#GlamNailsChallengeDec — Santa 🎅🏼

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Hello lovelies! We’ve got another prompt for #GlamNailsChallengeDec to share today! & yep… I’m aware that I’m a day behind, but that’s life sometime.

Our second prompt of the challenge is Santa! So in honour of that I decided to do Santa hats over my previous manicure of Icing Stores Santa Baby just to maximize the full Santa effect!

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Green Tea Bamboo Strengthener
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Wrap Me Up
  • Icing Stores Santa Baby
  • Quo by ORLY Stilettos on the Run
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Pat on the Black
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Nailstuff.ca 4mm micro detail brush (COFFEE10 saves 10% off your purchase!)
  • Nailstuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

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I remember the first time I ever attempted a Santa hat manicure… & I won’t lie, it wasn’t pretty. I’m pretty sure I used a dotting tool to try & draw my lines, which did not turn out very good at all. (Literally just went & found the picture on Facebook so if you’re curious, click here to see my masterpiece.)

I’ve come along way after a lot of practice, & these little hats turned out too cute. The jelly-like finish of Stilettos on the Run show off the glitters underneath, which is really quite cool. I’m digging it a lot.

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These feel very, very Christmas-y to me for sure. The colours, the design… there is no denying these are for Christmas! So much fun!

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What do you think about this Santa inspired design? Have you popped over to Instagram yet go check out the other looks for #glamnailschallengeDec yet? Stay tuned for more fun, hopefully on time, nail art looks to come!

GlamnailschallengeDec — Candles

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Good morning lovelies & Happy December 2nd! I thought since December is one of my favourite times of year for nail art, it would be fun to join in another round of GlamnailschallengeDec. I’ve had a ton of fun joining in on these challenges, & I thought this would be a fun way to come up with some new & creative holiday looks!

The first prompt for this month is Candles! At first I was a little stuck on what I wanted to do for this prompt, but after some Pinterest stalking I saw this manicure & decided to use it as my inspiration!

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  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Green Tea & Bamboo Strengthener
  • Top Coat: YSL Beauty Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Maybelline Color Show Auburn Ablaze
  • Acrylic paint
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush (use COFFEE10 to save 10%) {PR sample}

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This was my first time attempting a design like this–maybe aside from a birthday candle look forever ago–so I was a little nervous about how they would turn out. But you know what… I absolutely am obsessed with how they turned out. The dark base colour reminds me of the early darkness that comes as we approach Christmas, & the glow of the candles in the window. It really gives me all the fuzzy feelings just staring at my nails.

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What do you think about this look? Are you excited for another month of prompts for GlamnailschallengeDec?! Don’t forget following along with all the designs by checking out #glamnailschallengeDec on Instagram to see all the fun & festive designs to come!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Icing Stores Santa Baby

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Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! & happy December 1st as well! The countdown to Christmas is officially on, so naturally it’s time to get SERIOUS about all things holly & jolly. This month, I’m going to be dedicating all my Swatch Sunday posts to polishes of Christmas past, which are my favourite to pull out during the holidays.

First up, I chose a shade that’s a few years old but is probably one of the most Christmas-y shades I own: Icing Stores Santa Baby. For those who don’t know what Icing is, it’s a accessories store owned by Claire’s–basically Claire’s big sister store–& during holidays like Halloween, Christmas, or Easter, they always come out with themed collections. This bottle of polish was originally released as part of their 2015 Christmas collection, & I’ve been pulling it out ever since!

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Santa Baby is a glitter topper — the base is clear, & it is packed full of an assortment of glitters in red, green & white, all ranging from tiny micro glitters to medium sized bar glitters. But the coolest part about this polish is that it is scented like peppermint/candy canes once dried, & it comes through even with a nice coat of glossy top coat to seal it in. Seriously… the barista at my local coffee shop commented on how cool this polish looked on my nails, & I literally was like “you have to smell them! It smells like candy canes!” I’m a little weird sometimes.

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For my swatches, I applied one coat of Santa Baby over Essie Wrap It Up, & sealed everything in with Essie Gel Setter to level my nails out. This is one of my favourite ways to wear this polish & the best option for showing it off in all its glory. Second to that, this shade makes for the most perfect glitter gradient which I’ve shown off in years past. I’d love to try to sponge it on someday, & maybe I will as like an accent nail with some peel off base coat if I’m looking for a one night kind of manicure. I’d be really curious to see what it looks like all sponged on.

