Tag: purple

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Belle of the Ball

Hello loves & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend (& staying warm if you happen to be suffering under that arctic vortex taking over right now!) Today, I’m sharing a beautiful polish I can’t believe I haven’t swatched yet!

This is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Belle of the Ball. I was originally gifted this by Sally Hansen in 2018 as part of their REDesign Collection, but as I was newly pregnant & constantly sick, I didn’t get a chance to swatch the whole collection. However, this shade found it’s way into Sally’s permanent CSM line up — & is still in rotation!

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful darkened plum is packed with a surprising red shimmer that looks beautiful depending on you move your fingers. It gives the polish a beautiful dimension which makes it more than just a simple purple nail polish. It was originally released as part of the Sally Hansen REDesign collection, but I was always confused by that as I don’t consider it a red (personally).

But it’s very, very pretty. & even after 5 years the formula in bottle is easy application perfection. Smooth, easy to build opacity. & thanks to those wide brushes, takes barely any time to apply at all. I also found the dry time, even before I applied my quick dry top coat, to be pretty speedy — I had no issues with polish bleeding onto my top coat brush when I applied it.

As mentioned, this shade is still in rotation (at least in Canada), & can be found with other Sally Hansen CSM polishes. For my fellow Canadians, Sally Hansen can be purchased c/o: Shoppers Drug Mart for $13.49 CAD. It can also be found on Amazon.ca. I’ve also seen it at my local Walmart as well.

Sadly, I didn’t find this shade listed on the actual Sally Hansen website, so I hope it’s not on the verge of being discontinued, because it really is stunning!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Belle of the Ball? Is this a shade that you would wear on your own nails? Are you a fan of the Sally Hansen CSM line? I do have quite a few of this line in my stash, & I’ve always been a fan.

Happy Sunday ♥︎

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Chic Gold Stripe Nails

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! The weekend is almost here.

Today I’m sharing a quick & simple look with you I’ve been wearing for the last few days. I have posted a few different versions of this look over the years, & it just never gets boring to me. You can freehand you lines, like I did here, or use striping tape/straight nail vinyls for a little bit of ease. Either way, it’s a not too difficult design that looks chic & classic — & always eye catching.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Milani Nail Polish Deep Thoughts
  • Bourjois Paris Perle Illusion
  • Sally Hansen Five Golden Blings
  • Nailstuff.ca 16mm striper brush

You can’t really see the holo sparkle of Five Golden Blings but it’s there! I really like this simple single line. I was also really excited with how straight my lines turned out! That isn’t always the case. Even though I’ve come a long way with my straight nails, that doesn’t mean they’re always perfect! So when I do get them right… oh boy, does it make me excited!

Probably the reason why this manicure is on day three!

What do you think about these simple gold stripes? Do you like this chic design? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below. & share which colour combination you’d wear for a simple stripe design like this.

Have a great Friday loves ♥︎

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Purple on Purple Chevron Moons

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! To be honest, I’m still in that post-holiday haze & still not quite sure what day it is. But, the calendar says it’s Wednesday, so we’ll go with that.

Today I’m sharing my first real manicure of the new year. January is such a blah time, I find, so I’m never quite sure what to do on my nails before Valentine’s Day. However, you can never go wrong with some chevron moons, so that’s what I decided on.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie Expressie IRL
  • Essie No Ex-pectations
  • Essie Frock n Roll
  • Chevron vinyls (these ones are from Beyond the Nail)
  • Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

It’s been a while since I wore a chevron moon look, & I particularly like this one because of the layers of different purples. I used nail vinyls for my initial chevrons, then went it with my mermaid tail brush, & added some of Frock N Roll for a little contrast.

My only regret is I feel like I should have topped the design with matte top coat, but ran out of time. Matte top coat just makes everything better.

What do you think about this chevron moon nail art look? What nail art looks are you obsessed with right now? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Quo Beauty Xtreme FX Midnight Magic

Merry Christmas Eve lovelies! & Merry Christmas to those who Santa has already visited. 🎄

Today I’m excited to share an early Christmas present to myself. After a very long Christmas season, I decided to buy myself a little pick me up & hit up my local Shoppers Drug Mart for something sparkling. This is Quo Beauty Xtreme FX Midnight Magic.

3 coats + Essie Speed Setter Top Coat

This dark purple jelly shade has a thin consistency & is packed with multicoloured metallic glitters. Originally I thought they were holographic, but they’re is just a variety of different colours. The formula is a very thin jelly, which allows the glitters to build up & show through the layers.

Because of the thin consistency, I did need 3 coats but they dried down very quickly. & the use of quick dry top coat helped speed things up even more.

The dark purple definitely does mask this shade a bit, but I still adore it. This shade reminds me a bit of Icing Disco Lights, but with much smaller glitters. It’s a fun little touch of sparkle.

For my Canadian friends, you can purchase this & other Quo Beauty shades at your local Shoppers Drug Mart or via their website. This one is currently in stock online & there were lots at my local Shoppers, so you should definitely be able to find it! I know I’ll definitely be going back after Christmas to pick up Stargazing or The Party — which were the other two I was deciding between.

What do you think of Quo Beauty Midnight Magic? Do you like this subtle touch of sparkle? What nail polishes are you hoping Santa leaves under your tree? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

🖤

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Broken Mirror Glitter Placement

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! It’s already midweek, isn’t that crazy? I feel like it’s going to be New Year’s Eve before we even realize.

Today’s look is a favourite of mine, that I’ve repeated a few times over the years, but never gets old to me. I love a good shattered glass glitter look, & so naturally when I painted my nails with this beautiful dark purple, I knew I wanted to add something glitter placement. I decided to grab a glitter I haven’t used in forever, & I’m glad I did because they turned out perfect!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Essie Kimono Over
  • OPI Infrared-y to Glow
  • Medium sized dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

I tried to capture the little holo glitters that accompany Infared-y To Party, but for whatever reason my phone & my nails were not cooperating to really show it off. I thought this glitter was a nice alternative to the usual gold glitters I create this look with, & gives off more of a shattered mirror design because the glitters are silver.

I definitely do miss my bottle of Color Club Diamond Drops as it was perfect for this kind of design thanks to the holographic shards of glitter. I anyone knows a similar glitter topper, let me know, because I really need to expand my glitter collection for these kinds of looks!

What do you think of this broken glass/mirror design? Have you ever tried one of these designs before? If not, I definitely recommend giving it a try! It’s a bit time consuming, obviously, but other than that it’s super easy to do & is such a fun effect! I guarantee you’ll get lots of comments & compliments on your nails too!

Happy Wednesday ♥︎