Tag: NOTD

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Glam Nails Challenge August — Peach 🍑

Hello lovelies & happy Monday!

Sorry for being MIA this weekend; this last week has been CRAZY & then I spent my Saturday in bed all day with a migraine, which put any blog work I was going to do on the back burner. But I’m back this morning with prompt #3 of #glamnailschallengeaug: Peach. & I decided to go with a bit of an abstract interpretation of the prompt with these peaches & cream inspired stripes.

I actually was struggling a bit with what I should do for this one. But once this idea popped into my head, I knew I wanted to do it!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Giant Peach
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sunkissed
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Day Cream
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

Oh man, these feel kind of retro, which is really fun!

I went out & bought 3 new Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear shades at Shoppers since they were on sale for $2.99 each, it’s been a long week, & I haven’t bought new a nail polish in a while. I thought these three shades really gave me the peaches & cream feels (plus they’re very pretty colours over all). & I’ve been obsessed with these retro inspired stripes that are all over Instagram right now.

What do you think about these peaches & cream inspired stripes? Do you like my take on the prompt, or is it a little too outside the lines haha. Let me know if you’d rock this peach inspired look in your nails, down in the comments, & don’t forget to pop over to Instagram & check out the other looks using the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug.

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Glam Nails Challenge August — Blueberries

Good Morning lovelies & happy Wednesday. We’re already halfway to the weekend! & we’re already on our second prompt for Glam Nails Challenge August!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I decided to take on a challenge for this month to inspire me to get out of my rut. The challenge this month is fruit themed, & I don’t think I’ve attempted that many fruit themed designs over the years, so I’m very excited for the challenge.

Today’s prompt is blueberries, & my design was inspired by @brydiedoesnails! I was obsessed with her blueberry & daisy design, so I decided to do my own spin on it.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI After Alter
  • Essie Gel Couture Princess Charming
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue
  • Sally Miracle Gel Beatnik
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod!
  • OPI Just Can’t Cope-acabana
  • Cosmetics Arts Lime Green (no name)
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

How freaking adorable did these blueberries turn out? I never thought of doing floral & fruit, but it turned out so perfect.

This look was surprisingly easy to do—easier than I thought it would be—& the end result turned out beautiful. I don’t think that blueberries will replace my usual floral favourites, but it’s so much fun to switch things up once in a while! Because this is a look I definitely wouldn’t have thought up on my own, without a little encouragement!

How are we feeling about this challenge so far? Do you love these blueberry nails as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts, & keep track of everyone’s nail art looks by checking out #glamnailschallengeaug on Instagram!

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Glam Nails Challenge August — Pineapples

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! & happy long weekend to those who are celebrating.

This month I decided to do something I haven’t done in what feels like forever: GlamNailsChallenge! This month’s theme is fruit, which is a fun summery theme, so I’m excited to participate. I feel like it’ll be a fun way to get back into my nail art groove.

& the first prompt: pineapples. 🍍

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Royal Hue
  • OPI Just Can’t Cope-acabana
  • OPI How Great is Your Dane?
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art Pen in green
  • Cosmetics Arts Lime Green (name has long since worn off)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush

I thought a pineapple pattern look with be super cute, & I love the brightness of the yellow over the blue base. They just pop so well! It’s been a long, long time since I did a fruit themed manicure, but I think the first of this challenge is adorable. Haha I’m not sure how the rest of this challenge is going to go, but I’m excited to get planning for all the different (fruit themed) looks. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for sure!

What do you think about my first look for GlamNailsChallengeAugust? Don’t forget, you can follow along with everyone’s looks by using the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug on Instagram. I’m definitely excited to see all the cute looks that everyone comes up with this month!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Grape Juice

Hello beauties & happy Sunday! & happy first day of August!

How is everyone’s weekend — is it a long weekend where you are? It is here in Nova Scotia, & (I think) most of Canada? It also always feels like the beginning of the end of Summer. I know that we still have 4 weeks left, but man, there is something about August which always gets me in an Autumn mindset.

Today’s polish pick for Swatch Sunday still feels Summery enough though! & it was originally released as part of the China Glaze Summer Days (2009) collection: China Glaze Grape Juice.

2 coats

This polish went on easily in 2 coats, although the formula went on a little thicker for coat #2. The colour is a really vibrant, although slightly darker, purple with a beautiful silvery shimmer — I also saw some flecks of blue in there too.

You can really, really see all the shimmer in the macro shot. It’s very densely packed, which I really like! I also can’t believe I haven’t featured this yet for Swatch Sunday! It’s been in my stash for years, but with the exception of nail art, I haven’t worn it a to. Which is actually a travesty, because it is such a fantastic colour! It’s also just dark enough to keep me from full out craving Autumn, while also keeping bright-ish for Summer.

Sadly, it looks like this shade has been discontinued, but I did find a few listings online for it like Sparkle Canada but I don’t think it’s an easy find. However, if you do happen to come across it, you should totally pick it up because it’s such a lovely shade.

What do you think about China Glaze Grape Juice? Do you have this purple beauty in your stash? Which shades are you loving as we inch towards Autumn? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to know what you’re wearing right now.

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Recreating Tribal Roses (from 5 years ago)

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! The weekend is almost upon us — & so is August! How crazy is that? We’re almost in the last month of Summer. I swear this year is rushing by way faster than 2020 did. I feel like Summer just started, & now Fall collections are already popping up in the stores. & I’ve already started thinking about what Fall fashion items I want to add to my closet…

But in the mean time, let’s concentrate on nails. More importantly, this tribal & roses design which is actually a recreation of a design I did 5 years ago. This time, though, I decided to go with a reverse colour scheme with the darker shade as my base, & the white for my line work.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Beatnik
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod!
  • Essie Stop Drop Shop
  • Essie Gel Couture Princess Charming
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure So Much Fawn
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in green
  • Cosmetics Arts Lime Green (name has long since worn off)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm detail brush
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush

How lovely is this combination? The beautiful blue, the line work — that I’m very, very proud of! — & the cute, cute roses. I feel like I did a very good job of recreating my original design, but making it even better! These turned out better than I ever could have imagined. Also the white pops so we’ll over Sally Hansen Beatnik, as does the floral. Just everything about this look makes me so happy.

It just feels so good to be getting back to my roots, & doing my favourite kinds of nail art again. Feels like I’m me again! Also, while having short nails is always a nice change, I’m very happy to have returned to my rounded my nails again. They’re so much more me.

What do you think about this look? Did a do a good job recreating my original? Let me know what you think down in the comments below, & let me know if you’d like to see me do more of these posts recreating old manicures!