SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles (Holiday 2024)

Good morning, & happy Sunday.

I don’t know about where you are, but here on the East Coast we’ve gone from balmy & hot to crisp sweater weather almost overnight. Which, as a girl who dreams of wearing her knee all boots, all year round, I couldn’t be happier!

So naturally that means I want to wear all the Autumn colours — or Autumn adjacent — all the time. Today’s polish pick is actually from last Winter’s Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Holiday Collection, but I feel like this colour fits in perfectly for this time of year. This is Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles.

2 coats + top coat

So I actually got this shade at my local Shoppers Drug Mart during a promotion for their Beauty Mingle Event. You pay $5 for a spin on their wheel, & you can win a prize. My Mum was playing, letting my kids each have a spin, & my daughter landed on FREE NAIL POLISH. There was a few beauties left from previous collections, but ultimately I landed on this beauty as it was the one from last year’s Holiday collection I had been most fixated on.

The formula on Hot Cocoa Cuddles is a beautiful chocolate brown shimmer, densely packed with holographic scattered glitters. It reminds me a bit of OPI My Private Jet, although the base colours are definitely different (& the scattered holographic glitters in the latter definitely apply to the nail much more densely.)

You can see the beautiful copper shimmer that comes through, with those scattered holographic glitters. I do wish the holo glitters were as dense on the nail as they are in the bottle, but you do still get those flashes of rainbow. Personally, I think this colour is perfect for Autumn! Deep reds, burnt orange, bronze-y browns, & any jewel tones — those are the shades I love for September! & Hot Cocoa Cuddles fits perfectly into that colour palette — plus the time is just too cute!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hot Cocoa Cuddles? Do you remember this shade from last year’s Holiday collection? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

&, as always, I would love to hear what you’re wearing on your nails right now, & what colours your loving right now.

Happy Sunday

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow Holo-Back

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! The last Sunday of September, which is absolutely mad!

Sorry for missing out on Swatch Sunday last week — I’ve been dealing with absolutely horrendous allergies lately, & I was full on wrote off last Sunday. I could barely think, let alone write a blog post! So I hope a brand new (still in stores) nail polish pick for this week’s Swatch Sunday will make up for my absence last week.

This is Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow in Holo-back.

2 coats + top coat

I’ve been seeing these Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow shades in store lately, & absolutely obsessed with them. so when I needed a new polish to cheer myself up I was immediately was drawn to this new collection. Because… you know: holo. & when you can find holographic nail polish at your local drug store, you need to try it out!

The Sally Hansen InstaDri line boasts a 60 sec dry time. For application, I did need to have 2 coats, so I feel like that adds a little time. While it did dry quicker, I’m not sure if it was only 60 seconds. I will say, I could see it drying down to a kind of textured finish (I’m assuming because of the scattered holographic glitters) but I don’t know if I would say it was only 60 seconds.

I did end up adding some top coat to smooth out (& glossy up) the finish. I’ve read online about people complaining that top coat removes the holographic finish but the top coat I used (Essie Speed Setter) didn’t cause any issues like that, as you can see.

Lots of scattered holographic glitters!

Obviously, I was drawn to this beautiful darker blue shade but the collection does boast 8 holographic shades in the line–although, I think my local Shoppers Drug Mart was sold out of a few of them. I was torn between this shade & Chrome Zone, which was a dark almost black holo. I would definitely pick of that one next!

The Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow shades can be found whenever you buy your Sally Hansen polishes. I picked up this bottle at my local Shoppers Drug Mart on sale for $5.99 CAD though they’re regularly $10.99 CAD.

What do you think about this beautiful Sally Hansen InstaDri shade Holo-back? Do you love being able to find holographic nail polish in mainstream stores? Have you tried the Sally Hansen InstaDri HoloGlow shades — which one is your favourite? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Sunday

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Infinite Shine I’m Really An Actress

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! Another beautiful sunny Sunday, which I will take after torrential rain yesterday (when I snapped the photos for this post FYI haha).

I haven’t really bought any new polish in a while, so I’ve really been trying to dig into my stash & pull out all the shades that I don’t wear very frequently ( or at all). As I’ve mentioned previously, I do have a lot of these mini bottles of OPI shades that I’ve scored at Marshall’s & Winners, so I thought I would pull one out for this weeks post!

