Negative Space & Pastel Abstract Stripes

Good morning loves! I hope everyone is having a great start to their Thursday so far. Mine is involving coffee, so that’s always a good start. Plus I have the whole day off to do my laundry & fold it, & put it away — so I’m pumped.

Today I’m sharing a recent manicure I did in the hopes of summoning Spring. Real Spring, not the fake “oops-just-kidding-it’s-still-Winter” Spring we get teased with around the end of March. I know, it’s January, & we’ve barely even had Winter…. but I’m over it. So how about some pastel?

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Pink Pastel
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Passion Flower

First off, let me acknowledge that my cuticles are looking rough. I’m trying my best to keep up with my nail art regime, but the last couple months have had some struggles, & the weather has been full of extremes, & it’s taking me a while to get my nail health back to where it was. But I’m going to save that for another post, because I know you’re all here for the nail art today!

This look was really easy to do, mostly because it takes zero skill. You just need to draw the initial swoop, & then use your other colours to trace the same lines. It sounds more complicated than it is, but I swear it’s really easy. Which is why I love this kind of look so much. I decided to go with a negative space base, because I’ve been struggling with using my bottle of Seche Vita & I wanted to avoid the weird shrinkage at my cuticle line.

What do you think about this nail art look? I know it’s probably a smidge too early for Spring nails, but you know what? Yesterday it was like 11 degrees (Celsius) & that is Spring weather. I could have worn a dress with only one pair of tights it was so warm. So I guess these nails are kind of fitting.

What do you think about this manicure? Let me know down in the comments below!

♥︎

Hot Pink Stamped Floral

Good morning loves & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone survived the weekend & Monday relatively unscathed. It was rainy here all weekend which absolutely sucked. It was absolutely torrential.

Spring… you can come anytime!

So I’m honour of our cold & wet days, I decided I needed some hot pink nails. & why not throw some floral stamping on there too, just for fun.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • China Glaze Strawberry Fields
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Discontinued Born Pretty Store floral pattern stamping plate (featured here)
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

How pretty are these? I hope they’re pretty because oh boy did I struggle with clean up! I don’t know what was happening, because usually I don’t have so many issues, but my cuticle line just wanted to be stained black.

& also I’m so over this both of Seche Vite & it shrinking every manicure I do. I’ve never had a bottle shrink so bad! Look at my middle finger! So beyond frustrating. But regardless of the issues, my nails did turn out pretty. China Glaze Strawberry Fields is so pretty, I can’t believe I don’t wear it more often!

What do you think of this floral design? Are you feeling early Spring vibes in the middle of January? & to my friends on the other side of the world in the middle of Summer… how is it there? Is it nice?

Have a lovely Tuesday darlings!

Summery Floral

Features Gifted Product in Exchange for Content

You know what it’s been a while since? The last time I wore my my nails! So naturally I needed to pick some of my newer shades I’ve received lately (& a few oldies from my collection) & incorporated them into a beautiful floral look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
  • Top Coat: Essence Extreme GEL Top
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Blue Moonstone
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Love You Lotus
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Peony Origins
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Pink Cardamon
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Black Stone
  • OPI Nature Strong Emflowered
  • OPI Nature Strong Cactus What You Preach
  • OPI Nature Strong Daisy Strong
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

I love love love this bright blue base of Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure in Blue Moonstone. Like I mentioned in the swatch post, it’s definitely my favourite of the shades I received. The colour is so perfect for Spring… Summer… everything! & it really makes the flowers pop.

What do you think about this floral design? Do you like the pairing of these colours? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Products featured in this post were provided in exchanged for content.

All thoughts are honest & my own.

SWATCH POST — Sally Hansen New & Improved Good. Kind. Pure shades for 2022

PR SAMPLE/GIFTED

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday!

I know what you’re thinking — what day of the week is it? But I have so many fun polishes to share right now, I thought it would be fun to dedicate my posts this week to all Swatches! First up we have some shades from the new & improved Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure collection.

As mentioned last time I swatched this line, these shades are a more “natural” alternative to nail polish — they’re 15 free, vegan & plant based. They also boast 7 days of wear on the nail — I’m assuming, when combined with both the Good. Kind. Pure base coat & top coat.

So let’s take a look at the colours!

Continue reading “SWATCH POST — Sally Hansen New & Improved Good. Kind. Pure shades for 2022”

Bright & Summery Saran Wrap Splatter

Features Gifted Product in Exchange for Content

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! It’s a beautiful sunny Thursday here, which is super exciting! It’s actually supposed to be warm & sunny. So naturally that means I need nails that are bright & fun to match.

Recently I teamed up with TradeSecrets.ca, which is a Canadian based online seller, & I picked a few new fun Spring/Summery nail polishes to add to my stash (along with a base coat & top coat). While I’ve followed along with TradeSecrets on Instagram, mostly for their hair products — because we all know I’m hair product obsessed — I was really excited to see all the fun nail related items they sell as well. They also have free shipping on all orders.

For my first look using these shades, I decided to go with a fun & easy Saran Wrap Splatter look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
  • Top Coat: OPI Nature Strong Top Coat
  • OPI Nature Strong Make My Daisy
  • OPI Nature Strong Cactus What You Preach
  • OPI Nature Strong Emflowered
  • Saran Wrap or some kind of crinkled thin plastic (I used some of an apple bag)

I really, really need to do a video tutorial for these, but I keep forgetting I want to until after I’ve painted my nails. But how fun did these turn out? I’m really loving these three shades! When I was browsing the TradeSecrets website, these were the three colours that screamed Summer to me most, so obviously I needed them in my life!

I definitely suggest trying out TradeSecrets.ca if you’re looking for a new place to easily pick up nail polish. They have a huge selection of OPI polishes, but also sell ORLY & Dip polish kits for those who like a longer lasting manicure. They were also kind enough to send along some hair products my way, so let me know if you’d like to see my thoughts on those as well!

What do you think about this cute design? Are you feeling these bright summery colours? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

Products featured in this post were provided in exchanged for content.

All thoughts are honest & my own.