Tag: Shimmer

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Lover Inspired Nails (in honour of my little birthday Swiftie)

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Today is a very special Wednesday because it is my baby girls 6th birthday. 🎉 🎂

So crazy to believe that she’s 6 already!

I wanted to create some special nails in her honour, & since her favourite thing right now is Taylor Swift — well obviously taut is where my inspiration came from. She also told me I should do nails that were pink, blue & yellow with hearts — & as soon as she told me that, Taylor’s Lover era popped into my head. & since Cruel Summer has been playing on repeat at our house, it fit perfectly.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter Top Coat
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Essie Bikini So Teeny
  • Butter London Coming Up Roses *pr
  • Claire’s Scented Nail Polish Orange
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Violet Voltage
  • Essie Gel Couture Gossamer Garments *pr
  • Nails INC Heartfelt Holidays
  • Claire’s Mini Glitter Shade (no name)
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

How pretty does this manicure look? I love the Lover vibes it’s giving. If this isn’t the perfect manicure to wear while belting out Cruel Summer, I don’t know what is.

& my little girl was so excited to see these nails! She’s having a Taylor Swift inspired birthday party with her friends next month, & she is already planning her nails for the occasion.

What do you think about these Taylor Swift inspired birthday nails? Do you love them as much as I do? Would you wear them? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Wednesday lovelies — enjoy some cake today in honour of my little girl.

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Olive & June Gel Polish XOXO & Pink Goldfish

PR/Gifted

Hello my lovelies & happy Sunday! May is very quickly speeding along — can you believe it? Summer is almost here.

Today I’m excited to share some more polishes I was recently gifted from Olive & June. They reached out to me about trying their Gel Polish system, & I said yes! While I don’t use gel polishes a lot, I’m always curious. They sent me a beautiful PR package with everything I could need to create a beautiful gel manicure, & I’m excited to share two shades with you (& a little review) today!

Products used for this manicure:

  • Olive & June qPeel Off Base Coat
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Base Coat
  • 2 coats Olive & June Gel Polish XOXO
  • 1 coat Olive & June Gel Polish Pink Goldfish
  • Olive & June Gel Polish Top Coat

I’m not well versed with gel polishes — it’s not my usual medium — but I will say I found this system easy to use. I used the provided peel off base coat for easy removal, & then followed directions.

The gel polish itself is pretty opaque. 2 coats of the pink polish XOXO, curing for the 2 minutes between each coat, & then I topped it with the shimmer Pink Goldfish. & then I finished it off with one coat of the Gel top coat.

You have no idea how many compliments I got on this colour! I’ll probably do a quick tutorial video the next time I go to apply this polish just to show how easy the whole system is to use.

The most important steps are cleaning up your cuticles, remembering to remove any oils from your nails with acetone, & making sure not to floor the sides with gel polish. For a first try, with this system I think I did awesome! & I can’t wait to try out all the colours they sent me a— maybe I’ll do a skittle look next!

I’m also so glad for the peel off base coat, because I HATE removing gel polish, so I love an easy removal option.

What do you think of these polishes from Olive & June’s Gel Polish line? Have you tried out their new system yet? Tell me all your thoughts down in the comments below.

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Garnish Attention (2018 Decadence Collection)

Hello my beauties! I hope everyone had a beautiful week. Mine was busy, busy as I started at a new cafe part time as a barista, & it’s been a while since I did that! My hands are feeling the need for a little TLC, but I think I’ll save that for another post.

Today we’re all about the polish, & this one in particular— Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Garnish Attention from the 2018 Decadence collection. This shade was one of the limited edition shades released for the Holidays that year.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful dark navy blue is enhanced with a gorgeous green shimmer. It’s kind of giving me Wicked vibes, a little bit. Or maybe like Maleficent (from Sleeping Beauty). It’s definitely feeling a bit villainy, which I adore. That’s the kind of vibe we all need going into this new year. As for formula, first coat was definitely thin & streaky, but two builds to perfect opacity, & that’s what we like to see.

