Tag: Manicure

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SWATCH SUNDAY — New Essence “Out of Space Stories” Shades

Happy Swatch Sunday lovelies. Today is an exciting day because I have a few brand new Essence shades to share with you that I just discovered!

I didn’t even know they were coming out with any new polishes in the Out of Space Stories line, but I was out at Shoppers checking out the Polish section & discovered these two beauties tucked in a display off on its own with a few other Essence products. Naturally, I had to buy both to add them to my collection. (So it would be complete!) Not going to lie, it feels like absolute ages since Shoppers has had any new fun Essence collections–limited edition or otherwise–so this was a very happy discovery!

Now onto the swatches!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — New Essence “Out of Space Stories” Shades”

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Pastel Sponging & Freehand Geometric Lines

Happy Friday lovelies! Yesterday was spent surviving the craziness of the mall with the big Build-A-Bear event! Our store was insane, mostly from the people who gave up on waiting in the 8+ hour line. Props to anyone who stood in that line & waited it out… you’re the real brave people!

Today’s look was accomplished thanks to some brand new stripers from Kiss! I was in the need of some new ones, & found them on clearance so I knew I had to pick them up. A brand new striper is one of my favourite things for creating crisp lines. & since it had been so long since I’d done a geometric design, I decided to play around a little bit!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie High Class Affair
  • L’Oréal Royalty Reinvented
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sweet Tea
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ocean Daze
  • Essie Splash of Grenadine
  • Kiss Products Striper in Black
  • Kiss Products Striper in White
  • Kiss Products Striper in Silver Glitter

Please excuse the tip wear & chip on my ring finger — I wore these nails for over 2 days before I thought to take a picture of them. I was just to enthralled with how they looked, I completely forgot about photographing them!

If I had to pick a favourite nail, I think it would probably be my middle finger. The design feels very Art Deco. Definitely going to need to try this design again over a gold or bronze. It was be very Gatsby, which is a style I haven’t tried a whole design over. I definitely think it looks really cool over my pastel sponging though.

what do you think about this geometric design? Which nail is your favourite? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Even More Negative Space Half Moons!

Happy Wednesday lovelies! Who else can’t even believe it’s already Wednesday. It feels like this week is speeding by like crazy. Dreaming of the weekend already… it feels like it’s almost here. Which means spending all weekend (hopefully) barbecuing!

Today’s design is one I actually did back in June, during my super crazy two weeks at work, & never got a chance to share with you! This design was actually what I wore when I had my first Head Office visit at work. I was super nervous as this was the first time I was meeting one of my big bosses, so I wanted to make sure I was representing the brand as best as I could…. right now to the nails!

The polishes I used for this design were:

  • Base Coat: Essie Grow Stronger
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Icing Mermaid Mint
  • Claire’s Matte Pastel Nail Polish Sorbet Mint
  • Claire’s Matte Pastel Nail Polish Sorbet Blue
  • Jordana Cosmetics Pop Art Nail Design in Blue Abstract

You know what’s awesome about working for a company which is geared towards a tween audience—you always have an excuse to do something fun with your nails! We sell a lot Nail goodies, so I’m always getting inspiration from them! This design was kind of a recreation of an old design that I had done, but with a few different polish picks.

You can seriously never go wrong with a good negative space chevron look. & the colour combinations are endless!

What do you think of this design? Are you as obsessed with negative space chevron looks as I am (I don’t think anyone is!)

Share down below all your thoughts!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie High Class Affair

Happy Swatch Sunday lovelies. I realize this is probably the latest I’ve ever posted my Swatch Sunday post but it’s been a crazy day… & it’s still before midnight, therefore still Sunday, so this post still counts!

Today’s Swatch post is another polish I scored at Lawton’s on clearance. You know how much I love a good polish find, especially when it’s a limited edition shade I missed the first time around. Today’s polish is Essie High Class Affair, which was originally released as part of the Spring 2016 collection.

Originally I thought this shade was going to be a bit more pink-y, but it turned out to be more of a peach nude. Which I can get behind! I’m always looking for more neutrals in my stash, so when I find a great shade like this (especially from one of my favourite brands!) then I jump at the chance! They are great on their own, or perfection as a base for other nail art. I mean, how amazing would this polish look with some floral painted over top!? Although I did something a little more fancy with my swatches.

For my above swatches, I used 3 coats + Essie Speed Setter Top Coat. Honestly, I prefer polishes which go on in less coats but I think it was because of how thin my coats were. It really needed that extra coat to hide any bald spots. Also adding top coat definitely levelled out the polish & left it with the flawless finish you see above. But that’s kind of typical with these kind of shades, regardless of brand. At least that’s been my experience with application.

Do you have this gorgeous Essie shade in your stash? What are your thoughts? Share below 👇🏻 what your favourite nude shade is!

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Mani Swap with @mugglenails

It feels like forever since I had to opportunity to join one of my fellow nail art addicts in a mani swap. So I was super excited to be able to team up with a fellow Canadian nail polish addict @mugglenails in a fun design swap. Meghan always comes up with such creative nail art patterns & colour combinations. So it was really fun to scroll through her feed to pick a design to recreate!

I had narrowed it down to two designs of hers, but in the end I kept coming back to this blue & aqua design. There is something about the colour combination which felt so nautical, I just couldn’t get it out of my head. Very, very Summery! For her design, Meghan recreated my green vine design from a few months back.

For this design, the polish I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie First Timer
  • Icing Stores Mermaid Mint
  • Essie All the Wave
  • Born Pretty Store Aurora Rainbow Nail Striping Tape (item #40423)
  • Medium sized dotting tool

There is something about this colour combination that just makes me swoon. Maybe because it feels so Summer-y & reminds me of the ocean. I mean, I’m an East Coat Girl… the ocean is in my veins. I will always adore a nail design with a nautical theme. All this design needs is a quick accent anchor for it to go full nautical. But I kind of like the fact that it’s kind of subtle–it makes this design a much more everyday look. This colour combo isn’t my everyday choice, & yet I’m completely obsessed with it!

What do you think of this mani swap? Do you think my recreation was successful? Share your thoughts down in the comments below!