Drippy Glitter Blood Nails ✨🩸

Hello lovelies & happy Friday. & Happy Halloween Eve! Can you believe that Halloween is just 1 day away? This month has sped by, & holiday items are already starting to sneak into stores. Even though I had to see my favourite holiday almost be over, there is a small part of me so excited for the Christmas season. This will be our first time (ever) living right downtown at Christmas time, & I can’t wait to see the city come alive for it!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s still spooky season for a couple more days, & naturally I need to sneak in one more spooky design!

If you’ve been here a while, I love a drippy blood look for Halloween. & it occurred to me… I’ve never done a negative space base for this look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Essie Good To Go
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Society Ruler
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • NailStuff 7mm Mermaid Tail Liner Brush

Sometimes I get nervous about using a negative space base, because I’m a little self conscious about my yellowed nails. I know it’s a result of painting my nails… a lot. But sometimes I wish they were more pink & less yellow.

However, I think this look is so fun! I’ve always loved a drippy blood manicure for Halloween, & this one is perfect. & I feel like my free handing has got so much more natural & really looks like it could be blood dripping down my nails… glittery, sparkly blood.

What do you think of this design? Would you wear this look? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below.

& happy Halloween! 🎃 👻

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI DS Bold (Designer Series)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s beautiful & sunny, but with that Autumn crisp chill that makes bundling in layers necessary! But it’s worth it for that crisp sound as you walk over fallen leaves.

It’s Sunday, so you know what that means: Swatch Sunday! I missed last week, so I hope some sparkle from (a few) years ago will make up for it. & since October is also my birthday month, I thought some sparkle was in order!

This is OPI DS Bold from the Designer Series collection.

2 coats + top coat

I can’t remember exactly when I picked this shade up — I do know it was either a Winners or Marshall’s find — but it was originally released in 2011 as part of the Designer Series. It is a very tricky packed jelly red… which also gives a little pink depending on the light, with a lot of tiny silver microglitters.

According to the release I read, it’s packed with “diamond dust”.

The formula on this guy is pretty thick after all these years, but not too thick I couldn’t get a good base. The glitters were definitely a bit difficult to remove — as are many glitters — but that could always be remedied with a peel off base coat of you only wanted to wear it for a night.

The glitter is definitely fun & vibrant & was a nice choice to wear. I kind of wish I had the other colour from the same release (Temptation) which is a beautiful indigo purple with the same densely packed glitter finish.

So what do you think of OPI DS Bold? I seriously feel like OPI needs to bring this collection back, because it contains so many fun & unique shades — with a little extra pizzazz.

Happy Sunday!

🖤

Hand-painted Jack O Lanterns 🎃✨

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday.

I know my posting schedule is all over the place, but between life, family, sickness & work, I’m just trying to make sure this blog gets my attention — even if it’s not on the same schedule I have been posting! Especially this month, my favourite month. I have been busy busy busy on Pinterest saving a lot of Halloween nail art ideas, & then enviably spending a lot of time narrowing down which one I want to do first.

Naturally, I decided to start with pumpkins. I’m a basic bitch who loves her pumpkin spice, so it just felt very fitting.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat
  • OPI I Sing In Color
  • Essie Sparkle On Top
  • Essie Handmade With Love
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • OPI Barefoot in Barcelona
  • Essie Cliffhanger
  • NailStuff Essentials Raven
  • NailStuff 7mm Liner Brush

I created my base with Sparkle on Top over I Sing In Color, & then sat back & tried to think what would look best over top. But pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns just felt like the obvious choice. I painted my pumpkins first, & then decided a few of them needed faces, so added them after the fact.

What do you think of these Halloween jack-o-lanterns? Do you like this handprinted design? I’d love to know what you think about this look & if you would wear this design on your nails!

To me, it’s the perfect look for spooky season!

♥︎

Recreating my Wedding Nails (on my shorties) 11 years later! ✨👰🏻‍♀️💅💍

Hello lovelies & Happy Saturday! I know I don’t often post on Saturday, but today was a special exception with a special nail design!

I really wanted to recreate my wedding nails in honour of my wedding anniversary, especially as I’m rocking some serious shorties right now. So in honour of the occasion, here’s a brand new version of a very special design.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Strengthner
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie You Do Blue!
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • China Glaze Champagne Bubbles
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Good As Gold
  • Essie Brides No Grooms
  • Essie She’s Pampered
  • Essie Into the A-Bliss
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • Essie Sew Psyched
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • NailStuff dotting tool
  • NailStuff 7mm Liner Brush

For those curious, here are my original nails I painted for my wedding day, & my recreation I did in 2018.

I was absolutely obsessed with my original nails that I painted back in 2015 for my wedding day — it was really important to me to create a beautiful design I would love for years, & years to come. & again, when I recreated them I equally loved the design!

But you know what? I think I love them the most on short nails! Long nails look beautiful no matter what, but trying to recreate the exact same look on nails 1/2 the size really makes them pop! The only thing from my recreation I’m not 100% sold on is the much more yellow gold, but it definitely gives it a more colourful vibe. (& the right amount of sparkle! ✨)

What do you think about this anniversary look? Do you love a floral look as much as I do? I’d love to know if this design holds up all these years later. I certainly adore them as much as I did all those years ago & wouldn’t change a thing about the nails I had on my wedding day.

Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Revlon Elusive (2013 Evening Opulence Collection)

Hello loves & happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is enjoying their first full weekend of September (& long weekend). I am in full Autumn swing, & enjoying a bit cooler weather. I just want to pull out all my plaid, & go on a thrift hunt for a brand new pair of knee high boots. It also means I want to wear nothing but dark tones on my nails, & today’s Swatch Sunday pick is perfect for that!

This is Revlon Elusive from the 2013 Evening Opulence Collection.

2 coats, No top coat.

This beautiful black jelly glitter was originally released back in 2013, & having Googled the collection — the advertising is very 2013, if you know what I mean. I believe it was released for Fall/Winter, so this colour is fitting in perfectly for the Autumn season, but also wouldn’t look out of place at a holiday party.

This base is a thin-ish black jelly, packed with multi-sized teal glitters. It dries matte, which I was a bit nervous about because I was worried it would be too textured, but it dried fairly smoothly for me which is a win in my books! I applied 2 thin-ish coats for coverage, although it does look a bit translucent in some photos so some people might feel more comfortable with either 3 thin coats, or 2 more thickly applied coats.

My only complaint — it did chip during my shift at work. Now that could be the fact that it’s a 13 year old polish, or it could be that my top coat is getting okay. Definitely won’t stop me from wearing it again!

Also, I had to apply top coat to see what it would look like shiny, & I do feel like it makes the glitters pop a bit better, but honestly I love it both ways. Giving me a glitter like this, & I will always be a happy girl!

What do you think about Revlon Elusive? This shade was obviously released back in 2013 so it’s no longer in circulation. I would love to see Revlon do a throwback collection with some of these glitter shades they used to do. Plus, Y2K & 2010s fashion is making a comeback, so let’s bring it back on our nails!

Have the best Sunday darlings!

♥︎