Fall Houndstooth Accent Nails

Happy October 2nd! Can you believe we’re already a day into Halloween month?! Are you as excited as I am? I’m definitely going to need to start planning my Halloween designs soon.

But in the mean time, maybe some Fall themed nails? With the weather shifting quickly, I’m already digging out some of my favourite scarves, so I figured why not some nails inspired by the coziness of Fall.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Lets Snow!
  • Essence Black is Back!
  • Born Pretty Store Classic Patterns Stamping Plate BP-L006 (item #17924)
  • Born Pretty Store Color Flame Rhinestones colour #2 (item #41753)

First off, can we talk about this Essie shade from the Fall 2018 collection? It’s absolutely amazing. The second I saw the swatches, I knew it was so different from all the other polishes I own & that meant I had to have it! & since it feels so Fall to me, I knew I had to pair it with this stamping plate from Born Pretty Store (which I haven’t had the chance to use yet!)

Also check out these crystals also from Born Pretty Store (item # 41753). I needed something to jazz up my plain nails, & I love the iridescent shift they have. You can kind of see how the shift of your hand shows different colours, which means these crystals will match with so many different polishes & manicures!

what do you think of this Fall inspired manicure? What Fall shades are you wearing on your nails right now? Let me know in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen REDesign Collection (part one)

{PR SAMPLE}

Good morning! Today I’m super excited because I have the most amazing nail polish collection from Sally Hansen to share with you! Sally Hansen Canada recently released an all red collection as part of their Complete Salon Manicure collection — including FIVE new shades. The collection is designed so that everyone can pick their perfectly complimentary red, including one shade that is the “universal” red, so it’s design to compliment every skin tone.

I am a HUGE red nail polish lover. It’s literally all I wore on my nails from 2004-2006. So a whole collection dedicated to red nails… I’m definitely here for that!

Today I have the first 5 lighter polishes from the collection, & I’ll share the other four darker shades in tomorrow’s post!

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen REDesign Collection (part one)”

SWATCH SUNDAY — Born Pretty Store Purple Holographic Pigment Powder (item #41436)

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. Couldn’t be more excited for the chance to relax & have a day off… & share something special with you! I recently received some gorgeous PR samples from Born Pretty Store for review, & that includes a couple new nail art powders. I’ve been seriously obsessed with nail powders & flakies lately, so I couldn’t wait to jump in & try them all.

The first one I picked, for today’s post, is a dark purple liner holo powder (item #41436).

For application, I took the following steps.

  • Apply base coat.
  • Apply base colour (I picked Essie Under the Twilight) & top coat.
  • Apply Finger Paints Peel Off Base Coat — let dry for about 5 minutes. If it’s not dry enough, you won’t be able to rub on the powder.
  • To minimize clean up, you can apply liquid latex around your cuticles. I forgot this time, which is why you can see a bit of holo scattered.
  • Using the name eyeshadow applicator that comes with the powder, pick up a small amount of powder & rub onto your nail.
  • Brush off excess powder from nail & around cuticle (or peel off latex if you used it)
  • Top with top coat & stare at your nails in wonder.

Look at that holo! Seriously obsessed with the dark holo over the dark base. I’ve been absolutely obsessed with my NailStuff.ca holo, but it’s nice to have a darker, vampy option (especially with Halloween quickly approaching).

Application was super simple & easy using my regular nail polish method. I don’t often use gel on my nails, but I feel like if I can easily apply it using regular polish, gel would be no problem. I’ll definitely have to try using it on my toes soon.

if you’re looking to try this powder for yourself, you can pick it up from the Born Pretty Store here.

Also remember, if you use COFFK31, you can save 10% off any regular priced items!

So what do you think of this dark purple holo powder? Do you have a favourite nail powder that you can’t live without. Share down in the comments below!

Fall Ruffian 🍁🍂

The weather here in Halifax is feeling much more seasonal, & I can’t lie–I’m digging it. A lot. I’ve just been waiting for the moment when I could finally wear tights & dresses, & it’s here. If it could stay this perfect seasonal weather until, oh I don’t know… November, that would be just fantastic.

Today’s look is a super easy design that requires no tools at all–just a tiny bit of patience. I love the simplicity of this design & how well the two colours paired together.

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI My Chihuahua Bites!
  • Essie After School Boy Blazer

I’m just absolutely love the dark over the bright. It pops so well. Essie After School Boy Blazer is one of my all time favourite blues & I’m still so in love with it all these years later. One of the most perfect navy’s I own.

Gosh, I just love love love the look of a ruffian design–it’s a great alternative to a simple french manicure or half moon design. Also I apologize about the tip wear–I wore this design all day at work before getting a chance to take pictures, but thankfully they weren’t too worse for wear!

what do you think of this ruffian design? What colour combo would you pick for a ruffian look? Let me know down in the comments below.

SWATCH SUNDAY — Color Club Jewel of a Girl

Happy Sunday lovelies! I’m continuing to share my favourite Fall shades this week with another fabulously vampy shade that I’m seriously digging right now: Color Club Jewel of a Girl. I recently picked up this polish the clearance section of my favourite pharmacy for the ever fantastic deal of $1.99.

This polish was originally released all the way back in Fall of 2010 as part of the Untamed Luxury collection. However, you can still buy it online over at NailpolishCanada.com.

For these swatches, I did base coat, two layers of colour plus top coat (Essie Speed Setter).

Color Club Jewel of a Girl is a deep rich shimmery wine shade, that definitely has purple undertones & can even lean a little brown. This colour just… it’s everything. It’s like Fall in a bottle & reminds me of that meme that pops up around Facebook this time of year. Doesn’t it just make you want to curl up in a knit blanket & drink pumpkin spice lattes & pull on your favourite pair of over the knee boots?

The formula was pretty spot on for this shade. The first coat was a little thin but as so as I applied my second coat, it was perfectly opaque. Because I know nobody has time for waiting for 4 coats of polish to dry.

I was also impressed with the shine of the polish just on its own–I added topcoat because it was 11pm & I was heading to bed shortly after so I needed dry nails, but even before they looked pretty good!

This polish is everything & I seriously can’t get enough. Not only because it was less than $2, but just the colour & shimmer are perfection. Even if Mother Nature is keeping Summer alive, I can bask in Fall vibes with my nails & pretend I’m wearing my favourite sweater dress instead of still living in my Summer dresses.

do you have Color Club Jewel of a Girl in your nail polish stash? Does this kind of shade make you think of Fall. Let me know what you think down in the comments below!