Tag: Winter

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Merry Christmas Penguin Accent Nail 🐧🎅

Good morning lovelies & merry Christmas Eve Eve. Can you believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow? Who else has copious amounts of wrapping to do?

Today though, I have another cute nail art look to share. I was wearing this incredible sparkly green already, & decided I needed something fun over top so I decided to add a cute penguin accent nail!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • Beyond The Nail Caribbean
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Ghouls Night Out
  • OPI I Cannoli Wear OPI
  • ORLY Garnet Luxe Shimmer
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Pump-kid
  • OPI Unfrost My Heart
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm detail brush
  • Small dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

Okay, seriously — how cute is he, all dressed in his little Santa hat? I did do a version of this penguin look in 2018, but I think this year’s version hits the mark so perfectly!

 I decided to add a bit of a scattered dotticure at my cuticle line to give off the effect of snow falling, & I think it made this look even more fun. This is my manicure for my last day of work before the holidays, & I think it’s a fun design for what will probably be the busiest shopping day of the whole year. 

What do you think of my little penguin accent nail? Do you think this is a fun Christmas look? It was actually surprisingly easy to do, which was awesome because the only thing keeping me conscious right now is caffeine! Hopefully Santa will slip a few Energy Drinks in my stocking to keep me awake over the next few days.

Have a fantastic Saturday, & if you’re venturing out to finish up shopping be safe. It’s going to be a zoo out there!

♥︎

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GLAM NAILS CHALLENGE DECEMBER — Mistletoe 🌲

Hello beauties & happy Monday. & happy one week could down to Christmas! The end of the year count down is officially on, & 2024 is looming. I swear I’m still in 2020 some days, & now we’re almost mid-way through the decade. Time is a crazy thing!

But I digress. We still have some prompts left for this month’s Glam Nails Challenge December & I’m so excited to share the manicures to come. Today’s prompt is Mistletoe, & I just love how my design turned out!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Essie Speed Setter
  • ORLY Garnet Luxe Shimmer
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Central Pink
  • Dimension Nails Amazonian Manatee
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Thyme is Money
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm detail brush

I was a little bit nervous about creating mistletoe nails, because I wasn’t sure how exactly to do them — & Pinterest was showing me holly nails when I typed in mistletoe, which was confusing — but I think my design turned out beautiful! I was inspired by this look on Pinterest by @tessalynnails.

& I got a ton of compliments at work for my nails, which is always satisfying. I love when people notice & love the work I put in. Just feels so satisfying for people to recognize your nails, especially when you’re super proud of them! & I’m very proud of these ( even if the lighting for these designs wasn’t my favourite.)

What do you think about these mistletoe nails? Do you like the simplicity of this design? I absolutely love how festive they turned out. Let me know what you think down in the comments below!

Have a lovely Monday! ♥︎

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Freehand Snowflakes (Recreation from 2015)

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! Can you believe we are 10 days away from Christmas Day? This month is literally speeding by so quickly!

Today I’m excited to share a design I did early last week. I was looking through old Facebook memories, & this blue design popped up & I knew I needed to recreate it! I always say I am going to redo certain designs, & get distracted. But I’m so glad that didn’t happen this time!

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifer
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • OPI Blue My Mind
  • White acrylic paint
  • Starrily Space Debris
  • NailStuff.ca 4mm detail brush
  • Small dotting tool (NailStuff.ca Dotting Tool Trio)

As you can see, I took these pictures when we had a fresh coat of snow on the ground. sadly, after a massive rainstorm, our actual Christmas is looking more green than white, but at least we had snow for a minute.

I’m so beyond in love with how these turned out. They colour, the design — it just all makes me so happy. I did use acrylic paint for the design itself, but had to add some sparkle obviously!

& just for fun, my original inspiration versus my updated version.

What do you think of my new blue snowflake design? Do you like the original 2015 design or the updated 2023 version better? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Have a lovely Friday. 💙

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SWATCH SUNDAY —OPI Sleigh Parking Only (Holiday 2014)

Hello beauties & happy Sunday! I hope everyone has been enjoying the weekend so far! Mine has been busy with work — Christmas in retail, am I right? — but I did have a chance to go through my stash & find a fun throwback Christmas shade from almost 10 years ago!

This is Sleigh Parking Only from the OPI 2014 Gwen Stefani Holiday Collection.

2 coats + top coat

This shade was originally gifted to me by a coworker, as part of a set featuring two of the glitters in the collection (more on that later). The shade itself is a dark plum purple, very appropriate for this time of year. The formula was easy to apply, with just a smidge of pooling towards the cuticle — you might be able to see where I had to do some clean up around the cuticle on my pinky nail.

The colour itself is very beautiful, even though I don’t know how “Christmas-y” it is just on its own. Definitely a winter shade though, with that dark plum colour.

However, as I mentioned I received this shade in a set that also contained two of the glitter toppers from the collection: Comet in the Sky, & Snow Globetrotter. I decided to apply a coat of Comet in the Sky over Sleigh Parking Only, & oh boy do I love how it looks! Definitely gives more of that holiday vibe — as glitter usually does!

Do you remember the OPI 2014 Gwen Stefani Holiday collection? Do you have shades from this collection? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what your all time favourite Holiday nail polish collection is!

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Instagram Nail Art Collab — Evergreen 🌲

Hello lovelies & happy Friday! & happy Hanukkah to all that celebrate! Today I’m excited to share the manicure I did for the Evergreen Nail Art Collab on Instagram, hosted by the ever so lovely @essieyall & @petitenaillover.

This month’s theme is Evergreen, & so I decided to go simple with some hand painted bare evergreen branches.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Colour Grip Primer Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Seche Vive
  • Color Club Label-less grey
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Me, My Elf & I
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Wet My Thistle
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Jazzy Jade
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Oh My Coffee
  • NailStuff.ca 7mm liner brush

I’ve done some version of this manicure every Winter/Christmas for the last couple years, but it never gets dull or old to me. This version is a bit more subdued than previous versions, but I love how it turned out. I’m always so excited to participate in this monthly challenge, & create something fun with the prompt given.

If you want to check out the other gorgeous manicures & nail artist participating, check out #evergreennailartmanicollab2023 on Instagram!

What do you think of my evergreen nails? Do they feel festive to you? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

Happy Friday! 🖤