SWATCH SUNDAY — Essie Expressie Power Moves (Spring 2024)

PR/Gifted

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s been another crazy busy week for me this week, so I apologize for lacking in the posting. There has just been so much going on behind the scenes that I’ve honestly forgotten to take pictures of my nails. Today, though, we have a bright & Spring-y shade to show off, & it’s feeling perfect for the warm days we’ve been having!

This is Essie Expressie Power Moves from the Spring 2024 collection. It was kindly gifted to me by Essie.

2 coats + top coat

Described as a “hot orchid” by Essie, this beautiful pink is the perfect non-pastel Spring colour. & while pastels can be fun, there is something about a bright in your face manicure that I just love.

The formula is smooth, & easy to apply but I did find I needed to make sure that I had a good amount of polish on the brush otherwise it would streak slightly. The Expressie brushes have that wide brush, which makes application super easy. You get coverage in minimal swipes. &, thanks to the Expressie quick dry formula, your dry time is super quick.

I did finish off my manicure with my Essie Gel Couture top coat, to give it a nice plumper finish.

The Essie Expressie line is available wherever you purchase your Essie shades, & range in price generally from 10.49 CAD to 14.99 CAD regular price.

What do you think about Essie Expressie Power Moves? Do you think this is a great shade for Spring? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & share what shade youre currently wearing this Sunday.

💗

Instagram Nail Art Collab — French Tips

Hello lovelies & happy Friday. It’s been such a busy week this week, I’ve been kind of quiet on the blog front. A lot has been going on, which makes it hard to post sometimes. But I’m excited because I was able to join in for a fun Instagram nail art collab, organized by the ever amazing @essieyall & @petitenaillover on Instagram.

The theme this month? French Tips. So I decided to go with a pastel colour block French tip, featuring my *gifted* Madam Glam shades.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
  • Madam Glam Birds Fairy *
  • Madam Glam Purple Rain *
  • Madam Glam Sweet Sunshine *
  • Madam Glam Minty Green *
  • Madam Glam Warm Up *
  • Madam Glam Mimi Pink *
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush

*pr/gifted

These were super easy to do, but I think the colours turned out so pretty & Spring-y. Such a fun & unique French manicure look!

If you want to check out all the fun French manicures involved in this collab, be sure to check out the hashtag #frenchtipsnailartmanicollab2025 on Instagram to see all the amazing designs by some talented nail artists!

Enjoy your weekend loves!

🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY — Essence Shine, Last & Go 13 Legally Pink

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday. Well, at the very least — it’s a very rainy Sunday here. Hopefully all these April showers bring some beautiful May flowers because… I’m over it. God, I’m so over it.

But today I have another shade from the stash to share for Swatch Sunday. So many polishes from years past I’ve never shared, so I’ve been really trying to post them for you more often! Today’s pick is from Essence’s Shine Last & Go line, which (I think) was their previous nail Polish line to the current reformat.

This is Legally Pink.

2 coats + top coat

We all know I am a humongous fan of Essence Nail Polish, especially with it being affordable & so easy to grab (the Shoppers is literally in my back yard basically). So I’ve accumulated a few dozen over the years.

Legally Pink is a creamy vibrant coral pink, which — depending on the lighting — can lean very pink or more on the coral side. It is a fiery Spring pink for sure, which is probably why I bought it in the first place. Formula is smooth, & easy to apply & has a nice solid finish in two coats without looking chunky on the nail. It dried down quickly, & I finished it all off with some quick dry top coat as I was wearing it for the next day.

See what I mean about the colour shifting. In the top photo you can see how it looks coral (borderline red) on two nails, then leaning more pink on two nails. When I say this shade was so freaking impossible to photograph true to colour, you can see why. But it really, truly is just gorgeous & Summer-y so we’ll forgive her for not wanting to get her photograph taken!

Because this shade is 5 or 6 years old, she’s not available in stores where Essence is sold. I did see a few listings online for old bottles, so if you really want it, you could definitely seek it out!

What do you think of Essence 13 Legally Pink? Are you a fan of Essence’s line of nail polishes. Give me all your comments & thoughts down below — & let me know what your favourite line of affordable nail polish is!

Happy Sunday

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Ultra HD Snap! Makin’ The Most (Trying the Butter Nails 🧈 Trend)

Hello lovelies & happy Easter. I hope no matter how you celebrate, you’re enjoying the day. & the Easter Bunny left you some goodies.

Today I’m sharing another fun Revlon Ultra HD Snap! shade. I don’t know if you’ve seen all the hype about butter nails on social media — but this shade is very on trend! This is Makin’ The Most.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful butter yellow applied to opacity in 2 coats — although it did benefit from a layer of top coat to smooth things, as it was a bit patchy. I chalk that up to the light formula more than anything. Pastels are usually a bit more patchy than darker shades, but I definitely didn’t want to do a 3 coat as it would have just been too thick.

I’m not usually much of a yellow person (except when used in nail art designs) but I do appreciate how bright & sunny these are! They’re definitely fun to wear, especially when Spring weather is more gloomy & rainy than sunny & bright.

I can definitely understand why butter nails are all the rage. We all need a little sunshine sometimes.

Revlon Ultra HD Snap! polishes retail for $10.49 CAD at my local Shoppers Drug Mart — although they’re on sale this week for $7.99 CAD. This range has a great selection of shades, but if you’re looking to jump on the butter nails trend, this is definitely a great pick!

What do you think about this shade? Have you tried the butter nails trend yet? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Have a Hoppy Easter!

🖤

Happy Birthday Nails for @Brydiedoesnails

Hello lovelies & happy Saturday! Is everyone excited for Easter this weekend?

Usually I don’t post on Saturdays, but today I’m taking part in a very special birthday collab for a very special nail artist — @brydiedoesnails. Ive participated in this collab a few times, as Brydie is one of my biggest inspirations on Instagram! Her nails always look so incredible, so I was very excited to join in on this collab to celebrate her!

& naturally, I had to choose one of her floral designs to recreate!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Couture Top Coat 
  • Base Coat: Essie Hard to Resist Advanced
  • Essie Gel Couture Gossamer Garments *
  • Madam Glam Acrylic Nail Art Pen in Pink *
  • Madam Glam Acrylic Nail Art Pen in White*

** PR/gifted

How pretty are these little floral tips? As soon as I saw this design, I knew I wanted to recreate it. & using my Madam Glam nail artist pens made it so incredibly easy too! But I like that they don’t look too easy, & I love that.

You definitely need to check out all the amazing nail artists that participated in this collab:

•@raikasnails 

•@blunki_nails 

•@nutshellnails 

•@neeles_nails 

& shout out to @neeles_nails who organized us all together to give this special birthday shout out to Brydie!

Enjoy your Saturday!

🌸