Tag: Essence

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Gold Swirlie Freehand

Hey lovelies!

I know you what you’re thinking — girlie where have you been this week?!

This has been a jam packed week full of blood work & regular work, so I haven’t had time to get super creative with my nails. I also had a couple breaks, so my nails are now considerably shorter. But I did do this pretty freehand swirly nail art look last week, before everything, so I’m excited to finally share them!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Essence Good Girl Bad Girl Leather Effect Caught In The Middle (2015)
  • Sally Hansen Good As Good (Holiday 2019)
  • NailStuff 7mm Mermaid Tail liner brush

I used to do swirly looks like a lot circa 2015/2016, & I’m not sure why I stopped. I like how this looks like some fancy wallpaper or wrapping paper. & Good As Gold as some holographic glitters in it, which catch the light every so often & makes it look even prettier.

What do you think of my swirlie golden freehand nails? Do you like designs like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below. Personally these feel very glamourous to me!

Happy Friday & (almost) weekend!

🖤

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE OCTOBER 2025 — Skeleton 💀

Happy Halloween week lovelies! The countdown is officially on to my most favourite night of the year! Has everyone figured out their costumes?

We also only have two prompts left for Glam Nails Challenge October — how crazy is that?! I’ve had so much fun joining in this month, & I’m really glad I did. It’s just what I needed to get inspired to paint my nails again!

Todays prompt? Skeleton. & I thought it would be fun to do a design featuring the Halloween King himself — Jack Skellington.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Essie Hard to Resist (purple)
  • Essie Bahama Mama
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper Black
  • Essence Chic Reloaded
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm Mermaid Tail Liner Brush

So my original plan was to use Essie Wicked as my base colour, but when I went to Walmart they didn’t have it in their display! So I went with another darker shade — Bahama Mama. Less of a spooky vibe, but the colour is really nice.

& I love how everything just came together.

What do you think about my Jack Skellington nails for Glam Nails Challenge October? Do you think he fits the skeleton prompt? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

& happy Monday!

🖤

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE OCTOBER 2025 — Ghost 👻

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! It’s hope your week has been as calm & peaceful as can be.

Today is our third prompt for Glam Nails Challenge October, which is ghost! I do love a good ghost design especially this time of year, so I was excited to give this a go. I wanted to create a ghost look slightly different from ones I’ve done in the past, & I think I managed to create a spooky & fun look. & I’m so in love with how they turned out.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Essie Hard to Resist (purple)
  • China Glaze Skyscraper
  • Essence Pastel Ombre Top Coat
  • OPI Alter Ego
  • Icing Store Black
  • Small Dotting Tool (NailsStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

So the trick of creating these translucent ghosties is using a really, really shear white polish (or mixing a more opaque white with a clean polish to thin it out.) I Have this Essence Pastel Ombre Top Coat from years, & years ago, & while I’ve never used it for an ombre design, it works perfectly for nail art like this! I also added a bit of OPI Alter Ego for a bit of extra shimmer/glow.

What do you think about this ghostly design? Do you like the spooky sheer effect of the ghosts. I feel like these ones are definitely more on the spooky side, compared to my ghost designs of years past — which I’m loving! Let’s go for all the spooky vibes this October — I am here for it!

Happy Wednesday

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Colour & Go 122 Chic Reloaded (2012)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It is a chilly, very Autumn-y feeling Sunday. The Fall chill is definitely in the air — & I’m drinking all the pumpkin spice things. It also means I’m craving all the Fall-ish nail polish colours, so I’ve been digging through my stash looking for shades from years past to put on.

& naturally that meant perusing through my Essence stash. I’ve been a hardcore Essence lover since they had those tiny little round bottles, & it continues to this day. When looking for a fun Autumn shade, this one immediately jumped out. This is Essence Chic Reloaded.

2 coats + top coat

Chic Reloaded is a beautiful dark grey metallic duochrome, that flashes purple or blue depending on the light. Similar to Essie For the Twill of It, or OPI Peace Love OPI, it has that beautiful oil slick effect to it. However, unlike the previous two mentioned shades, I feel like Chic Reloaded has a much stronger duochrome effect! Which, for a drugstore shade that cost me maybe $2.99 CAD at the time — circa 2012 — that is pretty darn amazing!

You can really see the two different shade in the close up shot! Such a fun effect on the nails. I also like that Chic Reloaded has a darker grey base, because it feels more moody.

The formula on this guy is also super easy to apply. My only complaint has nothing to do with the polish itself, but with my topcoat which I think is getting old & caused some shrinkage. Other than that, this shade is perfection & I would love to see Essence bring back more formulas like this into their current core collection!

What do you think of Essence Chic Reloaded? Are you a fan of the Essence line of nail polishes? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Shine, Last & Go 13 Legally Pink

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. Well, at the very least — it’s a very rainy Sunday here. Hopefully all these April showers bring some beautiful May flowers because… I’m over it. God, I’m so over it.

But today I have another shade from the stash to share for Swatch Sunday. So many polishes from years past I’ve never shared, so I’ve been really trying to post them for you more often! Today’s pick is from Essence’s Shine Last & Go line, which (I think) was their previous nail Polish line to the current reformat.

This is Legally Pink.

2 coats + top coat

We all know I am a humongous fan of Essence Nail Polish, especially with it being affordable & so easy to grab (the Shoppers is literally in my back yard basically). So I’ve accumulated a few dozen over the years.

Legally Pink is a creamy vibrant coral pink, which — depending on the lighting — can lean very pink or more on the coral side. It is a fiery Spring pink for sure, which is probably why I bought it in the first place. Formula is smooth, & easy to apply & has a nice solid finish in two coats without looking chunky on the nail. It dried down quickly, & I finished it all off with some quick dry top coat as I was wearing it for the next day.

See what I mean about the colour shifting. In the top photo you can see how it looks coral (borderline red) on two nails, then leaning more pink on two nails. When I say this shade was so freaking impossible to photograph true to colour, you can see why. But it really, truly is just gorgeous & Summer-y so we’ll forgive her for not wanting to get her photograph taken!

Because this shade is 5 or 6 years old, she’s not available in stores where Essence is sold. I did see a few listings online for old bottles, so if you really want it, you could definitely seek it out!

What do you think of Essence 13 Legally Pink? Are you a fan of Essence’s line of nail polishes. Give me all your comments & thoughts down below — & let me know what your favourite line of affordable nail polish is!

Happy Sunday

🖤