Half Moons & Nail Art Stickers

Good morning lovelies & happy Friday! I hope everyone had a wonderful week! It’s almost the weekend, which is looking to be wet & rainy. Not so much fun for summer. But I have a fun, bright Summery look to share with you!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Essie In The Cab-ana
  • Assorted nail art stickers (including some from Olive & June)

Okay, I’ll be honest — I’m not a 100% sure how I feel about this look. I love my half moons, because I always love a good half moon design, but I’m not sure how I feel about the addition of my little nail art stickers. I’m not sure if they mesh together, or clash, but I really wanted to do something different.

What do you think about this sticker half moon design? I’m really trying to come up with newer nail art designs, but after 10 years of this blog, I’m getting a bit stuck on what to do. Maybe I should break out my stamping plates again, & see what fun patterned nails I can come up with!

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

🖤

Vibrant Floral Shorties 🌱🌸

Hello lovelies & happy Thursday! We have another rainy one today, which is quite disappointing. But you know what can turn a lame, rainy day around? Cute floral nails!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Here to Stay
  • Top Coat: Essie Gel Setter
  • Essie Viva Antigua!
  • Essie Swoon in the Lagoon
  • Essie Muchi Muchi *gifted
  • Essie Play Date
  • Essie Willow in the Wind *gifted
  • Essie Off Tropic
  • Nailstuff.ca Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush *gifted

Yep! We’re back to some shorties again. At this point, it’s inevitable! I work in retail, & retail is rough on your nails! But I do kind of like these rounded shorties. & you know I am always going to love when I paint floral on my nails.

What do you think about this pretty floral? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Thursday 🖤

SWATCH SUNDAY— Essie Viva Antigua! (Summer 2016)

Good morning, happy Sunday! It’s been a beautiful, warm & busy week for me — hence the lack of nail art posts! I was super busy at work, plus prepping for my little girls birthday party yesterday, so I had no time for any nail art at all! It’s been kind of crazy!

But today I’ve got some swatches to share of an Essie shade from 2016 that I remember I was absolutely obsessed with when I first purchased it. This is Essie Viva Antigua!

2 coats + Essie Gel Setter

This beautiful turquoise has a relatively thin formula which is perfect for showing off the glass flakes scattered throughout. It was super easy to apply, no issues with formula — which is pretty much perfect! It also dries down super quickly, even without applying your top coat.

Look at that glass flake finish! Doesn’t it just remind you of tropical waters? I was obsessed back in 2016 when I first bought this beauty, & I’m obsessed with it now. It’s such a beautiful fun colour with a very unique finish.

& it totally screams Summer, don’t you think?

What do you think about Essie Viva Antigua! from the Summer 2016 collection? Do you remember this unique fun shade, or have it in your stash? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

SWATCH SUNDAY — Icing Stores Chips n Dip

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! After some rainy & chilly days we’re finally back to beautiful sunshine, & I couldn’t be happier.

For today’s Swatch Sunday post, I decided to do some serious digging through my stash & found a very throwback shade circa 2013 (I’m guessing). I wanted something bright & vibrant & Summery, & I think that I was very successful.

This is Icing Stores Chips n Dip.

3 coats + Top Coat

This beautiful fiery coral applied in 3 thin coats, which usually would be a no for me, but because the formula is quite thin, it dried down very quickly so I didn’t have to worry about wait time — especially after applying a quick dry top coat. It’s a cruelly formula, definitely leaning more on the jelly side of that occasion which I like.

The colour is bright & I love that. I’m always drawn towards anything in the red or red leaning family, & this is a fantastic Summer option. Like could you imagine this as a pedicure colour? So perfect for the beach.

Look how bright this is! Definitely looking more on the red side in these photos, but the coral really comes through in person.

My only complaint — & it’s probably an issue due to how long I’ve owned this shade — is handle of the brushes on the bottles have kind of melted over the years so they’ve gotten really sticky & I absolutely hate it. Not sure what to do to fix the stickiness, so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know! Because I would love to use this shade (& others from this brand in the same style of bottle) but the sticky issue keeps me from reaching for them.

What do you think about Icing Stores Chips N Dip? Does this shade scream Summer to you as much as it does to me? Have you ever tried an Icing brand polish? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below.

Happy Sunday! ♥︎

Pretty & Pink Glittery Abstract Stripes

Good morning lovelies & happy Thursday!

I hope everyone’s week has been beautiful so far. Today I’m excited because I have a pretty, sparkly manicure to show off. & with everything not beautiful happening in the world right now, sometimes you just need to be distracted with something beautiful.

I recently broke my middle finger nail, badly, so that meant it was time for a big chop. Suddenly short nails always make it a bit hard for me to focus on creating beautiful nail art, but I think these pink sparkly abstract stripes were a nice start to another short nail era.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • China Glaze Don’t Desert Me
  • Quo by Orly Mini Pink Glitter (no name on the bottle)
  • China Glaze Fairy Dust
  • Sally Hansen Insta Dri Luxe Finish Lavish Lilac
  • Art Club Striper Passion Flower
  • Art Club Striper Pink Pastel
  • Quo by Orly Striper Black

Oh man, I love this sparkly base so much. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed me sharing stories of a lot of glittery nails. With all the sunshine we’ve been having, I just can’t get enough of the glitter. It makes me very happy. In fact, this was the base I was wearing when I had my horrible break, so I kept it on & added the nail art over top to wear for a few more days. & I’m glad I did because I really really like how this design turned out. It’s just so pretty!

What do you think of this glittery pink abstract stripe design? Do you like glitter on sunshine-y days as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below. & let me know if there is any specific nail art you would like to see me attempt on these new shorties of mine.

Happy Thursday!

♥︎