SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen InstaDri Prismatic Shine Purple Prism 💜✨

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! The Summer weather is officially back in full swing — after some rainy chilly days — & I’ll be truthful, I’m loving it. I’m a hot hot hot Summer kind of girl always. Give me the sunshine!

& you know what looks awesome in sunshine — glitter. & today’s Swatch Sunday pick is a glitter bomb. This is Sally Hansen InstaDri Prismatic Shine Purple Prisim.

3 coats + top coat

I love a good purple, & I’ve really been loving glitter lately, so Purple Prism really brings the two worlds together. The base is a sheer purple jelly, which is packed full of multicoloured glitters, including holographic ones.

The base is very, very sheer so you need multiple coats. This is 3 not too thick coats — to achieve the bottle colour I would need at least one more thin coat, or to apply it thicker on the nail.

I do love the jelly like formula, with the exception of how it always seems to dry for me. There is always shrinkage at the tip, no matter how hard I try to cap my edges properly. I’m thinking it’s the fault of my quick dry top coat.

Look at all those glitters! Perfect to show off on a sunny day!

With how sheet the jelly formula, you could definitely get away with using it as a topper over another purple polish, & skip needing so many applications. The glitter might not be as dense on the nail, but it would definitely be beautiful!

How fun is this shade! Do you own any of the Sally Hansen InstaDri Prismatic Shine shades in your collection? Sadly my Shoppers Drug Mart has cleared out its stock of these shades, but I’m still hoping to find a few more of these beauties in my favourite clearance sections someday.

Happy Sunday!

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Purple Broken Glass Glitter Placement

Good morning lovelies — happy Friday & Happy July! Can you believe June is already over? How crazy is that. Of course, we’re starting off July foggy & lame. So much for Summer days. So I feel like this manicure is definitely matching the vibe.

June saw a lot of things, including quite the break on my ring finger, which is why I didn’t do a lot of nail art. But I did return to an old favourite design during that growing out period, & it made me realize I (still) need to get more shattered glitters for nail art, to add to my stash.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • OPI In The Moon For Love
  • OPI Infrared-y to Glow
  • Small dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

This design has been a go to favourite over here for a long, long time. & I’m always happy to return to them, even if I’m not finding nail polish brands making the kind of shattered glitter toppers like they used to. I mean, I could use loose glitters, but have you met me? I’m a clumsy person, & it usually results in a mess. Haha.

What do you think about this design? Are you a fan of glitter placement designs? Which glitter shade is your favourite for a design like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& happy Friday.

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect 08 Flash Black

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. & happy Father’s Day to those who are celebrating those Dad figures in their lives.

Today’s Swatch Sunday post is another beauty pulled straight from my stash. Years ago, my local Lawton’s Drugs used to have a crazy selection when it came to their clearance nail polish. Honestly, it was my favourite place to shop because you could always find something new & different to you (it’s one of the first places I ever found Color Club). They also used to sell a ton of shades by the brand Layla Cosmetics, which is a European brand.

Today’s polish is from the height of the initial holographic craze, circa 2014/2015 or so — although I found blog posts dating back to 2012. This is Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect 08 Flash Back.

2 coats + Top Coat

This beautiful liner holographic nail polish is a stunning dark grey (I wouldn’t quite call it black) with a very strong & beautiful liner holograph effect. The formula was smooth & easy to apply — especially for a nail polish that is over a decade old.

The trick with holographic shades like this, is you really have to make sure your first coat is dry-dry before attempting a second coat, other wise it can drag up your first coat. But other than that, I have 0 negatives about this shade. I have 3 or 4 others from this collection, & I just love them all. They were my first real introduction to liner holographic nail polish.

Sunny days were just meant for holographic nail polishes. Look at those rainbows! 🌈

Do you remember this line of nail polishes by Layla Cosmetics — or any of their interesting polishes. I loved finding them in the clearance because they were usually $3-$4 & they had so many cool ones — thermals, spotted, etc.

What do you think about this holographic shade? Do you think it’s as fun as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen InstaDri Holo-Glow Euphoric

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. It’s a very rainy Sunday here which seems to be the trend for this April so far. But at least it’s not snow!

Today I’m sharing a new nail polish I recently picked up from my local Shoppers Drug Mart — Sally Hansen InstaDri Euphoric from their Holo-Glow line.

2 coats + top coat

You might remember I shared another one of these Holo-Glow shades back in September. The InstaDri line is one of my favourite to shop because they always have a fun selection of different shades & finishes to choose from. They also boast a 60 second dry time, although I find it a bit longer than that.

Lately I’ve been obsessed with perusing the Holo-Glow line, because holo makes everything better. I ended up purchasing two new shades: Euphoric & a purple from the Galactic Line called Planet Purple.

Check out that scattered glitter. The interesting base colour was what initially caught my eye: is it silver, is it lilac, is it a pale mint? It’s so shifty & pretty, & different from other holographic polishes in my collection. & when you own as many nail polishes as I do, that’s what you want: something different.

Formula was also very nice. On top of being a quicker dry, it was opaque in two coats. The glitter is scattered, but also very dense which I like. Will it suck for removal? Maybe. But the glitter pay off is worth it!

What do you think of Sally Hansen InstaDri Euphoric? Have you tried any of the Sally Hansen InstaDri Holo-Glow shades yet? What do you think? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below.

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Icy Blue Half Moons (With Holo Diamond Accents 💎)

Hello loves & happy Friday!

This has been a very busy week for me, so I apologize for the (still) sporadic posting schedule. Eventually I’ll figure it out, but it might not be until next month. Haha. However, I have some cute nails to share with you!

Today’s look is an easy but striking one. I love a good half moon, as we all know, but I decided to jazz it up with a little holo diamond(ish) accents.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: NailStuff Essentials Base Coat *
  • Top Coat: Essence Colour Shield Top Coat (I ran out of my NailStuff one & need to make an order!)
  • OPI Y2Slay
  • OPI Suzy & the Arctic Fox
  • OPI I Snow You Love Me
  • Paper Hole Reinforcements
  • Dotting tool (I use the NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio)

**PR/gifted

How freaking beautiful is this combination? I love the little holo Diamond accent over these two very cool blues. Y2Slay was another clearance find at my local Shoppers Drug Mart. I’ve been having very good luck their lately — in fact I just found a NailsInc Holiday pack there for only $10 which has some pretty polishes perfect for Valentine’s Day Nail Art!

What do you think about my half moons? Is this colour combination perfect for these cool January days (& nights!) Let me know everything you think down in the comments below!

Happy Friday

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