Stamped Red Sparkly Nails (Autumn Vibes)

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a lovely start to their week, & it’s not too hard wherever you are. Today is the first day in a while that actually feels not unbearably hot — at least it does early in the morning as I write this! & even though I love love love the heat, I’m excited for a cooler day because its giving me Fall vibes, & I’m already wishing for those cooler days of boots, tights & lots of layers!

But since we still have a few weeks before it will even begin to feel cool enough to wear tights with my dresses, I guess I will need to fill my Autumn vibes with nail polish & nail art.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Red Handed
  • Quo Beauty FX Shimmer & Shine
  • Essence Shine, Last & Go Into the Unknown
  • Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-L006 (no longer available)
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

Oh man, I am enjoying this look.

Originally I had painted my nails red, adding the sparkle, but I felt like I wanted to jazz them up a bit, & it had been a while since I did any stamping! I thought navy blue would be just enough darkness so a subtle transition manicure between Summer & Fall, & I was right. It gives me just enough of a Autumn feel, without going full on. Although I’m drinking maple pumpkin in my coffee as I write this, so I’m not really scared to go full tilt into all the Fall colours!

I also have a stamping plate I bought last year for Autumn/Thanksgiving that I never got a chance to use, so I’m pumped to be able to pull it out this year!

What do you think about this nail art look? Are you ready for all the Fall polish/nail art content? Let me know what you think, & what colours you’re excited to wear in the upcoming season!

SWATCH SUNDAY— Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Unicorn Top Coat (& Easy Glazed Donut Nails)

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Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend so far. It’s been very, very humid here in Halifax. Like — remember that episode of Friends when Monica is in the Bahamas & her hair just keeps getting bigger & bigger: that’s me right now. Haha.

Today I’m sharing something really fun that was recently sent to me from Sally Hansen. They always send the best PR packages, so they sent out some glazed donuts & the means to recreate the Hailey Beiber glazed donut nails — their new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Unicorn Top Coat.

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY— Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Unicorn Top Coat (& Easy Glazed Donut Nails)”

Purple Glazed Half Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! The weekend is almost upon us.

I’m sure if you’re any part of the nail art community, you’ve heard that glazed donut nails are all the rage right now. Initially sparked by Hailey Beiber, everyone has been doing their version of the glazed donut manicure on Instagram. So I thought: why not take a stab at my own version, inspired by the trend. I also recently picked up a pretty sheer purple by Essence cosmetics which I thought would give me a similar effect.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Central Pink
  • Essence Cosmetics Violet Voltage
  • Essence Cosmetics Oh My Glitter!
  • Wet n Wild 2% Milk
  • Paper Hole Renforcements
  • Teeny dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

Naturally, & unsurprisingly, I’m very obsessed with how these nails turned out. I love the sheerness of Essence Violet Voltage really gives that glazed donut effect. & even though it’s not exactly like the glazed donut nails of my fellow Instagramers, I like this nail art take on the look — especially with the negative space moon touch.

It’s the same vibe, but with my own personal touch to it!

Have you heard about the glazed donut trend — have you tried it out yourself yet? Stay tuned, because I recently received a fun PR package from Sally Hansen, which included another way to achieve the glazed donut trend!

Have a fabulous day lovelies!

Subtle Red Colour Blocking

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a fantastic start to their week. Can you believe we’re in August now? That’s just… this Summer is really speeding by!

Today I’m sharing an easy nail art look I wore recently. We all know — I love red nail polishes. & I was feeling a red manicure. So I decided to pair a couple of red polishes together in a fun (& super simple) nail art look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine
  • Top Coat: Essence Colour Shine Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Warm Regards
  • Sally Hansen CSM Red Handed

I really like the subtle red on red nail art. Like I said, I really wanted to wear red nails — I always want to wear red nails — but I wanted to spice it up a smidge, & this subtle colour blocking seemed like an easy, cute option! From far away you might not notice to two colour paired together, but up close you can see the fun pattern. Next time, I might do a similar look, but with all red abstract stripes.

Any excuse for red nails!

What do you think about this subtle colour blocking design? Is this a nail art design you would wear?

Let me know what you think down in comments below — & what colour you would wear this design in!

SWATCH SUNDAY—Essie Dive Bar

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I’ve been enjoying a lovely, although a tad rainy, weekend off from work. Today, though, I’m all about Swatch Sunday, & this classic Essie shade from my stash: Dive Bar.

This shade has been in my stash a long time — I’m pretty sure I found it on a good deal at Winners, as I do a lot of my shades. Dive Bar was originally released as part of the 2012 Spring collection, also named Dive Bar.

2 coats + Essie Speed Setter

This colour is so gorgeous! It’s a deep navy blue base, with a striking teal shimmer. It just screams Fall to me — so I was surprised when I learned it was released as part of a Spring collection. It also reminds me of Space, so I feel like it would be an incredible base for galaxy nails because it has a great depth to it!

The formula is also still really awesome, which is good after all these years. I’ve own this bottle since at least 2015, so it’s going on 7 years old. It does have the original skinny Essie brush, which means you do have to be careful with application. I managed to get opacity in 2 thicker coats, but you could definitely do one coat over a black as well — it probably wouldn’t be as shimmery, but it would save on coats.

What do you think about this Essie oldie? Do you have Dive Bar in your stash? Do you love these deep shimmery blues as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.