Tag: Essie

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Deep Purple Leopard Print

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Hello lovelies! Today I have some more nail art to share with you, this time outside the Glam Nails nail art challenge I’ve been participating in this month! It’s been absolute ages (a year!) since I last created a leopard print design, so it felt really, really overdue. & since I’ve been seriously drawn to Fall colours lately, I decided that colour scheme was what I needed right now.

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Bonder Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Quo by ORLY Staycation
  • Essence Plump Power
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art Pen in Black
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool

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So painting my nails right now is still a bit of a struggle right now. Mostly, I’ve been trying to paint my nails when both the babes sleep, either during nap time during the day, or at night after bedtime. Sometimes it works out for me, & sometimes it takes me two days to create a design. For this particular design, I wanted to do something less complicated but still fancy. My secret weapon for a quick leopard print nail art is always my Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art Pen in Black as it seriously cuts down on time when drawing the outline of my leopard.

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Someday I’ll attempt a classic leopard print colour scheme, but today is not that day. It’s just way more fun playing around with unusual colour schemes. Plus I really love the dark purple on the grey-ish base. I feel like this colour combination is going to be used a lot as Autumn creeps closer–it would look so good together in a dotticure or as a chevron moon design!

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What do you think about this leopard print design? Would you rock this design? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Mermaid Nails for #glamnailschallengeaug

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Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Today I have another manicure to share with you for the August Glam Nails Challenge! Today’s prompt is Mermaid, which is always a fun design to do. Sadly, I’ve run out of my mermaid pattern nail vinyls, so I decided to stamp my scale pattern onto my nail, since I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to freehand them.

I had a pretty specific idea in my mind of what I wanted this manicure to look like, & unfortunately I didn’t have an actual mermaid scale stamping plate, so I went through the plates I do have to find the one which would work best!

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Bonder
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • Essence Across the Universe
  • Essence Mermaid of the Galaxy
  • Essence Guardians of the Unicorn
  • Essence Space Glam
  • Essence Intergalactic Adventure
  • Essence Black in Black
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper & Scraper (gifted)
  • BornPrettyStore stamping plate BP-LO32 (item #23268)

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Please excuse the remaining mess around my cuticles. I forgot to use my cuticle barrier because I was rushing, & trying to clean up the polish on my fingers was tricky. That’s what you get when you try for a nap time manicure & want to get your nails done before the babes wake up!

But even if my cuticles aren’t perfect, I’m still so in love with how this manicure turned out! The Essence Out Of Space Stories polishes work so well for this fantasy type design. Especially with the duo/multichrome finishes they have.

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Posing with my mermaid nail art brush because it’s the only mermaid-y item I think I own. I feel like even though I didn’t use a traditional mermaid image, they still came out very mermaid-esque. I actually think I like this pattern even better!

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What do you think about these mermaid pattern nails? 🧜🏼‍♀️ share your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Nautical Themed Nails for #glamnailschallengeaug

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Hello lovelies! & happy Monday. This month I’ve decided to try something different & dedicate myself to a nail art challenge. This is not the first time I’ve attempted a nail art challenge, but when I saw the prompts for the Glams Nail Challenge for August, it seemed a little less daunting than those I’ve attempted in the past… while still sparking some creative new designs!

There are 8 prompts for the month of August, starting with Nautical Nails! It’s been quite a while since I attempted any kind of nautical design, so I was very excited for the opportunity. Plus it gave me a chance to test out a colour combination I’ve really wanted to do for a while.

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Eny
  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Bonder
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture
  • Morgan Taylor Baby It’s Bold Outside
  • Essie Parka Perfect
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • OPI I Just Can’t Cope-acabana
  • What’s Up Nails Anchor Vinyls
  • Skinny & Wide Striping Tape
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid detail brushes
  • NailStuff.ca small gold studs from Gold Mixed Decoration Wheel

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I honestly can’t remember the last time I did any nautical themed nails, so I was excited for the inspiration to give it a fresh go!

