Category: Stamping

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Mermaid Nails for #glamnailschallengeaug

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Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Today I have another manicure to share with you for the August Glam Nails Challenge! Today’s prompt is Mermaid, which is always a fun design to do. Sadly, I’ve run out of my mermaid pattern nail vinyls, so I decided to stamp my scale pattern onto my nail, since I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to freehand them.

I had a pretty specific idea in my mind of what I wanted this manicure to look like, & unfortunately I didn’t have an actual mermaid scale stamping plate, so I went through the plates I do have to find the one which would work best!

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Bonder
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • Essence Across the Universe
  • Essence Mermaid of the Galaxy
  • Essence Guardians of the Unicorn
  • Essence Space Glam
  • Essence Intergalactic Adventure
  • Essence Black in Black
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper & Scraper (gifted)
  • BornPrettyStore stamping plate BP-LO32 (item #23268)

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Please excuse the remaining mess around my cuticles. I forgot to use my cuticle barrier because I was rushing, & trying to clean up the polish on my fingers was tricky. That’s what you get when you try for a nap time manicure & want to get your nails done before the babes wake up!

But even if my cuticles aren’t perfect, I’m still so in love with how this manicure turned out! The Essence Out Of Space Stories polishes work so well for this fantasy type design. Especially with the duo/multichrome finishes they have.

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Posing with my mermaid nail art brush because it’s the only mermaid-y item I think I own. I feel like even though I didn’t use a traditional mermaid image, they still came out very mermaid-esque. I actually think I like this pattern even better!

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What do you think about these mermaid pattern nails? 🧜🏼‍♀️ share your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Red Plaid Holiday Nails

Good Morning Lovelies! Can you believe it’s only 13 days until Christmas… where has this year gone?! Even though I’ve been insane at work with Christmas coming, I’ve been trying to do my nails when I can–& trying to get in as many Christmas-y designs in as often as I can.

(Not going to lie… painting them has been a struggle, but having time to take pictures is another story all together!)

Today I have some pretty red plaid nails that are a combination of stamping & freehand. I LOVE plaid nails, but sometimes they can be time consuming depending on how many lines you have to free hand. By combining a plaid stamping pattern I had with a bit of freehanding, I managed to come up with a cute & relatively easy plaid look that’s perfect for this time of year!

For this look, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Grow Stronger
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Good Cheer-y (from the Decadence collection)
  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Black Heart
  • L’Oréal Getting Kilty
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper

I’m not going to lie–I’m a little rusty, & my nails & cuticles have seen better days. But it feels so good to be painting my nails again, & it always feels nice when people randomly compliment me on how pretty my nails are. Of course, then stock comes & they end up a mess… but still nice to have them done in the first place! (& more than just a since colour.)

Going to try & cram as many Christmas designs in as possible over the next week or so, since I’ve been so bad at actually posting the last few months. But January is coming… & things are going to slow way down so I’ll be able to get back into my regular posting life soon. For everyone who has stuck around (& continues to stick around!) thank you so much! It means so much to me.

Now the most important question remains… should I do Christmas tree, snowman or penguin nails next? Let me know in the comments below!

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Fall Houndstooth Accent Nails

Happy October 2nd! Can you believe we’re already a day into Halloween month?! Are you as excited as I am? I’m definitely going to need to start planning my Halloween designs soon.

But in the mean time, maybe some Fall themed nails? With the weather shifting quickly, I’m already digging out some of my favourite scarves, so I figured why not some nails inspired by the coziness of Fall.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Lets Snow!
  • Essence Black is Back!
  • Born Pretty Store Classic Patterns Stamping Plate BP-L006 (item #17924)
  • Born Pretty Store Color Flame Rhinestones colour #2 (item #41753)

First off, can we talk about this Essie shade from the Fall 2018 collection? It’s absolutely amazing. The second I saw the swatches, I knew it was so different from all the other polishes I own & that meant I had to have it! & since it feels so Fall to me, I knew I had to pair it with this stamping plate from Born Pretty Store (which I haven’t had the chance to use yet!)

Also check out these crystals also from Born Pretty Store (item # 41753). I needed something to jazz up my plain nails, & I love the iridescent shift they have. You can kind of see how the shift of your hand shows different colours, which means these crystals will match with so many different polishes & manicures!

what do you think of this Fall inspired manicure? What Fall shades are you wearing on your nails right now? Let me know in the comments below!

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Stamped Cactus Accent Nail (featuring Essence’s new “Stamp It!” plate)

Happy Friday everyone!

Today I’ve got a fun look to share with you, featuring a brand new product from Essence–their new “Stamp It!” plate which was recently released in Canada. My love for cacti everything is ongoing, so I was excited that one of the images included with a cactus. I picked up my new stamping plate during a recent outing to Shoppers Drug Mart.

It can also be purchased on the Essence website as well.

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essence Miss Universe
  • Julep Alyssa
  • ORLY Decades of Dysfunction
  • Essence Black is Back
  • Essence “Stamp It!” Stamping plate
  • Clear Jelly Stamper

I was super impressed with how well I could pick up images from the plate to apply to my nails. There is a huge variety of different images to choose from & they definitely seem easier to do than some of my older Essence stamping kits. I still have to pick up the actual stamper, but I’m looking forward to trying it out as well… you can never have too many stamping plates at your disposal, & I find myself turning to stamping when I’m extra busy & still want pretty nails.

What do you think of this look? Have you tried out Essence new stamping plate yet? Let me know what you think by sharing your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Neon(ish) Stars ⭐️

Happy Wednesday loves… I mean, I think it’s Wednesday. My days have been blurring into each other which has made it hard to keep things straight! I’m trying my best to keep to my posting schedule, but right now things are a wee bit hectic. & by wee bit, I mean life is all around insane. But just because I’m working 50+ hours a week doesn’t mean I don’t have time for pretty nails!

Who needs sleep anyways? That’s why they invented coffee!

Today’s nails were based on the fact I wanted pretty nails, with a pop of colour, that were relatively easy. I realized I hadn’t used my stamping plates in forever, so it felt like a good opportunity. Plus I love the look of a pop of colour over a neutral sheer base–@oliveandjune is always posting amazing inspiration on Instagram that I’m constantly saving, so I decided to try the look out. & I love it.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel In the Sheer
  • Sally Hansen Insta-dri Va-Va Violet
  • Born Pretty Store Image Plate BP-L006 (item #17924)
  • Born Pretty Store small clear jelly stamper
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier

I was in serious need of something bright & colourful to cheer myself (& my nails) up! Even with obsessive moisturizing, a ton of cuticle oil, & anything else moisturizing I can find, my hands have been hurting the last few weeks. The up & down temperature changes have been the main culprit I think, plus the fact that work is dry as heck. They’re not used to not being babied like they were! Plus paper cuts are seriously the devil. Still working on testing out my own hand pampering mask recipe, so once I find one I want to share I will make sure to post it! Also if you have any favourite hand treatments to share, let me know in the comments below!

What’s your favourite “cheer up” manicure to do when you’re feeling down? share it in the comments below!