SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie High Class Affair

Happy Swatch Sunday lovelies. I realize this is probably the latest I’ve ever posted my Swatch Sunday post but it’s been a crazy day… & it’s still before midnight, therefore still Sunday, so this post still counts!

Today’s Swatch post is another polish I scored at Lawton’s on clearance. You know how much I love a good polish find, especially when it’s a limited edition shade I missed the first time around. Today’s polish is Essie High Class Affair, which was originally released as part of the Spring 2016 collection.

Originally I thought this shade was going to be a bit more pink-y, but it turned out to be more of a peach nude. Which I can get behind! I’m always looking for more neutrals in my stash, so when I find a great shade like this (especially from one of my favourite brands!) then I jump at the chance! They are great on their own, or perfection as a base for other nail art. I mean, how amazing would this polish look with some floral painted over top!? Although I did something a little more fancy with my swatches.

For my above swatches, I used 3 coats + Essie Speed Setter Top Coat. Honestly, I prefer polishes which go on in less coats but I think it was because of how thin my coats were. It really needed that extra coat to hide any bald spots. Also adding top coat definitely levelled out the polish & left it with the flawless finish you see above. But that’s kind of typical with these kind of shades, regardless of brand. At least that’s been my experience with application.

Do you have this gorgeous Essie shade in your stash? What are your thoughts? Share below 👇🏻 what your favourite nude shade is!

Mani Swap with @mugglenails

It feels like forever since I had to opportunity to join one of my fellow nail art addicts in a mani swap. So I was super excited to be able to team up with a fellow Canadian nail polish addict @mugglenails in a fun design swap. Meghan always comes up with such creative nail art patterns & colour combinations. So it was really fun to scroll through her feed to pick a design to recreate!

I had narrowed it down to two designs of hers, but in the end I kept coming back to this blue & aqua design. There is something about the colour combination which felt so nautical, I just couldn’t get it out of my head. Very, very Summery! For her design, Meghan recreated my green vine design from a few months back.

For this design, the polish I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie First Timer
  • Icing Stores Mermaid Mint
  • Essie All the Wave
  • Born Pretty Store Aurora Rainbow Nail Striping Tape (item #40423)
  • Medium sized dotting tool

There is something about this colour combination that just makes me swoon. Maybe because it feels so Summer-y & reminds me of the ocean. I mean, I’m an East Coat Girl… the ocean is in my veins. I will always adore a nail design with a nautical theme. All this design needs is a quick accent anchor for it to go full nautical. But I kind of like the fact that it’s kind of subtle–it makes this design a much more everyday look. This colour combo isn’t my everyday choice, & yet I’m completely obsessed with it!

What do you think of this mani swap? Do you think my recreation was successful? Share your thoughts down in the comments below!

Floral & Holo

Holy how is it July already? Seriously, it feels like just yesterday I was posting Christmas designs & now it’s hot & humid & I’m so excited I can finally pull out all my fun Summer dresses to wear without needing leggings underneath. I’ve been rocking a lot of floral lately… especially on the nails.

I know that it doesn’t matter what time of year it is, I’m pretty much always going to rock floral. But when the sun is shining & the temps are climbing, wearing floral just feels right!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • NailStuff.ca holo powder (applied over Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Rose to the Occasion)
  • Essie Playdate
  • Color Club Pucci-licious
  • Sally Hansen CSM Killer Heels
  • Sally Hansen CSM Red It Online
  • Sally Hansen CSM Rose To the Occasion
  • Sally Hansen CSM Blush Against The World
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in green
  • Quo by ORLY Second Hand Jade
  • Bundle Monster small detail brush
  • Bundle Monster small & large dotting tool

Oh man, this holo powder from NailStuff.ca is one of my all time favourites. Easy to apply & such a strong holo look. I never thought of using it as a base for nail art, but it was the perfect base for this floral. Plus in the sunlight…. oh, in the sunlight. I’ve been obsessing over wearing holo nails on good days because it’s so distracting! I would be lying if I said I didn’t get caught staring at my nails once or twice (or five times) while wearing this mani!

what do you think of this design? Are you a fan of a holo base for nail art? Share your thoughts in the comments below & let me know what you think. ♥️

SWATCH SUNDAY — New Polish from Wrenn Polish (& an old favourite too!)

Happy Sunday lovelies! & happy Canada Day 🇨🇦 to all my Canadian followers! I hope everyone is surviving the heat we’re currently experiencing across the country.

Today’s Swatch Sunday post is an exciting one. I recently received some new beauties from Alissa at Wrenn Polish. She just released a brand new polish called Summer Sands which is a sandy tan holo & restocked one of her popular shades Happy Thoughts! & I was lucky enough to receive both gorgeous shades to add to my growing Wrenn Polish collection.

*PR SAMPLE* Some of these items were sent to me for review. However, all opinions are my own

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — New Polish from Wrenn Polish (& an old favourite too!)”

Vintage Roses (take #17283)

You know when you did that perfect pair of jeans or shirt or outfit that looks amazing, & fits your perfectly, & just makes you look amazing? You wear it constantly (maybe more than you should), because it just looks so good? That is how I feel about floral & vintage rose nails. & that is why I have ANOTHER floral design to share with you.

This design is actually inspired by an old design of mine, this time using blues instead of pinks. Yep, I’ve done a different version of these simple roses a lot but they never get old to me, so hopefully they’re not tired to you.

For this manicure, to polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Find Me an Oasis
  • OPI Angel with a Leadfoot
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Rose to the Occasion
  • Essie Bachelorette Bash
  • Sally Hansen Insta-dri Petal Pusher
  • YSL Beauty Vert D’Orient
  • Essie First Timer
  • NailStuff.ca Mixed Decoration Nail Wheel in Gold
  • Small dotting tool
  • Small detail brush from Bundle Monster

Oooooh these roses over white is definitely one of my favourite accent nails to do. I love all floral nails, but there is something about vintage roses that just looks so good: easy to do, but looks beautiful & complicated every time. Not to mention, roses are one of the easiest florals to do because I find (for me at least), they’re one of ten hardest florals to mess up.

My tutorial on how I do roses is Here.

So what do you think of this design? Are you a vintage roses person or do you prefer other floral? Share your thoughts down below!