Tag: Essie

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Chocolate Cakes

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a blustery snow day here on the East Coast.

I apologize for my unannounced absence this week. The beginning of 2024 was a lot, & I didn’t realize I needed a week just to not do anything. But I’m back, & I have some new (shorter) nails to share with you to start off this new week. I’ve actually been loving darker shades a lot lately — January vibes.

For today’s Swatch Sunday pick, I grabbed an older shade from my stash — Essie Chocolate Cakes.

2 coats + top coat

This shade originally came to me in a set with Essie Ballet Slippers that I bought post-Christmas a few years ago. I remember loving the dark reddish brown shade, but being confused because I’d never heard of an Essie shade called Chocolate Cakes. I’m still not 100% sure which collection it was originally released with.

The formula though, is nice. This is two coats for full coverage. It was a bit thin, so I did find I needed the two to make sure I had no patchiness. It also pooled slightly at the cuticle line, so I had to make sure that I was careful with application. Mine came in what I think is an Expressie bottle, so it had the same wider brush which I always like.

I saw it described as a creamy dark chocolate shaded, but the red undertones really show up for me so I feel like it’s more a deep dark burgundy. We all know my love affair with red nail polish, so this is such a good alternative or option. Like I said, I’ve been wearing this shade for the last 3 days, so I’m really loving it.

I did find a few sites through Google that had this shade listed for sale, but I don’t know how reputable they are, so I’ll avoid posting them. However, I feel like this shade isn’t 100% unique, so you could definitely find a common dupe easily to get the vampy dark vibe this shade is giving off.

What do you think about Essie Chocolate Cakes? Are you a fan of this deep dark reddish brown? Do you remember this shade upon its original released? I always get excited when I find new to me shades, so I’m curious about the collection it was originally released with!

Have a lovely Sunday!

♥︎

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Pink & Purple Half Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! I hope the week has been treating everyone lovely so far. Today I’ve got another nail art look to share, & this time we’re going bright!

I was really in the mood for some pink & purple half moons — kind of an early Valentine’s Day look — mostly because I love a good half moon design.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Expressie IRL
  • Quo Beauty Show Stopper
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements

Gosh, I will never not love a half moon design — especially when it turns out this clean! Plus pink & purple are just the perfect combination. I thought about adding a little matte top coat as well, but I think the shiny is just too good together. 💜💗

What do you think about my half moon design? Do you love the pink & purple together as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Enjoy your Wednesday loves! 🖤

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Dark & Gloomy Hand Painted Floral

Hello loves & happy Monday! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. After some gross winter weather on Saturday evening, we actually had a beautiful (almost Spring-like) Sunday.

Today I’m sharing some dark & gloomy floral which I feel like are perfect for the darkest & gloomiest month. It’s been so long, too long, since I hand painted any roses on my nails & these turned out better than I could have hoped. With the dark base, I feel like they have a bit of a gothic feel to them as well.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Snake It Up + Starrily Magnet
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Can’t Beet Royalty
  • Sally Hansen MG Good Cheer-y
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Society Ruler
  • Sally Hansen CSM Berry Fancy
  • Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure. Eco-Rose
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

I used a lot of red polishes to achieve these roses, but I think they turned out so beautiful. These are probably my favourites florals to paint; I love how beautiful they look on the nail.

Also I’ve never actually used this Essie magnetic shade before, but I tried it with my Starrily magnet & it worked really well. My bottle was purchased at Dollarama & did not have the snake skin magnet with it—probably the reason I’ve never used it— so I was happy to have something to use with it! & I love it, even if it didn’t show up well in these photos.

What do you think about these fun floral nails? Are you getting dark & gloomy from them? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Sable Collar

Hello & happy Sunday!

We finally have some nice Winter sun today which is nice after a week of not the greatest weather. Today, I’m pulling out an oldie Essie shade I’ve own for a long time: Sable Collar. I actually picked up this shade at my local Dollarama circa 2015 & I remember being so excited to find this shade.

2 coats + top coat

Sable Collar was originally released as part of the 2013 Essie Winter Shearling Darling collection. It is this beautiful smokey reddish brown, with an irresistible shimmer. It’s been so. long since I put this shade on, I totally forgot how gorgeous it is. The epitome of a winter shade (in my opinion). These are exactly the kind of shades that make me think of January.

The formula was pretty easy to apply on this one — two coats needed for full opacity. The first coat was definitely streaky, but upon the second we got the beautiful finish you see in my swatches. I did apply Essie Speed Setter top coat over my swatches, mostly because this ended up being my manicure for the last few days.

A nice close up of the finish.

Below you can really see the reddish brown shimmer in the bottle. I’m kind of obsessed — which is funny, because I’ve owned this bottle of polish almost a decade, but this is. the first real time I’ve worn it all on its own. & it’s giving me the cosiest vibes.

What do you think about Essie Sable Collar? Do you remember this shade from its original release? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & if this shade is giving you the same Winter vibes I’m feeling.

Happy Sunday! ♥︎

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Purple on Purple Chevron Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! To be honest, I’m still in that post-holiday haze & still not quite sure what day it is. But, the calendar says it’s Wednesday, so we’ll go with that.

Today I’m sharing my first real manicure of the new year. January is such a blah time, I find, so I’m never quite sure what to do on my nails before Valentine’s Day. However, you can never go wrong with some chevron moons, so that’s what I decided on.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Expressie IRL
  • Essie No Ex-pectations
  • Essie Frock n Roll
  • Chevron vinyls (these ones are from Beyond the Nail)
  • Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

It’s been a while since I wore a chevron moon look, & I particularly like this one because of the layers of different purples. I used nail vinyls for my initial chevrons, then went it with my mermaid tail brush, & added some of Frock N Roll for a little contrast.

My only regret is I feel like I should have topped the design with matte top coat, but ran out of time. Matte top coat just makes everything better.

What do you think about this chevron moon nail art look? What nail art looks are you obsessed with right now? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

🖤