Twinkling Snowflakes ❄️✨

Hello lovelies & happy Wednesday! Halfway through the week, & only 4 days away from December 1st. Who else hasn’t started their Christmas shopping yet?

Today I’m showing off more glittery nails on my shorties. I was feeling some handprinted snowflakes, since they’ve been all over my Instagram feed, so I decided to give them a go. & obviously, I needed a good base for them to pop over, so I picked some more sparkles. After all, ’tis the season for sparkle!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: NailStuff Essentials Base Coat *
  • Top Coat: Nail Stuff Essentials Quick Dry Top Coat *
  • CND Vinylux Dark Dahlia
  • Sinful Colours I Miss You
  • Essie Blanc
  • Essie Separated Starlight
  • Nailstuff Mermaid Tail 7mm liner brush
  • NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio 

How pretty did these little snowflakes turn out. I’ve never been the most comfortable free handing my snowflakes, but I was feeling pretty confident after watching way too many tutorial videos. & they turned out absolutely beautiful, & I’m very proud of that.

I’m trying not to get too Christmas-y on my nails yet, as Glam Nails Challenge December starts next Wednesday, & I’m going all in to end this year! There are so many great prompts, so I’m really excited for some fun designs to end this year strong.

What do you think of my twinkling snow flakes? Has it snowed where you are yet? We haven’t had anything more than a couple flurries, but they are calling for a potential snowstorm at the end of the week which is crazy!

Happy Wednesday

♥︎

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Belle of the Ball

Hello loves & happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend (& staying warm if you happen to be suffering under that arctic vortex taking over right now!) Today, I’m sharing a beautiful polish I can’t believe I haven’t swatched yet!

This is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Belle of the Ball. I was originally gifted this by Sally Hansen in 2018 as part of their REDesign Collection, but as I was newly pregnant & constantly sick, I didn’t get a chance to swatch the whole collection. However, this shade found it’s way into Sally’s permanent CSM line up — & is still in rotation!

2 coats + top coat

This beautiful darkened plum is packed with a surprising red shimmer that looks beautiful depending on you move your fingers. It gives the polish a beautiful dimension which makes it more than just a simple purple nail polish. It was originally released as part of the Sally Hansen REDesign collection, but I was always confused by that as I don’t consider it a red (personally).

But it’s very, very pretty. & even after 5 years the formula in bottle is easy application perfection. Smooth, easy to build opacity. & thanks to those wide brushes, takes barely any time to apply at all. I also found the dry time, even before I applied my quick dry top coat, to be pretty speedy — I had no issues with polish bleeding onto my top coat brush when I applied it.

As mentioned, this shade is still in rotation (at least in Canada), & can be found with other Sally Hansen CSM polishes. For my fellow Canadians, Sally Hansen can be purchased c/o: Shoppers Drug Mart for $13.49 CAD. It can also be found on Amazon.ca. I’ve also seen it at my local Walmart as well.

Sadly, I didn’t find this shade listed on the actual Sally Hansen website, so I hope it’s not on the verge of being discontinued, because it really is stunning!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Belle of the Ball? Is this a shade that you would wear on your own nails? Are you a fan of the Sally Hansen CSM line? I do have quite a few of this line in my stash, & I’ve always been a fan.

Happy Sunday ♥︎

Glitter Gradient Nails (With Revlon Nail Art Expressionist Duo)

Good Morning & happy Wednesday! It’s a snowy, messy, gross Wednesday here with a little bit of everything a winter storm can offer. But I’m excited because I have a fun (& easy) nail art look to share with you today using an old school polish that I found at my local Dollarama! Every so often, older polish collections & nail art items pop up in the beauty aisle. So I was pumped when I saw a few of these Revlon Nail Art Duos from 2015 show up at my local Dollarama.

