SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Holiday 2019 {Oh My Gold}

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{PR sample}

Hello lovelies! Not only is it one of my favourite days of the week — Swatch Sunday — but even more exciting… the Holiday nail polish collections have started popping up! & Sally Hansen Canada, bring the sweethearts that they are, sent me their brand new Holiday 2019 Oh My Gold! Collection.

The Oh My Gold! Collection is a limited edition collection consisting of 3 gold polishes — one metallic gold with chunky Holo glitter (Goldie Rocks), one dense gold glitter (Good as Gold) in a clear base & finally a sheer gold base with a scattered holo glitter (Five Golden Blings).

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& now onto the swatches!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Holiday 2019 {Oh My Gold}”

Stained Glass Nails for #glamnailschallengeaug

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Good morning lovelies! Another day, another fun manicure created for Glam Nails Challenge August! I’ve really been having a lot of fun creating new designs for the challenge this month, getting out of my usual comfort zone.

Today’s manicure prompt is Stained Glass. I used to so shattered glass manicure a lot back in the day, but it’s been a while since I attempted one. Glitter placement can be a bit time consuming, so that’s probably why it’s been so long. So I was super excited to give it another try! & because the prompt is stained glass & not shattered glass, I decided to add some freehanded framing around my glitter to complete the look!

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For this manicure, the polishes that I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Base Coat: Quo by ORLY Bonder
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • OPI One Heckla Of A Color {PR sample}
  • OPI Gaining Mole-mentum
  • Black Acrylic Paint
  • Nailstuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush {PR sample}
  • Nailstuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio {PR sample}

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First time I’ve used acrylic paint for nail art in a while. I decided to use acrylic paint because I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the black framing & I wanted to be able to wash it off my base if I hated it, without destroying my base nail art. Thankfully I didn’t have to worry about hating it, because the black looked really good with the glitters!

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This look just makes me so happy, & makes me realize I miss doing shattered glass manicures. Could you imagine this look with holo flakes/glitters? I’m getting Fall manicure inspiration with maybe like an emerald green & maybe some negative space with the glitters.

Ooooh I can see it now! I can’t wait!

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What do you think of this manicure? Have you been following along with the challenge on Instagram? Don’t forget to check out #glamnailschallengeaug to see everyone’s amazing manicures!

Rainbow Glitter Gradient (Party on my Nails!)

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far. I’m super excited today because I finally did something other than just a single colour on my nails! 🎉 I managed to add a fun glitter gradient to my Swatch Sunday shade for this week & I’m loving how much fun this simple nail art turned out!

Seeing as it is Pride Week here in Halifax, I thought a colourful rainbow glitter gradient would be perfect for the occasion.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Strengthening Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • ORLY Fireball
  • China Glaze Point Me To The Party
  • ACO by Ardene DAFUQ

I know I’ve written before my love for glitter gradients–they’re just so easy to do! & for those of us who might not have a lot of time, they can give you fun & fancy nails with minimal effort.

For this look, I started with my base colour & then took my first glitter (China Glaze Point Me To The Party) & after brushing off some of the polish, started at my cuticle line & brushes the glitter upwards. I went over the same spot a few times to build up the glitter amount. Finally I decided that we needed some blue, so I grabbed a blue glitter topper (ACO by Ardene DAFUQ) & dabbed on some blue glitters as well. Lastly, I sealed everything in with a thick coat of Essie Gel Setter to give this look some lasting power.

& now my nails are ready to party! 💅🏻

I’m really digging the combination of Fireball with this glitter. Makes me think of a fiesta, & feels very Summer-y to me. & even though I won’t be able to partake in any of the amazing Pride events happening this week, my nails are totally ready (just in case).

What do you think of this design? Where would you wear this design? Let me know down in the comments below! & share any nail art you’d love to see me do now that I’m (slowly) getting back my posting mojo.

🌈

SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Wham! Pow!

Good Afternoon lovelies & Happy Swatch Sunday! I know I missed last week, so I’m back this week with a colour totally out of my comfort zone–Color Club Wham! Pow!

According to NailPolishCanada, this shade was originally released as part of the Poptastic collection. I picked up my bottle in clearance at my favourite pharmacy, for only $1.99, but you can find this shade online for a mere fraction of its original cost.

This shade is very neon, like highlighter orange neon, which obviously made for a difficult time while trying to photograph in my light box with my iPhone. For my swatches, I did 2 coats of base coat, 2 coats of polish & finished with a glossy top coat.

I was super impressed with the formula–sometimes Neons can be less than easy to apply with super thin formulas that need white undies, or they drag really bad, & need too many coats, but Wham! Pow! went on with only 2 easy coats. The first was kind of patchy, but the second coat filled everything in & levelled beautifully.

This colour is definitely out of my comfort zones–usually when I pick oranges I go for more coral shades as opposed to something so bright & neon, but I was feeling in the mood for something different! I do like how shades like this always make you look more tan than you actually are.

& below is what I did with my swatch: I added some holo glitter with both Sally Hansen Make It N-ice & Quo by ORLY Falling Star. You can also see how the colour shows more truly in the sunshine versus the photos in my light box.

what do you think of today’s Swatch Sunday pick? Would you rock this colour? Let me know in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Butter London Pistol Pink

Good Morning & Happy Sunday. Or should I say storm day, as winter weather is currently starting in my neck of the woods. ❄️ Hope everyone that doesn’t have to go out in it, is cuddled up under a blanket with a big mug of coffee!

If you are lucky enough to be snoodled up on your couch, I have a pretty polish to share with you today! Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is Butter London Pistol Pink. This gorgeous deep fuchsia pink was originally released circa 2013 as part of the Rock Your Colour collection, but came to be in my stash a few years ago thanks to Winners. (Canadian version of TJ Maxx for my non-Canadian friends.)

For my swatches, I did a base, two coats of polish & finished with top coat to seal it in as I was planning on wearing it for the day. The base is that deep fuchsia pink, & it’s scattered throughout with lighter pink shimmer that gives it a glowing effect. This is definitely the kind of pink that I adore I could wear for ages–I’ve always been more drawn to deeper & darker berry pinks more so than your brights or neons.

To me, this would be the perfect manicure shade for Valentine’s Day. Which is coming up very, very quickly so time to start brainstorming on looks now!

As I mentioned, I found this shade at my local Winners so I’m not too sure how available this shade is for purchase. I checked the Butter London website, but it doesn’t look to be available there or Amazon, so if you are looking for this shade you’re probably best off checking your own local Winners, Marshall’s or TJ Maxx or seeing if anyone on EBay has one for sale.

I decided since I was going to be rocking this manicure for the day, I needed someone to add on top–so I added a quick swipe of Sinful Colors Twilight Twinklies over top for a little golden glam!

So what do you think of today’s Swatch Sunday polish pick? Is Butter London Pistol Pink hiding away in your stash? Let me know your thoughts on this shade in the comments down below!