Tag: Spring

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QUO Spring 2019 Limited Edition Make Up Collection

{PR sample}

Good morning lovelies! Today I have a fun post to share with you that is a little out of my comfort zone, but I am super excited about! I was recently contacted by Quo about their Spring limited edition make up collection that is cactus themed & I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to say yes!

The collection contains two eye shadow palettes, Desert Rose & Desert Sun, two face palettes, Sand Dune & Badlands, two Cream lip stains, Mariposa & Apache, a Luxe Buffing Brush & a cactus themed sponge. I was lucky enough to receive an eyeshadow palette, a face palette, a cream lip stain & that very adorable cactus sponge.

Continue reading “QUO Spring 2019 Limited Edition Make Up Collection”

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{Yet Another} Spring Floral

Good morning lovelies & happy Wednesday. Hopefully wherever you are right now it’s feeling like Spring is around the corner. Here in Halifax, sadly, it seems like Winter has finally hit & it’s been bitterly cold. So naturally that means it’s time for floral! Seriously, anytime I remember that it’s still winter, I just have to create some floral nails again.

Today’s nail art look was done while watching the Oscars on Sunday night & inspired by the Valentino dress worn by Keira Knightley in 2015. I remember wanting to create Nails inspired by that gorgeous dress 4 years ago… but you know, I always get distracted haha. So I decided while watching this year’s show that it was finally time.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: OPI Nail Envy
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel In the Sheer
  • Sally Hansen MG Make It N-Ice
  • China Glaze Life Is Rosy
  • Sally Hansen MG Orchid-ing Around
  • Essie Play Date
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Trouble Maker
  • Sally Hansen MG Sugar Rush
  • Sally Hansen MG Just Maui’d
  • China Glaze Metro Pollen-tin
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art pen in green
  • Essie Off Tropic

I’ll be honest–I used so many polishes, that I probably forgot some. But that’s the gist of what I used. I always use a ton of polishes when feeehanding my floral & I never think to write all of them down. Maybe someday I’ll remember.

I really love how this turned out, especially over the light almost nude base (with hint of holo.) A little pop of colour.

what do you think of this design? Who else is craving Spring weather hardcore? Ooooooh dreaming of maxi dresses & jean jackets & counting down the days (weeks… months…)

💗

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Rifle Paper Co Style Floral

Yesterday was a beautiful Spring day, I had the day off, & I took full advantage of it. In honour of the occasion, I decided some floral nails were in order. Originally I was going to just do some more negative space nails with pastels, but I discovered a bottle of Essie 5th Avenue in my stash I bought a few months back at Lawton’s, & decided red nails were in order. I’ve been loving all the Rifle Paper Co inspired nails that pop up on my Instagram feed, & while these are not even close to an exact recreation, I was inspired by this pattern initially.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essie 5th Avenue
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sweet Tea
  • OPI I Eat Maine-ly Lobster
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Pretty Piggy
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Orchid-ing Around
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art Pen in Magenta
  • Sally Hansen I ♥️ Nail Art Pen in Black
  • Essence The Green & The Grunge
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Wet My Thistle
  • Bundle Monster detail brushes
  • Bundle Monster dotting tools

This design definitely looks very similar to this manicure I did a few months back. Something about floral on a red base just looks so good to me. & red nail polish in general… I’m so glad I found this gorgeous polish (& did I mention I scored it for only .99 cents?)

There is something just so lovely about floral. The more I paint them, the more I want to do them again. It was totally worth staying up the extra hour & a half to create them. I’m also going to keep attempting to recreate more patterns from Rifle Paper co. Their brand is such a floral loving girls dream! I pretty much want one of everything on their website (especially the phone cases… all of the phone cases!)

Where do you find your nail art inspiration? What do you think of this floral design? Share your thoughts in the comments below! 🌸🌿

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Summer Ready Vibrant Blue & Mint Ruffian Nails

You guys! I’m so excited because it was actually sunny & warm yesterday! Like warm enough I could get away with wearing just a jumpsuit & denim jacket. It was very exciting, like maybe we’ll get Spring after all. In fact this whole week is supposed to be in the double digits! I haven’t been this exciting for anything since Starbucks got almond milk! Especially exciting–I have tomorrow off work & plan on taking advantage with an outside adventure with the Bubs!

Obviously this calls for bright & colourful nails. It’s been ages since I attempted a ruffian design & I really wanted something that would pop! So I grabbed a few of my older Essence shades from deep in my stash for an eye catching ruffian.

For this manicure, the polishes I used were:

  • Base Coat: Nailtek 2
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Essence Always On My Mint (an Unforgettable Kiss collection)
  • Essence The Gel Lets Get Lost!

Ooooooh this colour combo works so well. This is one of my all time favourite Essence shades, & when I noticed my local Shoppers was taking it out of their Essence display (& had marked them all down to $1) I may have stocked up on extras… like 3 extra bottles… pretty much all the ones they had. It’s just such a good shade! It pairs well with pretty much every colour–purple, pink, mint, light blue, yellow. I haven’t discovered a colour combination I didn’t like. But I have to say, pairing it with mint has definitely become a favourite thanks to this design!

Oh, I’m just so excited with how my ruffian turned out. I feel like I’m getting a lot better with creating that rounded look. It definitely helps that Essence polishes have those beautiful thick brushes. Makes things so much easier! You get a lovely (complicated looking) design with not too much trouble. I love when that happens!

Who else is ready for actual Spring & Summer?! Bring on the iced coffees, sunglasses & maxi dresses. It’s about damn time!

What do you think of this ruffian design? Would you wear this look? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Hard Candy Coconut

Happy Sunday lovelies! It’s one of my favourite days of the week because it gives me the opportunity to focus on some favourite shades from my stash. Today it’s this beautiful from early 2015 — Hard Candy Coconut. I originally picked up this shade in the original release of the Hard Candy 20th Anniversary shades at Walmart (along with Sky, Scam & Zombie.) I’ve made it no secret my absolute love for a good white nail polish, & this one remains much loved even 3 years later!

2 coats & top coat.

I live for white nail polish. It reminds me of being young. I remember being 15 & searching so hard for a good white & layering 3 different polishes trying to get my nails to look like I wasn’t wearing white-out. Truthfully though, 15 year old Shannon knew nothing about base coats or top coats so I’d add shimmery polishes to try & level out my white polishes. Maybe I was ahead of the time? I also used to use tape to create French manicures which I’d have to redo everyday because I couldn’t stand when they chipped (& they would chip literally 5 minutes after doing them because, again, no top coat.)

There is something that is so fresh about white nail polish. Not only does it make you look semi-tanned (even if you’re not) but it’s just such a blank canvas… a world full of possibilities. I definitely wish you can see that shimmer that comes out in the bottle, because it really is so pretty, but even without it coming through this polish is a keeper. Which is probably the reason why I’m still pulling it out 3 years after I first bought it, & why I’ll always make sure I have a back up bottle for the future.

Do you have a favourite white nail polish? Let me know what it is in the comments below!