GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Stained Glass

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. The weather here has been weird — cold then hot & muggy, with sporadic rain. Makes it very hard for a girl to know what to wear!

But today marks another prompt for Glam Nails Challenge August, & today’s prompt is stained glass. & obviously, I had to pull out an old favourite for this prompt — the stained/shattered glass look I love so much. This time, I used a flakie topper which gave it more of that stained glass effect I think.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI Turn On The Northern Lights
  • ‘Ard As Nails Fairy Flakes

  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

How pretty is this look! I’ll admit, fishing out the flakies vs the usual hard glitters I usually do this kind of look with was a bit more time consuming than I was expecting, but then end result is so worth it! I’m kind of obsessed with these flakies over this dark base & it’s giving straight up Autumn—& I’m okay with that. Time to pull out my over the knee socks & sip on some pumpkin spice.

I’ve been wearing this look for a few days, & I got curious how it would look matte-ified & oh man… I think I love it even more! What do you think — shiny or matte?

I love a good stained glass look, so this was a fun prompt. Plus it let me tap into those Autumn vibes I’ve been seriously craving, & I’m not mad about it at all. Over all, this might be one of my favourite designs of the challenge thus far. It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of the month holds!

& as always, you can follow along with the Glam Nails Challenge on Instagram with the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug24 & see all the beautiful nails that have been created!

Happy Wednesday

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY— Essie Viva Antigua! (Summer 2016)

Good morning, happy Sunday! It’s been a beautiful, warm & busy week for me — hence the lack of nail art posts! I was super busy at work, plus prepping for my little girls birthday party yesterday, so I had no time for any nail art at all! It’s been kind of crazy!

But today I’ve got some swatches to share of an Essie shade from 2016 that I remember I was absolutely obsessed with when I first purchased it. This is Essie Viva Antigua!

2 coats + Essie Gel Setter

This beautiful turquoise has a relatively thin formula which is perfect for showing off the glass flakes scattered throughout. It was super easy to apply, no issues with formula — which is pretty much perfect! It also dries down super quickly, even without applying your top coat.

Look at that glass flake finish! Doesn’t it just remind you of tropical waters? I was obsessed back in 2016 when I first bought this beauty, & I’m obsessed with it now. It’s such a beautiful fun colour with a very unique finish.

& it totally screams Summer, don’t you think?

What do you think about Essie Viva Antigua! from the Summer 2016 collection? Do you remember this unique fun shade, or have it in your stash? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Black Swirls on Blue Shimmer

Good morning lovelies & happy Tuesday! We all survived Monday, & today is looking to be a beautiful day.

Today I’m sharing a somewhat simple to do nail art look, that is still super eye catching! As I’ve been mentioning, I’m absolutely obsessed with layering glitter over nail polish lately. It’s my go to look. But sometimes, I still want something more which is where this nail art look came from. I loved the flakie over blue look, but it felt like it needed something more.

Thank goodness for nail art stripers!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Ardene Blue Tide
  • ‘Ard as Nails Fairy Flakes
  • Quo by Orly Nail Art Striper Black

This look was sort-of inspired by this previous look. After applying to my base, I saw that design in my Instagram feed & realized I wanted to wear something like that. & I’m so in love with the eye catching result. Obviously, you can never go wrong with glitter (as is my new motto) but it’s fun to add something a little extra to the look.

& seriously, these took no time at all to create which is even better!

What do you think of my blue abstract stripes? I definitely am hoping to get more time for more complex nail art soon, but in the mean time I’ve really been loving these simpler looks so I hope you’re enjoying them too!

Happy Tuesday!

♥︎

Glittery Pastel Galaxies 🌌✨

Hello loves & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone’s week is starting off well. &, if not, that it improves from here on out.

Today I’m sharing some new nail art with you on my baby nails, & it’s a nail art design I don’t think I’ve done for a while: galaxies. 🌌 I was wearing a beautiful glittery nail polish base, & wanted to do something fun overtop. After some time browsing on Pinterest & Instagram for ideas, I decided that a pastel galaxy look was the perfect choice!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Cadillacquer Lavender Sunset (NailStuff.ca exclusive) *gifted
  • Starrily Space Debris
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Lavish Lavender
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Crying Out Cloud *gifted
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Buffalo Nickel
  • Icing Stores Nail Art Stickers from 2015 (these are similar)
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush *gifted

Okay I’m kind of obsessed with these. The base of Lavender Sunset topped with Space Debris is already very eye catching, & then you add this pastel galaxy over top & it’s perfection!

I’ve had these stickers from Icing forever (like 2015-ish) but I haven’t really used them. But they made creating stars for my galaxy so easy, then I just added a few dots of Buffalo Nickel so complete it! Bam — the easiest galaxy nails you can create.

What do you think of these glittery pastel galaxies? Is this a look that you would rock? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below & share what design you’d like to see next!

Happy Tuesday 🖤

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE OCTOBER—Full Moon 🌙 🦇

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. It’s a new week, & we’re getting very close to the end of Glam Nails Challenge October. Kind of crazy to believe that Halloween is in little more than a week.

Today, I’m jumping into the next prompt for this challenge: Full Moon. Honestly, I struggled a lot with this one for some reason. I was feeling less than inspired, but after a bit of brain storming, I think the end design I created perfectly encapsulates the prompt.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Orly Fowl Play
  • Acrylic Paint
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush Trio (11mm liner brush)

I decided to go with acrylic paint to create my design—versus nail polish—because I wanted the ability to start over easily if I needed to without removing everything. Not my cleanest design, but I do like the spooky trees & the brightness of the glowing full moon. & my little wonky bats.

Also a design that benefits from looking at it far away, haha. But I love it none the less.

What do you think about my full moon design for Glam Nails Challenge October? Are you enjoying these spooky designs? Let me know what you think, & stay tuned for a few more spooky looks to come!

Happy Monday. 🖤