GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Cactus 🌵

Good morning lovelies & happy Wednesday! Can you believe that this is it — the last prompt of this month’s challenge! Crazy to think August is almost over, & September is (basically) here. But we’re finishing out this month’s challenge strong with a handpainted cactus design, & I’m really proud of how these turned out!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Quo by Orly Breatheable You’re A Gem
  • Pacifica Rainbow Gloss
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • Essie Turquoise & Cacaos
  • Essie Chillato
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie Cute as a Button
  • Essie Set in Sandstone
  • Nailtural Keep Palm, Swim On
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

Okay, so originally I was going to use my cactus stickers from NailStuff.ca for this design, but I could not find them anywhere! So I had to pull out my freehand skills, & freehand paint some cute cacti on my nails… & you know, I think I did a pretty good job! I’m actually super proud of these & feeling pretty in love with how beautifully they turned out.

My whole reason for doing this challenge this month was the inspire me to get out of my nail art box, & feel creative again. My favourite months of the year are coming up, & I want to be in love with nail art again; feel creative again. & I am really excited to finish the rest of this year with some fun nail art looks!

What do you think about these cactus nails for Glam Nails Challenge August? Have you enjoyed taking this nail art journey with me this month? I’m not 100% sure if I’m going to do Glam Nails Challenge for September, but either way I’m pumped to get into some fun Fall designs & colours.

Have a lovely Wednesday

♥︎

Purple Holographic Glitter Gradient 💜✨

Happy Wednesday lovelies.

The sun is shining, & that is more than enough reason for some holographic nails! I was feeling some serious glitter, & I think this manicure achieved that.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Color Club Pucci-Licios
  • Nubar Treasure
  • Color Club Top Shelf
  • Starrily Space Debris

Look at that sparkle! ✨ yes, I have quite a few polishes layered to achieve this look, but it’s totally worth it. It’s been a rough week & a half, so a little extra sparkle is totally what the universe ordered. It makes me smile, & feel extra pretty.

What I love is I didn’t even need any tools to achieve this — just a little patience to apply the glitter to my tips! Definitely obsessed with the over all sparkle, especially when I’m in the sunshine.

How do we feel about these extra sparkly gradient nails? Are we a fan? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Have a lovely day!

💜

Purple-y Leopard Print

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! It’s hot hot hot out there — feeling close to 40 degrees C today with humidity — so going to need to keep well hydrated!

Today I’m sharing an old classic when it comes to nail art: leopard print. It’s been a while since I wore any leopard on my nails (last September) so I thought I was due!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Olive & June House of O&J *Gifted
  • Olive & June How Do You Spell Bougainvillea? *Gifted
  • Olive & June Starshower *Gifted
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out *Gifted
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (tiniest size) *gifted
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush *gifted

How cute is this leopard design? I love the colours together, the added sparkle from Starshower in the middle of my leopard spots — just everything. Plus leopard nails are so easy to do, I really should do them more often. I’ve always loved a good spotted pattern; the amount of leopard print clothing I have owned over the years is impressive.

What do you think about this leopard design? Are you a fan of patterned designs like this? As always, leave a comment down below! I love hearing what you think!

🖤

Holo & Graphic Geometric Lines

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! It’s a beautiful, warm sunny day & I’m enjoying every second of it. & the sunshine is making me crave a lot of sparkle. ✨

It’s been a while since I rocked some graphic geometric lines, so I pulled out a Quo by Orly striper I recently found at the thrift store (it had never been used — I was pumped!) & I created this geometric look. & I think the black over the lighter blue is so striking — I just love it!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie In The Cab-Ana
  • Color Club Bougie Baby
  • Quo By Orly Striper Black

These almost look like stained glass, but with only one colour. I think they turned out really pretty. I also can’t stop adding glitter — in particular holographic glitter — to all my base colours.

When I do geometric line designs like this, I’m really not particular in what I’m doing — I kind of just go with what I’m feeling. I originally had just line straight lines, but it felt like something was missing so I added the outline around my nail, & it felt like it brought everything together! & surprisingly, it really wasn’t that hard to do at all.

What do you think about this geometric lines design? Are you feeling the sparkly holo & the crisp black lines? Would you wear a design like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & what colour you would wear as your base on a design like this!

Enjoy your Thursday! ♥︎

Pretty & Pink Glittery Abstract Stripes

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday!

I hope everyone’s week has been beautiful so far. Today I’m excited because I have a pretty, sparkly manicure to show off. & with everything not beautiful happening in the world right now, sometimes you just need to be distracted with something beautiful.

I recently broke my middle finger nail, badly, so that meant it was time for a big chop. Suddenly short nails always make it a bit hard for me to focus on creating beautiful nail art, but I think these pink sparkly abstract stripes were a nice start to another short nail era.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze Don’t Desert Me
  • Quo by Orly Mini Pink Glitter (no name on the bottle)
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust
  • Sally Hansen Insta Dri Luxe Finish Lavish Lilac
  • Art Club Striper Passion Flower
  • Art Club Striper Pink Pastel
  • Quo by Orly Striper Black

Oh man, I love this sparkly base so much. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed me sharing stories of a lot of glittery nails. With all the sunshine we’ve been having, I just can’t get enough of the glitter. It makes me very happy. In fact, this was the base I was wearing when I had my horrible break, so I kept it on & added the nail art over top to wear for a few more days. & I’m glad I did because I really really like how this design turned out. It’s just so pretty!

What do you think of this glittery pink abstract stripe design? Do you like glitter on sunshine-y days as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below. & let me know if there is any specific nail art you would like to see me attempt on these new shorties of mine.

Happy Thursday!

♥︎