Tag: Red

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SWATCH SUNDAY — LA Colors Metal Finish Nail Polish Dynasty

Hello lovelies — Happy Snowy Sunday!

You’ll excuse me if I’m late getting this post up. It was a very busy week, with so much to do (& I’m nowhere close to being ready for Christmas!) But, I do have a brand new polish for you to enjoy as part of this week’s Swatch Sunday — this is LA Colors Metal Finish Nail Polish in Dynasty.

2 coats + top coat.

I won’t lie… when I initially picked up this polish I thought it was supposed to be a more chrome like finish like the cap of the nail polish bottle. But the colour to me is screaming old fashioned jewel toned Christmas, so even though it wasn’t exactly as I expected it it’s such a pretty shade for this time of year.

The formula on this shade was interesting as again it wasn’t quite was I was expecting. It was more of a cruelly base with beautiful shimmers packed in. The pretty flakes of glitter does give a jewel like effect.

First coat was very thin, streaky & patchy, but upon my second coat you could see how lovely it looked. I did have a couple places where it was tricky to get a smooth line though — the formula dries quickly, so I feel like you need to be quick with application. This isn’t to knock on the polish, just is good to know when you’re using it! Still doesn’t take away from how I feel about this shade.

Upclose, you can see that cruelly formula & metallic flake polish. Definitely not what I’m expecting when I think of a metal finish polish — but very pretty. Looking at swatches of other LA Colors Metals polishes though, I would have loved to see a foil finish in this colour. It would have been gorgeous!

I picked up my bottle of LA Colors Metal Nail Polish at my local Walmart for $3.97 CAD. For a shade under $4, I think this is a great deal! & regardless of it not meeting my metal expectations, this shade is very different than a lot of the red nail polishes that I own. So I love that.

What do you think of LA Colors Metal Finish Nail Polish in Dynasty? Do you think this is a great holiday polish option? What do you think of the finish — does it say “Metal Finish” to you? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

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Christmas-y Abstract Stripes 🎄

Hello lovelies & happy December! We’re already three days into December, & that’s kind of crazy. & it’s feeling festive with our first bit of winter-y now (although it’s a snow/rain mix) so I guess Christmas is really coming. So naturally it felt like time to create some kind of Christmas nail art look to share with you — & what’s more Christmasy than red & green.

I wanted to create a look that was festive but I wasn’t sure what to do. These started out as some simple red & green nails, & kind of transformed from there. I ended up adding in some hints of pink as well, & I just love the whole look! Definite Christmas vibes.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Butter London Pure Colour 21X Nail Lacquer Branwen’s Pearls *PR
  • Orly Color Blast Garnet Luxe Shimmer
  • China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Wrapped in Love
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Living In The Presents
  • NailStuff 11mm Mermaid Tail brush

How fun are these? Kind of gives a little bit of candy vibes — like ribbon candy, or a really fancy candy cane, or maybe just ribbon. The thought of adding like bows, to give the impression of ribbon, crossed my mind but I was scared I would ruin the whole look so maybe I can try again another time with added bows!

What do you think of these Christmas-y abstract stripes? Are you feeling the holiday vibes now & ready to rock some festive designs? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & if you’re currently wearing something festive on your nails I want to know! I need all the holiday nail art inspiration I can get!

Enjoy your Wednesday!

♥︎

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Festive Berry Toned Colour Blocking

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday!

I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. With the day off for Remembrance Day on Tuesday, I feel like my whole week is so askew! But I am trying to keep on my painting & posting schedule as best as possible, so here we go!

Today’s look is a simple one, but perfect for this time of year. The holiday vibes are really hitting hard now, so why not have nails to match! & I much prefer a pink Christmas vibe, myself.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri The Queens Velvet
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frosted Berries
  • OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems

I’m a huge fan of designs like this which feature similar tones all paired together. It looks so beautiful. & I’m very into this pinky red colour scheme right now! As a lady truly dedicated to a crimson nail polish, it’s a nice change from my usual go to shades.

& colour blocking like this is so easy to do! Obviously if you don’t feel comfortable free-handing, you can use nail tape/vinyls — but honestly, once you practice doing it without, you realize how quick & easy it is!

What do you think about my berry toned colour blocking? Do you like this combination of colours? Let me know all your thoughts in the comment below, & if you would wear this design!

Enjoy your Thursday!

🖤

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Pink Flakie Glitter Placement

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Is it chilly where you are — because it’s definitely chilly here.

Today I have another simple but beautiful design to share with you. I was already wearing this beautiful berry polish, & decided what it really needed was some glitter placement. My original plan was to do gold, but when I was browsing through my box of glitters I saw this beautiful pink flakie glitter I was gifted c/o: NailStuff & decided it would look just stunning over this base!

& I was right!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Cure
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frosted Berries
  • NailStuff Pink Foil Glitter (no longer available)
  • Sally Hansen Salon Chrome Top Coat (no longer available — but works so good for applying these kinds of glitters!)
  • Small Nail Art Brush

How pretty is this combination? I’m so glad I went with these pink foil flakies rather than gold. Obviously gold would have looked beautiful as well, but there is just something extra special about the pink on pink. I can’t believe this is my first time using it!

Also this is a beautiful not-holiday look that could definitely be used for a manicure for an upcoming Holiday party because it has that touch of something a little extra special. Obviously I don’t need an excuse to wear glitter, but if you did — I definitely recommend pulling out some glitter to add to an otherwise simple manicure!

What do you think of this pink flakie glitter placement look? Do you like the contrast of lighter pink on darker pink? Are you also in shock that it took me this long to use this beautiful pink glitter? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Wednesday!

♥︎

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Glittery Blood Drip Nails 🩸✨

Hello lovelies & HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🎃 My most favourite day of the year has arrived, & obviously I couldn’t let it pass by without one more design on my nails! & this one is fun because it kind of fits the vibe of my costume for work.

I always love a blood drip design on my nails, but this year I wanted to make it more fun by using a glittery red. Because who doesn’t want to bleed sparkle.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Sally Hansen InstaDri Top Coat (red bottle) 
  • Base Coat: Essie Hard to Resist (purple)
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Midnight Drive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • NailStuff dotting tool trio
  • NailStuff 7mm Mermaid Tail liner brush

Check out that beautiful drip! This is not the first time I’ve attempted a go at this design, but I will say I think it’s the most proud of the freehanding of my drips! They actually look like they could be blood dripping down my nails!

I also think it shows that even if you’re rocking shorter nails (like I am right now), you can see have fun & awesome nail art on them!

What do you think of my final Halloween look of 2025? This has been such a fun month of nail art, & I’m super proud of every design I crafted this month!

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a safe & fun evening— with a ton of your favourite candies!