I also had no problems with removal, & no staining.

Look how pretty this is! That too shot just looks like some kind of rare sapphire, & I want it. Garnish Attention is absolutely stunning on the nails, even the short little nubby nails I’m currently rocking. I just love that bright greenish shimmer that comes out through the dark navy blue.

Sadly, this beauty was a limited edition released as part of the Holiday 2018 collection, so it’s not in current rotation. But maybe if we all ask for it, Sally Hansen could bring it back (even under another name) because I believe she deserves her moment in the spotlight!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Garnish Attention? Would you wear this shade? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Sunday

🖤

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Cyber Cherry On Top 🍒

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a great start to the New Year. Mine started… roughly but I’m excited to put that all behind me, & focus on the good things that 2025 will hopefully hold — like new (to me) nail polishes.

Today is one of those shades! This one was picked up along with last week’s polish pick, for only $5 at my local Shoppers Drug Mart on clearance. I love this time of year because you can always find past collections being cleared out to make room for the new year & new releases. Today we have OPI Cyber Cherry On Top from the Fall 2024 Metallic Mega Mix Collection.

2 coats + top coat

Oh wow! Cyber Cherry On Top is a beautiful cherry pink-red with a fuchsia flash with a bit of micro shimmer. It’s definitely a fun not-red red option, & we all know I cannot say no to a red. & with Valentine’s Day a month away, I’m going to be all about pinks & red leading up to it. The formula was smooth & easy to apply & built to pretty good opacity with two coats. There was minimal nail line visible, but with a shade like this it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to.

My own complaint with this shade was I found it was a tad thin, so you can easily floor your cuticles if you’re not careful. Just not one of those shades you can apply in a rush, but I honestly find that with most red polishes.

This colour! Wow, it’s just so beautiful. Is it red? Is it a hot pink? Like I don’t know but I adore it, especially with that bit of shimmer. It’s a step up from my usual red manicure.

As OPI Cyber Cherry On Top was released as part of the Fall collection, I’m not sure about its current circulation. It looks like it’s still available for sale on the OPI Website (also available in gel), as well as the TradeSecrets website (for my Canadian friends). I also found it online at Sally Beauty, so you might be able to find it in store. & of course, check the clearance sections at your local stores that sell polish, as they could be marked down.

What do you think of OPI Cyber Cherry On Top? Did you pick up this shade when it was released, & what do you think? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & let me know what your favourite shades to wear during January are!

Happy Sunday

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Infinite Shine Put On Something Ice (Holiday 2023)

Good morning loves! & happy Sunday.

Is everyone feeling the holiday spirit yet? We just had our first big tax free event at work, & I broke out my “Happy Holo-days” sweater in honour of it. So I thought I would pull out a holiday shade for this weekends Swatch Sunday post, & this beautiful from OPI’s Terribly Nice Holiday 2023 collection seemed perfect for the occasion.

This is Infinite Shine Put On Something Ice. 🧊

2 coats + top coat.

This beautiful pearlescent base is packed full of holographic circle glitters of varying size. The base is super, duper sheer but the shimmer does add a nice bit of extra sparkle. Personally, this is probably more of a topper kind of shade for me rather than an all on its own look, unless I paired it over a nude base, but it could be fun as a base for a French manicure too!

Looking at this shade, it definitely screams holiday. Those holographic glitters definitely give off icy vibes, & I can totally picture this paired with Shaking My Sugar Plums in a fun glitter gradient. I’m definitely going to try that!

What do you think about Put On Something Ice from the OPI Terribly Nice collection from 2023. I got a few of the shades last year for Christmas, so I might share the other glitter I received if anyone is interested? I haven’t picked up any holiday shades this year yet, but I’m definitely looking around because ‘Tis the Season for glitter, & I’m all about it right now!

Happy Sunday!

🖤