SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI All About The Bows (Holiday 2019 Hello Kitty Collection)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s a beautiful Sunday here, albeit a little bit chilly. But the sun is shining, & that is nice to see for a January day. I thought I would match the brighter days, while also getting a little a little Valentines-y with some pinkish nails. I fee like end of January into February is the only time I really wear a lot of pink, so I’ve got to share when I do!

Today’s Swatch Sunday pick is OPI All About the Bows from the 2019 Hello Kitty Holiday Collection. Technically this shade is kind of enigma, because I feel like sometimes it leans hot pink, & sometimes it looks more reddish. Getting the right lighting for these nails was definitely a bit of a challenge, but I tried my best!

1 coats, No Top Coat

Hello beautiful! & hello one coater. I was super impressed with the smooth formula of this shade because it applied effortlessly in one coat. The formula itself has a syrupy feel, but with a good opacity. I was actually really, really impressed with how easily it applied. & the dry time was super quick as well, probably because I only needed one coat to reach full opacity.

I will say though, if my nails were longer, I might need two if I wanted a little more coverage. You can see a bit of visible nail line on my ring finger — but honestly, it’s barely visible unless you’re really looking for it.

I love how this shade is somewhere between a hot pink & a red. We all know how much I love a good red, but it still gives off the Valentine’s vibes I was hoping for. After all, it’s just a little over 2 weeks away so it’s time to start really getting my manicure & nail art ideas into action.

What do you think of OPI All About The Bows? Are you a fan of a hot pink shade like this? Let me know all your thoughts about this shade, & which shades you’re already planning on wearing for Valentine’s Day (& black totally counts!)

Have a happy Sunday loves.

♥︎

New Years Eve Golden Dotticure ✨

Hello Beauties & happy New Years Eve! I told you I would sneak in one more manicure before the year was over. Obviously, it being New Years Eve, I needed to give it my all, & decided to go with gold, silver & black for the full effect.

I also didn’t want to go too crazy because I am still exhausted from working through Christmas, & honestly by 10pm I’m just wrecked. So I decided to go with a classic dotticure… but with a NYE twist.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • OPI Rolling in Cashmere
  • Essie Hors d’Oeuvres
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Dotting tool (I always use mine from NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)

I like how I flipped the colours I would usually do. Normally, I would go with black (or another darker colour) as my base, & use the lighter colours as my dots. But I thought I needed more gold & silver, so I decided to use it as my base instead, & use black as my accent… & I love how it turned out! Very glam, with a hint of glitter. Perfect for New Years Eve celebrations, both over the top, & simple.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who has visited this blog, liked my designs, & especially commented this last year! You make it worth it to keep posting, & make me excited to keep posting — especially as other social media changes so much! 2022 was a fantastic year for me, albeit challenging & full of change, but this blog was my happy place to come to, & I’m very excited to see what 2023 has in store!

Have a happy New Year Lovelies! Wishing everyone peace, calm, & joy.

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Can you believe this is the last Sunday before Christmas?

I can’t believe how quickly this holiday season has sped by. I haven’t even had a chance to do any Christmas baking yet! But I am excited, because it’s been a long time since I had a chance to get a new release OPI holiday shade, so when I saw a few of the new collection, I had to pick on. & as soon as I saw this beautiful & dark shimmer shade, I knew I needed it for my collection!

2 coats + OPI Infinite Shiner Top Coat

How freaking beautiful is this shade? It’s a deep reddish brown shade with this stunning bronze-y shimmer — which you can really see in the bottle. The formula was pretty dark perfect, smooth & easy to apply. Two coats gave perfect application, which left a smooth & perfectly applied manicure. Obviously, red is one of my favourite manicure colours so I will always be drawn to it, but I do feel like there is something a little extra special about this polish.

I picked up my bottle of OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems at my local Chatters Salon, but you can find this shade wherever OPI shades are sold. It is available in regular formula, the Infinite Shine formula, & in the Gel formula as well.

What do you think about OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems? Have you picked up any shades from the OPI 2022 Holiday collection? Which one was your favourite? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what colour you’re planning on wearing on your nails for Christmas Eve!

Silver Stamping & Wrapping Paper Inspired 🎁

Hello lovelies, & happy Thursday! & happy December 1st! It is officially Christmas season, & the countdown to Christmas is on. I should probably get my shopping done before it gets too crazy, haha.

But — in honour of this brand new festive month, I thought some Christmas wrapping paper inspired nails would be a fun start. I love my Christmas pattern stamping plates this time of year because they have some many fun patterns you can use, which always makes me think of wrapping paper. While I’m dedicated to doing Glam Nails Challenge December, I also want to do some fun other Christmas manicures on my off days.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-chip Top Coat
  • OPI Just Be-Claus
  • ACO by Ardene Dancing Queen
  • Essie No Place Like Chrome
  • NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper 
  • Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate (no longer available)

Please excuse my ring finger which was a bit of a mess up, but that’s okay. I love the crisp silver over the sparkly base — OPI Just Be-Claus topped with ACO by Ardene Dancing Queen (which is a sparkly fuchsia pink). It definitely gives off the wrapping paper vibes I was hoping for.

& it also Christmas-y/Holiday vibes while not being out right blatant. & I like that as well.

What do you think about this stamped pattern nails? Do you enjoy the more subtle holiday designs like this, or do you like in your face Christmas vibes?

& let me know what other Holiday nail art looks you might want to see!

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Vampsterdam

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. The last Sunday of October — because this month is just going by at a crazy rate! I thought for this weeks Swatch Sunday I would come up with something kind of Halloween-y to share, & this latest Winners find definitely fits the bill!

This is OPI Vampsterdam— originally released as part of the Spring/Summer 2012 Holland Collection. But I totally feel like between the name & the shade, it could be a Fall shade.

2 coats, no top coat

The shade itself is a very warm plum, with stunning frosty shimmer. I needed 2 coats for full coverage, but I did find I needed to wait a bit between coats because if not it would pull a bit (see my pinky finger). The formula was also quite thin, but it was also a brand new bottle, so maybe that was why? Either way, not big issues that take away from the polish.

The shade itself is absolutely stunning, & very perfect for late October. It’s beautiful & definitely vampy. It also has a lovely jewel tone to it that I feel like translates into holiday party season. Definitely another winner & shade that I will find myself reaching for again & again.

Over all, I love this shade.

I’m not 100% sure on availability in store — this is obviously OPI’s newer label — but it is available to “try on” via the OPI website in both regular & Infinite Shine, but I couldn’t find an option to buy. However, I did find a link to it on Amazon.ca & Tradesecrets.ca — both in the Infinite Shine formula. So if you need this shade, that’s probably your best options!

What do you think of OPI Vampsterdam? Would you wear this shade? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!