GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Stained Glass

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. The weather here has been weird — cold then hot & muggy, with sporadic rain. Makes it very hard for a girl to know what to wear!

But today marks another prompt for Glam Nails Challenge August, & today’s prompt is stained glass. & obviously, I had to pull out an old favourite for this prompt — the stained/shattered glass look I love so much. This time, I used a flakie topper which gave it more of that stained glass effect I think.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI Turn On The Northern Lights
  • ‘Ard As Nails Fairy Flakes

  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

How pretty is this look! I’ll admit, fishing out the flakies vs the usual hard glitters I usually do this kind of look with was a bit more time consuming than I was expecting, but then end result is so worth it! I’m kind of obsessed with these flakies over this dark base & it’s giving straight up Autumn—& I’m okay with that. Time to pull out my over the knee socks & sip on some pumpkin spice.

I’ve been wearing this look for a few days, & I got curious how it would look matte-ified & oh man… I think I love it even more! What do you think — shiny or matte?

I love a good stained glass look, so this was a fun prompt. Plus it let me tap into those Autumn vibes I’ve been seriously craving, & I’m not mad about it at all. Over all, this might be one of my favourite designs of the challenge thus far. It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of the month holds!

& as always, you can follow along with the Glam Nails Challenge on Instagram with the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug24 & see all the beautiful nails that have been created!

Happy Wednesday

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Bright Night

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday here on the East Coast — & not too humid, which is a nice change of pace. The mornings are already starting to give us those small hints that Autumn isn’t too, too far away.

& I kind of love it.

Today, I’m sharing a fun polish I pulled from my stash which I feel like is perfect for both late Summer/early Fall vibes. This is Color Club Bright Night.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful cobalt blue was originally released as part of the Summer 2013 collection, but then became part of the permanent core collection because she’s still available on the Color Club website.

The formula on this one was easy to work with. With it being slightly neon, it does have a bit of a matte finish, so like all mattes it dries a bit quicker so two coats was definitely required to alleviate any patchiness. & of course, I added top coat for a glossy finish.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good blue nail polish — especially a cobalt blue! This shade reminds me a bit of Sinful Colors Endless Blue so I would be curious to do a comparison between the two to see how close they are.

& if you have both these polishes & have compared them — let me know down in the comments below!

What do you think about Color Club Bright Night? Are you a fan of these bright cobalt blue shades as well? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Sunday 💙

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie All The Wave 🌊

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! After a bunch of rain, it finally looks like the sun is coming out today! Now, if only my allergies would give me a break!

Today I’m grabbing another fun shade from my stash to share with you today. This time, I dig into my Essie stash. This is Essie All the Wave, originally released in 2017 as part of the B’aha Moment collection.

1-2 coats + top coat

This shade is a beautiful dusty blue was almost a one coater on my nails, but I did have a few nails I had to go back & add swipe to cover up some streak-age. I chalk that up to my own error rather than the polish itself. With top coat added, it does smooth down very nicely.

This colour is just amazing. I love how dusty the blue is. It’s great for Summer but also that transition into Autumn. Can you imagine it paired with like a burnt orange? Beautiful.

I looked online to see if this shade is still available, but aside from some Amazon listings, it seems to sadly be no longer be in the core rotation.

What do you think about Essie All The Wave? Do you have this shade in your collection? What is your favourite Essie blue? Let me know in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

Oh man it’s been a busy & crazy week. Between appointments, injuries & other, I haven’t had a minute to breathe, or think about blogging. but I do have a pretty throwback colour to share for this week’s Swatch Sunday. This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue.

2 coats + top coat.

This shade is definitely a throwback shade as I originally picked it up circa 2015 (I think while I was searching for the perfect blue to wear for my wedding nails although I didn’t end up picking it.) This is a beautiful smooth cornflower blue, that didn’t need to be fussed with to get perfect application. Obviously, I finished off with a quick dry top coat to speed up my dry time & add a little extra glossiness.

For a 9 year old polish, I must say she’s holding up pretty fantastically. The bottle is a little worn, but other than that it looks great. & we all know, what’s inside the bottle is what we care about most.

Do you own Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue in your nail polish stash? This shade has sadly been discontinued from the Xtreme Wear range — I hate when they do that — so I’m glad I have this shade in my stash.

What do you think about Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue? Do you have this colour in your own stash? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

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Blurple Colour Block Featuring OPI

Good morning lovelies & happy Tuesday… it’s been a while. This month has been so insane, & my nail painting has really fallen off. Trying my best to get back into it though, & today I have some fun (& relatively simple!) nail art to share with you.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • OPI Dining al Frisco
  • OPI Infinite Shine Sound of Vibrance
  • OPI Infinite Shine Shaking My Sugar Plums
  • Quo by Orly Striper Black

How good are these blues & purples together? I definitely feel like those are my colours lately, right down to my hair colour. But I just love a good colour block, & this design is so easy to do — & you don’t even need any nail art tools!

You definitely could use nail vinyls or tape if you’re not comfortable freehanding though. I like going over my lines with the black though, because I feel like it hides any mistakes you might have done, plus makes the blue really pop!

What do you think of this colour block featuring some fun OPI shades from my stash? Do you love how these shades pair together as much as me? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below & what you’d like to see next?

Happy Tuesday!

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