SWATCH SUNDAY — LA Colors Gel Color Craze Color Shifting Top Coat Retrograde

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful sunny Sunday once again. I know I shouldn’t complain about the beautiful weather — especially since we’ve been having cooler morning & evenings which are giving me all the Autumn vibes — but we’re still desperate for rain on the East Coast with all the fires we’ve been having.

Today though, it’s all about nail polish & I’m excited because I found a new & fun shade while perusing my local Walmart! They’ve recently– in like the last year or two — started selling LA Colors & I always love checking out what new shades they have in the display. I noticed these Color Shifting Toppers the last time I was there, so I decided to pick up two of them. The first one I’m excited to share is this green to blue shifty duochrome called Retrograde.

2 coats applied over Essie Frock n Roll + Top Coat

For this application, I applied two coats of Retrograde over a dark base — in this case, I picked Essie Frock n Roll. The base of Retrograde is fairly thin, as you would want a topper to be, but it has a fun metallic duochrome effect that builds very nicely. I feel like you could almost wear a couple coats of it on it’s own, since the base layer definitely disappears beneath the topper.

The shift is also gorgeous — there are flashes on blue & green, as the main ones, but you also get purples as well. Very mermaid-y, which I love, but the jewel tone is perfect for this time of year. I’m not usually someone who reaches for green very often, as well all know (& I’ve said plenty of times) but a shade like this with the multichrome shift is definitely one I will wear. In fact, I wore this manicure for almost 5 days!

LA Colors shades retail at Walmart for $3.97 CAD — which is a pretty awesome deal! The Color Shifting Topper line has 10 shades to choose from, all with celestial names. I picked up Retrograde & Nova, but I’m definitely going to be going back for more shades! They are all such fun colours, & I love anything that can switch up shades already in my collection with a fun twist. Also, I bet these would look beautiful swirled into a drag marble design. That might have to be my next thing to try!

What do you think of LA Colors Gel Color Shifting Topper? Are you a fan of the LA Colors brand? Like I said, I love how affordable these shades are — &, like the crackle shades they’ve released, I find they’re really stepping up their game! So many fun options you can play around with.

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Nicole by OPI Shoot for the Maroon 💫

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful Sunday at that — although, still desperately waiting on some rain in this part of the country (we really need it!) So today I thought I’d wear something a little moodier, a little cooler in hopes of encouraging some rainy weather.

I also thought it would be fun to pull out a polish from my stash from a now discontinued brand: Nicole by OPI. In my earlier nail polishing days I was absolutely obsessed with the Nicole by OPI days, so I’m sure you can imagine how many shades of I have in my collection. This is Shoot for the Maroon.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful flakie purple has a deep dark base, with a metallic micro flakie effect that gives it beautiful dimension. Depending on how you move your hand, it shifts pink, purple, golden & even a little green. Super beautiful!

You can really see those micro flakies. I love the shiftiness of this shade & the dark jewel like tone. It’s a beautiful polish that just says Autumn & I’m here for it.

Sadly, the NOPI line was discontinued in the latter 2010s, so they’re no longer available in stores. I have seen some bodies available online, but not sure how easily you can find them. It’s a real shame, because I feel like this line was a great mainstream line for more specialty formulas — like this shade!

What do you think about Nicole by OPI Shoot for the Maroon. Do you still own any of the NOPI shades? What were your thoughts on the brand — let me know what you think down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday!

Burgundy Strip Accent Nails

Hey Beauties & happy Friday. I hope you’ve had a beautiful week. It feels like the world is on fire right now — literally —so it can be so hard to sit back, & feel any semblance of happiness. Here is hoping for calmer & peaceful days ahead.

I was feeling something Autumn-ish. I know, I just can’t help myself! But I tried not to lean too hard onto the Autumn aesthetic — well, not yet at least.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Good To Go Top Coat
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Cinnasnap
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Love You Lotus
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Black Stone
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Almond Tan
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Clean Slate
  • Sally Hansen CSM Ruby Do
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush Trio (I used the 7mm liner brush)

A little rustic looking close up, but kind of gives that hand knit sweater feel to them. & even though I’m probably a month & a half away from needing any kind of knit sweater — I’m dreaming of those days! — it doesn’t mean I can’t wear a version on my nails!

Can’t you just imagine wearing this look while perusing the Halloween aisle & sipping on a pumpkin spice latte? I can. & it gets me so excited!

What do you think of these Autumn-esque accent nails? Would you wear this design on your own nails? Please share all your thoughts in the comments below — I love hearing what people think!

Happy weekend

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Ruby Do

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope you’re having a beautiful start to your day. It’s been a busy couple of days, so I’m really relishing my cup of coffee this morning.

It’s Sunday! & the first swatch Sunday of August. I was perusing my nail polish stash, & realized I have quite a few shades I’ve never shared on here! So I decided pick one of those shades to share with you, & the one that caught my eye first was Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Ruby Do.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful dark berry shade is a current member of the Sally Hansen CSM core line up, so it is available anywhere you purchase Sally Hansen nail polish. I do love the cream formula, & it applied quite smoothly. I believe my bottle was gifted by my Mother in law around 2017, so it’s going strong after almost 8 years. Love that!

The colour is very Autumn-esque, but I think it’s a great August transitional shade, before I really dive into the Autumn colours. It’s not too dark or jewel toned. (& you could pair it with some brighter purple & turquoise for some fantastic nail art!)

Give me any red & I am a happy girl.

What do you think about Sally Hansen CSM Ruby Do? Are you a fan of this beautiful berry shade? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below! I’d love to know what you think.

Happy Sunday

🖤

Villain-esque Half Moons

Hello loves & happy Friday! & happy first day of August — how crazy is that?

How is everyone enjoying their week so far? I’ve been enjoying the very warm temperatures while simultaneously dreaming about pumpkin spice lattes & Halloween costumes. I’m a complicated girl, what can I say. I’ve also found myself thinking about Autumn-y nails & nail designs.

Today’s look, I guess, you could call somewhat Autumn inspired. I was thinking about a red on red half moon idea… but then added some shifty top coat, & they turned into something different entirely. I’m calling them villain-esque, because they totally look the part.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Good To Go Top Coat
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Butter London Saucy Jack
  • Essie Tailored By Twilight *pr
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat Moonlight
  • Paper hole reinforcements

What do you think about this combination? I really like the dark red over the light red, but the addition of the golden shimmer topper really gives it an extra something. Obviously, this look is a little dark for the hot days of August… but I’m a risk taker.

Also I will never not love a half moon manicure. It’s also reminding me I really, really need to play with my nail vinyls more. I have so many just sitting untouched in my folder, waiting to be used. I need to rectify that soon (&maybe get some new ones that are fall themed for the ‘ber months.)

What do you think about these half moons? Do you like this design as much as I do? Are you a fan of the half moons for easy nail art?

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

♥︎