Tag: Summer Nails

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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 — Color Club Bright Night

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday here on the East Coast — & not too humid, which is a nice change of pace. The mornings are already starting to give us those small hints that Autumn isn’t too, too far away.

& I kind of love it.

Today, I’m sharing a fun polish I pulled from my stash which I feel like is perfect for both late Summer/early Fall vibes. This is Color Club Bright Night.

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful cobalt blue was originally released as part of the Summer 2013 collection, but then became part of the permanent core collection because she’s still available on the Color Club website.

The formula on this one was easy to work with. With it being slightly neon, it does have a bit of a matte finish, so like all mattes it dries a bit quicker so two coats was definitely required to alleviate any patchiness. & of course, I added top coat for a glossy finish.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good blue nail polish — especially a cobalt blue! This shade reminds me a bit of Sinful Colors Endless Blue so I would be curious to do a comparison between the two to see how close they are.

& if you have both these polishes & have compared them — let me know down in the comments below!

What do you think about Color Club Bright Night? Are you a fan of these bright cobalt blue shades as well? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Sunday 💙

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SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Home Sweet House Music (Summer 2015)

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! A beautiful, warm (humid) sunny Sunday. It’s also the first Swatch Sunday of August, which is kind of crazy because the Summer is just speeding by very quickly.

Today’s pick is a China Glaze shade originally released for Summer 2015. This is Home Sweet House Music.

3 coats + top coat

First thing I noticed about the formula on this polish was that it’s thin, & streaky. The second noticeable thing (after looking at other swatches online) is that this shade has definitely faded over the years, because it’s much more yellow than other pictures I see online. Which, considering it’s been tucked away in a dark drawer & shaken well, is disappointing. However, I do still quite enjoy the colour is is which is like a marigold yellow, & I think it’s great for this time of year. & it perfectly matches the brown eyed Susans in our garden.

It is a pretty sheer formula, which again I don’t know if that has anything to do with the aging of the polish, but I did need 3 coats for full coverage.

It’s a very pretty shade — it’s just not the shade it was, which makes me sad. However, polishes age & it’s interesting to see the effect time has on our polishes. 99% of my polishes have not had this issue, that I can see, so I wonder why this one changed so much on me. It’s kind of strange.

Again, being a 9 year old shade this guy is no longer available in current rotation. China Glaze does have a Gelaze version of this polish on their website (in the original intended colour!) for those who are gel polish fans.

What do you think of this polish? Do you have any nail polishes in your stash that has changed colour due to time? Let me know if you’ve experienced this too!

Happy Sunday ♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY Quo Beauty Mango Tango

Hello lovelies & happy sunny Sunday. It’s hot & humid today, so I thought I would dig into my stash to find a fun Summer shade for this week’s Swatch Sunday post & this vibrant coral from Quo Beauty was the perfect pick.

This is Quo Beauty Mango Tango.

2 coats + top coat

I believe I originally picked up this shade on clearance from my local Shoppers Drug Mart last Summer (Quo Beauty is Shoppers in house beauty brand). The polish itself is a stunning fiery coral which is very, very neon. Sometimes it leans more orange, sometimes more red.

Formula was smooth & easy to apply. 2 coats for full coverage, & it dries quite quickly which is a bonus.

Does this colour not just scream summer time? I can practically smell the sunscreen. It’s also a great shade for bringing out your sun tan, or making it look like you have a suntan. My photos definitely leaned a bit more red, but it person I feel like it complimented my olive undertones to give me that mid-Summer tanned vibe I love.

What do you think about Quo Beauty Mango Tango? Do you love this juicy coral for Summer time? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, & if you’d wear this beauty on your nails!

Happy Sunday

🖤

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Purple-y Leopard Print

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday! It’s hot hot hot out there — feeling close to 40 degrees C today with humidity — so going to need to keep well hydrated!

Today I’m sharing an old classic when it comes to nail art: leopard print. It’s been a while since I wore any leopard on my nails (last September) so I thought I was due!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Olive & June House of O&J *Gifted
  • Olive & June How Do You Spell Bougainvillea? *Gifted
  • Olive & June Starshower *Gifted
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out *Gifted
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio (tiniest size) *gifted
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush *gifted

How cute is this leopard design? I love the colours together, the added sparkle from Starshower in the middle of my leopard spots — just everything. Plus leopard nails are so easy to do, I really should do them more often. I’ve always loved a good spotted pattern; the amount of leopard print clothing I have owned over the years is impressive.

What do you think about this leopard design? Are you a fan of patterned designs like this? As always, leave a comment down below! I love hearing what you think!

🖤