Blue Groovy Flowers

Hello loves & happy Thursday! & happy March 2nd. February is now behind us, & this year is already speeding by. How is it possible we’re 3 months into 2023 already?

But you know what it does mean? That we’re only 18 days away from Spring! I’ll enjoy that fact while I munch on my storm chips & prepare for another 20-25cm of snow to fall here in Halifax. I’ve also decided to distract myself from the impending snowstorm with some floral on my nails. If there is one thing that can distract me from the fact that Winter has really just started here, it’s a cute simple floral nail art design.

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 All the Wave
  • Essie Cocktail Bling
  • Essie Sweet Souffle
  • Essie Set in Stones
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush
  • Dotting tool (NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)

I’m a little rusty on my flower painting, as you can see, but I still think these turned out cute. I went much more simple for this look, aiming — kind of — for like a 70s wallpaper design. Not my most favourite floral ever, but still a fun look to wear. I have no doubt there is going to be a lot of floral on my nails in the near future, so I hope you’re ready.

All floral, all the time.

Well maybe not all the time.

What do you think about this simple easy groovy floral look? Is this a good nail art design to usher in the new month, & hopefully Spring? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & let me know what Spring nail art trends you’re loving right now.

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Sunday Funday

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s a beautifully sunny, albeit freaking chilly, Sunday here on my part of the East Coast. Winter seems to be lingering now. So I thought I would remind myself of better, warmer days with an old favourite Essie shade for this week’s Swatch Sunday post — Sunday Funday.

It was originally released as part of the Summer 2013 Naughty Nautical collection.

2 coats + Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat

For a polish which has been in my stash for (I think) at least 8 years, she applied like a dream. I needed to shade my bottle a bit, since it had settled leaving the colour weird, but I found it had no effect once it was on the nail — you can see in the bottle there is still some colour separation showing.

The polish itself is a beautiful pinky coral, with a gold glass shimmer. It gives it a nice sparkle. I had a bit of trouble with photographing, as everything was photographing really yellow, but I think that’s a phone camera issue rather than a polish issue. These pictures are definitely as colour accurate as I could get.

As mentioned, this shade was originally released in 2013. It was part of the core collection for a while, I do believe, but Essie lists it as no longer available on their website sadly. I did find a listing for it on Sparkle Canada, but I’ve never bought from them so I’m not sure how legit that is. Obviously, if it’s a shade you need to have, Ebay always might have it, as well as any nail polish clearance bins.

What do you think about this punchy Essie shade? Are you are ready for Spring & Summer shades as I am ready to share them? Let me know what you think of Essie Sunday Funday! & I hope you have a Sunday Funday (that’s just fun to say) too!

♥︎

Hot Pink & Polka Dots

Hello beauties & happy Tuesday! A very, very snowy Tuesday here. The weather definitely cannot make up its mind lately.

Today I have a pretty design to share that I actually did a little while ago, but didn’t get a chance to share. I thought that it would be gorgeous for a pre-Valentine’s Day design, so I wanted to share.

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 Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • Dotting tool (I always use mine from NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)

Gosh I love a good polka dot design. It’s literally the easiest & quickest nail art I think you can do — & it always looks so put together. This is definitely a great nail art look for anyone wanting fun nails, without wanting to put an hour+ into painting something.

What do you think about this nail art look? Is this a nice prelude to February & the Valentine’s Day looks to come? Let me know all your thoughts down below!

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!

♥︎