Itty Bitty Gradient Dotticure

Hello lovelies! Yes it’s me — only we’re rocking some shorties again. (Okay, & I’m drinking a matcha lemonade — my other drink aside from coffee!) I mentioned I had a patch on my middle finger nail of a bad crack. I finally decided I was over trying to keep it from cracking worse, & decided to chop my my nails down.

Today I went with a simple but fun look to wear. I love a good gradient dotticure, but I realized it’s been a long time since I actually did one. This design was actually inspired by this look from 2016. I thought since we were back down to shorties, why not find some fun nail art to do on short nails!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Londontown KUR Nail Hardener & Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive Fast Dry Top
  • Londontown KUR Mint No Chip
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in purple
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in turquoise
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in pink
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Itty Bitty Dotting Tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

How absolutely adorable as these itty bitty polka dots? You could definitely do this with a tiny dotting tool & an assortment of polishes, but I love those Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pens because it makes it so easy! I really wish Sally Hansen would bring them back, because they’re amazing for nail art — & mine are starting to empty out after all these years.

What do you think about this Gradient dotticure? Do you think you’d wear this fun (& easy!) look? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

& feel free to share any nail art you’d love to see me do on my new short nails!

Happy Friday! 🖤

New Years Eve Glitter Gradient

Hello lovelies & happy New Years Eve… Eve. Only 2 more days of this year left, & I can barely believe it. It really feels like the last few months, & especially the last few weeks, have absolutely flown by. With less than 48 hours left of this year, I figured why not sneak in one or two more manicures.

& naturally, with New Years Eve so close, I have to be all about the glitter. What better excuse than wearing all the glitter than counting down to a new year? I’m not much for getting dressed up, & going out on NYE… but you know I’m always going to have my nails ready for a night of snacks on the couch & sparkling kombucha.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Kimono Over
  • Color Club On the List
  • Color Club Take Me to VIP
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust

Ooooooh look at the sparkle. I made sure to take pictures with my flash on, because I really wanted to be able to properly capture the sparkle. Like how much fun is this to wear for New Years Eve? I did this look completely without any tools, just layering of glitter, & it turned out so perfectly, & glittery. It almost makes me wish I had something exciting planned for New Years Eve.

This is super simple to do though! You just need to gently apply the glitter at the base of your nails, & brush up gently. It gives you a thicker glitter near your cuticle, & gives a lighter effect as you go up. I ended up using 3 different glitters because layering also gives it a beautiful effect. I just love glitter so much.

Do you have you plans for New Years Eve solidified yet? I think we’re going to do some sparklers & snacks with our kids, & neighbours, & then some snacks on the couch leading up to the end of the night.

I’m also going to see if I can sneak in one more New Years Eve manicure before the end of the year, so I will see you tomorrow for one more look.

♥︎

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE OCTOBER — Witch

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. Can you believe it’s less than 2 weeks until Halloween? I’m super pumped. I almost have both kids Halloween costumes figured out, as well as my own, & we just have to get the house fully decorated. I’m very excited

I’m also excited to share my nails for the next Glam Nails Challenge October prompt: Witch. Originally, I was kind of stumped on what to paint on my nails for this prompt, because I didn’t want to go to literal with the prompt. So I ended up going with what I would wear on my nails if I were embracing my witchy vibes, inspired by this look I saw on Pinterest.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Iris Ilusion
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Cosmic Blu
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Black-O
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

I really wanted to go with this iridescent gradient that would almost look like I had magic coming out of my finger tips. & then I hand painted the cool pattern using my 7mm detail brush. & it turned out pretty awesome — minus my pointer where I had a bit of an oops & had to think quick. It’s supposed to be a sun, but it kind of looks like a spider, but that’s also Halloween-y so I’ll take it.

I had a few different “witchy” ideas for my nails but I really like how this one turned out. It’s a bit lighter than most witch designs, I feel, like more of a Willow from Buffy kind of vibe. &. I really like that.

What do you think about my witch design for Glam Nails Challenge October? Do you like this kind of abstract interpretation of the prompt, versus being more literal? Let me know what you think down below, & let me know if you’re dressing up for Halloween this year… & as what! & check out the other Witch designs on #glamnailschallengeOct.

Have a lovely Wednesday!

Neon Glitter Gradient

Hello loves & happy Monday!

I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their week. Summer is in full swing, so I hope everyone is getting to enjoy it. Today I’m sharing a fun nail art look I recently did that are giving me pool party vibes. I’ve had China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle in my stash for a long time, but I think this is the first time I’ve actually grabbed it to wear on my nails.

I feel like this shade is one I’ve seen lots of fellow nail bloggers talk about & wear, but I never thought to wear it myself. But you know — I get it now. This shade is so Summer it hurts. The colour is very vibrant & neon, you almost need sunglasses while wearing it.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
  • China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle
  • China Glaze Point Me To The Party

Neon glitter over a neon base? Yes please.

Again, this is giving me pool party vibes — if I was cool enough to be invited to a pool party haha. But either was, I love the brightness of this manicure, & China Glaze Point Me To The Party still remains one of my favourite glitters, even after all these years. & this look was so easy to do, requiring no tools at all, & I’m here for that. I know a lot of my nail art lately has been bordering on super simple, but sometimes a funky simple manicure is what you need.

What do you think about this neon glitter gradient? Are you feeling the Summer-y vibes too? Do you have China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle in your stash? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Spring-y Pastel Sponge (Happy 8th Birthday Coffee & Nail Polish)

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday!

Sorry for being MIA this week, so far. It’s been rough — the kids have been & fighting some viruses which has led to a couple hospital trips. I actually originally had planned on posting this look yesterday, but spent the previous evening in the ER with my daughter (she’s fine!), & didn’t get home until 7am.

So not a lot of nail posting was happening yesterday. Just napping. & a very sleepy day at work.

But I did do these fun pastel sponging nails with the intention of sharing for my 8th Blog-iversary yesterday, so I really wanted to share these with you! Especially because they’re pretty, & springy, with just a sprinkling of holo glitter.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sun-showers
  • Sally Hansen MG She’ll-ebration
  • Londontown Lakur Mint No Chip
  • Essie Playdate
  • OPI Gelato on my Mind
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge

Such an easy look to do, & I always love these spongy designs for Spring. They make a great base for other nail art designs, or they’re just pretty on their own! & a layer of China Glaze Fairy Dust is pretty much mandatory, especially when sunny days are expected.

I’ve been doing these sponge nails a long, long time. When I was looking for a nail design to celebrate my blog-iversary, I wanted a look I’ve been doing a while, & this one just felt right!

Can you believe this blog has been around for 8 years now? While I’ve been blogging since it became a thing, 2003 or so, I don’t think I’ve had a continuous blog for this long. So it’s so exciting! & here is to many more years—as many years to come as the internet will have me.

Have a lovely day 💕