & get creative.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Base Coat: LA Colors Mega Grow Treatment 
  • Essie Expressie Cold Brew Crew
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Moonlight Top Coat
  • Acrylic Paint
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm & 11mm liner brushes

So I don’t know if you can tell, but I handprinted some pumpkins & squash, & then filled into the space with some Fall foilage. I feel like maybe using such a dark base colour might have been a detriment to my design, but it looks very pretty up close. & the colours just scream Autumn, which I love!

& you can never go wrong with flakies.

What do you think about these Autumn Harvest nails? Are you getting the prompt from this design? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & how you think I did.

Are you following along with the other nail art designs for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge September? Don’t forget, you can check out #glamnailschallengesept24 on Instagram, & see all the other beautiful designs being shared!

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER (2024) — Fox 🦊

Good morning lovelies, & happy Monday! I hope you had a beautiful weekend, & got to enjoy something fun. Today, I’m continuing with my Glam Nails Challenge September posts, & the next prompt is Fox. 🦊

Now, animal designs have never felt like my strong suit, but the more I wore this look, the more the design grew on me. & considering I went into these unsure what I was even really doing, I must say I’m happy with the end result.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Base Coat: LA Colors Mega Grow Treatment 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Claire’s Evil Queen (over Hard Candy Scam)
  • Avon Black Crackle
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Pump-kid
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod!
  • Essie Cocktails & Coconuts
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

I was feeling a little self conscious about these nails when I wore them to work, but I got two compliments on them so that definitely made me feel a bit better!

Like I said, animal themed nails are not my strong suit, but doing this challenge is all about challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone. So, I can’t let myself get scared by nail art I’m not used to. I’m really proud of my little foxes, even if they’re not “perfect”.

What do you think of this design for this prompt of Glam Nails Challenge September? Do you like my little fox? What nail designs do you find the most intimidating? Let me know down in the comments below!

Are you following along with the other nail art designs for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge September? Don’t forget, you can check out #glamnailschallengesept24 on Instagram, & see all the other beautiful designs being shared!

🖤

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER (2024) — Plaid

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & Happy Labour Day! We’re jumping right into the Autumn nail art designs with this month’s Glam Nails Challenge September.

I was debating whether or not I was going to do another month, but then my first design I did happened to be a plaid design — which is the first prompt of this month, so I was like… let’s just do this! I had so much fun last month while feeling challenged creatively, I think I want to give it another go. & this month definitely has some great prompts as well!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Just In Wine
  • Essie East Hamptons Cottage
  • Essie Mani Thanks!
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper Black
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper Red
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

Does anyone else just immediately want to pull all the plaid out of their closet as soon as the mornings start feeling slightly cooler? I definitely do. I also want to paint plaid on my nails, because it just feels fitting. Pair these with a pair of over the knee socks, & the Autumn vibes are strong. I also feel like this is an easier, simpler design to do — albeit you do need a bit of a steadier hand for straight lines. But with a long striper brush, it does simplify the design a bit.

Definitely a design I recommend any beginner nail artist to try, & just trust the process. If you look at a plaid material, the pattern isn’t perfect so don’t worry about trying to make yours perfect. Sometimes the messier the better it turns out!

What do you think of this design? Are you excited for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge? Like I said, I was feeling inspired so I wanted to keep the good nail art going! & I feel like this is going to inspire some really beautiful nail art designs this month!

If you’re curious about the prompts to come, here is a little sneak peak of the prompts for this month.

& don’t forget to follow along with the above hashtag to see everyone’s gorgeous designs they post! Also, @glamnailschallenge reposts a lot of the beautiful designs on her page, so you can get a little snippet there as well!

Happy Monday!

♥︎

Navy & Purple Half Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! A cloudy, humid Thursday at that. Today though, I have another manicure to share that I recently wore & in a big fan of this one!

Half moons are always a favourite of mine, & lately I’ve been finding myself drawn to some darker shades. Yes, I know that it’s still mid-Summer, but I would be lying if I didn’t hear the distance call of Autumn. I feel like this look is a good balance between Summer with the perfect hint of Autumn vibes.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Purple Pizzaz
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Midnight Drive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Fuchsia Fever
  • Circle paper hole reinforcements
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

This is definitely easy in terms of technique, which I always appreciate, but it looks really fancy (in my opinion.) I definitely have been feeling the call of my darker polishes, but I’m trying my best to hold off — at least until pumpkin spice gets launched. But this look definitely scratched my Autumn polish itch.

What do you think about this half moon look? Do you like this design? Are already feeling the call of Autumn vibes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pucker Up

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope you’re having a lovely weekend. This Summer has been so busy I feel like I’ve been neglecting my blog responsibilities & dropping the ball on posting — really hoping August will be better for me! In the meantime, I dig into my stash to find a fun, Summer appropriate colour to share!

This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pucker Up.

3 coats + top coat

Pucker Up is a vibrant cherry red with a creamy crelly formula. By that, I mean it has both qualities but leans a bit more in the creme direction when it comes to finish. It did, however, take 3 coats for almost full opacity, but with the thin formula it didn’t take long to dry.

Using a quick dry top coat did help with drying, however it caused some serious shrinkage at my tips & around the cuticles that I’m not happy about.

We all know I love a good red nail polish year round — it’s usually my go to colour when I don’t know how to paint my nails. & this vibrant red is just perfect for Summer. I also think it compliments my skin tone very well.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pucker Up is part of the Xtreme Wear core line, so it’s available where ever you purchase your Sally Hansen nail polishes. I picked up my bottle at my local Walmart — I think it was something like 2 for $6 CAD which is a pretty good deal

What do you think of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pucker Up? Do you like this vibrant red? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & let me know what your favourite Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear shade!