Golden Drag Marble

Hello lovelies & happy Monday. Well, as happy as a Monday can be in November. They’re calling for snow today on my side of the country, but not sure if it’s going to amount of anything. But… can it be Summer again? I miss Summer.

Today I have a really pretty nail art look to share with you, leaning into these late Autumn vibes. 🍁🍂 The colour scheme is pure Fall, & I really enjoy how it turned out!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • ORLY Buried Alive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Terra Coppa
  • Essie Frock ‘n Roll
  • Essie Nail Art Studio Cosmic Chrome
  • Wide Nail Art Brush

So I tried a bit of a different technique for this marbling, with a wider nail art brush (like the side of a clean up brush) versus the skinny dotting tool I usually use, & I like the effect it gave me. Kind of reminds me more of a real stone. Sometimes I find with a dotting tool I end up muddling my marble a bit, but this way didn’t do that which I really like!

& the colours compliment each other so well. I love the bronze-y golden look of it all together. It’s definitely giving Autumn vibes.

What do you think of this golden drag marble design? Do you like the kind of wider marble effect versus my usual drag marble designs?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Monday 🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Orly Buried Alive (2012 Dark Shadows Collection)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A sunny, but chilly, Sunday. The roofs are all frosted over this morning, & it’s definitely feeling like Winter lately. However, I’m just not quite feeling that holiday nail spirit yet. Usually by this time, I’m already planning Christmas manicures — but I haven’t been feeling any Christmas vibes yet this year unfortunately.

It’s Swatch Sunday, though, & I was going through my stash & found a beauty from 2012 that I don’t think I’ve ever worn! This is Orly Buried Alive from the 2012 Dark Shadows Collection.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful shimmery chocolate brown polish is packed full of golden flakie shimmer. I am actually so sad it’s taken me this long to wear this polish, because it’s absolutely stunning! It’s the most perfect Autumn brown. It’s shimmery on its own, but then you add in that golden shimmer & it just adds the whole other dimension to it.

The formula on this one was actually really easy to use considering it’s a 10+ year old nail polish. Maybe it’s because I haven’t cracked the bottle since I bought it.

Wow! Look at that close up!

I’m actually really sad I have dropped the ball on this shade. I guess I thought “brown polish, not going to like it” but oh boy was I wrong! I love it! The application was flawless, the colour is stunning, & it’s just such a lovely Autumn shade I wouldn’t think to reach for.

What do you think about Orly Buried Alive? Do you remember this shade, or this collection? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below — I’d love to know what you think.

& if you have any tips for getting me in the holiday spirit, I will take all the ones I can get!

Happy Sunday

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles (Holiday 2024)

Good morning, & happy Sunday.

I don’t know about where you are, but here on the East Coast we’ve gone from balmy & hot to crisp sweater weather almost overnight. Which, as a girl who dreams of wearing her knee all boots, all year round, I couldn’t be happier!

So naturally that means I want to wear all the Autumn colours — or Autumn adjacent — all the time. Today’s polish pick is actually from last Winter’s Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Holiday Collection, but I feel like this colour fits in perfectly for this time of year. This is Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles.

2 coats + top coat

So I actually got this shade at my local Shoppers Drug Mart during a promotion for their Beauty Mingle Event. You pay $5 for a spin on their wheel, & you can win a prize. My Mum was playing, letting my kids each have a spin, & my daughter landed on FREE NAIL POLISH. There was a few beauties left from previous collections, but ultimately I landed on this beauty as it was the one from last year’s Holiday collection I had been most fixated on.

The formula on Hot Cocoa Cuddles is a beautiful chocolate brown shimmer, densely packed with holographic scattered glitters. It reminds me a bit of OPI My Private Jet, although the base colours are definitely different (& the scattered holographic glitters in the latter definitely apply to the nail much more densely.)

You can see the beautiful copper shimmer that comes through, with those scattered holographic glitters. I do wish the holo glitters were as dense on the nail as they are in the bottle, but you do still get those flashes of rainbow. Personally, I think this colour is perfect for Autumn! Deep reds, burnt orange, bronze-y browns, & any jewel tones — those are the shades I love for September! & Hot Cocoa Cuddles fits perfectly into that colour palette — plus the time is just too cute!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles? Do you remember this shade from last year’s Holiday collection? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

&, as always, I would love to hear what you’re wearing on your nails right now, & what colours your loving right now.

Happy Sunday

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Chocolate Cakes

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a blustery snow day here on the East Coast.

I apologize for my unannounced absence this week. The beginning of 2024 was a lot, & I didn’t realize I needed a week just to not do anything. But I’m back, & I have some new (shorter) nails to share with you to start off this new week. I’ve actually been loving darker shades a lot lately — January vibes.

For today’s Swatch Sunday pick, I grabbed an older shade from my stash — Essie Chocolate Cakes.

2 coats + top coat

This shade originally came to me in a set with Essie Ballet Slippers that I bought post-Christmas a few years ago. I remember loving the dark reddish brown shade, but being confused because I’d never heard of an Essie shade called Chocolate Cakes. I’m still not 100% sure which collection it was originally released with.

The formula though, is nice. This is two coats for full coverage. It was a bit thin, so I did find I needed the two to make sure I had no patchiness. It also pooled slightly at the cuticle line, so I had to make sure that I was careful with application. Mine came in what I think is an Expressie bottle, so it had the same wider brush which I always like.

I saw it described as a creamy dark chocolate shaded, but the red undertones really show up for me so I feel like it’s more a deep dark burgundy. We all know my love affair with red nail polish, so this is such a good alternative or option. Like I said, I’ve been wearing this shade for the last 3 days, so I’m really loving it.

I did find a few sites through Google that had this shade listed for sale, but I don’t know how reputable they are, so I’ll avoid posting them. However, I feel like this shade isn’t 100% unique, so you could definitely find a common dupe easily to get the vampy dark vibe this shade is giving off.

What do you think about Essie Chocolate Cakes? Are you a fan of this deep dark reddish brown? Do you remember this shade upon its original released? I always get excited when I find new to me shades, so I’m curious about the collection it was originally released with!

Have a lovely Sunday!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Sable Collar

Hello & happy Sunday!

We finally have some nice Winter sun today which is nice after a week of not the greatest weather. Today, I’m pulling out an oldie Essie shade I’ve own for a long time: Sable Collar. I actually picked up this shade at my local Dollarama circa 2015 & I remember being so excited to find this shade.

2 coats + top coat

Sable Collar was originally released as part of the 2013 Essie Winter Shearling Darling collection. It is this beautiful smokey reddish brown, with an irresistible shimmer. It’s been so. long since I put this shade on, I totally forgot how gorgeous it is. The epitome of a winter shade (in my opinion). These are exactly the kind of shades that make me think of January.

The formula was pretty easy to apply on this one — two coats needed for full opacity. The first coat was definitely streaky, but upon the second we got the beautiful finish you see in my swatches. I did apply Essie Speed Setter top coat over my swatches, mostly because this ended up being my manicure for the last few days.

A nice close up of the finish.

Below you can really see the reddish brown shimmer in the bottle. I’m kind of obsessed — which is funny, because I’ve owned this bottle of polish almost a decade, but this is. the first real time I’ve worn it all on its own. & it’s giving me the cosiest vibes.

What do you think about Essie Sable Collar? Do you remember this shade from its original release? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & if this shade is giving you the same Winter vibes I’m feeling.

Happy Sunday! ♥︎