Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. We’re halfway through January & that’s kind of crazy.
But everyone in my social media feeds keep taking nostalgic trips back to 2016, so I thought I would do the same — only with nail polish! & back on 2016 I was all about the Ardene brand of nail polishes, so I thought I would share a beauty from that time: Aco by Ardene Bonne Nuit.
1 coat over Rimmel Blue Eyed Girl + top coat.
So yes, I did use some under-polish for swatching this beauty because it. is. thin. But I think it applies beautifully & you really get that shift of colour from blue to a purple hue. There is a nice micro glitter shimmer as well, which I remember loving a lot in the mid-2000s!
Now this shade is definitely a relict of another time, because Ardene no longer sells this brand of nail polish. I still have a drawer of this brand in my stash, that I stare at frequently, & every so often pull out for nostalgia sake. I also love that they were so trendy when it came to finishes, at a very affordable price point!
What do you think of this very mid-2010s nail polish? Do you remember what shades you were obsessed with circa 2016? Let me know what shades you were obsessed with back then, & if they are still top of your list 10 years later!
Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! It’s another chilly wet Winter day, & the January vibes are just not it. Have I mentioned I’m not a fan of Winter?
But I have just the thing to cheer myself up… new (sparkly) nails! There is nothing that I love more than some sparkle when I’m feeling down, & I recently pulled out a glitter topper I had almost forgotten I owed. The end result was another perfect glitter placement design.
I’m never going to get tired of these!
The polishes I used for this manicure are:
Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
Top Coat: Seche Vive Gel Like Top Coat
Orly Color Blast Garnet Luxe Shimmer
Sinful Colors Twilight Twinkles
Small dotting tool
I know this isn’t a super complicated look — still trying to ease myself back into nail art inspiration — but I love how these look. They’re just fun, & pretty, & I never get tired of red nail polish. I also feel like these would be so pretty for February & Valentine’s Day nails!
What do you think about these red shattered glitter nails? Do you love? Also — as always, if you can think of any glitters similar to these in different colours, let me know. I used to have a holographic silver one by Color Club that dried up that I’m desperate to replace!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas season, & holiday. It was definitely a weird one this year, but we survived & it’s a brand new year. I decided to take a bit of a break at the end of the year, BUT I did end 2025 with sparkle. Just before Christmas, I was sent some amazing nail mail from Olive & June featuring their brand new Flash Glitter Gel nail polishes — which was an amazing Christmas surprise!
So naturally I needed to wear these gorgeous shades for New Years Eve, & I decided to attempt a gradient using all these shades. I’ve not done a ton of nail art with gel polish, but I’m so happy with my sideways gradient! It looks like a rainbow going across my nails. I was definitely a little nervous going in, but I am so beyond in love with how this design turned out!
The polishes I used for this manicure are:
Base Coat: Olive & June Peel Off Base Coat
Base Coat: Olive & June Gel Base Coat
Top Coat: Olive & June Gel Top Coat
Olive & June Gel Sparkly Pink Drink (rose gold)
Olive & June Gel Pop Fizz Mani (gold)
Olive & June Gel Mani on the Dance Floor (grey silver)
Olive & June Gel Karaoke is a Good Time (purple)
Olive & June Gel Out Past Curfew (black)
Olive & June Gel Rosé Rhymes with Partay (pink)
Flat Nail Art Brush
I have to say — creating this gradient was not as hard as I thought it would be. The longest process was curing between each layer, but they came together so beautifully. & compared to other gradients, they were much harder to mess up. I used a flat nail art brush (clean up brush) to blend the two shades together, & it worked so perfectly. I’m kind of sad I wore these with a peel off base coat, because I could have easily worn these for a full week instead of just the night.
This was my first experience with flash glitter, & I get it now! The way it sparkles under flash is incredible. It makes me feel like a disco ball in the best possible way — & I think we all need to sparkle a little more this year. That’s definitely on my list of New Years resolutions for this year.
If you’re interested in trying out these Olive & June Glitter Flash Gel polishes, they have the whole set listed online (including gel lamp), or you can purchase the shades individually. They also have really cool Flash Glitter press on nails which I have not tried, but look really really cool, & would be a great option for someone who doesn’t want to (or cannot) wear gel nail polish!
What do you think about my New Years Eve nails — did I start my 2026 on the right foot finger? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what your resolutions are for this year!
It’s another snowy Wednesday here, which is making this December feel very festive. I think this is the most snow we’ve had in a December in longer than I can remember. Now if only I could get enough holiday spirit to get my shopping finished.
Today I’m sharing a pretty holiday-esque design. Not outright Christmas, but using some older season Holiday polishes so I feel like it counts! Plus it wouldn’t look out of place at a Holiday party while you drink too many eggnogs!
The polishes I used for this manicure are:
Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
Morgan Taylor Plum-thing Magical (2017 Little Miss Nutcracker collection)
OPI Rolling in Cashmere (Gwen Stephanie Holiday 2014 collection)
Small-ish dotting tool
Oh goodness, I just adore a good dotticure. The gold looks lovely against the purple-y plum base, especially with its shimmer. This is such a simple look to do, but eye catching at the same time. I love it! & sometimes I just need to rock a colour other than red or green, you know?
What do you think of the glam dotticure? Would you wear a design like this? Can you believe we’re two weeks away from Christmas Eve, & 15 days away from Christmas morning? Crazy!
Hello lovelies & happy Monday! It’s a very, very snowy Monday here… & I won’t lie, it’s kind of nice. Giving me a few Christmas vibes, I won’t lie.
So naturally that means let’s share some more holiday inspired nails. & I couldn’t not use my two new Butter London shades I featured yesterday — with the help of another Butter London shades in my stash.
The polishes I used for this manicure are:
Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
Butter London Frozen Loch *pr
Butter London Branwen’s Pearls *pr
Butter London Saucy Jack
NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush
I just love a dainty candy cane look, & this one turned out just how I imagined it in my head. The pearlescent finish of Branwen’s Pearls was the perfect base for my tiny little candy canes, & the blue base of Frozen Loch helped them pop on the nail!
I got so many compliments on these at work, which always makes me happy! It always makes my day when someone else notices — & loves — a design I’ve created.
So what do we think of these cutie candy cane nails? Do you think they’re fun & dainty? I’m really trying to come up with some fun holiday nail art looks — maybe even some I’ve never tried before — to end off this year with a bang, so please let me know what nail art designs you’d like to see!