Bright & Simple Swirls

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! A freaking chilly Tuesday here. We went from it feeling like Winter this weekend, to it feeling like Spring yesterday, right back into a cold snap. My nails are definitely not happy about the back & forth, but I’m trying to keep them looking cute regardless.

Todays look was a really simple one I did last week. I wanted something a little bit bright & colourful, & I was especially feeling Essie Flowerista as my base shade, so this is what I ended up with!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Flowerista
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Passion Flower

I really wanted to do some nail art over my base, but I was running short on time. However — I thought these wavy lines using my Color Club Striper was perfect! I thought about doing them in more than one colour, but I think the purple over the fuchsia is more than perfect. I like the simplicity. It’s a great pop of colour which is exactly what you need when it’s still January.

What do you think about these bright & simple swirls? Are you feeling the simplicity of this design or do you prefer nail art that is more complex?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below. I love when people share their thoughts on my nail art!

Have a lovely Tuesday! 🌸

Negative Space & Pastel Abstract Stripes

Good morning loves! I hope everyone is having a great start to their Thursday so far. Mine is involving coffee, so that’s always a good start. Plus I have the whole day off to do my laundry & fold it, & put it away — so I’m pumped.

Today I’m sharing a recent manicure I did in the hopes of summoning Spring. Real Spring, not the fake “oops-just-kidding-it’s-still-Winter” Spring we get teased with around the end of March. I know, it’s January, & we’ve barely even had Winter…. but I’m over it. So how about some pastel?

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue
  • Essie Mint Candy Apple
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Pink Pastel
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Passion Flower

First off, let me acknowledge that my cuticles are looking rough. I’m trying my best to keep up with my nail art regime, but the last couple months have had some struggles, & the weather has been full of extremes, & it’s taking me a while to get my nail health back to where it was. But I’m going to save that for another post, because I know you’re all here for the nail art today!

This look was really easy to do, mostly because it takes zero skill. You just need to draw the initial swoop, & then use your other colours to trace the same lines. It sounds more complicated than it is, but I swear it’s really easy. Which is why I love this kind of look so much. I decided to go with a negative space base, because I’ve been struggling with using my bottle of Seche Vita & I wanted to avoid the weird shrinkage at my cuticle line.

What do you think about this nail art look? I know it’s probably a smidge too early for Spring nails, but you know what? Yesterday it was like 11 degrees (Celsius) & that is Spring weather. I could have worn a dress with only one pair of tights it was so warm. So I guess these nails are kind of fitting.

What do you think about this manicure? Let me know down in the comments below!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Pucci-licious

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday!

I hope everyone’s day is off to a great start & that your first week of 2023 has been lovely. It’s finally kind of looking like Winter here in my part of the East Coast, so naturally that means I’m feeling the complete opposite with this week’s Swatch Sunday pick.

I’ve been in a serious purple mood lately. The last 4/5 of my manicures have a purple theme (& I have another one ready to go!) So naturally when picking this week’s Swatch Sunday pick I wanted to keep the trend going. & one of my all time favourite purples?

Color Club Pucci-licious.

2 coats + Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

I’m not going to lie, I’m actually surprised I haven’t picked this shade to swatch yet. It’s absolutely one of my all time favourite purple polishes.

Color Club Pucci-licious was originally released as part of the Poptastic collection, but then made its way into the permanent line up. The polish itself is a cool toned vibrant purple cream. On its own it’s quite glossy, but I did add top coat to mine as I was adding some crackle overtop.

I used two easy coats for my swatches, & it was perfectly levelled with the second coat.

As you can see from the top of my bottle, I bought this guy at my local Lawton’s in the clearance section. However, you can still find this guy for sale on the Color Club Website so I don’t think he’s been discontinued (thank goodness!) It’s also available via NailPolishCanada.com — on sale! — so that’s a good option as well.

The shades look much different on the two sites, but they’re definitely the same polishes. That’s kind of the thing about photographing Pucci-licious—depending on your lighting when photographing it, it can look very different. I did my best to capture my swatches as close as real life as possible!

What do you think about Color Club Pucci-licious? Do you own this beauty of a shade in your own nail polish stash? L

et me know all your thoughts, & what colours your currently wearing to get you through the January blahs.

Have a lovely Sunday! 🖤

New Years Eve Glitter Gradient

Hello lovelies & happy New Years Eve… Eve. Only 2 more days of this year left, & I can barely believe it. It really feels like the last few months, & especially the last few weeks, have absolutely flown by. With less than 48 hours left of this year, I figured why not sneak in one or two more manicures.

& naturally, with New Years Eve so close, I have to be all about the glitter. What better excuse than wearing all the glitter than counting down to a new year? I’m not much for getting dressed up, & going out on NYE… but you know I’m always going to have my nails ready for a night of snacks on the couch & sparkling kombucha.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Kimono Over
  • Color Club On the List
  • Color Club Take Me to VIP
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust

Ooooooh look at the sparkle. I made sure to take pictures with my flash on, because I really wanted to be able to properly capture the sparkle. Like how much fun is this to wear for New Years Eve? I did this look completely without any tools, just layering of glitter, & it turned out so perfectly, & glittery. It almost makes me wish I had something exciting planned for New Years Eve.

This is super simple to do though! You just need to gently apply the glitter at the base of your nails, & brush up gently. It gives you a thicker glitter near your cuticle, & gives a lighter effect as you go up. I ended up using 3 different glitters because layering also gives it a beautiful effect. I just love glitter so much.

Do you have you plans for New Years Eve solidified yet? I think we’re going to do some sparklers & snacks with our kids, & neighbours, & then some snacks on the couch leading up to the end of the night.

I’m also going to see if I can sneak in one more New Years Eve manicure before the end of the year, so I will see you tomorrow for one more look.

♥︎

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE OCTOBER — Graveyard 🪦

Hello lovelies & Happy Halloween! I hope everyone is all ready for the ghosts & ghouls to run loose this evening. I got prepped by watching my favourite Halloween episode of Buffy, & eating my weight in sour patch kids. It’s also the last prompt of Glam Nails Challenge October, which means October is officially over. & that is crazy! We’re just weeks away from candy canes & decking the halls.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves — I have one more Halloween nail art look to share. The last prompt of Glam Nails Challenge October is Graveyard, & I decided to go with a classic graveyard scene… with a little holo sparkle added.

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
  • China Glaze Intelligence, Integrity and Courage
  • Color Club Take Me To VIP
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

This look is 100% freehanded, which I’m super proud of. Although, I do some version of this nail art look every year, so I feel like I’m really perfecting it. I also really like the addition of the holographic sparkle of Color Club Take Me to VIP because it almost looks like stars in the sky. Just lovely.

Can you believe this is the last prompt for Glam Nails Challenge October? Crazy! As always, I had so much fun doing these nail art looks. Halloween is one of my favourite months for nail art, because I feel like the nail art looks are endless. & you can check out all the nail art looks from this month on Instagram under  #glamnailschallengeOct.

I’m not 100% sure if I’ll be doing Glam Nails Challenge November yet, or if I’ll save all my energy for December, so stay tuned to see what nail art looks I have coming next month! Enjoy your Halloween, & whichever Halloween candy of choice is your favourite!