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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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue (OG Formula!) 🌊💙

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope you’re having a beautiful weekend. It’s been a bit of everything this weekend — rain, sunshine, wind. That’s Nova Scotia weather for you!

Today though I have a special cult classic polish to share with you that I think most will definitely recognize! This the original Sally Hansen Pacific Blue.

1 coat + Top Coat

You may remember I did a comparison post featuring this shade circa 2019, but I never realized that I hadn’t shared full swatches of it! Considering we’re coming up on ten years since the untimely formula switch of Pacific Blue, I really wanted to throw this beauty on.

For those who don’t know the backstory, in 2014 Sally Hansen reformulated the original Pacific Blue, going from the beautiful creamy cobalt blue to.. something else. & nail polish aficionados were mad. We also scrambled to find as many back up bottles of the original shade to hoard.

The formula on this shade is about as close to perfect as you can find. One coat of creamy beautiful blue goodness. Even after 10 years, it still applies flawlessly. & unlike some similar shades—*cough* Butler Please *cough*—I never have any issues with premature chipping. & it kind of makes me remember why I fell in love with nail polish & nail blogging in the first place.

Do you remember the original Pacific Blue? Do you have a bottle of this beauty in your nail polish stash? Sadly, after 10 years since of being discontinued, I think the only place you might find a bottle of the OG is on EBay, or places like Poshmark where I found a bottle of the Original formula for $20.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

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Blue Spring-y Stripes

Good morning lovelies & happy Tuesday!

I’m trying really hard to get back into the swing of posting again, & I’m hoping I can get back into a regular posting schedule. Today, I have a fun easy stripe design to share with you that was surprisingly easy to do!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: China Glaze Fast Forward Top 
  • Quo Beauty Stormy Night
  • Quo Beauty Bluebell
  • OPI Nature Strong Emflowered
  • BKIND Sauble Beach
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Passion Flower
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

I tried my hardest to make my lines straight, which I definitely find hardest when I’m doing horizontal lines verse vertical lines! But I think this look turned out really perfect. & I absolutely love the combination of colours. The base (Quo Beauty Stormy Night) may be quite dark, but the lighter colours really pop against it! &

I got so many compliments when I wore these at work — which is always what I base my designs on. If people start complimenting them, I know it’s a good design.

What do you think about this colourful stripe design? Do you like my freehand stripes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Have a happy Tuesday ♥️

SWATCH SUNDAY — BKIND Sauble Beach

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

I know I’ve been very quiet in here lately; to be honest, I’ve been struggling a bit on what to do with this blog of mine. It’s been almost 10 years since my first blog post, & the nailsphere has changed a lot. But painting my nails has always brought me such happiness, & that is what I’m going to focus on.

So let’s start with a new to me brand for this weeks Swatch Sunday! I found this BKIND brand at my local Winners & as soon as I saw this beautiful blue I knew I needed it. This is BKIND Sauble Beach.

2 coats + top coat

How absolutely stunning is this beautiful cornflower blue? Two coats was all I needed for perfect opacity, & I added some top coat for a little extra shine. The formula was really smooth & easy to work with, if only a little thin. But after the first coat, you know exactly how much you need on your brush.

This is such a perfect colour for Spring! I’ve always been in love with blue nail polish, as we know, so I’m so happy to add this to my collection.

The brand also has some impressive stats: vegan, plant based & touts itself as being 21 free. They also have a very impressive selection of colours listed on their website! There were mostly neutral colours at my Winners, with a few blues & shimmers. I’m definitely hope they’ll have more coming in, because I’m really quite impressed with this brand after my first experience!

What do you think of BKIND Sauble Beach? Have you heard of this brand before — what did you think? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& let me know what kind of content you’d like to see me take on as Coffee & Nail Polish approaches its next decade!

Happy Sunday 🖤