Tag: NOTD

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Like A Charm (Blue Moon Halloween 2020 Collection)

Hello lovelies & Happy Sunday! Today I have another really fun nail polish to share with you!

For those who don’t know, Essie released a Halloween nail polish collection, for the first time ever! So naturally when I saw the shades at my local Shoppers Drug Mart, I knew I had to pick at least one shade up (I was being good). All the shades were pretty beautiful (@apolishedcolleen has full swatches on her Instagram) but the one that caught my eye most was Like A Charm.

There is something about a shifty dark purple that just makes me so happy, especially during Halloween season.

2 coats + Essie Speed Setter Top Coat

Like A Charm is a dark navy with scattered teal & blue & silver flakies to give it a fantastic colour shifting effect, which you can really see in the above macro shot. The formula was nice & not too thick, but did off a good amount of coverage. I did two coats for even application & opacity.

I definitely was really excited to see Essie come out with a fun Halloween collection this year, & even though this isn’t a completely unique shade in my nail polish collection over all, it is a unique shade when it comes to the Essie shades I own, & for that I am so, so glad that I picked it up!

Truthfully, I haven’t even gotten that excited about Halloween yet, just because this year has been such a rough year, but starting to paint my nails with Halloween polishes (especially one so witchy!) definitely gets me pumped to start thinking about my favourite holiday!

Next up will be Halloween decorations!

Have you picked up any of the shades from the Essie Blue Moon Halloween 2020 collection? Do you have a favourite? What do you think about Like A Charm? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & if you’ve already started decorating for Halloween! 🎃

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Navy & Bronze Dry Brush

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! Hope everyone has a lovely start to their week so far. Today I’ve got another nail art technique to share with you (that I haven’t done in a while): dry brush!

Dry brush is such an easy technique that anyone can do. It’s a great option if you can’t quite figure out what to do on your nails— which is exactly what I was going through the other night when preparing to do my nails. I just love how the way you layer the polishes overtop of each other can create such a fun & unique look!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • L’Oréal Le Vernis a L’Huile Bleu Royal
  • Essie Ballet Slippers
  • Essie Spice It Up
  • Essie Cliffhanger
  • Essie Leggy Legend
  • Sally Hansen MG Black-y O
  • NailStuff.ca Gold Metallic Flakes (COFFEE10 to save 10%)
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio

Look at that dry brush layering! I added some fun gold foil over top to complete my look, but dry brush is definitely a fun beginner design because it doesn’t require any nail art tools! You can just use whatever polish you have on hand. & the colour combinations are absolutely endless—you can do one for every season, or holiday. Also you can let it dry a bit so the colours don’t blend too much, or brush them together to create a fun almost watercolour effect. I love doing both!

What do you think of the dry brush nail art technique? How do you feel about this Autumn colour scheme? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Dam Nail Polish Sapphire

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s been a while since my last Swatch Sunday post, which is a shame because I’ve been meaning to post this beautiful for too long!

Today’s polish was purchased in July from NailStuff for a very special reason. Some of you might know that September marks my wedding anniversary, & September’s birth stone is Sapphire! So I really wanted this polish in honour of our 5th wedding anniversary. 💙

Dam Sapphire is a gorgeous deep blue liner holographic nail polish. The colour reminds me of the ocean, which is perfect when it’s mimicking a sapphire. The holo is strong, especially in sunshine, & just makes your nails sparkle! ✨

2 coats + top coat

The formula on this shade is really good, & I had full even coverage in 2 coats. I did use my Essie Speed Setter over top, because I was wearing it over the course of a few days.

The holographic glitters are dense, which gives that liner holographic effect. You can see from my below macro how much holo is actually packed into the polish! Just beautiful!

For those wanting to add this shade to their collection, you can buy Dam Nail Polish in a couple of places: for my Canadian friends, you can buy it from NailStuff.ca (like I did) & used my affiliate code COFFEE10 to save 10% off your purchase. For non-Canadians, you’re able to purchase directly from the Dam Nail Polish website.

What do you think about this beautiful blue? Let me know down in the comments below & let me know what your favourite gemstone is!

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Fall Waterfall Design

Hello lovelies, & happy Thursday! Lots of new manicures for you thousands week! Also still absolutely obsessed with Fall shades & colour schemes right now. I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to start decorating my house for Autumn, & I really need to get to Dollarama to stock up on cute Fall decor. But at least I can rock Autumn on my nails!

It’s been a while since I last painted some waterfall nails. I really wanted to wear this pretty dusty salmon pink shade (Sally Hansen So Much Fawn which I scored for $1 on clearance at Shoppers recently) & I really wanted to pair it with some darker, complimentary shades. & I’m obsessed with the end result!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure So Much Fawn
  • Sally Hansen CSM Pat On The Black
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Eco-Rose
  • L’Oréal Feeling Kilty
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm Micro Detail Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

It’s been a while, but my lines are too shakey (thank goodness!) I’m really loving this hint of colour on the pale base. All the polishes are perfect for Autumn! 🍂 & you can never go wrong with a little hint of gold. Plus this is a surprisingly easy look to achieve!

What do you think about this Fall inspired waterfall? I’m absolutely loving this darker colour scheme.

Also it’s almost October which means it’s almost time for Halloween mania to begin! Share down below what designs you might want to see.

(I’m also participating in GlamNailsChallenge October so stay tuned!)

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Blue Plaid Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday!

Here in Halifax we’re currently bracing for a big tropical storm to hit, but I still wanted to share some fun Fall nails I did recently. My posting has been a bit sporadic the last few weeks because of work, & family stuff, but I’m really trying to get back into regular posting again! Especially since next month is my favourite Month of the year!

But first: nail art. I always like to do a plaid design at least once a year, & I was really feeling this dark blue shimmery shade that I found hiding in my stash. It was just screaming for some nail art! After glancing at my favourite Fall dress hanging in my closet, I knew exactly what design I wanted to recreate on my nails. I was a little nervous about free-handing stripes, but I was so happy with how they turned out!

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • China Glaze New Year, New Boo
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Essie Mosaic On Down
  • Quo By Orly Breathable The Antidote
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush (COFFEE10 saves you 10%!)

How gorgeous is this China Glaze shade? It was original released as part of the Glam Finale 2017 Holiday collection. it’s so stunning, & it’s the first time I’ve ever worn it. I can definitely see myself wearing this shade a lot in the new few months — can you imagine it paired in a gradient with some silver holo glitters! Ahhhh, it’ll be so pretty for the holidays.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Because we still have so many Fall & Halloween looks to come!

Down below: a shot with my favourite Fall plaid dress & the inspiration behind this nail art look. They go so perfectly together!

What have you guys been wearing on your nails lately? Do you have a particular shade or design you’re loving right now? Let me know down in the comments below!