It’s almost the weekend. & here in Canada, it’s almost our nation’s birthday. So obviously, I needed some cute Canada Day nails to celebrate the occasion (& the day off work!) I still have a good haul of my Canada Day vinyl stencils from a few years ago, so I decided I should put them to good use.
The polishes I used for this manicure are:
Base Coat: Londontown KUR Nail Hardener & Base Coat
Top Coat: Seche Vive Fast Dry
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel x Friends He’s Her Lobster
Please excuse the raindrops on my nails — I took these between bouts of torrential rain. But even the damp conditions couldn’t take away from how cute these turned out! & they were so easy to do with my nail stencils! I definitely couldn’t think about freehanding these maple leaves.
& I got so many compliments when I wore them to work! Which always makes me feel good.
What do you think of my cute Canada Day nails? Let me know in the comments below. & to my fellow Canadians — enjoy your holiday tomorrow!
Good morning lovelies & happy Monday? Anyone else rocking a post Easter sugar hangover? I was pretty reserved in my treat eating yesterday, but my two kids definitely are feeling the post Sugar Rush crash.
Today is also the last kind of Easter-y prompt for Glam Nails Challenge April — the rest of the month is more Spring inspired. I’m going to kind of miss the Easter designs, but I’m also excited to focus on Spring too… especially since we’re expected to have very nice Spring temperatures coming up this week!
Today’s prompt: Easter Eggs.
The polishes I used for this manicure are:
Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
Top Coat: Seche Vive Fast Dry Top Coat
Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
Sally Hansen InstaDri Racing Rose
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Crying Out Cloud
Sally Hansen MG Sweet Pea
Sally Hansen MG Sun-Shower
Crinkled Saran Wrap
This look was inspired by those dip dyed eggs people do for Easter. This look, in particular, was my inspiration for this look — although I decided to go more pastel. I’ve never done them, mostly because I do like getting my hands dirty, but I do think they look so cool! So why not attempt the look on my nails! & I have to say, I really like how they turned out.
I used my go to Saran Wrap splatter technique to achieve these. I switched up my base colour on each nail, too, which I thought gave a fun effect.
What do you think about these Easter Egg inspired nails? Are you following around with #glamnailschallengeApril on Instagram to see all the fun designs for this month (so far)? Are you excited to see what the rest of the month brings? Let me know down in the comments below, & have a lovely Monday!
Hello lovelies & HAPPY EASTER! I hope the Easter bunny found you okay, & that you’re getting to enjoy some family time on this lovely Sunday. Today, I’m keeping the Easter vibes going with a nail polish I have been searching for, ever since I saw the swatches of it: The Peeps x Sally Hansen InstaDri collaboration for 2023.
If you didn’t know — Sally Hansen has once again teamed up with everyone’s favourite Easter candy for some fun nail polish vibes. & even more fun; they’re textured. I’ve been on the hunt for these polishes for weeks, but they kept seeming to allude me. I finally tracked down a display at my local Shoppers Drug Mart, but sadly it was very picked over so I was limited in my choices. I decided finally on a classic Peeps look: 717 PEEPS Classic Chick.
4 coats, no top coat.
These brand new Peeps polishes are textured, so the formula is very, very thin. Normally I would say no to any polish that requires FOUR coats of polish, but because of the thin form, it dries down very quickly, leaving you with a fun textured finish that is designed to mimic your classic Peeps marshmallow. The yellow, too, is spot on to the yellow of those Peeps chicks & bunnies, which made me super happy. The finish is also kind of semi-matte, which adds to the Peeps effect.
I was very impressed, too, by how quickly these dried. Obviously, I’m used to applying a quick dry top coat to my polish before wearing it, but where I wanted to let the textured finish show, I needed to let it dry on its own. But I had no issues with sheet marks, or smudging, even though I did these about an hour before I went to bed.
A close up of the textured finish. This is giving me 2012 textured polish vibes, & I’m not mad about it. In fact, it’s reminding me of a LA Girl Sand Blast polish I used to be obsessed with (Green Sand) & it kind of makes me wish this nail polish trend could make a resurgence.
