Nail Art Warriors for Maria (@so_nailicious)

Hello lovelies.

Today’s post is a special one for a very special member of the nail art community. Maria, aka @so_nailicious, has been a huge inspiration in the nail art world for a long time, & a personal nail art inspiration to me since I really started painting my nails. Over the last year, she has been facing some really tough health battles as she was diagnosed with MS, & as a result been forced to stop doing things that once brought her joy… like painting her nails. So Magda (@redheadnails) banded a group of us together so do some very special manicures in her honour, & I absolutely had to jump at the opportunity!

The colours orange & blue were chosen — orange, which is the colour for MS awareness, & blue which is a colour Maria loves. We also went with a “power” theme, to inspire & show off the strength that Maria is showing in her fight against this heart wrenching disease.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue (the original formula)
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure One in a Melon
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Pump-kid
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set
  • Essence “Stamp It!” plate
  • Unknown stamping plate (bought as part of a set of Dollarama in my early nail art days)

As I mentioned, I was super proud to do these nails in honour of Maria, as her nails & nail art has been an inspiration of mine for a long time, & I wanted to show even though she may be struggling right now & unable to do one of the things she loves, she’s still inspiring her friends in the nail art community everyday!

Check out #nailartwarriorsformaria on Instagram to see all the other beautiful & empowering manicures!

Red Toned Skittle Nails 🔥

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday. A beautiful sunny—albeit chilly—day here on the East Coast. You really can’t ask for a better late Autumn day. It’s got just the right amount of chill to make it feel like Christmas will be here soon… without needing 4 pairs of tights under your pants. Haha.

Today I have a fun red toned skittle manicure to share with you inspired by @heysolomiya on Instagram. I know, I know… I literally just posted a skittle manicure on Tuesday, but she posted a fun reel of some different skittle looks, & I was too obsessed with hers not to try another fun colour pairing. This time, though–& truthfully, after some false starts–I decided on a red toned skittle look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • Deborah Lippmann Through the Fire
  • Deborah Lippmann Good Girl Gone Bad
  • Deborah Lippmann New York State of Mind
  • Deborah Lippmann It’s Raining Men
  • Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow

I decided to go with my Deborah Lippmann reds because they make some of my favourite red polishes, & I had enough for almost every finger. They combination turned out absolutely perfect, which I was so happy about, because this isn’t my first time trying to recreate this look, but it’s definitely the best combination I’ve ever done. & all these reds together scream✨ Holiday ✨ to me.

What do you think about this skittle look? Do you prefer skittle pairings with all the same colour, or pairing different complimentary shades together? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Gold & Plum Splatter Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! A beautiful Autumn Tuesday at that.

Today I’m showing off yet another fun splatter look, this time inspired by a tutorial by @nailsdnt on Instagram. She used a stamper & cuticle oil to achieve a fun bubbly splatter look, & as soon as I saw her tutorial I knew I needed to give it a try! I just love a good splatter design, & this seemed like such an easy way to achieve it.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Matte Top Coat
  • Color Club Twice Bitten
  • L’Oreal Feeling Kilty
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper
  • Revlon Cuticle Oil

So obviously, first thing is first: I apologize for my weird cuticle area. Between an older top coat, & some weird matte top coat effect, it kind of gave me a messy finish. I’m definitely due for a new bottle of top coat.

Second, as you can see my nails did turn out pretty cool, although there are some differences between my splatter finish & the original design. While the original tutorial used a nail cuticle pen, I chose to use my bottle of Revlon cuticle oil, which I think lead to too much oil on the stamper. Her’s had more of a bubbly effect, while mine reminds me more a classic splatter.

But either way I love the end result. It’s so pretty! & the matte top coat just makes it look even more beautiful — I think the matte top coat just completes the look.

What do you think about this look? Are you enjoying these splatter nails I’ve been wearing lately? Let me know down in the comments below.

Purple Glazed Half Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! The weekend is almost upon us.

I’m sure if you’re any part of the nail art community, you’ve heard that glazed donut nails are all the rage right now. Initially sparked by Hailey Beiber, everyone has been doing their version of the glazed donut manicure on Instagram. So I thought: why not take a stab at my own version, inspired by the trend. I also recently picked up a pretty sheer purple by Essence cosmetics which I thought would give me a similar effect.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Central Pink
  • Essence Cosmetics Violet Voltage
  • Essence Cosmetics Oh My Glitter!
  • Wet n Wild 2% Milk
  • Paper Hole Renforcements
  • Teeny dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

Naturally, & unsurprisingly, I’m very obsessed with how these nails turned out. I love the sheerness of Essence Violet Voltage really gives that glazed donut effect. & even though it’s not exactly like the glazed donut nails of my fellow Instagramers, I like this nail art take on the look — especially with the negative space moon touch.

It’s the same vibe, but with my own personal touch to it!

Have you heard about the glazed donut trend — have you tried it out yourself yet? Stay tuned, because I recently received a fun PR package from Sally Hansen, which included another way to achieve the glazed donut trend!

Have a fabulous day lovelies!

Purple Floral for @brydiedoesnails Birthday Collab!

Hello beauties & happy Tuesday. A very Monday-esque Tuesday, but I feel like that’s always the way after a holiday.

It’s feeling very Spring-like today, even though we have a big rainstorm heading our way. But while the sun is out, I thought I would share you a lovely design I did as part of a birthday collab for @brydiedoesnails birthday today!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Good. Kind. Pure Hardener 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI After Alter
  • Essie PlayDate
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • OPI Good Grief
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush

I decided I wanted to recreate this beautiful floral by Brydie, & it was not an easy decision to make! She has so, so many beautiful designs–especially floral!–that I must have saved quite a few trying to decide. Bit this soft purple just worked so well with the semi-sheer base. The over all look turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, & I’m very, very happy with them.

Here is a look at all the beautiful designs done in honour of @brydiedoesnails! You can check out all the looks by clicking on the hashtag #brydiesbirthdaycollab on Instagram.

These are the girls that all participated in the collab!

@pbnjnails
@phoebesummernails
@emilygilmour.nails
@polished_yogi
@naomisnailart
@polishedbypeyt
@lecame.shesaw.shepainted
@matteabout nails
@_jazzy_nails.
@ghthenailartist
@neeles_nails

Have a lovely day darlings!