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SWATCH SUNDAY — Cadillacquer Lavender Sunset (NailStuff Exclusive)

•contains pr/gifted product•

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Sorry for another week of radio silence — I had a massive allergy attack on Sunday that turned into a brutal sinus infection, so I’ve been trying my best to recover from that which is why my nails have taken a back seat unfortunately.

BUT I’m so excited today because I have a polish to share with you that I’ve been keeping a secret for months! NailStuff just released a brand new exclusive shade on their website from Cadillacquer & I’m absolutely in love with it! This is Lavender Sunset.

2 coats + top coat

How to describe this complex polish? It’s a stunning duochrome with a dark blue base with the most incredible shimmer that gives it flashes of purple & pink, & is finished off with a scattering of holographic flake glitters. The formula was thin, so you definitely need to add a few coats to build up your opacity. However, because of the beautiful finish, I find you can get away with a thin application & it still looks beautiful on the nail.

Depending on the lighting, it can appear golden, pink, purple, or even show off flashes on green. I can definitely see the inspiration, which is described as being inspired by the “beautiful lavender fields in Provence, France”.

How gorgeous!

I’ve worn this polish ( in secret) a few times over the last few months, & I always get fabulous compliments! It really does look like magic on the nail. I’m also very impressed with the formula, as I’ve worn this polish 4+ days more than once, without expirencing major chipping of my nails — which is always impressive when you’re working in retail.

As mentioned, this is a NailStuff exclusive polish, so it can only be purchased via their website. It retails for $19.99 CAD. As well, like all Cadillacquer shades, it is 5-free, & cruelty free.

If you’re looking for a super unique shade to add to your collection for the Summer, I definitely recommend picking Lavender Sunset up! It’s absolutely eye-catching, & will get your nails noticed! I also haven’t tested it yet, but I feel like with it’s thin formula, you could use it as a topper on other shades for some unique looks!

Let me know what you think of this shade down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday! ♥︎

Products featured in this post were provided in exchanged for content. 

All thoughts are honest & my own.

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Expressie IRL

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful sunny Sunday, that is supposed to be quite warm. Spring has officially sprung, & I just want to keep soaking it in. Today, I decided to grab a pretty polish I was gifted by my daughter for Christmas. She knows how’s much I adore purple, so she picked up this pretty polish for me at her school Gift Mart.

This is Essie Expressie IRL.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful grape purple is smooth & easy to apply. I had almost full opacity in one coat, but I did find I struggled a smidge with the brush, so I needed a second coat to perfect my application — especially around the cuticle line. I found I had some weird lines with my first swipe, just because the brush, so I needed to go back in to smooth everything. The end result, though, was a pretty perfect looking manicure.

The cream formula dries quiet, although I did find the shine a bit flat, but a quite swipe of Seche Vive fixed that.

The colour is so purple! Which I love. Honestly, with the exception of the kind of wonky brush–which could be a defect with this bottle as I can’t remember having this issue with my other bottles of Expressie–I have no complaints about this polish! & I just love the colour.

Essie Expressie IRL is part of the core collection, so if you’re looking for this shade you can find it anywhere that Essie shades are sold– for example, I found it listed at Shoppers Beauty for $14.99 CAD, Walmart Canada for $10.96 CAD, Amazon.ca for $10.96 CAD, & for my American friends, on Target.com for $9.99 USD.

What do you think about Essie IRL? Do you love this purple polish as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday ♥︎

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Fun Pastel Abstract Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday!

I hope you’re having the most wonderful week so far. It’s surprisingly chilly today, albeit sunny, so I’ll try to enjoy that. Today I have a fun nail art look I created on a whim, that I couldn’t wait to share. Abstract nails are such an easy nail art look to do, because there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do them. You just basically get to throw some polish on your nails, & you end up with something fun! I love manicures like that.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Tutu At The Ballet
  • Essie Muchi Muchi
  • OPI Infinite Shine Sickeningly Sweet
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Gloss-Sea
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out
  • Quo Beauty Stormy Night
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

How much fun! I’m not sure what kind of art I was going for, but these kind of remind me of like early 90s TV opening. A fun look to wear.

What do you think about these fun abstract nails? Would you wear this look? Let me know what abstract design you enjoy the most? Share all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Spring Drag Marble

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! Another beautiful sunny Tuesday to enjoy (at least here!) today I’m sharing a design I haven’t done in what feels like ages… with a Spring twist. In fact, this pretty manicure was pretty in close in colour to the flowers beginning to pop up in our garden! 🌿🌸

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: LA Colors Rapid Dry Top Coat
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • OPI Sickeningly Sweet
  • OPI Nature Strong Cactus What You Preach
  • Quo Beauty Bluebell
  • Essie Muchi Muchi
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm detail brush (I couldn’t find my really thin dotting tool I usually use)

So I’m not going to lie — my top coat of choice for this manicure (the LA Colours rapid dry top coat) is not a good choice for a layered polish design like this, & you can see why on my thumb. It gave it a weird wrinkly look which I was not happy about.

However, over all I love love love this design! A drag marble is always a good idea, & the Spring-y colours in this one really bring the design all together. It feels very 2000s Pucci-like, & I mean that in the best possible way!

What do you think about my Spring drag marble nails? Do you love as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

💗

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SWATCH SUNDAY — QUO Beauty Ever Green Pixie Lime

Hello beauties & happy Sunday! Another beautiful Spring-y Sunday, with the sun shining. We’re so lucky to be getting these beautiful days, so I’m soaking them all in!

So I’m keeping with the Spring vibes today with a beautiful Quo shade I recently picked up from my local Shoppers. They had a ton of Quo shades in a bin for $2 recently, so naturally I had to pick up a few. Clearance nail polish is my kryptonite, & I’m powerless to say no to it — especially at $2 each! 

2 coats + top coat

This is Quo Beauty Pixie Lime from their Ever Green line, which is their plant based line. All the shade names are plant themed, & I learned that a Pixie Lime is a type of peperomia plant!

The colour is a beautiful pale mint. It did take 2 coats for opacity, with a bit of patchiness, but I feel like sealing in with top coat smooths that out somewhat.

This is 100% a perfect Spring shade. I love a good pastel, & this one delivers. It’s also slightly paler than the other mints in my collection, so it earns its place.

I was kind of scared about the formula being that it was such a pale shade, but it wasn’t super difficult. That being said, you could potentially need a third coat, so don’t be scared if you do. The formula is thin, so it does dry quickly (especially with a quick dry top coat added into the equation.)

Quo Beauty Nail Polish regularly retails for around $13.99 CAD at Shoppers Drug — but I regularly find some at mine being cleared out for $2-$3!

What do you think about Quo Beauty Pixie Lime? Have you ever tried their Ever Green line? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & let me know what you’re wearing on your nails this Sunday!

🖤