Pretty & Pink Glittery Abstract Stripes

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday!

I hope everyone’s week has been beautiful so far. Today I’m excited because I have a pretty, sparkly manicure to show off. & with everything not beautiful happening in the world right now, sometimes you just need to be distracted with something beautiful.

I recently broke my middle finger nail, badly, so that meant it was time for a big chop. Suddenly short nails always make it a bit hard for me to focus on creating beautiful nail art, but I think these pink sparkly abstract stripes were a nice start to another short nail era.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze Don’t Desert Me
  • Quo by Orly Mini Pink Glitter (no name on the bottle)
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust
  • Sally Hansen Insta Dri Luxe Finish Lavish Lilac
  • Art Club Striper Passion Flower
  • Art Club Striper Pink Pastel
  • Quo by Orly Striper Black

Oh man, I love this sparkly base so much. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed me sharing stories of a lot of glittery nails. With all the sunshine we’ve been having, I just can’t get enough of the glitter. It makes me very happy. In fact, this was the base I was wearing when I had my horrible break, so I kept it on & added the nail art over top to wear for a few more days. & I’m glad I did because I really really like how this design turned out. It’s just so pretty!

What do you think of this glittery pink abstract stripe design? Do you like glitter on sunshine-y days as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below. & let me know if there is any specific nail art you would like to see me attempt on these new shorties of mine.

Happy Thursday!

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Coconut Kiss

Good morning beauties, & happy sunny Sunday. The weather is feeling more & more Summer like. A girl could get used to sunshine like this! Obviously that meant I needed to dig through my stash for something summery that I haven’t shared yet.

& China Glaze Coconut Kiss is obviously the perfect choice!

2 coats + top coat

China Glaze Coconut Kiss is a beautiful deep purple with a metallic finish. The formula was on the thinner side, which meant the application was easy & built to opacity in just two coats. I love the deeper purple shade, but it also has a stunning flash of lighter purple/fuchsia depending on how you move your hand.

The shimmer just brings this polish to the next level!

Like come on, how pretty is the polish?

& the great new is this shade is part of China Glaze’s permanent collection so it’s easily available anywhere you buy China Glaze nail polish.

What do you think about China Glaze Coconut Kiss? Are you a fan of this pretty purple polish, or have it in your own collection? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Cadillacquer Lavender Sunset (NailStuff Exclusive)

•contains pr/gifted product•

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Sorry for another week of radio silence — I had a massive allergy attack on Sunday that turned into a brutal sinus infection, so I’ve been trying my best to recover from that which is why my nails have taken a back seat unfortunately.

BUT I’m so excited today because I have a polish to share with you that I’ve been keeping a secret for months! NailStuff just released a brand new exclusive shade on their website from Cadillacquer & I’m absolutely in love with it! This is Lavender Sunset.

2 coats + top coat

How to describe this complex polish? It’s a stunning duochrome with a dark blue base with the most incredible shimmer that gives it flashes of purple & pink, & is finished off with a scattering of holographic flake glitters. The formula was thin, so you definitely need to add a few coats to build up your opacity. However, because of the beautiful finish, I find you can get away with a thin application & it still looks beautiful on the nail.

Depending on the lighting, it can appear golden, pink, purple, or even show off flashes on green. I can definitely see the inspiration, which is described as being inspired by the “beautiful lavender fields in Provence, France”.

How gorgeous!

I’ve worn this polish ( in secret) a few times over the last few months, & I always get fabulous compliments! It really does look like magic on the nail. I’m also very impressed with the formula, as I’ve worn this polish 4+ days more than once, without expirencing major chipping of my nails — which is always impressive when you’re working in retail.

As mentioned, this is a NailStuff exclusive polish, so it can only be purchased via their website. It retails for $19.99 CAD. As well, like all Cadillacquer shades, it is 5-free, & cruelty free.

If you’re looking for a super unique shade to add to your collection for the Summer, I definitely recommend picking Lavender Sunset up! It’s absolutely eye-catching, & will get your nails noticed! I also haven’t tested it yet, but I feel like with it’s thin formula, you could use it as a topper on other shades for some unique looks!

Let me know what you think of this shade down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday! ♥︎

Products featured in this post were provided in exchanged for content. 

All thoughts are honest & my own.

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Expressie IRL

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful sunny Sunday, that is supposed to be quite warm. Spring has officially sprung, & I just want to keep soaking it in. Today, I decided to grab a pretty polish I was gifted by my daughter for Christmas. She knows how’s much I adore purple, so she picked up this pretty polish for me at her school Gift Mart.

This is Essie Expressie IRL.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful grape purple is smooth & easy to apply. I had almost full opacity in one coat, but I did find I struggled a smidge with the brush, so I needed a second coat to perfect my application — especially around the cuticle line. I found I had some weird lines with my first swipe, just because the brush, so I needed to go back in to smooth everything. The end result, though, was a pretty perfect looking manicure.

The cream formula dries quiet, although I did find the shine a bit flat, but a quite swipe of Seche Vive fixed that.

The colour is so purple! Which I love. Honestly, with the exception of the kind of wonky brush–which could be a defect with this bottle as I can’t remember having this issue with my other bottles of Expressie–I have no complaints about this polish! & I just love the colour.

Essie Expressie IRL is part of the core collection, so if you’re looking for this shade you can find it anywhere that Essie shades are sold– for example, I found it listed at Shoppers Beauty for $14.99 CAD, Walmart Canada for $10.96 CAD, Amazon.ca for $10.96 CAD, & for my American friends, on Target.com for $9.99 USD.

What do you think about Essie IRL? Do you love this purple polish as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Sunday ♥︎

Purple & Turquoise Wavy Stripes

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! It’s a rainy Wednesday here, which is a tad disappointing. But I have some fun vibrant nails to share to shake things up a smidge because I’m so over Winter, & I want all the bright colour.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: China Glaze Fast Forward Top 
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Purple Craze
  • Essie Expressie FX Iced Out
  • Essie In the Cab-Ana
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

These were super simple to create. I started with my shimmery purple base, then just drew some wavy lines in a brighter, lighter shade overtop. So easy!

What do you think of these purple & turquoise wavy lines? It’s an easy look to do, but definitely catches the eye. I’m still trying to create fun nails, but lacking in inspiring (even after perusing Pinterest for far too long) but hopefully as the days get warmer, I’ll feel more like painting my nails & creating fun looks!

Enjoy your Wednesday loves! ♥︎