SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hyp-nautical

Hello loves & happy Sunday! & happy long weekend to all who get to celebrate! The May long weekend always feels like the official beginning of Summer, which I’ll gladly take — even if they’re calling for thunderstorms today. Bring on the beach & BBQ!

Today, though, I’m throwing things back to a shade originally released for Winter 2020. What can I say — I like to keep you on your toes. This is Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hip-nautical.

3 coats + top coat

I’m not even sure how to begin to describe this shifty polish. The base is a darker blue that flashes purple or lighter blue depending on the lighting or how you move your fingers. It did take 3 coats for a full solid coverage — & the best shift — but the polish formula is very thin so it dries quickly.

Definitely needs a good coat of top coat to finish it off. Keeps that beautiful shine, & helps smooth out any brush strokes.

The shift between colours is actually very good. Maybe not as shifty as in the bottle, but I rarely find that drugstore polishes are. The flash of blue is very strong on this shade, which is just absolutely gorgeous! & I love, as you can see in this macro shot, you get all the levels on this polish in one shot.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hyp-nautical is now part of the permanent core collection, so you can find it where ever Sally Hansen shades are sold including:

What do you think about Sally Hansen Hyp-nautical? Is this a shade that you would wear? Are you a fan of the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel line? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below.

Zany Freehand Swirls

Happy Friday lovelies! 💙

I hope everyone has had the best week! The weekend is (almost) here. & it’s a long weekend at that! What could be more exciting? Well… how about some fun nail art? Today I’m sharing a fun look that was super, super easy to do: these fun & zany freehand swirls.

I recently re-discovered some old Art Club Nail Art Duo pens from years ago, & decided to see if they were still any good. What resulted was this fun look! The colours are a little bit outside my usual wheel house, but I wore this look for over two days, so I ended up really liking it.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Londontown KUR Nail Hardener & Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive Fast Dry Top
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Neon Lemon Chillo
  • Sally Hansen MG Get Mod
  • NailStuff.ca 16mm Striper Brush
  • Color Club Art Club Striper Passion Flower
  • Art Club Nail Art Duo Hot Purple
  • Art Club Nail Art Duo Royal Blue

Sometimes I forget that nail art isn’t supposed to be stressful, it’s supposed to be fun! & this nail art look was definitely fun. It definitely has me already planning on buying a whole bunch for stripers, just for fun.

What do you think of this nail art look? Are you a fan of this colour scheme? Would you wear a look like this? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Itty Bitty Gradient Dotticure

Hello lovelies! Yes it’s me — only we’re rocking some shorties again. (Okay, & I’m drinking a matcha lemonade — my other drink aside from coffee!) I mentioned I had a patch on my middle finger nail of a bad crack. I finally decided I was over trying to keep it from cracking worse, & decided to chop my my nails down.

Today I went with a simple but fun look to wear. I love a good gradient dotticure, but I realized it’s been a long time since I actually did one. This design was actually inspired by this look from 2016. I thought since we were back down to shorties, why not find some fun nail art to do on short nails!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Londontown KUR Nail Hardener & Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive Fast Dry Top
  • Londontown KUR Mint No Chip
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in purple
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in turquoise
  • Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pen in pink
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Get Mod
  • Itty Bitty Dotting Tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

How absolutely adorable as these itty bitty polka dots? You could definitely do this with a tiny dotting tool & an assortment of polishes, but I love those Sally Hansen I ❤️ Nail Art pens because it makes it so easy! I really wish Sally Hansen would bring them back, because they’re amazing for nail art — & mine are starting to empty out after all these years.

What do you think about this Gradient dotticure? Do you think you’d wear this fun (& easy!) look? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

& feel free to share any nail art you’d love to see me do on my new short nails!

Happy Friday! 🖤

Instagram Floral Collab 🌸🌿

Hello lovelies & happy Friday!

I’m so super excited to share today’s manicure, because I was lucky enough to get to join in on a nail art collection via Instagram. You know me — I adore a good floral design, so I was excited to join in on this challenge.

These nails scream Spring, so I’m very excited to share this design!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive Fast Dry Top
  • China Glaze Wanderlust
  • OPI One Heckla of A Color
  • OPI Gelato on my Mind
  • Essie All the Wave
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure Peony Origins
  • Sally Hansen GKP Eco-Rose
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Racing Rose
  • Aco by Ardene Sour Apple
  • Aco by Ardene Jungle Green
  • OPI My Geckos Does Tricks
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Brush
  • Dotting tool (NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)

This design took so many polishes to create, but it was absolutely worth it. & I think I remembered all the shades I used for this design. There was quite a few of them.

I was so excited to be a part of this collaboration & join so many talented nail artists. I really love challenging myself like this, because sometimes it’s hard to come up with designs all on my own.

Please don’t forget to check out #floralnailartmanicollab2023 on Instagram to see all the other stunning floral designs!

Happy Friday loves!

GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE APRIL — Butterfly 🦋

Hello lovelies & happy May 1st! Can you believe we’re almost half way into this year? It’s crazy. But before I jump head first into a new month, I want to finish off Glam Nails Challenge April with the last prompt — Butterfly.

There were so many ideas that popped into my head with this prompt, but in the end I decided I wanted to do a neutral, almost naked, base with a little sparkle & shimmery butterflies. & I’m so beyond happy with the end result.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive Fast Dry Top
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Frill Seeker
  • Color Club On The List
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Essence Violet Voltage
  • OPI My Gecko Does Tricks
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set
  • Unknown stamping plate (which I bought as part of a set at Dollarama years ago.)

How pretty did these turn out. I just knew I wanted my butterflies to have a little bit of colour & I adore the shimmery purple & green together. It’s a very pretty combination. Works very well with the little bit of holographic glitter on the base shade. It’s subtle but also eye catching at the same time.

I’m kind of obsessed!

I can’t believe another month is behind us! Kind of crazy. I had so much fun with the challenge this month, & I hope you enjoyed all the manicures too!

Did you have a favourite design? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy Monday!