Tag: Blue

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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!

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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! 🩵

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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! 🖤

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Shimmery Mermaid Vibes 🧜‍♀️

Hello loves! It’s Monday again.

It’s also 3 days away from June, which just blows my mind. I mean, I’m happy for Summer weather — although, we could use some rain here so send rain vibes! — but also this year is speeding by & it’s kind of unbelievable. How is it even possible that we’re almost half way through this year?

But I digress; you’re here for nails, so let’s talk nails! Today’s look was what I promised in yesterdays swatch post. I knew that OPI Blue My Mind would be a beautiful base from some nail art, & I knew I was feeling mermaid nails. So naturally, I knew what I had to do.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Londontown KUR Nail Hardener & Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive Fast Dry Top
  • OPI Blue My Mind
  • Essie Viva Antigua!
  • Beyond the Nail Mermaid Scale Vinyls

My little girl is absolutely obsessed with all things mermaids right now, so this was the perfect manicure to impress her! This was also super easy to do. I only applied one coat of Viva Antigua! over my base, so it’s kind of spotty in some spots, but I like it because it gives a more watery scale look (if that makes sense). You can kind of see the base showing through, & I like that. Over all, it’s a very pretty look.

In fact, I’ve been wearing this manicure since Thursday, & it’s still holding up very well. I usually wear a manicure maybe 3 days max (& that’s if I’m really busy) but I’ve just loved this look so much, & it’s barely even showing tip wear, it felt like a shame to remove it. Of course, I will probably change my nails today, but it’s been fun to wear. I almost wish I had gone to see the Little Mermaid this weekend, as it would have been the perfect manicure for it. But I’ll have to redo one when I take my little girl in a few weeks.

What do you think of my mermaid nails? Are you feeling all the mermaid vibes? Let me know all your thoughts on this look down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Blue My Mind

Hello lovelies! I hope you’re having a wonderful start to a new week. It’s a beautiful weekend here on the East Coast, & I could get used to this. It’s starting to feel like Summer, & I love it.

Today I’m showing off a shade from the stash that I’ve never worn! (& honestly… I don’t even remember when I bought it!) This is OPI Blue My Mind.

2 coats + top coat

This shade is a beautiful vivid sapphire blue with a turquoise shimmer. According to my internet research, it was originally released as part of the 2005 Brights collection but then became part of the core collection. However, upon looking it may now be discontinued as it’s listed as out of stock on the OPI website, & No Longer Available on Nail Polish Canada. I’m sure if you really look for it, though, you could find it via smaller beauty supply websites.

The formula on this shade was smooth & easy to apply. First coat has a bit of patchiness, so a second coat was perfect for full opacity. That’s what I like in a polish. Obviously a one coat polish is always the most desirable, but it’s not always realistic, so I don’t mind having to apply two coats. I did also finish things off with a coat of top coat, to give it a little extra gloss.

How pretty is the glow on this shade? I’m super impressed with the colour, the shimmer — all of it. Not your typical “summer” colour, but I’m digging it — & I think it would be the perfect base for some aqua stamping or some chevrons.

I actually do have some nail art featuring this as a base, so stay tuned to see what I did with this colour!

What do you think about OPI Blue My Mind? Are you a fan of this pretty blue? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!