Tag: nail polish

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Purple & Silver Racing Stripes

Happy August lovelies. Its that time of year… stores are beginning to set up for back to school & my cravings for all things Fall themed hit hard. Thankfully the 30+ degree weather has been keeping me in a Summer state of mind & keeping neon shades on my nails!

Today’s nails is a simple look that’s easy to do, but makes your nails look way longer than they actually are thanks to the vertical stripes. It’s also a great way to practice your freehand line work! I feel like mine has gotten a little rusty, so I’ve been taking every excuse to practice.

For this design, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essence We Will Spock You
  • YSL Beauty Violine Surrealiste
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black
  • Born Pretty Store Aurora Rainbow Nail Striping Tape in purple (item #40423) — I used the thickest tape of the 3

Using striping tape for your initial line in the middle makes creating your smaller black lines much easier. & then end result looks so cool! & gives your nails the appearance of extra length. Plus, like I said, for those of us still working on freehanding straight lines, this really helps with practicing.

I just love how these kind of look like racing stripes. Sadly the holo of Essence We Will Spock You didn’t want to show thanks to a hazy morning, but the little hint of holo with the purple looked awesome!

Do you have a trick for making your nails look longer? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Black & White X-pattern Nails ✖️

Happy Tuesday lovelies! Anyone else currently attempting to survive the heat? Thank goodness for air conditioning because I haven’t really had to deal with the humidity much. Never thought I would be happy to spend 95% of my day at work, but if it keeps me from being sweaty I’m all for it!

Today I’ve got the day off though, & I’m showing off a fun design I wore for 3 days last week. You know I’m in love with a design when I wear it for more than a day, & I really loved this look! Seriously, I probably would have worn it longer, but my nails started chipping at work & I couldn’t deal.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let’s Snow
  • Essie Frock ‘N Roll
  • Xroma Polish & Vinyls X-Pattern Nail Stencils
  • Make Up Sponge

How cute is this look?! This was the last of my x-pattern vinyls, so I’m definitely going to need to pick up some more ASAP. I’ve tried to freehand this look before but it looks way better when it’s done with vinyls (oh, & takes WAY less time too!) Also even though Essie Frock ‘N Roll isn’t technically a black polish, it looks close enough & works so perfectly over my white base. I love wearing black & white nail designs & pairing them with a bright & colourful outfit.

So what do you think about this black & white design? What are you wearing on your nails this week? Share down below! ♥️

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Seas the Day

Good Morning Lovelies & Happy Sunday. Today I’m sharing another red polish because I’ve recently been LOVING wearing red polish!

Today’s red shade of choice is China Glaze Seas the Day which is from the Summer 2014 Off Shore collection. This was the first full nail polish collection I ever purchased (thank you Winners clearance section) & even 4 years later I’m still loving these shades.

Seas the Day is a vibrant cherry red polish that applied well in 2 coats (+ top coat.) Like most reds, I find you can still see a hint of nail line, but the application was smooth & covered well. The pink undertones means that this shade leans different in different light–sometimes it looks more pink, sometimes it looks more coral. It reminds me a bit of Revlon Cherries in the Snow although that polish seems to lean more pink than Seas the Day. & now I’m wishing I had thought to do an official comparison between the two!

As I’ve mentioned before, red polish is one of my favourites. I’ve managed to accumulate quite the collection over the years thanks to literally only wearing red nail polish between 2003 – 2006. Even though my nail polish repertoire has increased since then (& love of nail art has grown!) my heart still swells for a good red polish. & this is a beautiful red! ♥️

Do you have a favourite red polish? Do you have a nail polish colour that you used to wear religiously? Let me know down below which colour you love the best! & let me know what shades you’d love to see me feature on here for Swatch Sunday!

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Negative Space Red Chevron Moons

Good Morning & Happy Wednesday! We’re already half way through our week–how crazy is that. We’re also one week away from August… even crazier. This Summer is certainly rocketing by! I’m already feeling that familiar draw towards dark polish, pumpkin spice & cosy knits that starts happening around this time of year.

But not yet… we still have a bit of Summer left so bring on the bright polishes!

Today’s design was brought on by wanting to wear red nails, but more than just a solid colour. It wasn’t intentional, but these totally ended up reminding me of Bring It On! Does anyone else remember that movie. I was so obsessed with it when it first came out… & now I totally need to rewatch it again.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • L’Oréal Magic Top Coats —The Shift Me
  • Essie 5th Avenue
  • Kiss Products Nail Art Striper in Black
  • Snail Vinyls small single chevrons (so sad the shop is closing!)

I love red nail polish, but I find it the hardest colour to do nail art over simply because it seems to be a colour I turn to during holidays (Christmas, Canada Day, ect) but it is by far one of my all time favourite polish colours. I seriously love how these turned out, even if they totally remind me of cheerleader uniforms. Also I’m pretty sure this red is my new favourite red polish — I’ve been wearing it a lot lately, especially as a pedicure.

What do you think of this design? Let me know in the comments below! & let me know what your favourite 2000s teen movie is!

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Rainbow 🌈 Nails

Good Morning Lovelies & Happy Monday. Today I have a special manicure to share with you in honour of it being Pride Week in Halifax right now — some rainbow nails. This past weekend, I went out to celebrate & attended my very first Drag Show ever! So in honour of that, I wanted to create a design bright & colourful, & with a touch of glitter.

For this design, the polishes used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen CSM Let’s Snow
  • Sally Hansen MG Just Maui’d
  • Sally Hansen MG Bourbon Belle
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow
  • Essie First Timer
  • Quo by ORLY Pep in Your Step
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust
  • Latex Free Make Up Sponge
  • Wet n Wild Clear Polish

  • This design was super simple to create. I started off with a plain white base (my current favourite White polish!) & then sponged each colour over top of the white. Next I took a clear nail polish that would streak the colours together & repeatedly brushed over the nail so they blended. This is a trick I like to use with gradients, sponged looks & dry brushes because it blends them together really well (especially good with gradients!) & then I finish with actual top coat after. I also felt like this design needed a little bit of glitter, so I added some fairy dust as well.

    I really love this combination of colours & the rainbow-ness of it. It was the perfect design for the awesome night I had out dancing! I’m very proud to live in a city which can celebrate Pride with such festivity & inclusivity. There really is an event for everyone!

    What do you think of my rainbow nails? 🌈 Have you ever attended a drag show before? Share you comments down below & let me know what you think!