Category: Summer

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Gradient Cactus Nails

Good afternoon & happy May everyone! Who else excited for warmer days. I feel like I’m saying this every post, but I’m just. so. ready. This winter has felt just so darn long & I’m craving neons & brights.

I was also craving a gradient as it felt like absolute ages since I had created one, so I decided to go with a blue toned look. & to finish off the look I added these absolutely adorable cactus stickers that Victoria from NailStuff.ca sent to me because she knows my love for cacti! 🌵 Have you checked out her collection of nail stickers & nail decals? I’m obsessed. So many fun designs for easy nail art this Summer.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Fashion Playground
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sugar Fix {PR sample}
  • China Glaze I’ve Got A Blue Attitude
  • Sally Hansen MG Make It N-Ice {PR sample}
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier {PR sample}
  • Cacti Nail Stickers {gift from Nailstuff.ca}

My gradient skills were a little rusty, but I love this look so much. The colours used almost give the gradient a thermal polish feel & obviously I couldn’t do a gradient without adding a little glitter. & finishing off the look with the stickers just made them a little more fun!

What do you think of this look? Share your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Almost Famous

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. I thought I was brighten things up a little for this week’s edition of Swatch Sunday & bring out the sunshine with my colour pick. Today’s polish pick is Color Club Almost Famous! This shade was originally released as part of the Poptastic Spring 2010 collection, & (I do believe was) eventually was added it to the permanent collection. I picked up my bottle a few years back at Lawnton’s in their permanent Color Club display.

For today’s swatches, I did 2 coats of polish plus top coat. I did have to go back & touch up the streaky spots though, where I hadn’t applied enough polish. The formula isn’t the greatest, but that is a universal yellow polish problem for me. The colour, however, is so much fun! I love the brightness of it — it’s the perfection transition shade from Spring to Summer!

Oh hello Sunshine, I’ve missed you. ☀️

If you’re looking to add this shade to your collection, I found a few links: Amazon.ca, Nailpolishcanada.com, & Amazon.com. Sadly it’s not listed on the main Color Club website, so I’m thinking the shade may have sadly been retired–& truthfully I haven’t seen it in my local Lawton’s display, so it would make sense.

Do you have a favourite yellow polish? What is your go to yellow? I’m always looking for shades outside my usual purple/blue/pink wheelhouse, so share your favourites down in the comments below!

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Rifle Paper Co Phone Case Inspired Floral

Good morning lovelies & happy Tuesday… as happy as a Tuesday can be! Today I have some floral nails from a few weeks back to share. This design was inspired by a brand new phone case I picked up at Winners recently… a Rifle Paper Co phone case! & I was so excited by the pattern that I just had to recreate it on my nails!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie In the Cab-Ana
  • OPI Koala Berry
  • OPI My Chihuahua Bites
  • Essence The Green & The Grunge
  • Essie First Timer
  • Sinful Colours Amethyst
  • Essie Play Date
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sweet Tea
  • China Glaze Metro Pollen-tin
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in black
  • Essie Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Lo
  • Small detail brush from Bundle Monster

I’m really, really loving this pattern. It’s been a little while since I rocked floral, so I’m was excited to break it out again. Especially since it’s already starting a feel a little Fall like in the morning, & I feel the call of cosy sweaters & jewel toned polishes already!

So what do you think of this floral design? Have you ever been inspired by a phone case? Share down below!

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Cactus Accent Nails 🌵💅🏻

Happy Thursday! It’s been a while since I rocked any cactus nails, & I was craving some vibrancy. I don’t often reach for green polish when painting my nails, but I’ve been trying to get out of my comfort zone. Keeping with that, I decided to pull a green (textured) polish from deep in my stash that I haven’t worn in too many years to count, & paired it with some cute cacti on my accent nails!

Polishes I used for this design were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • LA Girl Sand Blast Nail Polish in Green Island
  • China Glaze What’s She Dune?
  • Essie First Timer
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Deborah Lippmann She Drives Me Crazy
  • Essie A-List
  • OPI I Eat Maine-ly Lobster
  • Small detail brush (from Bundle Monster)
  • Small dotting tool (from Bundle Monster)

Sadly I kind of hid the texture of LA Girl Green Island with my top coat, but it came through a bit. This was my very first textured polish, back in the very early days of my nail art. It was also the beginning of my obsession with finding nail polish deals at Lawton’s—I remember scoring it & a blue Sand Blast Polish for only a dollar. & so began my obsession with finding old polishes at awesome deals. & I still hate spending full price for polish to this day!

Also I love creating these little freehand cactus. Still on the search for some cactus nail vinyls, because I’m a little cactus obsessed, but in the meantime I don’t mind freehanding my cacti. I also just picked up a new stamping plate from Essence with a cactus on it, so stay tuned as I plan on trying it out soon (hopefully this weekend!)

What do we think of this design? Do you still have any textured polishes in your stash? Let me know down in the comment below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Seas the Day

Good Morning Lovelies & Happy Sunday. Today I’m sharing another red polish because I’ve recently been LOVING wearing red polish!

Today’s red shade of choice is China Glaze Seas the Day which is from the Summer 2014 Off Shore collection. This was the first full nail polish collection I ever purchased (thank you Winners clearance section) & even 4 years later I’m still loving these shades.

Seas the Day is a vibrant cherry red polish that applied well in 2 coats (+ top coat.) Like most reds, I find you can still see a hint of nail line, but the application was smooth & covered well. The pink undertones means that this shade leans different in different light–sometimes it looks more pink, sometimes it looks more coral. It reminds me a bit of Revlon Cherries in the Snow although that polish seems to lean more pink than Seas the Day. & now I’m wishing I had thought to do an official comparison between the two!

As I’ve mentioned before, red polish is one of my favourites. I’ve managed to accumulate quite the collection over the years thanks to literally only wearing red nail polish between 2003 – 2006. Even though my nail polish repertoire has increased since then (& love of nail art has grown!) my heart still swells for a good red polish. & this is a beautiful red! ♥️

Do you have a favourite red polish? Do you have a nail polish colour that you used to wear religiously? Let me know down below which colour you love the best! & let me know what shades you’d love to see me feature on here for Swatch Sunday!