Messy Stripes

AB3265A1-AE4F-40E7-A882-7CAE187399AB

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! Today I’m sharing my first official nail art of 2020! Crazy isn’t it? I’ve been slow to share nail art so far this year, not because I haven’t been doing any (I have), but because I’ve really been reflecting on where I want Coffee & Nail Polish to go this year.

Obviously nail polish is the first first love of this blog, but it’s not only where my heart lives. For a while, I’ve been thinking about expanding my content & sharing my other loves beside nail polish & my favourite caffeinated beverages — for example: fashion, other non polish beauty products, etc. & I’ve been kind of scared about expanding my content & my blog identity. But this year is all about taking chances so that is what I’m going to do! But don’t worry, if your here for nails I promise that majority of my posts are still going to be nails! Going to start off slow & see what you think!

& now to the nails!

Today’s post is all about stripes. I love a good stripe manicure. Today’s look went a little messy — I was feeling stripes but I’m out of my usual quick dry top coat so I decided to try & freehand them.

8438FD09-3967-41A1-8E4F-4030EBE820D3

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Treat Love & Color Gloss Fit (cleat)
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • ORLY Decades of Dysfunction
  • Quo by ORLY Breathable The Antidote
  • Revlon Iconic
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Quo by ORLY Breathable Sheer Luck
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush(COFFEE10 to save 10%)

.

2D6AFD1B-55BC-4A4D-9653-70635C7B468C

For my thicker stripes I used the polish bottle brushes & for the thinner stripes I used my detail brush from NailStuff. They’re definitely not perfect, but I feel like the imperfection of the stripes kind of makes the whole look come together. It’s the kind of stripes you would see on a cute boho pillow or something, which is a vibe j can definitely get behind & adore. Also the grey & pink & wine combo is one that just feels so perfect for January when life just feels so much more muted, you know?

D3B2B711-956D-4170-87F9-2EA72B81092D

I also feel like these stripes would be the most perfect beginning to a tribal/Aztec look. Had I had more time, I probably would have tried it. But these nails were on a time crunch — which I feel like most of my manicures are lately — so I created my stripes, applied my top coat, & then hoped I didn’t ruin them as I went to sleep. I do love the lasting power of Sally Hansen MG top coat, but it really doesn’t have the super quick drying power of some of the other top coats I used. Definitely need to pick up my OG favourite, aka Essie Gel Setter, ASAP.

89B9D252-432B-4C94-9782-BC0EFE63F99F

I’m seriously digging this look. I’m not sure what direction I want to take my nail art this year — I definitely want to create more fun looks, if you know what I mean. & floral. There is nothing more I love in the dead of winter, than a good floral design!

Have a lovely Tuesday darlings! 💜

Glitzy Candy Cane Stripes

86975CF6-804C-47B1-BFA2-E70E4C25CF04

60719FE5-A481-4EFD-BAB8-3BABB0A8D728

{PR SAMPLE}

Good morning lovelies & Happy Friday!

Friday the 13th to be exact. Hopefully you’re morning & day hasn’t gotten off to scary of a start. Today I’m sharing a design that is isn’t part of the GlamNailChallenge, but is an awesome Christmas/Holiday look to wear this time of year: Candy Cane stripes! Again, this is one of those designs I love to return to, year after year, but trying to put a new spin on it each time.

This year I decided to go with a more grown up candy cane accent nails. This would be the perfect look for a Christmas party, or even to wear to celebrate your Christmas dinner. & it’s super quick & easy to do, which I feel like is a must need this time of year (at least it is in my house!)

1C9A3FBA-8D04-4CD7-BB0A-6FE47FF73FE5

ED931BAD-5B54-4AC4-8666-1F47DF9D0864

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frosted Berries
  • Sally Hansen MG In The Sheer
  • Sally Hansen MG Five Golden Blings {Oh My Gold! Collection}
  • Sally Hansen MG Goldie Rocks {Oh My Gold! Collection}
  • Sally Hansen MG Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen MG Good Cheery
  • Sally Hansen MG Golden Glow
  • NailStuff 11mm liner brush (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • Small dotting tool — I used the NailStuff dotting tool trio

.

FD910AE6-7790-4F94-A426-4E27B4C4FAC7

17D5C11F-6A6F-4E3D-8327-8373450FB738

I’ve done this look before, like I said, but usually I use striping tape or nail vinyls to create my stripes. I’m proud that I 100% freehanded these! & they didn’t turn out wonky at all! Also who doesn’t love a good flash of glitter — I used two of the 3 new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Oh My Gold! shades in this manicure. They really are the most perfect polishes for the holidays.

