Category: Sparkles

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY — Quo Beauty Xtreme FX Midnight Magic

Merry Christmas Eve lovelies! & Merry Christmas to those who Santa has already visited. 🎄

Today I’m excited to share an early Christmas present to myself. After a very long Christmas season, I decided to buy myself a little pick me up & hit up my local Shoppers Drug Mart for something sparkling. This is Quo Beauty Xtreme FX Midnight Magic.

3 coats + Essie Speed Setter Top Coat

This dark purple jelly shade has a thin consistency & is packed with multicoloured metallic glitters. Originally I thought they were holographic, but they’re is just a variety of different colours. The formula is a very thin jelly, which allows the glitters to build up & show through the layers.

Because of the thin consistency, I did need 3 coats but they dried down very quickly. & the use of quick dry top coat helped speed things up even more.

The dark purple definitely does mask this shade a bit, but I still adore it. This shade reminds me a bit of Icing Disco Lights, but with much smaller glitters. It’s a fun little touch of sparkle.

For my Canadian friends, you can purchase this & other Quo Beauty shades at your local Shoppers Drug Mart or via their website. This one is currently in stock online & there were lots at my local Shoppers, so you should definitely be able to find it! I know I’ll definitely be going back after Christmas to pick up Stargazing or The Party — which were the other two I was deciding between.

What do you think of Quo Beauty Midnight Magic? Do you like this subtle touch of sparkle? What nail polishes are you hoping Santa leaves under your tree? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

🖤

Posted on

Merry Christmas Penguin Accent Nail 🐧🎅

Good morning lovelies & merry Christmas Eve Eve. Can you believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow? Who else has copious amounts of wrapping to do?

Today though, I have another cute nail art look to share. I was wearing this incredible sparkly green already, & decided I needed something fun over top so I decided to add a cute penguin accent nail!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Beyond The Nail Caribbean
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • ORLY Garnet Luxe Shimmer
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Pump-kid
  • OPI Unfrost My Heart
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm detail brush
  • Small dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

Okay, seriously — how cute is he, all dressed in his little Santa hat? I did do a version of this penguin look in 2018, but I think this year’s version hits the mark so perfectly!

 I decided to add a bit of a scattered dotticure at my cuticle line to give off the effect of snow falling, & I think it made this look even more fun. This is my manicure for my last day of work before the holidays, & I think it’s a fun design for what will probably be the busiest shopping day of the whole year. 

What do you think of my little penguin accent nail? Do you think this is a fun Christmas look? It was actually surprisingly easy to do, which was awesome because the only thing keeping me conscious right now is caffeine! Hopefully Santa will slip a few Energy Drinks in my stocking to keep me awake over the next few days.

Have a fantastic Saturday, & if you’re venturing out to finish up shopping be safe. It’s going to be a zoo out there!

♥︎

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY— Starrily Cobalt (Co) {Noble Neons Collection}

Contains PR/gifted product from NailStuff.ca

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! & happy one week to Christmas Eve! Who else is feeling the last minute crunch of Christmas? Today though, I’m excited because I have a brand new (to me) polish to share with you that was recently gifted to me by my nail polish fairy godmother Victoria at NailStuff.ca.

This is Starrily Cobalt (Co) from the Noble Neons collection.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful & vibrant neon blue has a jelly like base with a scattering of holographic flakes for a sparkling effect. You can build it to opacity, like I did, or wear it over a white base for more of a pop. It does dry to a semi matte finish, like a lot of neons tend to do, so it’s best to finish it off with a glossy top coat.

Formula was smooth, easy to work with, & not too thin so I managed to achieve a good opacity with 2 coats. There is still a touch of visible nail line, but I feel like with a polish like this that’s not a bad thing.

As you can see from the macro shot above, the polish has a good density of holographic glitter. It doesn’t overwhelm it, but you get a good sparkle on the nail.

For those looking to add this colour to their own collection, I know it can be purchased from NailStuff.ca or from Starrily directly.

What do you think of Starrily Cobalt (Co)? Would you wear this holographic neon blue? Does anyone else consider blue nail polish a Christmas colour? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Sunday! 💙

Posted on

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE DECEMBER— Santa Claus

Hello beauties & happy Monday. It’s a snowy December here on the East Coast of Canada , & we put up our Christmas tree this weekend, so it’s feeling very Christmas-y here. It’s also the beginning of Glam Nails Challenge December, & I’m very excited to close our 2023 with a month of festive nail art designs.

Our first prompt for the month is Santa Claus, & I went with a Santa Claus inspired half moon chevron design.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod!
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I created my negative space chevron moons completely freehand, then went in with a small sized dotting tool & added the white accents. I think it’s the perfect nod to Santa Claus without being too literal about it. However, my 6 year old totally guessed my inspiration, so it gets the point across!

Also how cute does our Christmas tree look as the base for my manicure. I would expect to see a few designs posed in front of my tree this month!

Are you excited to finish off December & 2023 with one final month of Glam Nails Challenge? Are you excited for lots of holiday nail art content? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & don’t forget to follow along on Instagram with the hashtag #glamnailschallengedecember to see all the beautiful December designs.

Enjoy the beginning of your week lovelies! 🎄💗

Posted on

Black Friday Half Moons 🖤🌛

Happy Black Friday lovelies!

I suppose “happy” is a subjective term. But it is Black Friday, & that means that the holiday season is about to kick into high gear. I work in retail, though, which means I’m just trying to survive the weekend! So in honour of this crazy day, I thought I would create a black manicure to represent the day.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Mary Kay Salon Direct Moonlight
  • Essence Here’s My Number
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

I wanted black nails, but with a twist, & I think this nail art look was just what I needed. I used a lot of top coat to smooth out Essence Here’s My Number as it’s a sparkle sand effect polish. I think the subtle pearlescent shimmer of Moonlight pairs really well with the more obvious sparkle of Here’s My Number. It’s a very chic look, which half moon designs always are to me, but then you have the black & white pairing, which just makes it feel even more chic.

Also it’s a very easy look, that anyone can do. The perfect nail art look for going into battle for retail war.

What do you think of these Black Friday half moons? Do you think this is as chic a look as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Shopping darlings! 🖤