Candy Cane Stripes 🎄🎅

Happy December 1st! Can you believe we’re officially in the last month of 2023? That’s kind of insane. & it’s time to go hard on all the Christmas designs I can paint!

Today’s look is simple but festive. I wanted to create some candy cane inspired nails, as I haven’t done any in a while.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Blanc
  • Quo Beauty Green With Envy
  • Quo Beauty Velveteen
  • ACO by Ardene Dancing Queen
  • 16mm Striper (from NailStuff.ca)

Do you love candy canes? I really like those fun flavour ones (like Nerds, Warheads or Trolli) but less keen on the classic peppermint flavour ones. Maybe I ate too many as a kid? My nails are definitely calling back to those classic candy canes though.

You could definitely use striping tape or vinyls to achieve this look, but for some reason I prefer using my striper brush. With a look like this, I feel like you don’t need to have as clean lines (since candy canes don’t always have the smoothest lines). But these ones definitely turned out better than I could have hoped!

What do you think of these candy cane stripe nails? Are you ready for December & all the holiday nail art content to come? Let me know down in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze I Soiree I Didn’t Do It (Holiday 2015 Cheers Collection)

Good Morning lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s the last Sunday of November which is kind of crazy. Yesterday was one month until Christmas Day, so I think it’s time to kick the Christmas nail polish content officially into gear.

Today I have a polish from the 2015 China Glaze Cheers collection. This glitteryblue/greenish shade is called I Soiree I Didn’t Do It.

2 coats + top coat

China Glaze I Soiree I Didn’t Do It is a jelly green base filled will blue, teal & silver glitters. The base is surprisingly dense with glitter, which was nice as I managed my manicure in only 2 coats. I was fully expecting that I was going to need 3-4 coats.

Obviously, you do still see some natural nail peaking through from behind the glitter, but with something as sparkly as this it kind of distracts so the average person isn’t really noticing. I also used one coat of I Soiree I Didn’t Do It layered over a darker shade on my pedicure, & it works great as a glitter topper as well to add a bit of sparkle.

A close up to show off the different glitters all packed into the base. There is definitely holo glitter in there as well. Like I mentioned, this was only two coats, & I was fully expecting I’d need another coat at least. I am glad that I didn’t have to apply another coat though, because this polish was definitely difficult to remove with all that glitter!

I did use my Olive & June polish remover pot •PR• — which I’m overdue on doing a proper review of — which made the process slightly easier.

Now because this is an older special collection shade, it’s not in regular circulation — however, I did find the Gelaze version listed on the China Glaze website, so that’s definitely an option for those who prefer using gel!

& for the non-gel users, China Glaze I Speak Glitter from last years Holiday 2022 collection is very similar in colour as well, except it appears to have some other glitters added to the mix as well. For anyone who owns that shade ( or both), I’d love to know how the two compare!

What do you think about China Glaze I Soiree I Didn’t Do It from the 2015 Cheers collection? Do you remember when this collection was released ? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

I’m definitely feeling the glittery holiday vibes now, so I’m going to find all the glitter shades I can to share over the next few Sundays!

Have a great day loves! ♥︎

Glam Nails Challenge December— Gifts 🎁

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & Merry belated Christmas. I took yesterday off to enjoy the chaos, but I’m happy to be back today to share the next prompt for Glam Nails Challenge December. & the next prompt is… gifts!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Me, My Elf & I (Holiday 2022)
  • Sally Hansen MG Goldie Rocks (Holiday 2019)
  • Sally Hansen MG Living In The Presents (Holiday 2021)
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Who doesn’t love a Christmas toned manicure? The gift accents are pretty simple, but the combination of colours works for a collection of presents.

Hard to believe Christmas is over for another year… & that 2022 is almost finished too. Now we’re in the weird in between time where you’re not sure what day it is & you eat chocolate for breakfast. I swear, I don’t think I ate anything green yesterday at all, unless you count the sour apple toxic waste candy I had last night. Haha.

What do you think about this present theme manicure? What design were you wearing on your nails for Christmas morning? Did Santa bring you any new polishes?

Let me know down the in comments below!

Glam Nails Challenge December — Christmas Decorations

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope everyone — especially my fellow retail workers — are having a lovely & not too stressful week. It’s seriously crazy that it’s only 4 days until Christmas Day. I can’t believe how quickly this month is going by… & this year.

Next up we have a fun prompt for Glam Nails Challenge December: Christmas Decorations. I decided to go with a classic Christmas decoration, & created these beautiful sparkly Christmas light design.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • L’Oreal Colour Riche Eva’s Nude
  • L’Oreal Colour Riche The Magic Top Coats The Holographic
  • Starrily Nails Vantablack
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • Quo by ORLY Mini Glitter Green
  • Quo by ORLY Mini Glitter Gold
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

& as I mentioned in my previous post, I’m back to my super shorties. Not ideal–& super sad because I was hoping to get to the new year with that fabulous length–but it is what it is, so I’ll just have to come up with some cute short nail looks for the rest of this month!

Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far, & not getting too stressed out with any last minute wrapping, or (like me) shopping they need to get done this week. Stores are busy, people are a bit crazy, so hopefully everyone has time to sit back & enjoy a hot chocolate or Irish coffee, & relax a little bit!

& don’t forget: you can see the rest of the beautiful Glam Nails Challenge December nails on Instagram!

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Can you believe this is the last Sunday before Christmas?

I can’t believe how quickly this holiday season has sped by. I haven’t even had a chance to do any Christmas baking yet! But I am excited, because it’s been a long time since I had a chance to get a new release OPI holiday shade, so when I saw a few of the new collection, I had to pick on. & as soon as I saw this beautiful & dark shimmer shade, I knew I needed it for my collection!

2 coats + OPI Infinite Shiner Top Coat

How freaking beautiful is this shade? It’s a deep reddish brown shade with this stunning bronze-y shimmer — which you can really see in the bottle. The formula was pretty dark perfect, smooth & easy to apply. Two coats gave perfect application, which left a smooth & perfectly applied manicure. Obviously, red is one of my favourite manicure colours so I will always be drawn to it, but I do feel like there is something a little extra special about this polish.

I picked up my bottle of OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems at my local Chatters Salon, but you can find this shade wherever OPI shades are sold. It is available in regular formula, the Infinite Shine formula, & in the Gel formula as well.

What do you think about OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems? Have you picked up any shades from the OPI 2022 Holiday collection? Which one was your favourite? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what colour you’re planning on wearing on your nails for Christmas Eve!