ADF3B823-CC5E-431C-93EA-25F1C7F570F4

CC47DEAA-7610-4036-A280-1A0582DEFE94

What do you think about this manicure design? Would you rock this look at your next holiday manicure? & don’t forget that the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Oh My Gold! collection can still be found in stores, so if you’re on the hunt for the perfect gold for the holidays, look no further!

These items were gifted to me free for review. However, all opinions are my own.

3 Easy Accent Nail Ideas

F1D4AE8B-B101-42D4-9347-DCF7AA530A7A

Hello lovelies!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic start to their week & October! Can you believe it’s October already?! It is absolutely my favourite month of the year because HALLOWEEN! & my birthday as well, but still haven’t decided if I’m excited for my birthday this year or not.

Today though I have a fun nail art post to share with you featuring 3 different accent nail art looks that are both quick & easy! For these designs I used the same polishes for all 3 looks, & tried to do nail art that #1. wouldn’t take forever to dry, & #2. didn’t need a whole lot of complicated tools

BD3ED88F-1A43-4698-A6C6-51DA1194CF2A

For all three designs, I decided to use the same polishes:

  • Essie After School Boy Blazer
  • Essie White Page
  • Quo by ORLY Breathable Nail Superfood
  • Joe Fresh Gel Look Sparkling Glitz
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frosted Berries

As always, I used my base coat & top coat for a complete look. As well, I used a couple nail art tools in order to achieve my look–a dotting tool & a striping brush. Mine are both from NailStuff.ca, although there are a ton of different places you can purchase nail art tools.

Continue reading “3 Easy Accent Nail Ideas”

Nautical Themed Nails for #glamnailschallengeaug

F3C21474-03FE-4E4C-8421-021A00C9F32F

9F6A8310-0785-4FDD-A798-6D0956F243A7

Hello lovelies! & happy Monday. This month I’ve decided to try something different & dedicate myself to a nail art challenge. This is not the first time I’ve attempted a nail art challenge, but when I saw the prompts for the Glams Nail Challenge for August, it seemed a little less daunting than those I’ve attempted in the past… while still sparking some creative new designs!

There are 8 prompts for the month of August, starting with Nautical Nails! It’s been quite a while since I attempted any kind of nautical design, so I was very excited for the opportunity. Plus it gave me a chance to test out a colour combination I’ve really wanted to do for a while.

4688CF34-5FE6-49D9-9E85-2B2D07AB074F

66360B2F-B038-4717-9C11-E947CA410765

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Eny
  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Bonder
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture
  • Morgan Taylor Baby It’s Bold Outside
  • Essie Parka Perfect
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • OPI I Just Can’t Cope-acabana
  • What’s Up Nails Anchor Vinyls
  • Skinny & Wide Striping Tape
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid detail brushes
  • NailStuff.ca small gold studs from Gold Mixed Decoration Wheel

EB085190-383E-464D-97A6-7684C9D6F38F

B5E5B5C7-B2BF-4DBE-9F1B-03FF97A58DD3

I honestly can’t remember the last time I did any nautical themed nails, so I was excited for the inspiration to give it a fresh go!

I’m absolutely smitten with how this look turned out. The colours go really well together & I like how it’s not your typical colour scheme for this kind the yellow has that nice pop of colour, & is a little bit different. It’s so funny, because a few years ago my best friend got married in a nautical themed wedding, & these nails would have been perfect for us bridesmaids to wear — matches her colour scheme she had used too! For reference, these were the nails I wore to her bridal shower in the Wedding colours.

36D21041-2A59-4078-B00F-CB09C8828379

What do you think about these nautical nails? What colour scheme would you use to recreate this design? Let me know down in the comments below & stay tuned this month for more fun new designs thanks to the Glam Nails Challenge!

Blue & Pink Abstract Stripes

Good morning lovelies & happy Saturday! It’s been a while since I posted, but I have a new manicure to share with you!

This design was actually originally done earlier in the spring, but I never got a chance to share! Since I haven’t really had a chance to do any nail art since our baby girl arrived, I thought I would share this look with you now!

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Rose to the Occasion
  • Sally Hansen Sugar Fix
  • Art Club Nail Art Striper in Paisley Blue
  • Kiss Nail Art Striper in white
  • Kiss Nail Art Striper in Black

I can’t remember the last time I did an abstract stripe design, but it most definitely has been a while. (I went back through my Instagram feed, & this post from May 2018 seems to be my last time doing this technique, with a similar colour scheme. I guess I really love creating this style using shades of blue.

& honestly looking at these nails, it really makes me want to buy nail art stripers in every shade so I can do these kind of looks more often–I have a Sally Beauty gift card from Christmas waiting to be used that I feel like using on a few new stripers from some more line love!

what do you think of this design? What are your favourite colour combinations when it comes to stripes? Share down below!