SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Cute As A Button

PR/Gifted

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! My first Swatch Sunday in quite a while — sorry about that! But I’m excited to be back, & excited to share a somewhat Spring-y polish with you all. This winter, although not quite over yet, has been a long one, & I think I’m ready to embrace what Spring has to offer. At least when it comes to my nails.

Today’s nail polish pick was kindly gifted to me c/o: L’Oréal & Essie. It is Essie Cute As A Button.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful pinky coral has been an Essie core shade for a long, long time & there is definitely a reason for that! The shade itself is gorgeous, & it’s a perfect pop of colour. The formula was smooth, easy to apply, & smoothed down to the perfect finish with a quick swipe of top coat (I used Essie Gel Setter).

Oh my gosh, this dress is so juicy & beautiful! It just screams a sunny spring day & that’s what these long end of Winter days are calling for.

As I mentioned, Essie Cute as a Button is one their core shades so it’s available anywhere Essie is sold!

What do you think about this juicy shade? Are you already feeling like dipping into your Spring shades, or are you still embracing Winter? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! I’m always curious to see what other people are currently wearing.

Happy Sunday

🖤

Products used are gifted. All thoughts & reviews are my own.

Funky Orange Abstract Stripes

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday. Sorry for being such a stranger — I swear I’m trying to get the blog posts written, but it’s been a struggle. But I have a stash of fun designs saved up to share with you, so I’m really trying to get my butt into gear. Summer vacation has been… a struggle, to say the least.

Today’s post is one of my go to favourite designs, but I’m especially happy with how this one turned out! A retro inspired abstract stripe design is always a good decision, & the colours for this particular one just brought everything together so perfectly.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Sunshine State of Mind
  • Essie Peach Side Babe
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Essie Sand Tropez
  • Quo by Orly Black Nail Art Striper

How much fun! Seriously, the colours just compliment each other so well. I very much adore how it turned out. Plus, it’s one of those designs which is so easy, because there is no right or wrong way to do it. You just create a kind of swirl on your nails with the different colours of polish, & it creates this fun abstract/wavy stripe effect. A perfect look for Summer!

What do you think of this abstract stripe design? Have you given this look a try, & what did you think? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Tuesday!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY Quo Beauty Mango Tango

Hello lovelies & happy sunny Sunday. It’s hot & humid today, so I thought I would dig into my stash to find a fun Summer shade for this week’s Swatch Sunday post & this vibrant coral from Quo Beauty was the perfect pick.

This is Quo Beauty Mango Tango.

2 coats + top coat

I believe I originally picked up this shade on clearance from my local Shoppers Drug Mart last Summer (Quo Beauty is Shoppers in house beauty brand). The polish itself is a stunning fiery coral which is very, very neon. Sometimes it leans more orange, sometimes more red.

Formula was smooth & easy to apply. 2 coats for full coverage, & it dries quite quickly which is a bonus.

Does this colour not just scream summer time? I can practically smell the sunscreen. It’s also a great shade for bringing out your sun tan, or making it look like you have a suntan. My photos definitely leaned a bit more red, but it person I feel like it complimented my olive undertones to give me that mid-Summer tanned vibe I love.

What do you think about Quo Beauty Mango Tango? Do you love this juicy coral for Summer time? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & if you’d wear this beauty on your nails!

Happy Sunday

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Icing Stores Chips n Dip

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! After some rainy & chilly days we’re finally back to beautiful sunshine, & I couldn’t be happier.

For today’s Swatch Sunday post, I decided to do some serious digging through my stash & found a very throwback shade circa 2013 (I’m guessing). I wanted something bright & vibrant & Summery, & I think that I was very successful.

This is Icing Stores Chips n Dip.

3 coats + Top Coat

This beautiful fiery coral applied in 3 thin coats, which usually would be a no for me, but because the formula is quite thin, it dried down very quickly so I didn’t have to worry about wait time — especially after applying a quick dry top coat. It’s a cruelly formula, definitely leaning more on the jelly side of that occasion which I like.

The colour is bright & I love that. I’m always drawn towards anything in the red or red leaning family, & this is a fantastic Summer option. Like could you imagine this as a pedicure colour? So perfect for the beach.

Look how bright this is! Definitely looking more on the red side in these photos, but the coral really comes through in person.

My only complaint — & it’s probably an issue due to how long I’ve owned this shade — is handle of the brushes on the bottles have kind of melted over the years so they’ve gotten really sticky & I absolutely hate it. Not sure what to do to fix the stickiness, so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know! Because I would love to use this shade (& others from this brand in the same style of bottle) but the sticky issue keeps me from reaching for them.

What do you think about Icing Stores Chips N Dip? Does this shade scream Summer to you as much as it does to me? Have you ever tried an Icing brand polish? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Sunday! ♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze High Hopes

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! I feel like it’s been a while since I did a Swatch Sunday post, even though it’s only been 2 weeks. Today I dug deep deep into the stash for a bit of an oldie shade: China Glaze High Hopes.

2 coats + top coat

According to Google, this shade was originally released as part of the Spring 2010 Up & Away Collection. I believe I purchased this bottle myself circa 2013/2014, although I’m not 100% sure. It’s been in my stash a while though.

Formula on this beauty is smooth & easy to apply. The colour is a beautiful vibrant coral that was a smidge hard to photograph accurately. But I feel like these photos capture it most accurately.

The bright colour feels perfect for Summer, but would be easy to transition into Fall by pairing it with a deep burgundy. Yes, my mind is going there. I’m trying my best not to start thinking about Autumn, but our local Dollarama has Halloween already popping up, & Halloween is my favourite season!

But back to High Hopes! This shade is lovely & the colour is a great alternative to my usual go-to red manicure that I love so much.

I did find a few listings online for this shade — Sparkle Canada has it listed for sale, as well you can find the Gelaze version on the China Glaze website. I also found an Amazon listing, but I’m not sure if it’s a secondhand seller or not. However, there are definitely a few listings floating around for this fun vibrant shade!

What do you think about this beautiful vibrant coral shade? Do you have China Glaze High Hopes in your nail polish stash?

Let me know all your thoughts, & what shade you’re currently loving this week!

🖤