Tag: Essie

Posted on

Blue Plaid Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday!

Here in Halifax we’re currently bracing for a big tropical storm to hit, but I still wanted to share some fun Fall nails I did recently. My posting has been a bit sporadic the last few weeks because of work, & family stuff, but I’m really trying to get back into regular posting again! Especially since next month is my favourite Month of the year!

But first: nail art. I always like to do a plaid design at least once a year, & I was really feeling this dark blue shimmery shade that I found hiding in my stash. It was just screaming for some nail art! After glancing at my favourite Fall dress hanging in my closet, I knew exactly what design I wanted to recreate on my nails. I was a little nervous about free-handing stripes, but I was so happy with how they turned out!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze New Year, New Boo
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Essie Mosaic On Down
  • Quo By Orly Breathable The Antidote
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

How gorgeous is this China Glaze shade? It was original released as part of the Glam Finale 2017 Holiday collection. it’s so stunning, & it’s the first time I’ve ever worn it. I can definitely see myself wearing this shade a lot in the new few months — can you imagine it paired in a gradient with some silver holo glitters! Ahhhh, it’ll be so pretty for the holidays.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Because we still have so many Fall & Halloween looks to come!

Down below: a shot with my favourite Fall plaid dress & the inspiration behind this nail art look. They go so perfectly together!

What have you guys been wearing on your nails lately? Do you have a particular shade or design you’re loving right now? Let me know down in the comments below!

Posted on

Fall Drag Marble

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! How this week is speeding by so quickly, I have no idea. I know I’ve been pretty quiet on here; we spent Friday-Monday away for my Grandfather’s memorial, so I was pretty busy last week & basically everything took a backseat! But I’m back & I’ve got some new fun nails to share with you!

As I’ve mentioned before, Fall colours are pretty much all I’m grabbing right now. I’m so here for them! Today’s look combines a few darker shades, perfect for September, but still keeps things a little light. I’ll be honest, I’m totally counting down the days until Halloween designs can start! But I thought I would get a few other designs in beforehand.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Gel Couture Princess Charming
  • Essie Kimono Over
  • Essie Brides No Groom
  • Essie Mosiac On Down
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio — I used the smalled one (COFFEE10 saves you 10%)

I won’t lie, it’s been a while since I attempted a drag marble, & even though I’m a little rusty, I think these turned out cool. Sometimes I find my drag marbles turn into a big blobby mess, so I tried really hard to make sure the colours kind of stayed separated. I’m going to keep practicing, because it’s such an easy way to fancy up your nails.

Loving this combination of colours. I’ll be honest with the fact I have been kind of distracted from looking at all the Fall shades popping up in stores. I’m not much for buying nail polish online unless they’re special shades, & I haven’t really been out in stores perusing nail polish like I used to. So I’m really trying to go through all my old nail polishes from years past, & using them! I definitely have a lot of nail polish to choose from, haha.

What do you think about this drag marble look? Do you like the colour combination I went with? Have you ever tried a look like this? Let me know what you think down in the comments below, & whether or not you would try this look!

Posted on

Purple Fall Leaves 🍁

Hello lovelies & Happy Tuesday!

We’re eight days into September & I’m in full dark polish swing. While Summer shades are awesome, I feel like Fall polish makes my heart the happiest. I’ve also really been looking forward to pulling out my Fall leaves nail vinyls again! It’s been forever since I played around with vinyls, & I’ve missed them for sure.

For today’s look, I knew I really wanted to grab my bottle of Sally Hansen Slicks & Stones because it is such a lovely campus shade for this time of year. & I wanted to add some Fall leaves but I didn’t want to do gold or bronze or anything like that.

So I decided to go an untraditional route.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Color Therapy Slicks & Stones
  • Essie For The Twill Of It
  • Quo by ORLY Kaleidoscope Haze
  • The Base Coat Fall Leaves Nail Vinyls

Seriously living for this purple-y colour combination. The shift in For The Twill Of It is just so gorgeous, & it really suits the dark purple of Slicks & Stones. I’m really loving the combination so much.

What do you think about this Fall mani? Are you loving the dark shades now? Let me know in the comments below!

Posted on

Neutral Leopard Print

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! I hope everyone is well caffeinated. Today I’m sharing my current nail art obsession: leopard print!

Not going to lie, I’ve been obsessed with leopard print a long, long time. I used to own the most amazing leopard print dress during my teenage years — sadly I have no idea what happened to it, but it was glorious. Now a days, I don’t have much leopard print in my closet, which is even more of an excuse to wear it on my nails! (& maybe go shopping…).

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Ballet Slippers
  • Essie Kaf-tan
  • Essence Black is Back
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush(COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Oh man, I really really love how these turned out. Obviously, with my nails being sort of short right now, I need to find cute looks I can wear on my nails. Small delicate designs like this work really well on short-length nails.

Can you tell I’m really, really obsessed with Essie Kaf-tan right now? It’s so funny because I didn’t think it was a colour that was all that “Me” but I can’t help but reach for it for every design I do right now. It’s just such a fun, unique colour for my stash. & it’s definitely going to be a Fall shade staple for me! Which means I’d better in go get myself another bottle then!

What do you think about this leopard print look? Are you digging this pattern right now? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

Posted on

Freehand Stripes

Good morning lovelies & happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. ♥️ I’ve been mostly stuck in bed or on the couch because I messed up my neck somehow, but at least that gives me a chance to work on some blog stuff!

Now I know I said I wasn’t going to start thinking about Fall quite yet, but man… I had one sip of Pumpkin Spice latte & now it’s all I can think about! Haha. I kid, but I’ve definitely been finding myself drawn more to darker colours the last few times I’ve painted my nails. In fact, I’ve already switched my pedicure over! Today’s manicure was a combination of both; a little bit Autumn, with some lighter shades thrown in as well.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen CSM Pat On The Black
  • Essie Kaf-tan
  • Essie Bikini So Teeny
  • Quo by ORLY Breathable Sheer Luck
  • Dimension Nails Blue Morpho Butterfly
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush(COFFEE10 to save 10%)

Stripes make your nails look longer, right?

As you might have noticed from Sunday’s swatch post, I’ve rounded my nails off again. I’m really trying to get them to grow a bit better, & I find an almond/rounded look suits me better for healthier nail growth. So we’re back to rounded, & hopefully with some serious nail self care, we can grow them super long again! (Like circa 2017 long!)

I really like the pop of colour on the dark base colour. Pat On The Black is such a perfectly dark burgundy shade, I love wearing it in the Fall. & when you add the stripes of lighter shades overtop, they really pop! It also lightens things up, so I’m not fully committing to Fall just yet. However, I’ll drink Pumpkin Spice if I want to… that I’m not budging on! Haha.

What do you think about this striped look? Do you prefer a square or rounded nail shape? Let me know down in the comments below!