I’m not usually a yellow kind of girl, but I actually really enjoyed wearing this polish. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I started working in a candy store before Christmas, & so with Easter we’ve been selling a ton of Peeps! So it was fun comparing my nails to those classic yellow Peeps.
I think I might be a yellow girl now. At the very least, this will not be the last time I rock this yellow polish in the coming weeks.
& for fun, my nails & the freeze dried birthday cake Peep I enjoyed while at work.
Have you seen these Sally Hansen Peeps x InstaDri shades in store? Were there any you were desperate to get your hands on. I’m still kind of bummed my store was out of the pink, blue & purple shades but they did have Cotton Candy so I might have to go back & grab that one too just because I forgot how much I love textured shades!
Happy Easter loves ♥︎ I hope you have the most beautiful Sunday.
Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! The first Sunday of April at that — can you believe it? I mean, I feel like I’m always saying this, but I can’t get over how quickly this year is passing. I’m happy that we’re that much closer to Summer dress weather, but wow… this year is already 1/4 over! That is crazy.
Today I’m going old school though, with a polish from deep in my stash. I’ve been living for speckled nail looks lately, so obviously that means pulling out some from deep in the past. You might remember, a few years ago, the brand Pure Ice released a collection of speckled nail polishes that I think were based on nail polishes. Naturally, I bought three at the time. I don’t often pull them out, with the exception of this time of year because I feel like they’re absolutely perfect for Easter nails.
2 coats, no top coat.
As the name implies, Cookies ‘N Cream is a white base with multisized hex glitters that gives the impression of cookies & cream ice cream.
I applied 2 coats of polish for my application — a thinner first coat, followed by a thicker second coat which gave exactly the opacity I was hoping for. The base is thin enough that the black glitters show through perfectly, giving you the multi layered effect. It also dried down quickly. which left a semi textured in some places, thanks to the layered glitters, but this could easily be fixed with a thick coat of glossy top coat.
I really, really love the different sized glitters in this polish ( & its sister shades I own Boysenberry & Orange Sorbet) versus a speckled polish like Deborah Lippmann Polka Dots & Moonbeams. & it really does look like ice cream, which just makes me think of Summer, & I can’t wait for Summer days.
It also kind of makes me wish I had scooped up all 6 shades in the collection back in 2015 because every time I wear one I realize just how much I freaking love speckled nail polish, & this trend needs to make a comeback!
What do you think about Pure Ice Cookies ‘N Cream? Do you love these speckled polishes as much as I do? Are there any nail polishes you’re hoping the Easter Bunny brings you next weekend? Let me know down in the comments below!
Hello lovelies & happy Thursday. & Happy St. Patrick’s Day Eve!
I feel like the older I get, the less I tend to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day — the 3 day hangover just isn’t worth it — but I am always here for a special reason to paint my nails! & St. Patrick’s Day is the one day a girl where my green nail polishes I rarely wear get their moment to shine. I’m not normally a green girl, with the exception of March 17th.
Today’s look is a simple St. Patrick’s Day look… but I was very excited for an excuse to pull out my shamrock nail vinyls I haven’t used in ages.
The polishes I used for this manicure are:
Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
LA Girl Color Addict Urge
Essie Satin Sister
UR SUGAR Nail Vinyls shamrocks (What’s Up Nails has very similar ones available)
I’m not going to lie, these turned out messier than I intended — I’m not sure because I was rushing to get them done, or wasn’t feeling the colours. However, I do really like these little shamrock nail vinyls, & I think the whole look turned out simple but cute. It’s March Break here, & work has been very busy, so I’m feeling a bit run down at the end of the day. Hence a little more simple nail art this week. I literally fell asleep at 7:30 the other night after I got home.
I’m definitely looking forward to things going back to (slightly) normal next week. Hopefully it means I’ll have some more Spring nail art looks to share. & obviously, it’s time to get thinking about Easter nail art looks too!
What do you think of this St. Patrick’s Day nail art look? Are you a fan of holiday inspired nail art, or do you keep things simple with just polish colours? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!
Coffee & Nail Polish 