Tag: Essie

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Mermaid Nails using NailStuff.ca Aqua Collection Flakies

Happy Saturday! Today I’m sharing one of the prettiest designs I think I’ve ever done–a mermaid design using the Aqua Collection flakies from NailStuff.ca. It felt like ages since I created mermaid nails, & those flakies were just sitting there staring at me, waiting to be used. I couldn’t decide which colour to use so I decided why not use all three! & the end result is pretty much the prettiest nails I’ve ever worn!

For this manicure, the products I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie After School Boy Blazer
  • Fingerprints Peel Off Base Coat
  • Nailstuff.ca Aqua Collections flakies (Mermaid, Lagoon & Abyss)
  • What’s Up Nails Scale Vinyls
  • Edge Perfection Cuticle Barrier

These were surprisingly easy to do–I applied my base colour (Essie Under the Twilight) & my top coat & let it dry completely. When my base was completely dry, I applied my vinyls to each nail & then went over top with Fingerpaints Peel Off Base Coat. I’ve found that using it helps adhere the flakies best. Without waiting, I then dipped my sponge (that comes with the flakies) into each pot & rubbed the flakies over top in certain spots. I then repeated it again using the other two pots of flakies. When I felt like I had filled in the vinyls enough, I removed them immediately, & finished off the design with top coat.

Just look at that macro! It looks like jewels on the nail. I’m seriously in love. My only regret is that I didn’t think to top it with matte top coat before I removed them. Can you imagine how pretty they would have looked matte?

what do you think of this design? Do you see mermaid nails or dragon nails? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

*PR SAMPLE* Some of these items were sent to me for review. However, all opinions are my own.

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Multicoloured Chevron Accent Nails

Good Morning! We’re half way through the week & in Halifax it’s actually snowing. I seriously thought we would never see actual Winter, so it’s pretty exciting! Although I’m sure it will lose its novelty in about a day & a half.

Today I’m sharing a chevron accent nail design with you. I’ve really been into darker shades right now (& grey, always) so I decided to combine a whole lot of shades together. & I even made you another tutorial to show you the technique I used.

Music: bensound.com

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Pat on the Black
  • Essie Merino Cool
  • Color Club Silver Lake
  • OPI Aurora Berry-alis
  • L’Oréal Feeling Kilty
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Chevron Vinyls
  • Small detail brush (from Born Pretty Store)

You can see in the video above, I was originally going to use Essie Merino Cool (such a good grey) as my main colour, but switched it to Sally Hansen CSM Pat on the Black because it just went better with the accent nails. Also next time I want to try filling in each chevron with a different colour for even more coloured stripes.

This is such a great design for a beginner because it looks complicated, but it’s really not. The hardest part honestly is just placing your vinyls (as you can see from the above video!) You could also use straight vinyls to make your stripes, but that would involve extra wait time for drying. Your stripes don’t have to be perfect because you’re covering them up anyways, so freehanding them usually is just easiest!

What do you think of this design? Would you try it out? Let me know your thoughts below! & if you do try it out, don’t forget to tag me on social media & use the tag #lookcoffeeandnailpolish! 💜 Happy Wednesday everyone!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Topless & Barefoot

Welcome to the very first Swatch Sunday of 2018! 💅🏻 I’m starting off this year with something fresh & clean… which also happens to be Essie’s Colour of the Month: Topless & Barefoot! While bright & blinding colours can be fun–& who doesn’t love something glittery–something’s you need a good neutral in your life.

Essie Topless & Barefoot is a beige-y nude that leans slightly pink. For full coverage, it took two coats plus top coat to help it completely level out. This shade is just very Essie to me. Even though I have a ton of shades from them in a whole variety of colours, when it comes to nude or neutral shades I feel (at least for me) like Essie is Queen.

I really really really like Topless & Barefoot. This is the first time I’ve actually worn it (I won it this Summer as part of the Essie Suddenly Summer contest.) Usually my go to Essie nudes are Sand Tropez or Cocktails & Coconuts so I like having more options. This is especially important for since my maternity leave is almost up (I know, right?!). Since my store closed while I was on leave, I now get to start the job search for the first time in 7 years! So some job interview friendly shades are must needed!

What do you think of Essie Topless & Barefoot? Do you have a favourite nude/neutral shade you love to wear for important events? Let me know in the comments below!

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More Christmas Tree Nails!

Okay, so I think I’m obsessed with Christmas tree nail art. 🎄 I seriously can’t get enough of them. This time I created some Christmas tree stamped nails using a design I didn’t even know I had! I was trying to create something new, & discovered on this plate I reviewed from the Summer that there was this cute tree pattern–perfect for Christmas nails! So obviously it meant I needed to try it out.

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is manicure, the polishes used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald
  • Essie Tuck It In My Tux
  • Morgan Taylor Dreaming of Gleaming
  • Morgan Taylor Silver in my Stocking
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate BPL015
  • Clear Jelly Stamper (also from Born Pretty)
  • NailStuff.ca reindeer studs

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I really, really love how these turned out. i think they’re just so pretty. I tried out my hand at double stamping using silver under the green, but it’s very subtle. However it did make Emerald Fitzgerald pop a lot more, since it’s a little thin for stamping. Also, can we talk about these ADORABLE reindeer studs from NailStuff.ca? I used a whole lot of top coat to attach them to my nail & they lasted a whole day easily. Also they’re the cutest studs I’ve ever seen.

what do you think of this Christmasy design? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Winter Chevron Moons

Hello & Happy Tuesday! Sorry for the lack of posts this weekend–it was kind of a rough weekend & my motivation for posting took a hit. (Also I noticed the majority of my last post disappeared & I’ve been too frustrated thinking about having to rewrite it so I’ve been avoiding the blog. My bad.) But today I have a brand new post with something that has been seriously lacking in my life lately: chevron moons!

I’m calling these winter chevron moons because… it sounds cool? The colours just kind of give me that Winter vibe, so I thought it worked. Also I figured everyone might want to see something other than snowflakes.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2 Foundations
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Nubar Queen
  • Essie Parka Perfect
  • OPI My Favourite Ornament
  • URSUGAR Chevron Nail Stencils (I used the inner pieces.)

I love the combination of the pale blue, deep purple & sparkly gold. I thought this colour combo was a nice switch up from all the Christmas-y designs I’ve been doing, & features two of my favourite winter polishes: Essie Parka Perfect & OPI My Favourite Ornament. Every Christmas, this gold has to come out because the sparkle is just so perfect. ✨

For me, Christmas/Winter nails are all about the sparkle. These aren’t your typical holiday nails, but I think they would look fantastic with a pretty dress at a Christmas/New Year’s party, especially if you don’t want to resort to the classic Christmas shades. It’s all about the sparkle that makes it perfect. I’m so obsessed with Christmas party looks right now because I have no Christmas party of my own to go to. I just keep coming up with looks I would wear if I had somewhere to go (& then imagine what fancy dress sitting in my closet I would pair with it.)

What do you think of these chevron moons? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!