I’m absolutely smitten with how this look turned out. The colours go really well together & I like how it’s not your typical colour scheme for this kind the yellow has that nice pop of colour, & is a little bit different. It’s so funny, because a few years ago my best friend got married in a nautical themed wedding, & these nails would have been perfect for us bridesmaids to wear — matches her colour scheme she had used too! For reference, these were the nails I wore to her bridal shower in the Wedding colours.

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What do you think about these nautical nails? What colour scheme would you use to recreate this design? Let me know down in the comments below & stay tuned this month for more fun new designs thanks to the Glam Nails Challenge!

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Gorgeous Galaxy Nails 🌌

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! Today I have what might possibly be my favourite & most gorgeous nail art ever to share with you.

Today’s look is a galaxy design, which I haven’t done in over two years! After browsing all my duo & multichrome polishes (while thinking about my favourite Fall shades), I decided it would be fun to pair a few in a galaxy design. 🌌 & oh boy did it turn out beautiful!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • Essie Spun in Luxe
  • Quo by ORLY Breathable Power Packed
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure
  • FingerPaints Surreal Sunset
  • FingerPaints Hues Blue
  • Claire’s Venomous
  • Claire’s Poison Apple
  • Claire’s Chromance
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail detail brush
  • Nailstuff.ca Dotting Tool
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge (ripped into small pieces)
  • Tweezers

Look at the close up & those glitters! How gorgeous! It really does look like some far off galaxy.

I always forget how easy Galaxy nails can be until I start doing them. I love the fat they don’t have to be perfectly crafted, you kind of just go in with your collection of colours & see how they turn out, maybe adding some polka dots for stars. I actually created a tutorial for galaxy nails in the very early days of my blog which can be found here. I will definitely say that the longer your nails are, the better your galaxies will turn out.

Again, just check out that close up action & those glitters! Have you ever seen anything more beautiful? I’m just so, so happy with how this design turned out. Which, let’s be honest you can probably tell because I took about 1000 pictures of this look to share!

I just can’t stop staring… why has it taken me so long to do another galaxy design? I never want to take these off!

So what are we thinking about these galaxy nails?

Do you have favourite polishes for creating a galaxy look?

Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

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(More) Freehand Tribal Print Accent Nails

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far. I’m super excited today because not only did I get the chance to do some nail art, but I managed some freehand nail art!

It feels like absolute ages since I had any time for anything more complicated than polka dots on my nails, but I had a quick minute the other night to do my nails & you better believe I took it! I had been scrolling through my Instagram feed after my Swatch Sunday post, & obsessing over some tribal/Aztec inspired designs from the past & decided I wanted no, needed to do some accent nails! So I grabbed one of my custom engraved detail brushes from nailstuff.ca, & went to work.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat
  • OPI Gelato on My Mind
  • Essence You & Me?
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Beatnik
  • Essence Black is Back
  • China Glaze Friends Forever Right?
  • Nailstuff.ca 7mm detail brush {PR SAMPLE}
  • Nailstuff.ca dotting tool {PR SAMPLE}
  • Straight nail vinyls

So my line work is definitely sloppier than previous designs, but I feel like I’m just out of practice. Plus I didn’t grab my thinnest detail brush, which definitely made a difference in my freehand work. Also I totally cut a few corners & used vinyls for my blocks of colours, just to save me a bit of time. But over all, I really like how this turned out. Obviously I wish I could have done this look on all my fingers, sometimes all you have time for is an accent nail (or two.)

Also trying out this Essie Gel Couture Top Coat again to see if the lasting power is good. I’m really on the hunt for something that will help my manicures last longer, as I’m just not able to do my nails every night like I used to. Maybe someday when my nights are more free, but right now I need something that will keep my nails from chipping after a day.

Also plan on picking up a bottle of Orly Bonder Base as I’ve heard that it can really improve Manicure lasting time as well! & that is what I need in my life!

so what do you think of these accent nails? Do you think tribal/Aztec nails look better as accent nails or a full hand design? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!