Tag: Matte Nails

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Stained Glass

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. The weather here has been weird — cold then hot & muggy, with sporadic rain. Makes it very hard for a girl to know what to wear!

But today marks another prompt for Glam Nails Challenge August, & today’s prompt is stained glass. & obviously, I had to pull out an old favourite for this prompt — the stained/shattered glass look I love so much. This time, I used a flakie topper which gave it more of that stained glass effect I think.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI Turn On The Northern Lights
  • ‘Ard As Nails Fairy Flakes

  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

How pretty is this look! I’ll admit, fishing out the flakies vs the usual hard glitters I usually do this kind of look with was a bit more time consuming than I was expecting, but then end result is so worth it! I’m kind of obsessed with these flakies over this dark base & it’s giving straight up Autumn—& I’m okay with that. Time to pull out my over the knee socks & sip on some pumpkin spice.

I’ve been wearing this look for a few days, & I got curious how it would look matte-ified & oh man… I think I love it even more! What do you think — shiny or matte?

I love a good stained glass look, so this was a fun prompt. Plus it let me tap into those Autumn vibes I’ve been seriously craving, & I’m not mad about it at all. Over all, this might be one of my favourite designs of the challenge thus far. It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of the month holds!

& as always, you can follow along with the Glam Nails Challenge on Instagram with the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug24 & see all the beautiful nails that have been created!

Happy Wednesday

🖤

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Instagram Coffee Nail Art Collab ☕️🤎

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! This has been quite a week, so I’m a little happy it’s over — even if it does mean saying goodbye to spooky season. But I did join the monthly nail art collab hosted by @essieyall & @petitenailslover again this month, & I’m super excited to share my design… especially because the prompt is COFFEE!

& if there is one thing I love as much as nail polish , it’s coffee.

The polishes I used for this manicure are:

  • Base Coat: Essence Colour Grip Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Matte Top Coat
  • Essie Expressie Cold Brew Crew
  • Wet n Wild 2% Milk
  • Acrylic Paint
  • NailStuff.ca 9mm Mermaid Tail Liner Brush

I was going for a latte art design, so I used acrylic paint because I knew that I was going to need to be able to erase any mistakes — & I was right! This look took longer than expected to do, but I think it turned out just like the coffee art I used to do when I was a barista.

& I hope when you look at it, you can totally see what it’s supposed to be!

Don’t forget, you can check out the other designs through the hashtag #coffeenailartmanicollab2023 on Instagram. & down below, you can check out all the fun coffee themed designs collaged together. Everyone did such an awesome job!

What do you think of my coffee design? Does it totally scream latte to you? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& let me know what your favourite holiday coffee drink is!

🖤

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Blue Matte Leopard Print

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! We are half way to the weekend, woo-hoo!

Today I’m sharing another fun look that I’m kind of obsessed with. I saw this manicure on Pinterest, & knew immediately I needed to recreate it! I love a good leopard print, & it’s been a while since I had done one, & the bright matte blue was just too good.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Glossy Top Coat
  • Matte Top Coat: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Matte Top Coat
  • Essie All The Wave
  • Essie Mosaic On Down
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art Pen in Black (Round)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

I love the gold over the bright cobalt blue. It looks so good!

I’ve always been a fan of leopard print nails, even in the early days of this blog. I don’t do them nearly as often as I should, but they’re definitely in my top five favourite nail art styles. There are endless colour options, pattern options — plus it’s an easy nail art style I feel like even the most beginner nail artist can do.

What do you think about this funky bright blue leopard print? Are you a fan of leopard designs? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sinful Colors Blue Me Away

Hello loves, & happy Sunday! & happy Mother’s Day to those who are celebrating.

Today’s the best day of the week because it’s Swatch Sunday, & those definitely seem to be everyone’s favourite posts. Today, I’m sharing a shade that I’ve had in my stash for a while, but haven’t had a chance to share yet: Sinful Colors Blue Me Away from their matte line. I purchased this shade last year at my local Walmart for (I think) $2.99 CAD.

2 coats, No Top Coat

The formula on this shade was a bit thin & very streaky upon first application. Even though I thought I shook my bottle quite well, I definitely had some bald spots. Second coat gives you the coverage you see above, which was almost perfect. You can kind of see on my pinky finger that I had a bit of trouble near the cuticle, but I feel like that’s more a me issue vs a polish issue.

The colour is a beautiful almost cornflower blue. This is the kind of blue I’m always drawn to which is why I own so many in my stash. However, I think this is my first matte version of this colour in my stash.

Close up of my polish.

Even without top coat, I loved how well this dried down. On their website for application, it suggests finishing off your manicure with a matte top coat, but I was impressed with how it dried on its own. Obviously, if I was going to wear this polish long term, I would definitely apply top coat to keep the polish on longer — especially because I can find matte polish can chip a little easier sometimes.

If you’re looking for Sinful Colors shades, in Canada they are sold at a variety of stores including Walmart, Lawton’s Drugs, & even Dollarama! Generally they retail for between $2.50-$3.99 which is a very affordable price.

What do you think of Sinful Colors Blue Me Away from their matte line? Do you have this shade in your stash, or would you wear it? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & what shade or brand you would like to see next!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — QUO Loud & Proud

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s a beautiful, sunny & slightly chilly weekend here on the East Coast. It’s also 2 days until Valentine’s Day, so I went searching for something pink to share for this week’s Swatch Sunday. Pink’s not a colour I wear very often, but one I love to buy. So I thought why not bring out one of those untouched pink’s for this week’s post.

Today’s pick: QUO Beauty Flash Dry Loud & Proud. I picked up this shade last Winter, on clearance–naturally–& have only used it in a couple manicures since. But, since it’s a sunny day, I was feeling some neon.

2 coats, no top coat.

Loud & Proud is a shocking coral neon pink which dries to a semi matte finish, as most neons do. The formula was a bit crelly, leaning on the creme side, but had almost full opacity in two coats. I was actually a bit nervous about needing a ton of coats, but 2 was perfect for me. If you had longer nails, with more of a free edge, you might need another coat, or some white undies.

This shade comes from the QUO Beauty Flash Dry line, which means it’s supposed to dry quicker than your average nail polish. The first coat was definitely quick to dry, although I found the second coat a little bit slower — maybe because I had applied my second coat a bit thicker? The shade was also incredibly hard to photograph the colour correctly, but I tried my best. Originally, it was leaning very orange, which wasn’t true to colour at all.

This were definitely as close to the true colour as I could get it to show.

What do you think about this fun pink neon from QUO? Would you bright this bright, matte pink for your Valentine’s Day celebrations? Let me know what you think & what you’re going to be wearing for any upcoming Valentine’s Day celebrations!