Tag: Black

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Cosy Autumn Plaid🧣

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! & happy Thanksgiving Weekend to my fellow Canadians celebrating this weekend. It’s officially shifted into Fall weather (almost in overdrive) & the days are feeling cool, & the leaves are feeling crunchy!

Today’s look is one I’ve done a million (plus) times, but still remains a favourite. Nothing screams Autumn to me more than a plaid nail art look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Essie Hard to Resist (purple)
  • NailStuff.ca Essentials Raven *pr
  • OPI Icelanded A Bottle of OPI
  • Color Club What’s The Matte-r
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • Revlon Devine
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

I wanted to start off with a super dark base, so I went with my bottle of NailStuff Essentials Raven. Such a good black! (& I’ve been loving black lately.) Then using my other colours, I layered on lines to create the woven plaid look. Super easy, & comes out beautifully.

What do you think of my cosy Autumn plaid? Do you like these seasonal designs that aren’t necessarily Halloween centric designs? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — L.A. Colors Color Craze Crackle Top Coat 🖤⚡️

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! How is everyone enjoying these last few days of June? We’re currently gearing up for the last day of school (tomorrow) in our house, & the beginning of Summer vacation. It has come so quickly!

Today I’m sharing a throwback vibe — but a currently available polish. Any of my fellow millennials will probably remember the chokehold crackle nail polish had in the early 2010s — I had every colour. So I was super excited to see it is making a resurgence. I never stopped (unironically) loving it, so whenever I see it pop up again, I can’t help but buying a bottle.

& lucky for us, L.A. Colors is bringing back crackle for us to love & enjoy!

1 thick coat

So for those who don’t remember the crackle faze of nail polish, it is a specially design nail polish that when applied over a base shade, dries down & creates a crack effect, showing the shade underneath. Lots of different brands have come out with their versions, from OPI (the first I remember) to Zoya, to Sally Hansen & Claire’s.

L.A. Colors is bring back the fun with their two Crackle Top Coats — available in black & white. I purchased mine at my local Walmart for $3.99 CAD.

As you can see, the crack effect on this pretty thick & dramatic. Depending on how much polish you have on your brush, you can have bigger thick cracks (like this) or smaller thinner cracks like this. The black polish itself is opaque, which I like. It makes the effect even more dramatic. I haven’t picked up the bottle of white yet, but I’ve heard it also is pretty opaque— so I’m curious. I used the Sally Hansen which crackle years ago, but I found it very thin so it was kind of a disappointment.

Personally, I would love to see L.A. Colors release even more shades (& finishes — like shimmers) with this crackle line. For a very affordable mainstream brand, they have some out with some beautiful finishes & styles of nail polishes, & I hope they keep them coming!

What do you think of crackle nail polish returning as a trend in 2025? Are you a fan of this style?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you would rock crackle again!

Happy Sunday

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect 08 Flash Black

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. & happy Father’s Day to those who are celebrating those Dad figures in their lives.

Today’s Swatch Sunday post is another beauty pulled straight from my stash. Years ago, my local Lawton’s Drugs used to have a crazy selection when it came to their clearance nail polish. Honestly, it was my favourite place to shop because you could always find something new & different to you (it’s one of the first places I ever found Color Club). They also used to sell a ton of shades by the brand Layla Cosmetics, which is a European brand.

Today’s polish is from the height of the initial holographic craze, circa 2014/2015 or so — although I found blog posts dating back to 2012. This is Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect 08 Flash Back.

2 coats + Top Coat

This beautiful liner holographic nail polish is a stunning dark grey (I wouldn’t quite call it black) with a very strong & beautiful liner holograph effect. The formula was smooth & easy to apply — especially for a nail polish that is over a decade old.

The trick with holographic shades like this, is you really have to make sure your first coat is dry-dry before attempting a second coat, other wise it can drag up your first coat. But other than that, I have 0 negatives about this shade. I have 3 or 4 others from this collection, & I just love them all. They were my first real introduction to liner holographic nail polish.

Sunny days were just meant for holographic nail polishes. Look at those rainbows! 🌈

Do you remember this line of nail polishes by Layla Cosmetics — or any of their interesting polishes. I loved finding them in the clearance because they were usually $3-$4 & they had so many cool ones — thermals, spotted, etc.

What do you think about this holographic shade? Do you think it’s as fun as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY— OPI Infinite Shine Hot & Coaled (2023 Terribly Nice Collection)

Happy second Sunday of December lovelies! Can you believe it? Christmas is quickly approaching, & that just seems like madness.

Today I’m sharing another shade from the OPI Infinite Shine Terribly Nice collection from last Christmas. My husband had gifted me 6 (?) these beauties as my Christmas gift, & if I remember correctly, this was the one my son picked out. So I thought this would be a fun shade to share this week. This is OPI Infinite Shine Hot & Coaled.

2 coats over a black cream base (NailStuff Essentials Raven ) + top coat

The beautiful sparkly black has a sheer almost metallic black base & an abundance of multi-sized coloured glitters — including holographic & iridescent.

As soon as I saw how sheer the base was, I knew I was going to need to apply this over some undies. You obviously can build the opacity, but I just wasn’t feeling 3+ coats. for me, this is just a shade that I feel looks better in a coat (or 2) over a dark base. GingerlyPolished has swatches of the collection from last year, including Hot & Coaled in case you’re looking for swatches of built to opacity on its own.

Close up to really see that fantastic glitter. You can’t really see the but if shimmer in the base, but I think it’s stunning worn like this. The glitter is a lot of fun — I’d also be curious to try it in a glitter gradient. You’d probably want to stick to a darker colour — black, navy blue, dark burgundy— but I think it’s would look stunning.

What do you think of OPI Infinite Shine Hot & Coaled? Are you a fan of this glittery beauty? Do you think you’d wearing it as a topper or on its own? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below.

Also for anyone looking, I have seen a few of the Terribly Nice collection shades available at my local Marshalls including a mini set of all the shades. So I would definitely hit yours up if you want to try & get your hands on it!

Enjoy your Sunday

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — NEW NailStuff Essentials Nail Polish – White Dove, Raven & Cardinal

*PR/paid

Good morning darlings & happy Sunday! & happy December 1st! I hope you’re having a beautiful start to the month. & happy belated Thanksgiving to my American friends.

Today I’m so excited because Victoria at NailStuff.ca has once again released some new beauties as part of her NailStuff Essentials line. This time, we have 3 beautiful cream shades; White Dove, Raven & Cardinal. & I’m lucky enough to be able to share swatches of all three with you today!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — NEW NailStuff Essentials Nail Polish – White Dove, Raven & Cardinal”