Tag: China Glaze

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze The Heat is On (Desert Heat 🏜️ Collection 2015)

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. It’s been a while since I posted a Swatch Sunday post! So I’m excited to jump back in, & for this one I’m throwing it way, way back to 2015 with a gorgeous China Glaze shade I bought as part of a mini set: The Heat Is On.

2 coats + top coat

I was thinking about this shade, & kind of nervous about its state (I feel like these mini bottles dry up way faster than normal sized bottles) but she was in great shape, & I was so excited to wear it.

The shade is a beautiful vibrant red with an undertone of orange. The formula was creamy, & easy to apply; it had a glossy finish even before I applied top coat. I like that it has just a hint of a jelly formula, because it really does make it look juicy on the nails.

I was so obsessed with this shade when I first bought my mini set of this collection, & all these years later — 11 to be exact — I still love it. It really makes me wish I had a full sized bottle, but sadly it was a limited release. I have found a few bottles online for sale… & I won’t lie, it’s tempting.

What do you think of this shade? Do you think it’s as fun & lush as I do? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below.

& stay tuned — because I have my eyes open for any Fall collections popping up in store, & I’m ready for full on Autumn vibes.

Happy Sunday!

Posted on

Vampy Autumn Roses

Hello lovelies & happy Monday!

& hello to anyone new discovering this little blog of mine! I had some crazy traffic to my little corner of the internet last week, so I’m happy to welcome you to my little nail blog. ❤️

Today we’re starting off Monday right with some new nails. & I realized the other day it had been ages since I did any floral on my nails, so some vampy roses seemed appropriate.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri The Queens Velvet
  • NYC Color Lexington Lilac
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald
  • NailStuff dotting tool trio
  • NailStuff 7mm Mermaid Tail liner brush

Okay first off — I decided to paint these at 9:30pm in very minimal light, so I’m shocked they turned out as good as they did! Because trying to see those roses on this dark base colour was a challenge, I won’t lie.

Secondly, I’m obsessed! Everytime I do floral I remember why I love wearing floral so much. It’s like me in a manicure. & these vampy roses—as challenging as they were to paint—just look so beautiful against the dark jewel toned based of OPI Bring Out The Big Gems. Just perfect for a gloomy November day.

What do you think of my vampy roses? Do you like them against this dark gloomy base? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Enjoy your Monday!

🖤

Posted on

Jewel Toned Autumn Abstract Stripes 💎💙

Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! It’s a chilly morning here on the East Coast — I actually broke out my winter jacket. Brrrrrrr.

With Halloween now over, we’re in that inbetween nail art stage where I’m never quite sure what to paint on my nails. But I was inspired by yesterday’s Swatch Sunday post to create a beautiful jewel toned design & I’m absolutely infatuated with how they turned out.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald
  • China Glaze December to Remember
  • China Glaze Up All Night
  • China Glaze Glamcore
  • China Glaze Cast A Spell
  • NailStuff 11mm Mermaid Tail brush

I won’t lie — this design was kind of time consuming. But when you look at the end result, it was totally worth it! From far away, the whole design is kind of dark, but when you look at them up close you see the details of the abstract stripes & it’s such a beautiful combination.

The colours all compliment each other really nicely, & the whole design—to me—just screams November vibes.

What do you think about this jewel toned abstract stripe design? Do you love the complexity of it, & the beautiful colours? What designs call to you during the month of November?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

🖤

Posted on

SWATCH SUNDAY—China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald (Fall 2010 Vintage Vixen Collection)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. The first Sunday of November! I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween. I definitely ate my weight in mini bags of Sour Patch Kids & Starbursts.

But now we’re moving on from Halloween, at least for another 363 days, & it’s time to focus on the latter part of this year! I thought for today’s Swatch Sunday post I would pull a favourite from my stash to share, that is the perfect colour story for a November day. This is Emerald Fitzgerald from the 2010 vintage vixen collection.

2 coats + top coat

The formula on this beautiful dark green was a bit on the thin side, but easy to apply. It needed two coats for full cover, but as you can see from my swatches, it covered beautifully. For a nail polish that is potentially 15 years ago — I purchased mine on clearance circa 2013 or so — she doesn’t seem affected by age at all. The dark green colour has a beautiful shimmer that’s very easy to see both in the bottle & on the nail.

Close up shot really shows of that shimmer that’s so prevalent in the formula & it’s truly stunning. It gives this colour a little bit more depth which is just stunning. & I’m not usually a green kind of girl, but I think because this one has kind of a blue-ish undertone to it, it has always drawn my eyes more than your typical green.

It really is the perfect green for this inbetween time after Halloween, but before Christmas/Holiday designs start. It’s just such. stunning jewel tone.

What do you think about this old school China Glaze shade? Like I mentioned, I purchased this guy going on 13 years ago — & it was released 15 years ago — so she’s not easily found in circulation nowadays, but I did find a few listings for it online when I was trying to find out information about it’s original released.

Happy Sunday!

♥︎

Posted on

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE OCTOBER 2025 — Ghost 👻

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! It’s hope your week has been as calm & peaceful as can be.

Today is our third prompt for Glam Nails Challenge October, which is ghost! I do love a good ghost design especially this time of year, so I was excited to give this a go. I wanted to create a ghost look slightly different from ones I’ve done in the past, & I think I managed to create a spooky & fun look. & I’m so in love with how they turned out.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Essie Hard to Resist (purple)
  • China Glaze Skyscraper
  • Essence Pastel Ombre Top Coat
  • OPI Alter Ego
  • Icing Store Black
  • Small Dotting Tool (NailsStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

So the trick of creating these translucent ghosties is using a really, really shear white polish (or mixing a more opaque white with a clean polish to thin it out.) I Have this Essence Pastel Ombre Top Coat from years, & years ago, & while I’ve never used it for an ombre design, it works perfectly for nail art like this! I also added a bit of OPI Alter Ego for a bit of extra shimmer/glow.

What do you think about this ghostly design? Do you like the spooky sheer effect of the ghosts. I feel like these ones are definitely more on the spooky side, compared to my ghost designs of years past — which I’m loving! Let’s go for all the spooky vibes this October — I am here for it!

Happy Wednesday

♥︎