My local Dollarama had two different styles in stock — one neon one, & the one Santa slipped into my stocking called 350 Ulterior Motif. It has a dark metallic gunmetal base shade, with a rose gold glitter for accenting.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Revlon Nail Art Duo 350 Ulterior Motif 

Don’t mind the tip wear — I stupidly photographed these after wearing them for a full work shift. But I love how easy this duo made it to create a funky nail art look, with no tools needed. I definitely didn’t take advantage of these sets when they were originally released — which is a shame, because they make nail art super easy!

Do you remember the Revlon Nail Art Duos from the mid-2010s? Did you have/do you have any in your nail polish stash? After using this one, I kind of want to go back & get the neon style because it will be fun to use in the Summer!

Have a lovely day ♥︎

Burgundy Reindeer Sweater Nails 🦌

Hello lovelies & happy Monday! I hope everyone had a stellar weekend — the first weekend of November. I know mine was definitely a busy one at work. You can feel the holiday spirit already seeping into the air. Also, Starbucks Holiday cups are back — as is the gingerbread latte! — so that really makes you realize how quickly the end of 2023 is approaching.

But I’m staring off this week with some sweater nails, done prior to my big nail break on Friday. You know me — I love a good sweater inspired manicure. As soon as the weather gets that extra bit of chill, I’m all about the sweater nails.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essence Colour Grip Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Ruby Do
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ski Bunny
  • Sally Hansen CSM Pat On the Black
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out
  • Discontinued Born Pretty Store stamping plate
  • Nailstuff.ca clear stamper & scraper set
  • Nailstuff.ca metallic studs (no longer available)

It’s been a while since I pulled out any of my studs, & I kind of missed how they complete a look! Of course, I wore in retail so I banged mine up really quickly, but you can’t even notice from far away.

I also feel like this design is a good in-between look before we start getting into our more Christmas-y designs. I would be prepared for a whole lot of Sweater nails this month! I always find November my hardest month for nail art inspiration, because it’s half way between Fall & Winter, I don’t want to do Christmas too soon, & I’m never quite sure what I want to wear on my nails.

What do you think about my sweater nails? Do you think these are a fun November look? What kind of nail art do you gravitate towards in November? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below & let me know what kind of nail art you would like to see!

Have a fantastic Monday ♥︎

Vintage Inspired Polka Dot & Floral 🌹

Hello loves, I hope you’re having a beautiful start to your Thursday!

Today’s look is giving me early blog vibes, & most specifically this early design featured in the younger days of this blog. I love a good floral, & to be honest I haven’t really been inspired to paint floral on my nails in a while. I think June was the last time I posted any kind of floral, & even that was a simple daisy design. So to say I was long overdue would be an understatement.

So obviously I decided lets do a throwback inspired design, grabbed some pink & red polishes, & I ended up with this pretty look! The throwback vibes are strong, & I’m okay with that. I feel like old school nail art designs are making a comeback — heck one of the indie brands even released a whole collection of crackle nail polish — so I thought I would join in on the fun.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Essie Hard To Resist Glow & Shine 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
  • L’Oreal Vintage Vinyl
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Ski Bunny
  • L’Oreal Feeling Kilty
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Racing Rose
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Cinnasnap
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Montley Hue
  • China Glaze Shore Enuff
  • Essence Cosmetics Green is the new Grunge
  • Starrily Vantablack
  • Dotting tool (I always use mine from NailStuff.ca — Dotting Tool Trio)
  • NailStuff.ca Mermaid Tail Nail Brush Trio (11mm Liner Brush)

Ooooh it’s so pretty! I mean, being a self confessed perfectionist I can definitely see some flaws, but I’m not going to concentrate on those, & instead focus on the good things… like floral being on my nails again after far too long. It just feels good, especially during these frigid days we’ve been having. I’m not a fan of Winter once Christmas is over, so I don’t really enjoy January at all.

A girl can only drink so many extra hot coffees in a day.

So I would expect to see a few more florals popping up on my nails over the next few weeks, especially as we start inching closer to Valentine’s Day.

What do you think of this floral design? Have you missed seeing it around? What is your favourite nail art design to do of all time — or for others to do? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below.