This is OPI Infinite Shine I’m Really An Actress from the OPI Spring 2021 Hollywood Collection.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful reddish-pink metallic base is packed full of scattered holographic glitters. The formula was relatively opaque, which meant I only needed 2 coats for full coverage. I’ve seen swatches of the non-Infinite shine version of this polish, & it seems more red than mine, which is strange but maybe it’s just the lighting.

Close up so you can really see those scattered holo glitters. I tried so hard to get them to really show, but even using my flash for pictures it was not working. They are there, though, & they’re beautiful. I can’t believe I haven’t worn this shade more, especially since it’s a real upgrade from my usual go-to red nails. These feel much more glam & dramatic, which I like. I’m all about the glitter right now.

& in case you’re wondering, this shade is still in permanent rotation so you can also pick up the polish & add it to your stash! I found it available on TradeSecrets.ca, Chatters, Beyond Polish (regular formula) & the OPI website (regular formula).

What do you think of OPI I’m Really A Waitress? Do you have this shade in your collection? Like I said, I can’t believe I haven’t worn this shade more because it’s the perfect upgrade to my usual go to red manicure, so I might have to buy myself a big bottle of it for once my mini bottle runs out. I think this is going to become a Summer staple shade for me!

Have a lovely Sunday ♥︎

Winter-y Sweater Nails 🩵❄️

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. It’s after Remembrance Day here in Canada, which means it’s officially — well, in retail anyways — holiday season go time. The Christmas music is blaring, the red cups are being served, & I’m wearing 2-3 pairs of pants to work thanks to the cold weather. So maybe it’s okay to start creeping a bit more into Winter/Christmas nail art.

Today’s look I started simple with some more sweater inspired nails. This time, I wanted to go with a more winter-y colour scheme, so I picked a grey/blue polish combination–with a little bit of subtle shimmer for good measure.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Thinking Out Cloud
  • Sally Hansen MG Make it N-Ice
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area
  • Born Pretty Store Christmas Stamping Plate (discontinued)
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set

The last time I used this particular stamping plate, I went with a red/silver theme, so it was nice to try something different. This is giving less Christmas, & more just Winter, & I like that. It definitely works for our current chilly days. Also, I really like that I switched things up a bit & went with the shimmer-y light base with a darker creme for stamping. Usually I do the opposite.

& if this was an actual Winter/Christmas sweater, I would totally wear it. I do love a good fair isle patterned sweater.

What do you think about this Winter-y sweater design? Do you like these kinds of designs?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below. I definitely have a few freehand design ideas floating around in my head (maybe a recreation of this design from 2017?) so stay tuned!

Have a beautiful start to your week loves! ♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI My Private Jet (new version)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a lovely week. It’s officially Fall, which means I’m fully embracing all things knit sweaters, over the knee socks & knee high boots. 🍂🍁 My favourite time of year by far.

Today I have a fun nail polish to share with you that I actually can’t believe I haven’t shared before as it’s a favourite of mine this time of year. This is OPI My Private Jet.

2 coats + top coat

This shade actually has a really cool, albeit controversial, history. It was originally released as part of the Night Brights Spring 2007 as more of a liner holographic polish. Then, the re-released it in 2010 & people noticed it was a bit different. Okay, very different. Then, in 2018, they also released the shade in the Infinite Shine line with the new version of the polish — xoxo, Jen has swatches of that.

I’m not exactly sure when I picked up my bottle of My Private Jet, but it’s definitely the new scattered holo of the polish. The base is a beautiful dark brown, & it’s packed full of those tiny scattered holographic glitters. It also has a fun copper shimmer that comes through in certain lighting for a nice glow.

For a shade that is at least 6+ years old, the formula on this one is holding up very well. The polish applied smoothly in 2 coats. For my photos, I photographed it under my daylight bulb, with flash, so really get the holographic glitter to show. In my above macro shot, you can see how densely packed the holographic glitters truly are. Sadly, it doesn’t have the beautiful liner holo effect of the original, & I’m envious of anyone who has their hands on the original finish. But, as someone who didn’t know the original existed until after she fell in love with this version, I can appreciate both for what they are.

If you’re looking to get your hands on this beautiful shade, you can find the Infinite Shine version of this polish right on the OPI website — as well, as a few other places online. I also saw a few listings for the regular formula OPI My Private Jet with a quick Google search, although it has been discontinued out of regular rotation.

What do you think of OPI My Private Jet? Do you have this polish in your stash — either the original 2007 version, or the updated version? What are you thoughts on brands changing the formulas of polishes, but keeping the same name? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!