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.

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Infinite Shine I’m Really An Actress

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! Another beautiful sunny Sunday, which I will take after torrential rain yesterday (when I snapped the photos for this post FYI haha).

I haven’t really bought any new polish in a while, so I’ve really been trying to dig into my stash & pull out all the shades that I don’t wear very frequently ( or at all). As I’ve mentioned previously, I do have a lot of these mini bottles of OPI shades that I’ve scored at Marshall’s & Winners, so I thought I would pull one out for this weeks post!

This is OPI Infinite Shine I’m Really An Actress from the OPI Spring 2021 Hollywood Collection.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful reddish-pink metallic base is packed full of scattered holographic glitters. The formula was relatively opaque, which meant I only needed 2 coats for full coverage. I’ve seen swatches of the non-Infinite shine version of this polish, & it seems more red than mine, which is strange but maybe it’s just the lighting.

Close up so you can really see those scattered holo glitters. I tried so hard to get them to really show, but even using my flash for pictures it was not working. They are there, though, & they’re beautiful. I can’t believe I haven’t worn this shade more, especially since it’s a real upgrade from my usual go-to red nails. These feel much more glam & dramatic, which I like. I’m all about the glitter right now.

& in case you’re wondering, this shade is still in permanent rotation so you can also pick up the polish & add it to your stash! I found it available on TradeSecrets.ca, Chatters, Beyond Polish (regular formula) & the OPI website (regular formula).

What do you think of OPI I’m Really A Waitress? Do you have this shade in your collection? Like I said, I can’t believe I haven’t worn this shade more because it’s the perfect upgrade to my usual go to red manicure, so I might have to buy myself a big bottle of it for once my mini bottle runs out. I think this is going to become a Summer staple shade for me!

Have a lovely Sunday ♥︎

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 🖤

Pretty & Pink Glittery Abstract Stripes

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday!

I hope everyone’s week has been beautiful so far. Today I’m excited because I have a pretty, sparkly manicure to show off. & with everything not beautiful happening in the world right now, sometimes you just need to be distracted with something beautiful.

I recently broke my middle finger nail, badly, so that meant it was time for a big chop. Suddenly short nails always make it a bit hard for me to focus on creating beautiful nail art, but I think these pink sparkly abstract stripes were a nice start to another short nail era.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze Don’t Desert Me
  • Quo by Orly Mini Pink Glitter (no name on the bottle)
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust
  • Sally Hansen Insta Dri Luxe Finish Lavish Lilac
  • Art Club Striper Passion Flower
  • Art Club Striper Pink Pastel
  • Quo by Orly Striper Black

Oh man, I love this sparkly base so much. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed me sharing stories of a lot of glittery nails. With all the sunshine we’ve been having, I just can’t get enough of the glitter. It makes me very happy. In fact, this was the base I was wearing when I had my horrible break, so I kept it on & added the nail art over top to wear for a few more days. & I’m glad I did because I really really like how this design turned out. It’s just so pretty!

What do you think of this glittery pink abstract stripe design? Do you like glitter on sunshine-y days as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below. & let me know if there is any specific nail art you would like to see me attempt on these new shorties of mine.

Happy Thursday!

♥︎