Category: Spring

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Pretty Floral Bouquet Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is enjoying their week so far — & if things are feeling rough right now, I hope at least you have a little bit of calm in your life to sooth those moments.

Today I’m excited to share off some pretty floral nails I did recently. After a bit of a nail art hiatus, I’m feeling good again about painting my nails — even if 95% of the nail I’ve been doing has been hand painted florals. Floral just makes me happy, so I’m going to keep wearing it.

Today’s look is especially pretty because I painted it over another beautiful holographic base shade. When the sun is shining, that just calls for all the holo!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Euphoric
  • NailStuff.ca Holo Top Coat*
  • Color Club Pucci-licious
  • Butter London Coming Up Roses*
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Essie Set in Sandstone*
  • Essie Cute As A Button
  • Essie Wind in the Willow *
  • Essie Off Tropic *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool 

*pr/gifted

These were a bit time consuming to paint, but the end result was totally worth it. I absolutely love the bright floral over the super shiny holographic base. It was exactly how I was hoping it would turn out, & I couldn’t be happier with it.

I just love floral nails so much.

What do you think of this beautiful floral bouquet nails? Do you think it looks pretty over such a holographic base? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you’re enjoying all the floral nails I’ve been sharing.

Happy Wednesday

♥︎

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Hand Painted Lilac Nail Art 💜

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! Trying to get back into my regular posting schedule, so I’m excited to share a second nail art post this week! & I’m beyond in love with today’s nail art inspiration. When walking my kids to school, I couldn’t help but notice all the lilacs in bloom — & bam, I knew just the inspiration for my nails!

I’ve done a lot of floral on my nails over the years, but I’ve never taken such a literal flower to paint on my nails. But for something I’ve never attempted before, I’m so in love with the end result. & I totally think I managed to capture the inspiration as well.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Essie Expressie IRL
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Planet Purple
  • NailStuff.ca Holographic Top Coat *
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Heather Hue
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Violet Voltage
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Lilac Insomniac
  • Essie Wind in the Willow *
  • Essie Off Tropic *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool 

*pr/gifted

Do you think I captured the Lilac vibe correctly? I literally had pictures of lilacs in front of me while I was painting (which I don’t usually do — I kind of just wing it), but I really wanted to capture what lilacs look like correctly.

I think while a little abstract, they really do look like lilacs. & I just love the purple on purple. It all comes together so beautifully. Plus the holo comes alive in this beautiful sunshine we’ve been having.

What do you think about these lilac nails? Do you love how they look as much as I do? Like I said, I don’t often have literal picture inspiration when painting floral on my nails, but I really wanted to capture these flowers accurately. & it was kind of fun — I might it more often!

Happy Friday!

♥︎

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Pink Gel & Floral Nail Art 💖🌸

Hey lovelies! I totally meant to post this manicure last week, but I got knocked out by the cold from hell which left me ravaged & not in the mood to do any posting! But my sinuses are finally recovering, & now I can finally show this fun look I did last week!

I was super curious about doing nail art over my gel manicure base, so I wanted to give it a try. I plan on also doing some nail art using all gel, but I was curious what would happen if you painted some nail art over just gel. (Including topping it with a regular top coat.)

Products used for this manicure: 

  • Olive & June Peel Off Base Coat *
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Base Coat *
  • 2 coats Olive & June Gel Polish XOXO *
  • 1 coat Olive & June Gel Polish Pink Goldfish *
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Top Coat *
  • Sinful Colors Bold Color
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple *
  • Essie Satin Sister
  • Butter London Coming Up Roses *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool 
  • China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

**gifted/PR

I think these are so just so pretty! I will say, the quick dry top coat I used (China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat) did dry down in a way that made the nail art flowers almost look like 3D stickers — which I thought I was very cool. I’m curious what would have happened if I had used the Olive & June Gel Top Coat — & I might have to experiment to see what happens!

As I mentioned, I’m still so new to the world of gel, so I’m enjoying playing around with it.

What do you think of this little bit of nail art? Would you like to see me do a series or feature on nail art using only gel nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Wednesday

💖

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Gel Couture New Highs 💙(Dopamine Rush Collection 2025)

PR/Gifted

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty blah rainy Sunday (again). But I thought I would punch things up with a fun Essie colour I was recently sent for PR! This is Essie New Highs from the newly released 2025 Gel Couture Dopamine Rush collection.

2 coats + Essie Gel Couture Top Coat

Described as a “Ultramarine” Blue on the Essie website, I feel like this blue is much more exciting on the nail than in the bottle. The formula is on the thinner side, so two coats was a must for opacity. The formula dries quickly, but an added coat of top coat gave it a more plush finish.

The colour is really nice. It’s not a navy, but it’s not a cobalt. It feels bright, even though it’s on the darker spectrum of blue shades. & I quite enjoy it! Also, looking at the rest of the shades in the collection, I might have to search out a couple more to add to my stash.

Essie Gel Couture shades are available anywhere you buy Essie, ranging in price from $11.49 CAD to $16.49 CAD (when not on sale).

What do you think of Essie Gel Couture New Highs? Are you a fan of this vibrant blue? What are your thoughts on the Essie Gel Couture line? I was definitely late to trying it, but I’m a huge fan of the formula & love all the colours I own! & I especially adore the top coat! It has a great lasting quality & dries quickly.

Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

Enjoy your Sunday!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Olive & June Gel Polish XOXO & Pink Goldfish

PR/Gifted

Hello my lovelies & happy Sunday! May is very quickly speeding along — can you believe it? Summer is almost here.

Today I’m excited to share some more polishes I was recently gifted from Olive & June. They reached out to me about trying their Gel Polish system, & I said yes! While I don’t use gel polishes a lot, I’m always curious. They sent me a beautiful PR package with everything I could need to create a beautiful gel manicure, & I’m excited to share two shades with you (& a little review) today!

Products used for this manicure:

  • Olive & June qPeel Off Base Coat
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Base Coat
  • 2 coats Olive & June Gel Polish XOXO
  • 1 coat Olive & June Gel Polish Pink Goldfish
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Top Coat

I’m not well versed with gel polishes — it’s not my usual medium — but I will say I found this system easy to use. I used the provided peel off base coat for easy removal, & then followed directions.

The gel polish itself is pretty opaque. 2 coats of the pink polish XOXO, curing for the 2 minutes between each coat, & then I topped it with the shimmer Pink Goldfish. & then I finished it off with one coat of the Gel top coat.

You have no idea how many compliments I got on this colour! I’ll probably do a quick tutorial video the next time I go to apply this polish just to show how easy the whole system is to use.

The most important steps are cleaning up your cuticles, remembering to remove any oils from your nails with acetone, & making sure not to floor the sides with gel polish. For a first try, with this system I think I did awesome! & I can’t wait to try out all the colours they sent me a— maybe I’ll do a skittle look next!

I’m also so glad for the peel off base coat, because I HATE removing gel polish, so I love an easy removal option.

What do you think of these polishes from Olive & June’s Gel Polish line? Have you tried out their new system yet? Tell me all your thoughts down in the comments below.

🖤