Black & White X-pattern Nails ✖️

Happy Tuesday lovelies! Anyone else currently attempting to survive the heat? Thank goodness for air conditioning because I haven’t really had to deal with the humidity much. Never thought I would be happy to spend 95% of my day at work, but if it keeps me from being sweaty I’m all for it!

Today I’ve got the day off though, & I’m showing off a fun design I wore for 3 days last week. You know I’m in love with a design when I wear it for more than a day, & I really loved this look! Seriously, I probably would have worn it longer, but my nails started chipping at work & I couldn’t deal.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let’s Snow
  • Essie Frock ‘N Roll
  • Xroma Polish & Vinyls X-Pattern Nail Stencils
  • Make Up Sponge

How cute is this look?! This was the last of my x-pattern vinyls, so I’m definitely going to need to pick up some more ASAP. I’ve tried to freehand this look before but it looks way better when it’s done with vinyls (oh, & takes WAY less time too!) Also even though Essie Frock ‘N Roll isn’t technically a black polish, it looks close enough & works so perfectly over my white base. I love wearing black & white nail designs & pairing them with a bright & colourful outfit.

So what do you think about this black & white design? What are you wearing on your nails this week? Share down below! ♥️

Rainbow 🌈 Nails

Good Morning Lovelies & Happy Monday. Today I have a special manicure to share with you in honour of it being Pride Week in Halifax right now — some rainbow nails. This past weekend, I went out to celebrate & attended my very first Drag Show ever! So in honour of that, I wanted to create a design bright & colourful, & with a touch of glitter.

For this design, the polishes used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let’s Snow
  • Sally Hansen MG Just Maui’d
  • Sally Hansen MG Bourbon Belle
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow
  • Essie First Timer
  • Quo by ORLY Pep in Your Step
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge
  • Wet n Wild Clear Polish
  • This design was super simple to create. I started off with a plain white base (my current favourite White polish!) & then sponged each colour over top of the white. Next I took a clear nail polish that would streak the colours together & repeatedly brushed over the nail so they blended. This is a trick I like to use with gradients, sponged looks & dry brushes because it blends them together really well (especially good with gradients!) & then I finish with actual top coat after. I also felt like this design needed a little bit of glitter, so I added some fairy dust as well.

    I really love this combination of colours & the rainbow-ness of it. It was the perfect design for the awesome night I had out dancing! I’m very proud to live in a city which can celebrate Pride with such festivity & inclusivity. There really is an event for everyone!

    What do you think of my rainbow nails? 🌈 Have you ever attended a drag show before? Share you comments down below & let me know what you think!

    SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Let’s Snow

    Good Morning Lovelies! It’s Sunday, so you know what that means… it’s Swatch Sunday! & today I’m sharing one of my favourite white polishes at the moment: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Let’s Snow.

    I picked up this polish at my local Lawton’s (another clearance find) for the amazing price of only 99 cents! I thought maybe that meant it was a discontinued polish because of the amazing price, but you can still find it on Amazon & Sally Hansen so I’m not 100% sure. I think maybe I just got really lucky, which I’m happy about because I’m definitely going to need back up bottles of this shade in my stash.

    For today’s swatches, I used 2 coats + top coat. (Right now my top coat of choice is Essie Speed Setter.)

    I find white polish can be tricky, because it can come off looking streaky or chalky. Let’s Snow definitely needs two coats for opacity & adding top coat just levels it perfectly. Before top coat, I found if slightly streaky. A third coat of could have fixed that out, but I figured top coat would be an easier option & it was.

    Also the brushes on the Complete Salon Manicure bottles are love. Seriously. I need every bottle of nail polish to apply so easily & perfectly.

    Let’s Snow is definitely a true white, with no other undertones. I would call it a paper white, which is probably why it’s my current favourite go-to white for nail art–it’s the perfect black canvas. But I also like the fact it’s a very wearable white! You can use it for creating beautiful nail art, or you can just wear it on its own. From my own personable experience, that is a fine line to achieve. So when I find a white that does both, I automatically fall in love with it. Hence my current obsession with this shade!

    If you’re looking for a great white in your life, I definitely recommend searching out this Sally Hansen shade & adding it to your stash. The formula is easy to apply, the brush is perfection, & this is a white that isn’t going to be chalky or streaky once applied. I definitely do recommend adding top coat though, just because it leads to a more perfect finish.

    So what’s your favourite white nail polish? Do you prefer white polish on its own or as a base for nail art? Let me know what your favourite is down in the comments below!

    Mermaid Nails

    It feels like ages since I last pulled out my mermaid stencils for some mermaid nails. The other night I was playing with some new flakies from NailStuff.ca & after looking at them on my nails, I couldn’t help but think they would make an amazing base for a mermaid nail design! I’ve had this mermaid tail idea floating around a while, so I grabbed some more vinyls from What’s Up Nails (I believe it’s suppose to be a whale tail) & have it a go.

    For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

    • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
    • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
    • FingerPaints Fun Peel Off Base Coat (to apply flakies)
    • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ocean Daze
    • NailStuff.ca Flakies — these guys aren’t currently available but there is a huge selection here!
    • What’s Up Nails Scale Stencils
    • What’s Up Nails Whale & Tale Stencils
    • Color Club Eternal Beauty
    • Layla Cosmetics Mermaid Spell
    • Color Club Crystal Baller
    • Wrenn Polish Mesmerizing
    • Wrenn Polish Summer Sands
    • NailStuff.ca Summer Nail Wheel — Silver seahorse stud

    This design didn’t quite turn out how I pictured on my head, but that’s mostly the tail look on my ring finger. I really wish it was bigger. I do however love the holo scales over the flakie base just makes me so happy! I also wish I had done that look on the majority of my fingers with just the stud being my accent! (& if I had more of these nail vinyls left, I probably would have… going to need to buy some more ASAP!)

    Also holo & flakies have to be the most beautiful combination. Definitely trying out these flakies OVER holo next!

    What do you think of this mermaid nail design? Are you a fan of the holo & flakie combo? Let me know what you think down in the comments below! 🧜🏼‍♀️

    Pastel Sponging & Freehand Geometric Lines

    Happy Friday lovelies! Yesterday was spent surviving the craziness of the mall with the big Build-A-Bear event! Our store was insane, mostly from the people who gave up on waiting in the 8+ hour line. Props to anyone who stood in that line & waited it out… you’re the real brave people!

    Today’s look was accomplished thanks to some brand new stripers from Kiss! I was in the need of some new ones, & found them on clearance so I knew I had to pick them up. A brand new striper is one of my favourite things for creating crisp lines. & since it had been so long since I’d done a geometric design, I decided to play around a little bit!

    For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

    • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
    • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
    • Essie High Class Affair
    • L’Oréal Royalty Reinvented
    • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sweet Tea
    • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ocean Daze
    • Essie Splash of Grenadine
    • Kiss Products Striper in Black
    • Kiss Products Striper in White
    • Kiss Products Striper in Silver Glitter

    Please excuse the tip wear & chip on my ring finger — I wore these nails for over 2 days before I thought to take a picture of them. I was just to enthralled with how they looked, I completely forgot about photographing them!

    If I had to pick a favourite nail, I think it would probably be my middle finger. The design feels very Art Deco. Definitely going to need to try this design again over a gold or bronze. It was be very Gatsby, which is a style I haven’t tried a whole design over. I definitely think it looks really cool over my pastel sponging though.

    what do you think about this geometric design? Which nail is your favourite? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!