SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Orchid Around

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday!

& a bright, sunny, warm Sunday at that. Finally, it’s starting to feel like Spring. So naturally, I needed to pick out some kind of Spring-esque shade for this week’s Swatch Sunday polish pick.

After perusing my polish stash for a while, I decided on this pastel beauty from Sally Hansen: Orchid Around from the Xtreme Wear line.

2 coats + Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

How pretty is this beautiful pastel is somewhere between pink & pale purple, with a very pretty shimmer which — sadly — is hard to actually see on the nail unless you’re really looking for it.

The formula was a good consistency & easily applied in 2 coats. I did need to apply top coat to smooth things out, as I found it had some streakiness, but since I always add top coat when I’m wearing nail polish anyways, it’s not a big deal — & definitely not a deal breaker.

You can see that pretty shimmer in my macro shot! I just wish it was more visible.

The colour is so perfect for Spring! & I’m always here for a pretty pastel shade to inspire warmed days. This would be the perfect base for some Easter nail art (which, is less than a month away!) I’ve always had good luck with the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear line in terms of wearability, which is awesome because it’s a great affordable option.

What do you think of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Orchid Around? Would you wear this shade for Spring? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Have a lovely Sunday! 🌸

SWATCH SUNDAY — QUO Loud & Proud

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

It’s a beautiful, sunny & slightly chilly weekend here on the East Coast. It’s also 2 days until Valentine’s Day, so I went searching for something pink to share for this week’s Swatch Sunday. Pink’s not a colour I wear very often, but one I love to buy. So I thought why not bring out one of those untouched pink’s for this week’s post.

Today’s pick: QUO Beauty Flash Dry Loud & Proud. I picked up this shade last Winter, on clearance–naturally–& have only used it in a couple manicures since. But, since it’s a sunny day, I was feeling some neon.

2 coats, no top coat.

Loud & Proud is a shocking coral neon pink which dries to a semi matte finish, as most neons do. The formula was a bit crelly, leaning on the creme side, but had almost full opacity in two coats. I was actually a bit nervous about needing a ton of coats, but 2 was perfect for me. If you had longer nails, with more of a free edge, you might need another coat, or some white undies.

This shade comes from the QUO Beauty Flash Dry line, which means it’s supposed to dry quicker than your average nail polish. The first coat was definitely quick to dry, although I found the second coat a little bit slower — maybe because I had applied my second coat a bit thicker? The shade was also incredibly hard to photograph the colour correctly, but I tried my best. Originally, it was leaning very orange, which wasn’t true to colour at all.

This were definitely as close to the true colour as I could get it to show.

What do you think about this fun pink neon from QUO? Would you bright this bright, matte pink for your Valentine’s Day celebrations? Let me know what you think & what you’re going to be wearing for any upcoming Valentine’s Day celebrations!

Hot Pink & Polka Dots

Hello beauties & happy Tuesday! A very, very snowy Tuesday here. The weather definitely cannot make up its mind lately.

Today I have a pretty design to share that I actually did a little while ago, but didn’t get a chance to share. I thought that it would be gorgeous for a pre-Valentine’s Day design, so I wanted to share.

The polishes I used for this manicure are:

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Blacky-O
  • Dotting tool (I always use mine from NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)

Gosh I love a good polka dot design. It’s literally the easiest & quickest nail art I think you can do — & it always looks so put together. This is definitely a great nail art look for anyone wanting fun nails, without wanting to put an hour+ into painting something.

What do you think about this nail art look? Is this a nice prelude to February & the Valentine’s Day looks to come? Let me know all your thoughts down below!

Hot Pink Stamped Floral

Good morning loves & happy Tuesday! I hope everyone survived the weekend & Monday relatively unscathed. It was rainy here all weekend which absolutely sucked. It was absolutely torrential.

Spring… you can come anytime!

So I’m honour of our cold & wet days, I decided I needed some hot pink nails. & why not throw some floral stamping on there too, just for fun.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • China Glaze Strawberry Fields
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Discontinued Born Pretty Store floral pattern stamping plate (featured here)
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

How pretty are these? I hope they’re pretty because oh boy did I struggle with clean up! I don’t know what was happening, because usually I don’t have so many issues, but my cuticle line just wanted to be stained black.

& also I’m so over this both of Seche Vite & it shrinking every manicure I do. I’ve never had a bottle shrink so bad! Look at my middle finger! So beyond frustrating. But regardless of the issues, my nails did turn out pretty. China Glaze Strawberry Fields is so pretty, I can’t believe I don’t wear it more often!

What do you think of this floral design? Are you feeling early Spring vibes in the middle of January? & to my friends on the other side of the world in the middle of Summer… how is it there? Is it nice?

Have a lovely Tuesday darlings!

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party

Hello my loves & Happy Sunday! This is the second Sunday of December, so I’m keeping with the Christmas-ish polish tradition, & trying to share shades that are related in some way to the holiday!

This past week I did a poll on my Instagram asking if people would rather see China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party (Holiday 2015) or OPI Bring Out The Big Gems (Holiday 2022) this week, & with an overwhelming majority, Ugly Sweater Party was the winner!

2 coats, No Top Coat

China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party is a pink jelly formula, packed tightly with an assortment of glitters, including holographic. The formula is a tad on the thick side, but with a little bit of patience, I easily covered my whole nail in two coats. You could probably sponge on the glitter for a denser packed glitter effect, but I much prefer it applied this way as I like the overall finish.

Truthfully, I don’t know if I can remember ever wearing this shade as a full manicure like this before. I originally bought the polish because I loved the name, & glitter is my weakness, but I think I’ve truthfully only used it in glitter gradients, or maybe as a single accent nail, which makes me sad.

I was also surprised I had never swatched this shade previous Decembers, so I was happy. to do both for todays post! This is definitely a fun glitter shade, & just screams Christmas party to me! My Christmas party days are long behind me, but to be honest if I were every invited to one — & didn’t have time for a full nail art look — this would be my #1 polish pick for such an occasion.

Do you remember China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party from its original 2015 release? Did you have this sparkly shade in your stash, or do you still have this glitter on rotation? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!