Villain-esque Half Moons

Hello loves & happy Friday! & happy first day of August — how crazy is that?

How is everyone enjoying their week so far? I’ve been enjoying the very warm temperatures while simultaneously dreaming about pumpkin spice lattes & Halloween costumes. I’m a complicated girl, what can I say. I’ve also found myself thinking about Autumn-y nails & nail designs.

Today’s look, I guess, you could call somewhat Autumn inspired. I was thinking about a red on red half moon idea… but then added some shifty top coat, & they turned into something different entirely. I’m calling them villain-esque, because they totally look the part.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Good To Go Top Coat
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Butter London Saucy Jack
  • Essie Tailored By Twilight *pr
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat Moonlight
  • Paper hole reinforcements

What do you think about this combination? I really like the dark red over the light red, but the addition of the golden shimmer topper really gives it an extra something. Obviously, this look is a little dark for the hot days of August… but I’m a risk taker.

Also I will never not love a half moon manicure. It’s also reminding me I really, really need to play with my nail vinyls more. I have so many just sitting untouched in my folder, waiting to be used. I need to rectify that soon (&maybe get some new ones that are fall themed for the ‘ber months.)

What do you think about these half moons? Do you like this design as much as I do? Are you a fan of the half moons for easy nail art?

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

♥︎


	

Throwback Blue Dotticure

Good morning lovelies & happy Wednesday. I feel like it’s been a while since I did a Wednesday post. The last couple months have thrown my usual posting schedule all out of whack, but I’m really trying to get back to regular programming. (That includes regularly painting nail art on my nails instead of just wearing a single colour.)

Today’s look is another throw back to the early days of my blog, when I didn’t know much about nail art (or how to do it) but I did love polka dots. You can never go wrong with a polka dot design, so that’s what we’re rocking today!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Essie Bikini So Teeny
  • Madam Glam Nail Art Pen Black *pr
  • Madam Glam Nail Art Pen White *pr
  • Madam Glam Nail Art Pen Silver *pr

Look how cute these perfect little polka dots turned out! It’s been a few months since Madam Glam so graciously sent me their nail art pens, & I just adore how easy they make polka dots nails. I’m still trying to perfect other nail art with them, but I can’t recommend them enough for creating perfect little polka dots like for this gradient dotticure. Plus — you don’t have to worry about cleaning off your dotting tool between colours.

What do you think of my gradient dotticure look? Do you love the throwback as much as I do? Do you remember when polka dot designs were the most popular look I would show off on my blog? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

♥︎

Pastel Geometric Lines

Contains PR

Hello loves & happy Thursday!

I hope everyone’s week has been going well. It’s be hot hot hot here on the East Coast, which I will never complain about! I love me a hot Summer day. Today it’s definitely cooler & just kind of muggy.

But you’re here for nails, not weather reports — & I have been busy trying to come up with fun nails to share! I’ll admit, after 11 years it can be hard to come up with brand new nail art designs for you. So, instead, I guess I’ll keep reinventing my old favourites.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Madam Glam Mimi Pink *
  • Madam Glam Minty Greek *
  • Madam Glam Birds Fairy *
  • Madam Glam Warm Up *
  • Quo by Orly Black Nail Art Striper

**pr/gifted

You can never go wrong with a dry brush geometric design!

These were so easy to do. Started off with the dry brush as my base using my 4 Madam Glam pastels–which blended together so well–& then used my striper to create the geometric design. The hardest part is probably drawing the black lines & making sure they don’t end up too thick (always my struggle, at least), but no matter what I think this is a striking design to do & wear!

What do you think about these pastel geometric design? She’s an oldie but a goodie!

I’m still on the hunt for new nail art designs to try, so feel free to share any designs you’d love to see me attempt! I’m trying not to go straight into craving Autumn designs (my favourite season for nail art) so help a girl out! I would be eternally grateful.

Happy Thursday!

Purple Broken Glass Glitter Placement

Good morning lovelies — happy Friday & Happy July! Can you believe June is already over? How crazy is that. Of course, we’re starting off July foggy & lame. So much for Summer days. So I feel like this manicure is definitely matching the vibe.

June saw a lot of things, including quite the break on my ring finger, which is why I didn’t do a lot of nail art. But I did return to an old favourite design during that growing out period, & it made me realize I (still) need to get more shattered glitters for nail art, to add to my stash.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • OPI In The Moon For Love
  • OPI Infrared-y to Glow
  • Small dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

This design has been a go to favourite over here for a long, long time. & I’m always happy to return to them, even if I’m not finding nail polish brands making the kind of shattered glitter toppers like they used to. I mean, I could use loose glitters, but have you met me? I’m a clumsy person, & it usually results in a mess. Haha.

What do you think about this design? Are you a fan of glitter placement designs? Which glitter shade is your favourite for a design like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& happy Friday.

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — L.A. Colors Color Craze Crackle Top Coat 🖤⚡️

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! How is everyone enjoying these last few days of June? We’re currently gearing up for the last day of school (tomorrow) in our house, & the beginning of Summer vacation. It has come so quickly!

Today I’m sharing a throwback vibe — but a currently available polish. Any of my fellow millennials will probably remember the chokehold crackle nail polish had in the early 2010s — I had every colour. So I was super excited to see it is making a resurgence. I never stopped (unironically) loving it, so whenever I see it pop up again, I can’t help but buying a bottle.

& lucky for us, L.A. Colors is bringing back crackle for us to love & enjoy!

1 thick coat

So for those who don’t remember the crackle faze of nail polish, it is a specially design nail polish that when applied over a base shade, dries down & creates a crack effect, showing the shade underneath. Lots of different brands have come out with their versions, from OPI (the first I remember) to Zoya, to Sally Hansen & Claire’s.

L.A. Colors is bring back the fun with their two Crackle Top Coats — available in black & white. I purchased mine at my local Walmart for $3.99 CAD.

As you can see, the crack effect on this pretty thick & dramatic. Depending on how much polish you have on your brush, you can have bigger thick cracks (like this) or smaller thinner cracks like this. The black polish itself is opaque, which I like. It makes the effect even more dramatic. I haven’t picked up the bottle of white yet, but I’ve heard it also is pretty opaque— so I’m curious. I used the Sally Hansen which crackle years ago, but I found it very thin so it was kind of a disappointment.

Personally, I would love to see L.A. Colors release even more shades (& finishes — like shimmers) with this crackle line. For a very affordable mainstream brand, they have some out with some beautiful finishes & styles of nail polishes, & I hope they keep them coming!

What do you think of crackle nail polish returning as a trend in 2025? Are you a fan of this style?

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you would rock crackle again!

Happy Sunday

🖤