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SWATCH SUNDAY— OPI Infinite Shine Heart & Coal

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. The last Sunday before Christmas! Can you believe that Christmas is only 6 days away? That means its time to kick the Christmas designs into high gear!

But, in the meantime, I have a fun Christmas related polish to shade for Swatch Sunday: OPI Infinite Shine Heart & Coal from the 2020 Shine Bright Holiday Collection. I found this beauty at Winners, during my Christmas shopping adventures this past week, & kind of couldn’t leave without it! They had a few a the shades from the collection left, but I decided to be good & just buy this one.

This is also, somehow, my first full sized Infinite Shine shade which is also really exciting!

2 coats + 2 coats OPI Infinite Shine Gloss Top Coat

Heart & Coal is a beauty black with an abundance of tiny holo scattered glitters. A lot of holo glitter. The first coat of this shade was a bit thin, but the second I applied the second coat, it was perfect opacity. The formula can be a bit grainy–thanks to those thickly packed holographic glitters–but applying two coats of top coat definitely smoothed things out a lot. A part of me would be curious to see how it would look without top coat, & if it would dry similarly to those sand effect shades of a few years ago.

Look at that macro shot! You can see those beautiful shimmers, plus you can really see that the black base has a bit of a shimmery finish to itself as well. A lovely holiday polish to wear! Especially if you’re not in the mood for a traditional red or green polish to wear to celebrate.

I also like the lasting power of the Infinite Shine line. According to the OPI site, it’ll give you up to a 11 day lasting manicure. I’m not sure about that, but I did get a good shift out of these where I was unpacking boxes & being all around rough on my nails, & my nails looked as good as the beginning as at the end.

What do you think about this polish? Do you have OPI Heart & Coal, either regular or Infinite Shine, in your stash? What is your holiday manicure you’re wearing right now? Let me know down in the comments below!

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Glam Nails Challenge December— Ornaments

Contains PR sample/Gifted product

Hello lovelies & happy Friday!

I swear I’ve been meaning to post this design for 2 days, but with Christmas right around the corner (& 12 hour work days) I’ve been struggling to find a good nail blogger balance with real life.

But! Today I have my next prompt for GlamNailsChallengeDecember: ornaments. & I decided to go with a simply bauble look for this design — something festive, but not too over the top. & naturally I had to pose in front of my own Christmas tree for the photographs.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Tutu the Ballet
  • Sally Hansen MG Snow What You Want
  • Sally Hansen MG Under the Tree
  • Sally Hansen MG Wrapped in Love
  • Sally Hansen MG Five Golden Blings
  • Sally Hansen MG Get Mod
  • Sally Hansen MG Buffalo Nickel
  • Sally Hansen MG Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

How cute did these turn out?! I tried to give these baubles a fun vintage look. Also it gave me a chance to use a few more of the beautiful shades of the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Joy of Colour collection for this holiday (plus a few older Sally Hansen shades). & I’m really really happy with how they look.

Plus I’m absolutely in love with this glitter sandwich I did using Snow What You What & Tutu the Ballet which I’ve been itching to do since I got it.

What do you think about this ornament look? Do they scream Christmas to you? Are you almost ready for the holidays?

Let me know in the comments below!

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Glam Nails Challenge December — Wreaths

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! It’s a beautiful—but chilly—day here. Almost all our snow melted away this weekend due to crazy rain, so it’s feeling very un-Christmas like outside. More like April than December.

But that’s okay because I have another cute Christmas look to share for Glam Nails Challenge December: wreath nails. & I think this is my most favourite Christmas look so far!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Wrenn Polish Happy Thoughts
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Ardene Jungle Green
  • Essence The Green & The Grunge
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • Small dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

I’m not going to lie—I’m absolutely obsessed with how pretty these turned out. I’ve done some wreath nails before, but I wanted to do something completely new & I think I succeeded! So much so, I’ve been wearing these nails for going on 3 days now, & they’re still more or less holding up (with a few chips at the tip that are easy to fix).

Also I forgot how absolutely stunning Happy Thoughts by Wrenn polish is. There is a reason why her holos are some of my favourites—they are absolutely eye catching! I’m going to be so, so sad when I finally take these off.

What do you think about these half moon wreath nails? Are you obsessed with them as much as I am? Would you wear this look on your nails?

Let me know all your thoughts down the comments below! & have a lovely Monday!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Frostbite ❄️

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a rainy one here in Halifax — we even had thunder & lightning last night. A really big Thunder & Lightning storm! Which is not something super usual for Nova Scotia in December haha.

But you know, even though the weather is very un-December like right now, I’m still showing off a very Winter-like polish for this week’s Swatch Sunday: China Glaze Frostbite.

2 coats + Seche Vive top coat

I’ve had this China Glaze shade in my stash for a long time–at least 6 years–but truthfully , it’s not really one I reach for that often. Which is crazy, because this shade is very, very beautiful! The formula applied very smoothly, reaching opacity by the second coat. I’m not going to lie, the first coat was bit thin, but the second coat gave me the beautiful application that you see below.

As for the colour, I really really adore this vibrant sapphire blue shade, with an underlying aqua blue shimmer that gives the polish a real glow. It definitely reminds me of something that an ice queen would wear — maybe with some holographic snowflakes, or something. How gorgeous would that be?

In my close up, you can really see that shimmer, which gives the polish the glow. It’s something else. Definitely one of those shades you can wear all on it’s own, without the need of anything added. But, as you would have seen in my last post, it also makes a beautiful base for nail art as well!

I did find a few listings online for Frostbite, & it would appear that it’s still part of the permanent collection, so it should be easy to find if you’re looking to add it to your collection. NailPolishCanada.com, Sally Beauty, & the China Glaze website are a few places I found that you can buy this beauty of a shade!

What do you think about China Glaze Frostbite? Do you have this icy blue shade in your stash? Would you wear this polish for the holidays? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below — or shade which Christmas/Holiday/Winter shade you’re absolutely obsessed with this time of year!

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Glam Nails Challenge December— Reindeer

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Hope everyone is having a lovely (& not too exhausting) week so far!

Today I’m showing off another manicure prompt for GlamNailsChallenge December: reindeer nails! & not unsurprisingly, I decided to go with some stamped reindeer inspired nails. I’ve been really loving the speed & ease of stamping lately — plus I have a whole bunch of Christmas-y stamping plates that I only get the chance to use this time of year.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze Frostbite
  • Essie No Place Like Chrome
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plates (both no longer available)

This is my first time using the ugly sweater reindeer print from this particular stamping plate, & I think it’s super cute. I had a bit of a struggle with picking up the image for some of the nails, but that could be a combination of rushing, the polish I used, & the tiny details of the stamping plate image.

Over all, though, I think this manicure turned out super cute & I got so many compliments on it over the 2 days I was wearing it!

What do you think about this reindeer design? Are you a fan of this stamping look? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!