Category: throwback

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Joe Fresh Quartz

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Hope you’re all having a beautiful & fantastic weekend so far. The weather here has been beautiful so far, & I got to enjoy a lovely Saturday off work (that never happens) so I’m feeling refreshed for the week ahead.

So lately I’ve been rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer — I’m on season 2. Which mean, obviously, I’ve been obsessing about her nail polish. In particular, I noticed this metallic grey shade she’s been wearing a lot this season. So I decided to take a look into my stash, & found this beautiful Joe Fresh shade I’ve owned since 2015-ish or so: Quartz.

3 coats + Essence Extreme GEL Top Coat

Yes, so this shade is pretty sheer upon first, & even second, application. I ended up with three thin coats for full opacity. However, they applied with minimal streaking & brushstrokes, so I was pretty happy with that. You can also apply this over a darker shade with lesser coats as well. I do believe that will bring out the duochrome effect a bit more dramatically as well.

A macro shot for good measure. The shift is very good on this shade, depending on which was you move your fingers. I love the purple to green shift on this — it’s beautiful.

But just for a fun, I thought I’d add a little sparkle to this beauty which has been in my stash just as long: CND Vinylux Dazzling Dance. This shade has a similar colouring, but with some added holo sparkle! & the results was perfect.

Adding Dazzling Dance definitely changed the switch from a greenish to a blue/silver, but I love the end result. That sparkle definitely makes up the duller duochrome shift. But I totally think this polish is giving me late 90s, early 2000s vibes & I’m totally here for it.

What do you think about this week’s Swatch Sunday pick: Joe Fresh Quartz. Do you prefer it on it’s own, or with the the added sparkle of CND Vinylux Dazzling Dance?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Race Red

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

I’m going to be honest — originally I had a different polish plan for this Sunday — new shades from the Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure. reformulation, as well as the OPI Nature Strong shades featured in my previous post. But I’ve been struggling with the cold from Hell this week, which means I’ve not been up to much, especially swatching 9 polishes, & wasn’t able to get the shades swatched.

I didn’t want to skip this week entirely though, so I decided why not go with my all time favourite OPI red: OPI Race Red.

2 coats, no top coat

This collection was originally released as part of the 2014 OPI Mustang Collection. I have a few of the shades from the collection in my stash that I’ve picked up over the years, either on clearance or at the Dollarama, but Race Red has always been my favourite. In fact, it’s probably one of my favourite red nail polishes of all time.

The colour itself is an orange leaning red. It’s a beautiful cream that applies in 2 easy smooth coats. Even after 8 years, & a whole lot of wears, it still applies like perfection for me.

Look how pretty that colour is! It’s actually very similar to the colour of our Suzuki, which is another reason why I love this shade so much. But my love of red nail polish knows no bounds, & this is no secret.

Obviously, my bottle is looking a little dusty & worn, but the polish is still perfection. My only sadness is that I only ever bought one bottle of this beauty.

As mentioned, this OPI Mustang Collection was released circa 2014, so these shades have long since gone out of mainstream circulation. I did find a few spots online, like Ebay, with bottles listed. I’m definitely going to need to find myself a dupe soon, because I’ll be very sad when my polish officially runs out.

What do you think about this OPI shade? Do you have OPI Race Red in your stash? What is your favourite OPI shade? Let me know down in the comments below!

Also stay tuned this week, because I’m determined to get those other shades swatches this week, which might mean this whole week will see some beautiful shades featured on this page!

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Easy Polka Dot Accent Nail

Hello lovelies & happy Friday. Today I’m sharing a fun, easy accent nail look.

This look was actually inspired an old design I did in the early days of this blog. I loved the fun polka dots with the bright nail polish, & I decided to do an updated version. Obvious I switched up some polishes so these colour scheme turned out a bit different, but I think over all this was a really fun (almost Summer-y) look to wear.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Let’s Snow
  • Essie Strut Your Stuff
  • Essie Watermelon
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Malibu Peach
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

At first I wasn’t sure what I thought of this nail art look because the colour scheme is not my usual. But the look definitely grew on me — even if the colours are giving me slight Wonder Bread vibes. I do love a good polka dot accent nail — for a while that was one of the only nail art techniques I could do, so I wore it a lot.

What do you think of these funky polka dots accent nails? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

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Y2K inspired Swirls & Daisies

Hello lovelies! & happy Friday! & happy April 1st — I promise there are no April Fools Day jokes today.

Todays look is a fun one! It’s half inspired by the fact that 2000 style is now making a resurgence & half inspired by discovering the show Popular on YouTube, which I was obsessed with in Junior High.

I also found some frosty sheer shades during my last trip to Shoppers (on sale for $2.99!) that I very much reminded me of my teen nail polish collection.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Iris Illusion
  • Essie Play Date
  • Londontown Lakur Mint no Chip
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Essie Set in Sandstone
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

Not going to lie, wearing these reminds me of my days going to Claire’s & picking up funky tattoo street necklaces, platform sneakers, & begging my parents for one of those inflatable chairs that were kind of see-through — which I did eventually get, although I think it bust a leak in the first week I had it.

This was a super easy look, & even though that Iris Illusion took 3 coats, & still isn’t opaque, I feel like that’s the whole point of this shade. I had tried it out over some white undies, & honestly it looked horrible. I much prefer this kind of naked, kind of not state that it gives you — it makes a great base for nail art!

What do you think about this nail art look? Are you feeling the 90s/2000s trends that are coming back?

I’m not sure how I feel about the returning fashion trends—I should have saved my old clothes—but I am excited about the return of flare jeans! Not that I ever stopped wearing them, but I’m happy to be on trend again!

Have a great Friday loves!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Revlon Spidey Sense (2014 Electric Chrome collection)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

You might be wondering why my Swatch Sunday is a polish released almost 8 years ago, but I recently watched Spider-Man: No Way Home (yes… finally. I know I’m behind on the times) & it reminded me of the Electric Chrome collection released for the Amazing Spider-Man 2, which I was obsessed with. So I thought it would be fun to share a swatch for my favourite from the collection: Spidey Sense. 🕸

2 coats + Seche Vive Top Coat

This is such a funky red — sometimes it looks more coppery red, but other times that pinky undertone comes out, & it leans more fuchsia. I love the shimmery finish a lot, as it gives your nails that glow-y effect. Like you’re a superhero. & we all know how much I love Superheroes.

It also is a fancier red shade, thanks to that metallic finish, so it’s a great dress up option.

I think I have 4 total of the originally Revlon collection — looking back, I wish I had bought them all, but that’s okay. Even after all these years, the formula is still really nice when applied, & still fun colours to wear.

This red is nice & vibrant & fun.

& is timely to wear after finally getting to watch Spider-Man: No Way Hone. I can’t believe how long it took me to finally watch the movie, but I was so pumped through the whole thing, squealing several times. While I’ve always been more a DC fan girl, Spider-Man is my one exception. & No Way Home exceeded all my expectations.

In natural, outside light.

Do you remember this beautiful red from Revlon’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 release?

I never got any of the OPI Spider-Man releases, which I’m sad about, so I’m glad I have a few of these shades. Also makes me realize we haven’t had a Superhero Polish collection in a while… what the heck!? Someone needs to jump on that!

What do you think of this red? Who is your favourite Spider-Man? Let me know in the comments below!