Tag: Glitter

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party

Hello my loves & Happy Sunday! This is the second Sunday of December, so I’m keeping with the Christmas-ish polish tradition, & trying to share shades that are related in some way to the holiday!

This past week I did a poll on my Instagram asking if people would rather see China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party (Holiday 2015) or OPI Bring Out The Big Gems (Holiday 2022) this week, & with an overwhelming majority, Ugly Sweater Party was the winner!

2 coats, No Top Coat

China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party is a pink jelly formula, packed tightly with an assortment of glitters, including holographic. The formula is a tad on the thick side, but with a little bit of patience, I easily covered my whole nail in two coats. You could probably sponge on the glitter for a denser packed glitter effect, but I much prefer it applied this way as I like the overall finish.

Truthfully, I don’t know if I can remember ever wearing this shade as a full manicure like this before. I originally bought the polish because I loved the name, & glitter is my weakness, but I think I’ve truthfully only used it in glitter gradients, or maybe as a single accent nail, which makes me sad.

I was also surprised I had never swatched this shade previous Decembers, so I was happy. to do both for todays post! This is definitely a fun glitter shade, & just screams Christmas party to me! My Christmas party days are long behind me, but to be honest if I were every invited to one — & didn’t have time for a full nail art look — this would be my #1 polish pick for such an occasion.

Do you remember China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party from its original 2015 release? Did you have this sparkly shade in your stash, or do you still have this glitter on rotation? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Silver Stamping & Wrapping Paper Inspired 🎁

Hello lovelies, & happy Thursday! & happy December 1st! It is officially Christmas season, & the countdown to Christmas is on. I should probably get my shopping done before it gets too crazy, haha.

But — in honour of this brand new festive month, I thought some Christmas wrapping paper inspired nails would be a fun start. I love my Christmas pattern stamping plates this time of year because they have some many fun patterns you can use, which always makes me think of wrapping paper. While I’m dedicated to doing Glam Nails Challenge December, I also want to do some fun other Christmas manicures on my off days.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • OPI Just Be-Claus
  • ACO by Ardene Dancing Queen
  • Essie No Place Like Chrome
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper 
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate (no longer available)

Please excuse my ring finger which was a bit of a mess up, but that’s okay. I love the crisp silver over the sparkly base — OPI Just Be-Claus topped with ACO by Ardene Dancing Queen (which is a sparkly fuchsia pink). It definitely gives off the wrapping paper vibes I was hoping for.

& it also Christmas-y/Holiday vibes while not being out right blatant. & I like that as well.

What do you think about this stamped pattern nails? Do you enjoy the more subtle holiday designs like this, or do you like in your face Christmas vibes?

& let me know what other Holiday nail art looks you might want to see!

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Fall Houndstooth Skittlette

Hello beauties — long time no see! I know, it’s been quiet on the blog front, again. It was an interesting weekend, that saw me get that lovely stomach sickness my kids had. Not fun. Have I mentioned I hate Winter & sickness season?

But I’m back, I feel better, & I even managed to paint my nails! I was feeling some Fall inspired skittlette nails, inspired by fellow Canadian nail blogger GrapeFizzNails & here stunning colour combinations — only I wanted to throw a little extra accent nail action into the mix. Mostly because I’ve been itching to use the old Born Pretty stamping plate featuring this houndstooth pattern.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Pat on the Black
  • Sally Hansen CSM Berry Fancy
  • Sally Hansen CSM Clean Slate
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let It Snow
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Goldie Rocks
  • Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Shooting Star
  • Born Pretty Store Classic Patterns Stamping Plate BP-L006 
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

Okay, please ignore the weird stamped hair on that accent finger. Haha. Second how Autumn-esque is this colour combination. I love how these turned out with the darker plum/purple shades & then the sparkle from the golds on my middle finger. It turned out really pretty, & I really like the whole combination. Who needs to wear just one colour on their nails when you can wear all the colours on your nails!

What do you think of my houndstooth skittlette design? Do you like these colour combining manicures? What colours are you feeling right now? Have you gone full on holiday-manicure mode yet? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Icy Blue & Gold Glitter

Good morning lovelies & Happy Tuesday!

I can’t believe we’re a full week into November—& I’m not going to lie… it’s been quite the week. Post Halloween I ended up with the stomach virus my kids had, all while preparing for the last couple days at my jobs. Hence why it’s been extremely quit. But I’m feeling better, & have a crazy amount of free time on my hands, so how about some nail art!

Todays it’s an old favourite nail art technique: glitter placement. I’m also wearing a nail polish I haven’t ever worn — the new formula of Sally Hansen Pacific Blue.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue (the new formula)
  • Essence Cosmetics Steeling the Scene
  • Small dotting tool (I always use mine from NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)

Okay, so first off: I know I’ve talked a lot about how mad at Sally Hansen I am that they replaced the original amazing & flawless Pacific Blue, & I still am because they messed with perfection. BUT I won’t lie — this new version, as a separate polish on it’s own, is beautiful & frosty, & a great late Fall/Winter polish. It kind of reminds me of China Glaze Frostbite, which means I might have to do a comparison post soon!

Also this bottle of Essence Steel-ing The Scene has been in my stash since almost the beginning, & it still remains my go to for a nail art look like this. I’ve bought other shard glitters over the years, but I always seem to go back to this beauty. It’s a classic, in my opinion. But you can’t argue with how pretty the look is. & if you’re already thinking about those holiday party looks, this is an easy one you can do with minimal effort, in any colour scheme you need!

November is such a weird time for nail art — I feel like I struggle with it every year. But with some open days ahead of me, & time to fill, I’m hoping to get creative & show off some fun nail art looks in this pre-Christmas season. Let me know if they’re are any nail art looks you’re dying to see, & I’ll try my best to make wishes come through!

Have a lovely Tuesday.

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE OCTOBER — Graveyard 🪦

Hello lovelies & Happy Halloween! I hope everyone is all ready for the ghosts & ghouls to run loose this evening. I got prepped by watching my favourite Halloween episode of Buffy, & eating my weight in sour patch kids. It’s also the last prompt of Glam Nails Challenge October, which means October is officially over. & that is crazy! We’re just weeks away from candy canes & decking the halls.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves — I have one more Halloween nail art look to share. The last prompt of Glam Nails Challenge October is Graveyard, & I decided to go with a classic graveyard scene… with a little holo sparkle added.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • China Glaze Intelligence, Integrity and Courage
  • Color Club Take Me To VIP
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

This look is 100% freehanded, which I’m super proud of. Although, I do some version of this nail art look every year, so I feel like I’m really perfecting it. I also really like the addition of the holographic sparkle of Color Club Take Me to VIP because it almost looks like stars in the sky. Just lovely.

Can you believe this is the last prompt for Glam Nails Challenge October? Crazy! As always, I had so much fun doing these nail art looks. Halloween is one of my favourite months for nail art, because I feel like the nail art looks are endless. & you can check out all the nail art looks from this month on Instagram under  #glamnailschallengeOct.

I’m not 100% sure if I’ll be doing Glam Nails Challenge November yet, or if I’ll save all my energy for December, so stay tuned to see what nail art looks I have coming next month! Enjoy your Halloween, & whichever Halloween candy of choice is your favourite!