SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Me & My Lover (Sparkle Sand Effect)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. ❤️

I thought since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, I should pick out something sorta Valentine-y for my nails. After digging through my stash, & through a lot of red nail polishes, I decided on this oldie from Essence: Me & My Lover.

2 coats, no top coat.

This shade was originally released in 2014/2015, which is when I picked it up at my local Shoppers Drug Mart. It is a sparkle sand effect shade, which means that it dries down to a textured finish.

Unlike some other sand effect polishes I’ve used, Me & My Lover has a finer grit, so the textured finish is a bit more subtle. It’s there, but it’s also easy to smooth out with a coat of glossy thick top coat.

The red is a beautiful pink leaning red — there seems to be some gold glitters & magenta glitters mixed in. It makes for a very, very beautiful polish. It also dries fairly quickly, which is an important thing when it comes to textured polishes. No body has time to be waiting around for their polishes to dry for hours.

The formula is also really easy to work with, which I always get excited about when it comes to extra old polishes in my stash. I’m definitely glad I decided to pull it out, because it was just the red I was looking for!

What do you think of this Essence shade? Do you remember the textured polish craze? Do you still have any of your old textured shades—which ones were your favourites?

Let me know in the comments below!

& have a happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow!

New Year’s Eve Chevron Claws 🥂🍾

Hello lovelies & Happy New Year’s Eve!

Can you believe that it’s the last day of 2021? I’m actually shocked at how quickly this year has gone by. Obviously I couldn’t let this year end without one more nail art look to share — & what’s more fun than some gold holo chevron claws for the end of the year?

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Deborah Lippmann Good Girl Gone Bad
  • Orly Bling
  • Color Club Ain’t it Grand
  • SnailNails Deep Chevron Vinyls

How classy do these nails look? I love this holo gold over this deep wine base? These are so shimmery & glittery & sparkly. I may only be spending New Years Eve hanging out with a big bottle on kombucha on my couch, but I’ll have the sparkliest nails ever.

What do you think about these New Year’s Eve claws? What nail are trends are you excited about in 2022? Let me know down in the comments below!

Glam Nails Challenge December—Let’s Party 🎉

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! The last Wednesday of 2021. Can you believe it?

With Christmas over, it’s time to start thinking New Years Eve nails. & the last prompt of Glam Nails Challenge December is Let’s Party! & when I think News Years Eve, & partying on New Years Eve, I think silver & sparkle. So that was the theme I went with for my party nails.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Dimension Nails Kronosaurus  (gifted c/o: NailStuff.ca)
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Buffalo Nickel
  • Essie Ignite the Night
  • Starrily Eclipse
  • OPI I Snow You Love Me
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I had this idea in my head about how I wanted this design to look, with silver/sparkly dots, & then a few scattered glitters from OPI I Snow You Love Me — but wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out until the very end. But I think it turned out exactly like I pictured in my head! Just the right amount of sparkle.

If I wasn’t working New Years Eve & New Years Day… & if the world wasn’t a very scary place, these would totally be the nails I would wear to dance & celebrate New Years Eve! Of course, my New Years plans involve kombucha & probably falling asleep on the couch before midnight (& the biggest veggie platter I can find!) but it doesn’t mean I won’t do it all with sparkly nails.

Because we all know, sparkles make everything better!

What do you think about this sparkly party design? Do you have a fun design planned for New Years Eve? Let me know what nail trends/colours you’re excited for in 2022.

Festive Glitter Gradient ✨🎄

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday! & happy Christmas Eve Eve. I hope everyone is ready for their holidays, & for those still working long hours & not sure how they’re going to be ready — I feel you! Hopefully everyone is also staying safe with everything quickly changing in the world.

I said I was dedicated to 5 nail art looks this week in preparation for Christmas, & I wasn’t lying! Today is day four, & I went with a classic look that I do some incarceration of every year: a Christmas glitter gradient. Last year’s was very similar to this years, but that’s okay! When you find a classic that works for you, you go with it! (Plus my nails are so much longer this year!)

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Icing Emerald City
  • Icing Tis The Season

Hello Christmas sparkle! I was actually going to use my other Christmas-y glitter from Icing, Santa Baby, but unfortunately it’s on the goopier side, so I decided to go with my other very Christmas-y glitter for this look. I’ve mentioned before how I love the speed & ease of a glitter gradient, plus the versatility, so I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of them.

What do you think about my glitter gradient? Do you like this years version, or last year’s shorty version? Let me know what nail art design/style you repeat year after year & never get tired of!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen InstaDri x Sour Patch Kids Collection

PR Sample/Gifted

Hello lovelies & happy Halloween! 🎃🐈‍⬛

Today I’m super excited because I have a very special Swatch Sunday post to share with you, perfect for Halloween! As I mentioned in my last post, I was lucky enough to be sent the most amazing PR package, featuring the new InstaDri x Sour Patch Kids collection that was released for Halloween. It includes 6 Sour Patch Kid themed shades — with Halloween themed names to match.

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