Category: short nails

Posted on

Simple Peach Floral

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! It’s a sunny, albeit chilly, Monday here which gives me hope that maybe Spring isn’t as far off as it feels. Today, I’m summoning Spring with a pretty floral design because…. I’m so over Winter.

I painted this look over yesterday’s Swatch Sunday pick, & I have to say even though it’s not blatantly a Spring colour scheme, I love how it came out.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: China Glaze Fast Forward Top 
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear With The Beet
  • OPI A Great Opera-tunuity
  • Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Rock Steady
  • Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Almond Tan
  • Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Black Stone
  • OPI Life Gave Me Lemons
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • Essie Satin Sisters
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I just love how these turned out. Usually, my go to floral is a rose design, but I’m trying to brand out of my comfort zone. Originally, I had planned just to do a few accent nails, but it looked so good I did all 10 nails instead! I really like this light peach over the dark base — it really makes it pop!

Over all, one of my absolute favourite designs I’ve done in a while.

I’ve been feeling so stupid & meh when it comes to my nails lately — especially after my serious nail break — but as soon as I did these I just few renewed again. It’s true, floral makes everything better.

What do you think of this floral design? Are you as ready for Spring as I am? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what design you turn to when you’re feeling meh about your nails!

Have a fantastic Monday loves.

♥︎

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear With The Beet

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope you all survived your week okay. Can you believe that February is almost over? This year is speeding by quickly, which is kind of insane — but I’m definitely looking forward to Spring.

Today though, I’m sharing a shade that has been in my stash for ages but I’ve never swatched. This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in With The Beet.

2 coats + top coat

I wish I knew when this shade was originally released (I know I’ve had it for a few years) but it is still in current rotation as part of the Xtreme Wear core collection.

This beautiful berry shade has a great glossy formula that builds to full opacity in 2 coats. This dark shade is a nice mix between a purple & a burgundy, which is kind of the best of both worlds in terms of shades I love.

Look at that colour! It’s just beautiful! I don’t know why, but when my nails are extra short like this I tend to feel more drawn towards darker shades as I just feel like they look more classy, or something. I did end up painting some really pretty floral over this base that I can’t wait to share with you, so stay tuned for that!

What do you think about this beautiful shade from Sally Hansen? Are you a fan of the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear line? What is your favourite shade? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Have a beautiful Sunday 🖤

Posted on

Half Moons on Ultra Shorties

Hello lovelies & happy Friday. I hope everyone is having a feel good Friday so far. We’re currently awaiting another storm — this time rain. Is it Summer yet?

Today I have a classic nail art look on my new ultra shorties. I had a couple terrible breaks recently, which hasn’t helped with inspiring me to paint my nails, but I decided to go with a favourite design — half moons — to cheer me up.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: China Glaze Fast Forward Top 
  • Ardene La Luna
  • OPI Infinite Shine Mariachi Makes My Day
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

I’ve been really feeling the blue nails lately, if you haven’t noticed. They’re just the colours I’ve been reaching for most often. But I love this light & dark colour combination. Plus, I found the best natural lighting at work against this green wall so I had to take my pictures there!

What do you think about these half moons on my ultra short nails? What kind of nail art would you like to see me attempt on these shorties? Let me know down in the comments below, & I’ll try my best to make it happen!

Enjoy your Friday loves. 🖤

Posted on

Christmas Ribbon Candy Swirls

Hello beauties & happy Friday! It’s almost the weekend, & not just any weekend, but Christmas weekend! That’s insane but exciting. I had to keep my holiday inspired nail art going with some more abstract nail art.

The first thing this design made me think of after I did it was the Ribbon Hard Candy you get around Christmas. I’m sure you know the stuff, but if not it’s this stuff.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • OPI Unfrost My Heart
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 5 Golden Blings
  • Red & Green Acrylic Paint
  • 16mm Striper Brush from Nailstuff.ca

I decided to use a combination of acrylic paint & nail polish for this design to make it a bit easier for me. Sometimes, I find when I’m doing bigger stripes, my polish starts drying a bit too quickly, but you don’t have the same issue with acrylic paint.

I really, really like how these stripes turned out. I know, I know — I say this every time. But I don’t think there is anything wrong with being proud about your nail art! For a long time, I was extra critical of my work, so I’m glad to enjoy what I do. & it is a little bit different from typical Christmas nail art.

What do you think about these ribbon candy inspired abstract swirls? Do you like the holiday vibes they are giving off? Would you wear these for any Christmas celebrations you’re partaking in this weekend? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Friday 🎄

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Blue Iguana (& some bonus sparkle ✨)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! The first Sunday of November, if you can believe it! Sadly, I’m starting off November with some extra short nails thanks to a bad, bad break at work on Friday.

So I wanted to make my nails feel extra pretty, so I dug through my stash & landed on this sparkly old school China Glaze shade. This is China Glaze Blue Iguana.

2 coats + top coat

Blue Iguana was originally released as part of the 2011 Summer Island Escape collection. It has an electric blue foil finish with a great micro shimmer. The formula was fairly thin, but I had adequate coverage in 2 coats. It also appears lighter on the nail than in the bottle, which was kind of a bummer — but maybe an extra coat or two would have fixed that. I also wish you could see more of the purple duochrome flash on the nail, as much as you can see it in the bottle. But it’s still beautiful regardless.

I was feeling like my short, stubby nails needed a bit more sparkle, so I pulled another oldie (released around the same time) from Icing to add a little pizazz: Icing Radio Super Star.

1 coat over Blue Iguana + top coat

I was actually really impressed with how closely the blue glitters in Radio Super Star matched Blue Iguana. It has a clear base with blue micro glitter, fuschia hex glitters & these fun silver star glitter. What you see above is just one coat over my base — & I had great luck with getting the star glitters onto the nail with minimal fishing.

It gave me exactly the sparkle I was craving to cheer myself up!

How are you feeling up these two fun polishes both together & apart? I feel like it’s just a smidge too early for holiday polishes (although I’m keeping my eyes open!) but I may see what glitter shades I can pull out for this month.

Have a happy Sunday!