Category: Shimmer

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Sable Collar

Hello & happy Sunday!

We finally have some nice Winter sun today which is nice after a week of not the greatest weather. Today, I’m pulling out an oldie Essie shade I’ve own for a long time: Sable Collar. I actually picked up this shade at my local Dollarama circa 2015 & I remember being so excited to find this shade.

2 coats + top coat

Sable Collar was originally released as part of the 2013 Essie Winter Shearling Darling collection. It is this beautiful smokey reddish brown, with an irresistible shimmer. It’s been so. long since I put this shade on, I totally forgot how gorgeous it is. The epitome of a winter shade (in my opinion). These are exactly the kind of shades that make me think of January.

The formula was pretty easy to apply on this one — two coats needed for full opacity. The first coat was definitely streaky, but upon the second we got the beautiful finish you see in my swatches. I did apply Essie Speed Setter top coat over my swatches, mostly because this ended up being my manicure for the last few days.

A nice close up of the finish.

Below you can really see the reddish brown shimmer in the bottle. I’m kind of obsessed — which is funny, because I’ve owned this bottle of polish almost a decade, but this is. the first real time I’ve worn it all on its own. & it’s giving me the cosiest vibes.

What do you think about Essie Sable Collar? Do you remember this shade from its original release? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & if this shade is giving you the same Winter vibes I’m feeling.

Happy Sunday! ♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Infinite Shine Shaking My Sugarplums (2023 Terribly Nice Holiday Collection)

Good morning lovelies & Happy New Years Eve! Can you believe today is the last day of 2023?! This year has been a whirlwind for sure. So much has happened, but I’m excited for what 2024 will bring!

Today I’m excited to share a brand new polish which I received as part of my Christmas gift from my kids. All I asked for this beautiful OPI share, & I was excited to receive it — along with 3 other gorgeous shades I’ll be sharing soon!

This is OPI Shaking My Sugarplums from the 2023 Terribly Nice Holiday Collection.

3 coats + top coat

This beautiful metallic periwinkle shimmer has a beautiful flash of pinky purple. The second I saw swatches of this shade, I knew I needed to have it. & of course, the hilarious name really sold it!

The formula was a bit thin on this one — I could have gotten away with 2 coats, but opted for a 3 for really solid coverage. It dries quickly, so the extra coat wasn’t an inconvenience at all but really helped with that flash of shimmer.

Macro shot to show of the depth of this beautiful shade. I can’t get over how beautiful it is! I am so happy to be able to add this shade to my collection (as well as the 3 other shades I was gifted)

The OPI 2023 Terribly Nice Holiday Collection can be found anywhere OPI polishes are sold. For fellow Canadians, I know they are currently on sale at Chatters & Chatters.ca for 50% off!

What do you think of this beautiful OPI Holiday shade? Did you pick up any of the beautiful shades from this collection? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & I hope you have the most wonderful New Years Eve!

See you next year!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Better Not Pout

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday.

Today is the first Sunday of December, so it only seems fitting to share another holiday shade from my stash! Today’s shade was also part of the 2015 China Glaze Cheers collection, like last week’s Swatch Sunday pick I Soirée I Didn’t Do It.

This is China Glaze Better Not Pout.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful metallic berry applied in two smooth coats. It dried down a little less shiny, so I applied a coat of top coat to give it some extra gloss. The colour itself is very festive, & a great alternative to red or green for the holiday season. The dark berry colour is definitely one I enjoy wearing (I kept this shade on for 3 days!)

You could also do some great holiday nail art with it as well.

Like last week’s pick, this shade was originally released as part of the holiday collection, so it’s no longer in permanent circulation—however, you can buy the Gelaze version on the China Glaze website for those who use gel nail polish.

What do you think about this beautiful holiday berry? Do you have Better Not Pout in your nail polish stash? Would you wear this shade to a holiday party? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday 💗

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Freehand Metallic X-pattern Nails

Hello loves, & happy Wednesday. It’s mid-week, & back to school is tomorrow! How exciting is that? I’m kind of sad Summer is over, but also there are so many fun Halloween & Autumn decorations popping up in store, I’m not too sad.

Today I’m sharing a fun freehand design I am very proud of. I was trying to come up with something fun & unique to share, & ended up creating these x-pattern nails. I do have nail vinyls with this pattern I could have used, but I really wanted to see if I can do it completely freehand.

& I did!

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
  • Milani Nail Polish Deep Thoughts
  • Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Scarab
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Liner Brush

I found this old clearance Milani in my stash, & realized I’d never worn it, so I decided to give it a try. Right now I’m just loving deep, dark purples. Also, I’m kind of sad this was my first time ever trying this shade out as I’ve owned it quite a while. Now that I should have a smidge more free time, I think I need to officially go through my nail polish stash & check out all those untried nail polishes I’ve collected over the years.

Also, I’m so so so happy with how this x-pattern design turned out. My thumb ended up slightly off centre, but I more or less had all the nails pretty even. I’m really proud of how these turned out, & I think the beautiful teal shimmer over the deep purple looks incredible. It really pops! & it was such a fun design to wear.

What do you think of these freehand x-pattern nails? What colours are you loving right now? Right now, I’m all about dark nails, which I’m loving. Especially shades with just a little bit of shimmer to keep things interesting.

Have a lovely Wednesday! ♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Glamcore

Hello my lovelies, & happy Sunday. The first Swatch Sunday of September. The mornings are cooler, the humidity is non-existent, & I’m really for some darker nail polish.

I dug through my nail polish stash, trying to decide on what shade of should start off the Autumn vibes with, & found this beauty from China Glaze. Glamcore is a beautiful deep dark purple shimmer, originally released as part of the Fall 2017 Street Regal collection.

1 coat, no top coat

If you’re looking for a beautiful Autumn shade, this is definitely the vibe. In the bottle, it’s a bit of a different shade with this kind of dusty blue that doesn’t really translate onto the nail. But the colour you do get, this dark & vampy purple, is spectacular.

The formula on this shade is also great — it’s thick in the coverage department, but easy to apply, so I only needed one coat. The brush on this baby is the only downside — it’s very skinny, which can make application, especially around the cuticle line, more difficult. You get kind of see where I struggled a bit for clean cuticle application (although I think I did a not too bad job!)

Is this not a stunning polish? We all know next to a good red, I love a good purple. & this is prime purple season, so expect that you’re probably going to see a few over the next couple months. Also, China Glaze Fall collections have always been my favourite collections, & I have quite a few on here from over the years that I don’t think I’ve shared on here.

Sadly this shade is 6 years old, so it’s no longer in rotation. I score this shade a few years later at my local Winners (hence the label) so the possibility exists that it could pop up again at one of those stores in limited released.

What do you think of China Glaze Glamcore? Do you remember the 2017 Street Regal collection, or own any of the shades from it? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what current Fall/Autumn 2023 Nail Polish collection you’re obsessed with!