Tag: NOTD

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Cactus 🌵

Good morning lovelies & happy Wednesday! Can you believe that this is it — the last prompt of this month’s challenge! Crazy to think August is almost over, & September is (basically) here. But we’re finishing out this month’s challenge strong with a handpainted cactus design, & I’m really proud of how these turned out!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Quo by Orly Breatheable You’re A Gem
  • Pacifica Rainbow Gloss
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • Essie Turquoise & Cacaos
  • Essie Chillato
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Essie Cute as a Button
  • Essie Set in Sandstone
  • Nailtural Keep Palm, Swim On
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

Okay, so originally I was going to use my cactus stickers from NailStuff.ca for this design, but I could not find them anywhere! So I had to pull out my freehand skills, & freehand paint some cute cacti on my nails… & you know, I think I did a pretty good job! I’m actually super proud of these & feeling pretty in love with how beautifully they turned out.

My whole reason for doing this challenge this month was the inspire me to get out of my nail art box, & feel creative again. My favourite months of the year are coming up, & I want to be in love with nail art again; feel creative again. & I am really excited to finish the rest of this year with some fun nail art looks!

What do you think about these cactus nails for Glam Nails Challenge August? Have you enjoyed taking this nail art journey with me this month? I’m not 100% sure if I’m going to do Glam Nails Challenge for September, but either way I’m pumped to get into some fun Fall designs & colours.

Have a lovely Wednesday

♥︎

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Sun 🌞

Good morning lovelies & happy Monday! I hope everyone is having a beautiful start to their day — can you believe this is the last Monday of August?! September is so close, it’s kind of crazy.

Today we have our second last prompt for Glam Nails Challenge August, which is sun 🌞. I decided once again to do my own interpretation, which I think turned out so beautifully!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Claire’s 72640 (dark burgundy)
  • Essie Mani Thanks!
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

I went a little out of the box with these suns, but I think you can still get the idea of what they’re supposed to be! I think they’re really cool & interesting, & I really love how they turned out.

This has been such a fun challenge to do this month, & I’m really glad I got back into my nail art groove. I think I needed something like this to stretch my creative muscles, & I’m excited to finish it strong on Wednesday!

What do you think about this sun design? Do you see the vibe I was going for? Have you enjoyed these prompts this month as much as I have? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

& hop on over to Instagram to see all the other beautiful designs using the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug24.

Have a happy Monday!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Claire’s Khaki Green

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! Another beautiful sunny Sunday. I know we still have a little under a month of Summer left (according to the calendar) but man oh man, do I feel the Autumn polish vibes calling. So I decided to pull out one of those more Fall-esque shades for today’s Swatch Sunday post. 🍂🍁

This is Claire’s Khaki Green.

2 coats + top coat

I’ve written before about my absolute love of Claire’s polishes, even after all these years. Working for the company really introduced my absolute nail polish obsession, especially they were always very good for duping current trends in their polish brand — like crackle, feather, etc.

Khaki Green is a beautiful olive geeen with a stunning shimmer of golden bronze that really pops on the nail, especially in the sunshine. It is definitely giving late Summer/early Autumn, & would be the perfect addition to any Fall nail polish collection. & I love how the shimmer actually shows up better on the nail than in the bottle, which I feel like is virtually unheard of (it’s usually the other way around.)

Seriously — look at that shimmer. It’s just so stunningly beautiful!

The formula on this guy was good & easy to apply. It actually had a good shiny finish, although I did add top coat to really gloss it up. Over all, a good shade from a mainstream brand that isn’t necessarily known for their nail polish. I always love when you kind find hidden gems where you wouldn’t normally think to look.

Sadly, this shade is a few years old now so (I’m guessing) no longer in rotation. But I definitely recommend checking out the shades they release, because there are always fun colours & finishes you wouldn’t expect.

What do you think of Claire’s Khaki Green? Do you like this shade of olive green with shimmer? Is this kind of colour one you would reach for come Autumn? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday 🖤

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Stained Glass

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday. I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. The weather here has been weird — cold then hot & muggy, with sporadic rain. Makes it very hard for a girl to know what to wear!

But today marks another prompt for Glam Nails Challenge August, & today’s prompt is stained glass. & obviously, I had to pull out an old favourite for this prompt — the stained/shattered glass look I love so much. This time, I used a flakie topper which gave it more of that stained glass effect I think.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • OPI Turn On The Northern Lights
  • ‘Ard As Nails Fairy Flakes

  • NailStuff.ca dotting tool from Dotting Tool Trio

How pretty is this look! I’ll admit, fishing out the flakies vs the usual hard glitters I usually do this kind of look with was a bit more time consuming than I was expecting, but then end result is so worth it! I’m kind of obsessed with these flakies over this dark base & it’s giving straight up Autumn—& I’m okay with that. Time to pull out my over the knee socks & sip on some pumpkin spice.

I’ve been wearing this look for a few days, & I got curious how it would look matte-ified & oh man… I think I love it even more! What do you think — shiny or matte?

I love a good stained glass look, so this was a fun prompt. Plus it let me tap into those Autumn vibes I’ve been seriously craving, & I’m not mad about it at all. Over all, this might be one of my favourite designs of the challenge thus far. It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of the month holds!

& as always, you can follow along with the Glam Nails Challenge on Instagram with the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug24 & see all the beautiful nails that have been created!

Happy Wednesday

🖤

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE AUGUST (2024) — Desert 🏜️

Good morning lovelies & happy rainy Monday!

Can you believe that August is almost over? We are like 4 days away from PSL coming back, & August is slipping away. Which means we only have a few more prompts to go for Glam Nails Challenge August! & the next prompt is desert! I was excited for this one, but decided to go a bit abstract with the prompt & used desert inspired colours for this abstract stripe design!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie First Base 
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Cocktails & Coconuts
  • Essie Rocky Rose
  • Essie East Hampton Cottage
  • Essie Cacti on the Prize
  • Essie Mani Thanks!
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

How pretty is this colour combination?! I will be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever worn a manicure which had so much real life enthusiasm! I swear, I was getting so many amazing comments & reactions to this design I didn’t want to take it off. I think it has something to do with how long my nails are right now — they definitely garner a lot of attention!

Definitely a bit of an interpretation of the prompt, but that’s the fun of nail art! You get to do whatever version of a prompt that you want, & I love that about this kind of challenge. Makes me get creative!

What do you think of my desert nails? Do you love how this design turned out? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & don’t forget, if you’re on Instagram, to check out the hashtag #glamnailschallengeaug24 to see everyone’s beautiful version of this prompt!

Happy Monday

♥︎