SWATCH SUNDAY— Essence Sea You Soon 🌊

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a bit of a chilly one here on the East Coast. It’s been feeling more & more like Fall. Although, I got to break out one of my favourite blazers this morning so I’m not complaining too much.

Today I’m excited to share a shade from my stash that I feel could go either way in terms of season — great for Summer or the cusp of Autumn. This is Essence Sea You Soon.

2 coats + top coat

I’ve been an Essence girlie for a long time. It was one of the brands that got me into the nail polish community because I would usually pick one every time I went to Shoppers Drug Mart (which is where they are sold in Canada). They did another bottle revamp last Summer, so naturally that meant I needed to add some to my collection.

Sea You Soon is a beautiful sapphire blue with lighter blue shimmer. The formula is easy to apply, thin but not runny, & reaches a nice opacity in two coats. It also dries relatively quickly, especially once top coat is applied.

The thing I like about Essence nail polish is that it’s a great core collection of colours at an affordable price point. They go for $3.99 CAD which is a good price point. It’s especially a good price point if want to pay a reasonable price for shades like white, black or neutral without overspending.

Being a nail polish addict can definitely get pricey, so it’s nice to find quality products at a price that doesn’t mean you have to skip lunch that day.

As mentioned, you can purchase Essence Nail Polish at Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada — as well I do believe some Loblaws locations that have cosmetics also sometimes sell Essence. It can also be purchased direct from the website, though I’m not sure pricing on shipping.

What do you think of Essence Sea You Soon? Are you a fan of this beautiful blue? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & get excited because next Sunday I have the whole Sally Hansen x Sesame Street InstaDri collection to share!

Blue Matte Leopard Print

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! We are half way to the weekend, woo-hoo!

Today I’m sharing another fun look that I’m kind of obsessed with. I saw this manicure on Pinterest, & knew immediately I needed to recreate it! I love a good leopard print, & it’s been a while since I had done one, & the bright matte blue was just too good.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Matte Top Coat
  • Essie All The Wave
  • Essie Mosaic On Down
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art Pen in Black (Round)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I love the gold over the bright cobalt blue. It looks so good!

I’ve always been a fan of leopard print nails, even in the early days of this blog. I don’t do them nearly as often as I should, but they’re definitely in my top five favourite nail art styles. There are endless colour options, pattern options — plus it’s an easy nail art style I feel like even the most beginner nail artist can do.

What do you think about this funky bright blue leopard print? Are you a fan of leopard designs? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Instagram Mermaidcore Collab 🧜‍♀️🩵

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! Todays nail art look is another special collaboration I did with some fellow nail artists on Instagram. & it’s very fitting, as I’m currently on my way to vacation at Ocean’s Playgound (aka Prince Edward Island, Canada). So this Mermaidcore look is totally fitting for our fun ocean vacation this weekend.

For my mermaid themed look, I decided to go with a classic scale look. I don’t have a scale stamping plate, sadly, but I decided to pull out one of my older stamping plates & see if it would work for a scale pattern — & it did!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Icing Stores Matte Effects 60217
  • Icing Stores Mermaid Mint
  • Essie Under The Twilight
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Unicorn Top Coat
  • Bodico Stamping Plate B-12
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper 

Do you think I captured the Mermaidcore aesthetic? Obviously I had to add a little extra shimmer with the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Unicorn Top Coat over my stamped design. & I think it turned our absolutely perfect, & just the nail art look I was going for.

Mermaid vibes all the way.

What do you think about this Mermaidcore design I did for this Instagram Challenge? If you get a chance, hop over to Instagram & check out everyone else’s amazing mermaidcore manicures: #mermaidnailartmanicollab2023

Have a great weekend! I’ll be back to posting next Wednesday! 🩵

Neon Colour Blocking (Featuring Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s collection)

•contains pr/gifted product•

Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday — it was a very busy week last week! I decided instead of rushing to get a Swatch Sunday post done, to use my Saturday night for some fun self care & I did something I’ve been wanting to do forever: I re-dyed my hair purple! It was a bit of a lengthy process (we needed to bleach!) so I knew I couldn’t get both done. So I picked my hair.

I’m back today, though, & sharing a design using some of the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s shades I received last week.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen MG 90s Did I Blue That?
  • Sally Hansen MG 90s Nostalchick
  • Sally Hansen MG 90s Toadally Buggin’

Does the colour combination & colour blocking on this look remind anyone else of those 90s colour block bathing suits — the ones with the big zipper down the front? I definitely had one or two I wore as a kid.

I just thought this design would be so fun to wear, & the bright colours would look so good together, & I’m glad I was right! Give me all the Summer shades. I’m very much about the Summer vibes right now.

What do you think about this bright neon colour block look? Do you like these Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 90s inspired polishes. I have a bunch of free time this week so I should be able to get Swatches done of these new shades for this coming Sunday!

Have a fantastic start to your week lovelies! & enjoy the sunshine if it’s shining where you are. ☀️

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

All thoughts are honest & my own.

SWATCH SUNDAY — Icing Stores Starlight

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. It’s a rainy, grey, & extremely blah day here on the East Coast — & it’s starting to feel like we’ll never see the sun.

I needed some cheering up after this blah, blah week so I started digging through my Claire’s/Icing drawer & found this old school beauty! & I just knew that I had to pick it for this week’s Swatch Sunday.

This is Icing Starlight.

3 coats + top coat

The formula on this beautiful jelly glitter is thin thin thin, but it builds to nice coverage. & because the formula is so thin, each coats dries down quickly before you apply the next one. It also means you can see each & every silver & holo glitter suspended in the base, which I love.

Truthfully, I could have applied a forth coat for a bit more opacity, but with the exception of my tips (where it shows of a bit of my natural yellowing from my nail polish obsession) I really love how this looks. & that could easily be corrected with a colour correcting base coat. Or, by using it as a topper over another blue polish.

In the bottle it reminds me a bit of China Glaze Dorothy Who? but the base is much thinner leaving the colour on the nail much, much lighter. However, it has those beautiful holographic glitters that really show up, so I can’t be mad about it. It’s a beautiful shade all on its own.

Sadly, this colour is long long out of circulation. If I had to hazard a guess, based just on the bottle shape, I would say I purchased this bottle somewhere between 2009-2011. The brand has gone through quite a few bottle changes since then, but I’m happy to see even a decade later, this shade applies & wears beautifully.

& sometimes it’s just fun to take a walk down nail polish memory lane with a shade you haven’t seen in a while.

What do you think about Icing Starlight? Do you have any oldies in your stash you haven’t pulled out in a while? This Sunday is a great day to find a shade you haven’t worn in a while, & pull it out!

Have a lovely day! 🖤