Category: Second Cup

Posted on

Autumn Floral 🌼

Hello lovelies & happy Monday!

I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their week. I’m feeling all the Autumn vibes. I had my first pumpkin spice latte, I found my favourite Halloween candy in store; I am ready for Fall to begin. So naturally, that means I’m ready for Fall manicures & nail art to begin.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • J Cats Beauty PNP105
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • Essie Chocolate Cakes
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Up to Snuff
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Thyme is Money
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush Trio (11mm liner brush)

It’s been way too long since I last wore some floral on my nails, & this colour combination feels perfectly Fall inspired. It even compliments my coffee cup. The base shade has been sitting in my stash for a while — I think I scored it for like 99 cents at a random pharmacy — but I’m glad I decided to randomly pull it out to wear. The colour is very, very pretty.

What do you think about this Fall floral design? Do you like this colour combination, & does it scream Autumn to you? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Posted on

Holo & Snowflakes (featuring some NailStuff.ca goodies)

Features Gifted Product

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday!

It’s officially a little over a month until Christmas, can you believe it? I feel like I should really start thinking about Christmas shopping soon, but things have been in this weird adjustment period, I really haven’t had a lot of time to think about anything holly or jolly.

I was feeling some nail art the other night, but I was also feeling super tired — I recently started a new job, so after a few weeks off, I’ve been adjusting back into work life. & I’m tired, haha. But I wanted some cute nails, so I decided to grab some of my nail goodies from Nailstuff.ca. I thought some snowflake nails might, just, inspire me to feeling festive.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Dimension Nails Great Blue Heron (c/o: NailStuff.ca)
  • Starrily Eclipse (c/o: NailStuff.ca) (Holographic Top Coat)
  • NailStuff.ca snowflake stickers (not currently available but she does have other cute Christmas stickers right now)

So I definitely applied these stickers when my base shade was still a bit too wet, hence a bit of a 3D effect on some of my nails. But I think these little snowflakes look so cute over the blue holographic base. I wanted something kind of dusty, but with a holo kick, & this combination was perfect! Also, somehow, I think this is the first time I’ve worn Dimension Nails Great Blue Heron as a full manicure, & that’s kind of crazy. It’s such a beautiful blue!

What do you think of my easy snowflake nails? Do you like seeing easy manicures like this, or do you prefer more complicated nail art? I have a few more “easy” looks to share, & then we’ll be jumping into Glam Nails Challenge December so stay tuned! I plan on having something for everyone.

Posted on

Fall Ombré

00A8EE4C-4814-430D-A100-506E77960F7B

B848A81C-D408-4270-A7D4-1A210BCDF869

Hello lovelies & Happy Wednesday! I don’t know about where you are, but here in Halifax the weather is already starting to have that gorgeous Fall chill. It also has me thinking about Fall Manicure ideas, & one design I’ve been seeing pop up on my Instagram feed is the ombré look. A few years ago, ombré designs were super popular, & one of my favourites. So I can’t lie, I’m so pumped that ombré nails are making me a resurgence!

For those wondering the difference between an ombré & a gradient, an ombré is when you wear a different colour on each nail, while a gradient blends a few colours together on each nail.

BEB5AF25-F836-427A-A238-3694679A7A55

AE486A8C-14C7-4C3B-9825-0599B37ACF9C

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Currently wearing soak off gel to grow out my natural nail.
  • Top Coat: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Cosmetic Arts Baby Pink (no name)
  • L’Oréal Jardin Des Roses
  • Kosmic Colours dusty dark pink (no name)
  • ORLY Red Rhapsody
  • Essie Carry On
  • Wet n Wild 2% Milk (to make my pinky & ring finger look more dusky)

F5CAFF7B-97F3-4DD3-B92B-A18FA9D03950

86F524EB-49B4-4D37-A3A4-8E86C44C2BEE

I’ve done a few ombré manicures over the years in different colour schemes, but I was really feeling something dusky, in the rose family. This combination really felt like it suited our increasingly Autumn-like weather. On my pinky & ring finger, I applied 2% milk over my lighter pink shades so they would match closer with the rest of my colours.

085AA078-D281-404E-8082-D57BEA7B3741

7BF029EF-0E05-4192-A81B-94EAA51EFD8F

Ah, this makes me so happy! I’m so glad that this design has come back into rotation & is cool again. Not that I care that much about being trendy — my love of crackle nail polish will attest to that — but it certainly gives me a great excuse to wear multiple shades at once.

(Like I need any excuse to paint my nails!)

23B3C34D-3EF5-44C7-9C9A-0464395A40D4

What do you think of the ombré nail art trend–have you given it a try yet? What colour combination are you dying to try? Share what shades you’re planning on pairing, down in the comments below.

🍁🍂

Posted on

Black & White Chevron Accent Nails

Good morning lovelies& happy Tuesday!

I know things have been quiet on the blog, but I have a good reason: baby #2 has made her arrival! Madeleine Lena was born very early last Tuesday morning, so I’ve had a busy week of readjusting to newborn life. & I’m still wearing my blue drag marble nails which ended up being my labour nails!

However, going through my phone I found a few nail art looks I haven’t yet posted, so until I’m able to actually paint my nails–which is hard when you’ve got two little ones keeping you busy… no surprise there!–I have a few nail polish & nail art looks that I can post for you!

First up I have some stacked chevron accent nails–this is a look I’ve done before a few times because it’s super easy to do & is such a cute look!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Bamboo & Green Tea Strengthener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle
  • Quo by ORLY Platina
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • The Base Coat Vinyls Stacked Chevron

First off I love love love how blinding China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle is! Such a great Summer Polish to wear for a serious pop of colour. It’s just so good! I thought the simplicity of black & white accent nails worked really well because it added some art while still letting my polish shine.

what do you think of this look? Share your thoughts down in the comments below.

Posted on

(Even More) Cactus Nails

Good morning lovelies. I hope you’re not sick of cactus nails yet! I was inspired by my brand new make up from my previous post, so obviously I had to create some nails to match!

Cactus pattern nails have become a serious favourite design of mine to do, & I love how each nail design always turns out just a little bit different.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Turquoise & Caicos
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Essie First Timer
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Black Heart
  • Nailstuff.ca 4mm micro detail brush {PR sample}
  • Nailstuff.ca dotting tool {PR sample}

How cute are these? I know I’m slightly bias, but I really like how these turned out. I think adding the black detailing really makes the design pop out more on the nail & reminds me of a pillow I have. Originally I was going to try & do some stamping, but I couldn’t find the plate I was looking for, so freehanding it is! & using my super tiny detail brush from NailStuff.ca was perfect for this tiny little design.

what do you think of this cactus design? Are you sick of cactus yet? Let me know what designs you’d like to see next by commenting down below!