SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Autumn Spice (Fall 2021)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

I don’t know what September’s been like in your neck of the woods so far, but here in Halifax we’re in full on Fall mode. With is perfect timing, because I have the brand new China Glaze Autumn Spice collection to share with you! I ordered this beautiful Autumn collection via Beyond Polish Canada last Friday, & it quickly arrived on Tuesday! To say I was excited would be an understatement. This was the first time in a long time that I saw a whole collection & knew that I needed every single one of them.

So let’s get to the swatches shall we?

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Autumn Spice (Fall 2021)”

Glam Nails Challenge September — Autumn Sunflowers 🌻

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! It’s officially the 2nd of September & my Fall vibes are in full force. I’ve got my pumpkin spice syrup, my plaid shirts & my favourite black tights just ready for cooler temperatures.

I’m also ready for all the Fall polish colours & designs.

After last month’s fun designs with last month’s GlamNailsChallenge, I’ve decided to keep things going with this month’s challenge! & the first challenge is right in my wheelhouse: sunflowers 🌻.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze The Snuggle is Real
  • China Glaze Autumn’s Up!
  • China Glaze Spice To Meet You
  • China Glaze Loves You A Latte
  • Essie Check Your Baggage
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

How cute did my sunflowers turn out?

I’ve actually never attempted sunflowers before, so I’m really excited with how these came together. Plus, I got to use a few of the new China Glaze Autumn Spice collection shades I just received the other day. & they were absolutely perfect for this design. I have full swatches coming Sunday, but spoiler alert: I’m absolutely obsessed with these shades so be prepared for a lot of designs using these polishes.

Are you excited for another month of Glam Nails Challenge? I feel like all the prompts for September is going to just get me even more ready for Autumn, so I’m very excited.

What are you favourite Fall designs? Let me know what Autumn vibes speak to you most?

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Grape Juice

Hello beauties & happy Sunday! & happy first day of August!

How is everyone’s weekend — is it a long weekend where you are? It is here in Nova Scotia, & (I think) most of Canada? It also always feels like the beginning of the end of Summer. I know that we still have 4 weeks left, but man, there is something about August which always gets me in an Autumn mindset.

Today’s polish pick for Swatch Sunday still feels Summery enough though! & it was originally released as part of the China Glaze Summer Days (2009) collection: China Glaze Grape Juice.

2 coats

This polish went on easily in 2 coats, although the formula went on a little thicker for coat #2. The colour is a really vibrant, although slightly darker, purple with a beautiful silvery shimmer — I also saw some flecks of blue in there too.

You can really, really see all the shimmer in the macro shot. It’s very densely packed, which I really like! I also can’t believe I haven’t featured this yet for Swatch Sunday! It’s been in my stash for years, but with the exception of nail art, I haven’t worn it a to. Which is actually a travesty, because it is such a fantastic colour! It’s also just dark enough to keep me from full out craving Autumn, while also keeping bright-ish for Summer.

Sadly, it looks like this shade has been discontinued, but I did find a few listings online for it like Sparkle Canada but I don’t think it’s an easy find. However, if you do happen to come across it, you should totally pick it up because it’s such a lovely shade.

What do you think about China Glaze Grape Juice? Do you have this purple beauty in your stash? Which shades are you loving as we inch towards Autumn? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to know what you’re wearing right now.

Neon Green & Floral

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! A beautiful, sunny Tuesday at that. Today I’m going back to my comfort zone with some floral nails — but jazzing things up with a neon base!

Lately I’ve been seeing all this neon green manicures, & I really really needed to paint some neon green on my nails. But obviously I couldn’t leave them plain, so I added some floral overtop!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze Be More Pacific
  • Sally Hansen Good.Kind.Pure Peony Origins
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Fuchsia Fever
  • Sally Hansen CSM So Much Fawn
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri VaVa Violet
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art in purple
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art in green
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Lately I haven’t felt super inspired, nail art wise, which kind of sucks. Trying my best to get out of my funk with simple looks, but sometimes it’s hard. I’m working particularly long hours right now (like 10 hour days) so when I get home from work, I’m feeling pretty tired, so there is not always enough time for fun nail art looks. Trying my best to inspire myself, but it’s not always easy. Guess I’m going to have to spend a little more time perusing Pinterest for inspo.

What do you think about this floral over neon green? It’s so funny because I’ve just featured 2 neon green manicures back to back, which isn’t a colour I usually reach for. Guess the sunny days are inspiring me… now if only they could shake me out of my nail art funk!

Have a lovely day!

Neon with Freehand Lines

Hello Summer, how you doing?

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We celebrated my little girls 2nd birthday this weekend with lots of cake, a fun play date, more cake, & some actual sunshine. It was very exciting!

Now we’re set for a rainy, muggy, thunder-y week. At least I get a little bit of brightness through my nails! This neon look is a throwback to some nails I did (more than) a few years back. Something about short nails just makes me want to rock neons & graphic lines. & my nails have been pretty short lately.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy
  • China Glaze Shocking Pink
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Essie Worth The Tassel
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

So bright!

So this base was an attempt to cover up a chipped manicure, & then a saw how pretty it was & thought it would be perfect for some graphic black line work. I find these kind of designs much easier to freehand over the straight horizontal lines. Which sucks, because I have a few looks in my head I’m itching to try, but scared of mucking up with uneven lines.

What do you think of this design? What nail art looks are you planning for this week? Let me know in the comments!