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As you can see, it’s like Christmas-y confetti on the nails. How amazing is that? I just adore the different range of glitter styles packed into one bottle. It always makes me feel festive whenever I put it on, even if I’m feeling more Grinch-y than Elf-y! Instantly it is like my holly & jolly levels will begin to rise, no rum spiked egg nog needed at all.

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Sadly this polish is 4+ years old, so it’s no longer in production. I even checked online to see if there was a similar product available, but there doesn’t seem to be any Christmas nail polishes at all this year by them. So this is definitely one of those lock it in the vault kind of shades if you happen to have it as part of your collection, because it really is special.

Do you have any special to your Christmas polishes you pull out every year? Let me know what yours are, & stay tuned because I have more Christmas themed nail polishes to share with you this month!

Crazy Colourful Plaid Nails

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Hello lovelies & happy Friday! It is Friday right? I feel like my days are blending into each other a bit. Winter maternity leave is like one never ending day haha. I miss the sunshine. BUT winter does mean one thing: Christmas is coming. & even better… it’s time for all my favourite Winter/Christmas/Holiday designs.

Today is a design I haven’t done for a long time–plaid. I used to do multiple plaid designs every year, but I kind of lost my momentum, so I feel like it’s about time to bring them back! However, I think I need some practice, or maybe a reference picture, because these turned out… interesting. However, I still loved them enough to post them!

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Green Tea & Bamboo Strengthener
  • Top Coat: YSL Beauty Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Quo by ORLY Breathable Stronger than Ever {PR sample}
  • Jordana Cosmetics Pop Art Nail Design in Blue Abstract
  • Rimmel London Camouflage
  • Yellow gold metallic (no name)
  • Black & White acrylic paint
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Liner Brush (use COFFEE10 to save 10%) {PR sample}

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For this look, I started off with a base of Quo by ORLY Breathable in Stronger than Ever which is a really nice shimmery red that is great for Christmas. Next, I took my NailStuff liner brush & made base lines using my black & white acrylic paint. This is where a reference picture would have been useful, because I was a bit haphazard in my line placement. But even still, it does have that plaid-esque feel to it.

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Even though I was a little disappointed with how these nails turned out at first, after applying top coat & staring at them, they really grew on me & I ended up loving how they turned out. They really make me excited to do some more plaid nails that are a little more Christmas-y — I have visions of an emerald green base with red & gold lines. Oooooh yes! Bring on all the plaid!

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What do you think about these plaid nails? Would you rock a look like this? Share your thoughts down in the comments below! ♥️

Silver Snowflake Pattern

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Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is having a fantastic start to their week! Did you do anything over the weekend? This past weekend, I went to a Christmas craft market with the family, & it’s crazy to think that Christmas is only a little over a month away! So obviously it was about time for some snowflake nails! ❄️

& is there anything better than blue & silver? Nope, I can’t think of a better combo! This design turned out looking like wrapping paper!

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For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Green Tea & Bamboo Strengthener
  • Top Coat: YSL Beauty Quick Dry Top Coat
  • Essence It’s Raining Men!
  • Essie No Place Like Chrome
  • NailStuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set (use COFFEE10 to save 10% off your purchase!)
  • BornPrettyStore BP-L018 (item# 19373)

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Yes yes yes. These looks like wrapping paper & I’m so into it! A little bow on one nail & you’ve got easy(ish) present nails. Also have I mentioned how much I adore my NailStuff clear stamper lately? I’ve been going a little crazy on stamping lately so I’ve been using it a lot. Do I miss freehanding? Absolutely, & I’m itching to do some Christmas floral soon, but sometimes I have like 20-25 minutes to do my nails so stamping is just easier. It really is the perfect nail art option for Moms with no time that want pretty nails.

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How cute would this look be for a Christmas/holiday party? I don’t have one of those to go to this year, but if I did I could so see myself wearing some this like this! I’ve been thinking about doing a “cute nail art designs for your holiday party” blog post, so if you want to see that let me know in the comments below! I’d include some easy & more difficult designs so there is something for everyone!

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What do you think about this stamped snowflake design? Have you started your holiday nail art yet? Let me know down in the comments below!