SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze High Hopes

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! I feel like it’s been a while since I did a Swatch Sunday post, even though it’s only been 2 weeks. Today I dug deep deep into the stash for a bit of an oldie shade: China Glaze High Hopes.

2 coats + top coat

According to Google, this shade was originally released as part of the Spring 2010 Up & Away Collection. I believe I purchased this bottle myself circa 2013/2014, although I’m not 100% sure. It’s been in my stash a while though.

Formula on this beauty is smooth & easy to apply. The colour is a beautiful vibrant coral that was a smidge hard to photograph accurately. But I feel like these photos capture it most accurately.

The bright colour feels perfect for Summer, but would be easy to transition into Fall by pairing it with a deep burgundy. Yes, my mind is going there. I’m trying my best not to start thinking about Autumn, but our local Dollarama has Halloween already popping up, & Halloween is my favourite season!

But back to High Hopes! This shade is lovely & the colour is a great alternative to my usual go-to red manicure that I love so much.

I did find a few listings online for this shade — Sparkle Canada has it listed for sale, as well you can find the Gelaze version on the China Glaze website. I also found an Amazon listing, but I’m not sure if it’s a secondhand seller or not. However, there are definitely a few listings floating around for this fun vibrant shade!

What do you think about this beautiful vibrant coral shade? Do you have China Glaze High Hopes in your nail polish stash?

Let me know all your thoughts, & what shade you’re currently loving this week!

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Bare With Me

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. I hope everyone had a wonderful week — & is ready for the new month! I truly can’t believe it’s almost August. Wasn’t it just June? This Summer is definitely speeding by & I’m trying to soak in every sun soaked moment.

After a whole lot of neon, though, I thought I’d switch things up a bit with a more neutral shade. I recently picked up 2 new shades at my local Shoppers Drug Mart that were on clearance for $2! As soon as I saw this blushy neutral I knew I needed it in my collection.

2 coats + top coat

According to my internet research, Essie Bare With Me was released in 2017 as part of the Wild Nudes collection — & is now, sadly, discontinued. Online, it’s described as an apricot, but I feel it’s more pinky/blushy myself.

The formula was easy to apply & smooth, & dried down without much patchiness. I did smooth things a bit with top coat, but it does dried relatively shiny on its own. I just much prefer my nail polish with top coat.

Bare With Me is a very complimentary to my own skin tone, which I really like. It’s nice & subtle — which is not a look I tend to go for, but sometimes you just need to switch things up. I actually ended up wearing this shade for a few days with a coat of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Moonlit Top Coat over it, & it looks absolutely gorgeous together.

Unfortunately, like I said, this shade has been discontinued— probably why I scored it for $2 — but if you do track it down it’s definitely a lovely soft shade to have in your collection. I also think it’ll make a great base for some naked, but not really naked, floral designs.

What do you think of Essie Bare With Me? Do you like a good neutral shade on occasion? What is your personal favourite neutral to wear? Let me know down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday!

Neon Stained Glass (featuring Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s Collection)

•contains pr/gifted product•

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! It’s a fantastic Friday here… especially since the countdown to our family vacation has officially hit one week, & I could not be more excited! It’s also been hot & beautiful this week, meaning I’m all about the neon. Good thing I reverently received a fun package from Sally Hansen, huh? I wanted to create a beautiful stained glass inspired look since the formula on the shades I received would be perfect for it… & I was not disappointed.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen MG Toadally Buggin’
  • Sally Hansen MG Did I Blue That?
  • Sally Hansen MG Nostalchick
  • Sally Hansen MG Beet Me At The Mall
  • Sally Hansen MG Mixtape
  • Sally Hansen Instadri Ghouls Night Out
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Liner Brush

I’m not going to lie, I’m absolutely obsessed with this nail art look. I wore it from Tuesday to Thursday, & was actually sad to take it off! This is not my first version of this design, but it might be my most favourite I’ve done.. at least in a while! The colours blended so beautifully together, & I think my lines turned out really good. Anytime I freehand a clean line manicure, I always feel some crazy pride!

Especially since it doesn’t always happen, haha.

What do think of this fun stained glass look? Are you feeling the neon shades this weekend? Would you wear a bright & eye-catching look like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s Collection (& new Miracle Gel Top Coats)

•contains pr/gifted product•

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope you’re ready, because I have quite the swatch heavy post ready for you today. As I’ve previously mentioned, I was gifted part of the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s collection, & I’m really excited to share these shades with you!

As a child of the 90s, this collection hits me right in the nostalgia. So I was pumped to be able to share these shades with you. The actual collection contains 8 funky 90s inspired shades, & I have 5 of them to share today! I was also lucky enough to receive two of the new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel special effects top coats, to add a little extra sparkle to your manicure.

These limited edition 90s shades can be found wherever you buy Sally Hansen. I’ve found them at my local Shoppers Drug Mart & Walmart stores — both in special edition displays.

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s Collection (& new Miracle Gel Top Coats)”

SWATCH SUNDAY — Olive & June Summer 2023

•pr•gifted•

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Today I’m super excited because I have a brand new (to me) nail polish brand to share with you that was recently gifted to me.

Olive & June is a nail polish brand that sells both nail polish & press on nails. They have an extensive range of 15-free nail polishes in a ton of exciting colours, so I felt super blessed to be send their Summer box which contained everything I need for the perfect summer manicure. While I’ve used their nail art stickers before, I’ve never tried their nail polish!

The summer collection contains 6 polishes — 5 cream/crelly shades, & one shimmery topper.

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Olive & June Summer 2023”