Ugly Christmas sweater nails

Hurray, finally Christmas nails! I mean *Cristmas* nails. Yeah, you'll have to watch my YouTube video for my logic and rationale on that one!

For this edition of the weekly nail art challenge (WNAC) I co-host on Instagram along with Kristin of Lacquerstyle and Tracey of MissBellaTracey, the theme is Festive and the prompt is Ugly C(h)ristmas sweater! I listened to it, but it turned out pretty sweet and not really ugly at all haha! I would wear this any time of year, no lie. I used awesome new 'Ugly sweater stencils' from Twinkled T along with holo glitter from their shop, you can use my code SIMPLY for 10% off!

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW ↓!

Messiest nail art ever - splatter nails

SOMEONE ELSE DID MY NAILS FOR MAAY, HELP ME THEY'RE SO UGLAAYYY

Just kidding, I did them myself, woops, it happens, okay. I tried to do splatter but then nail polish was just everywhere and then it was a mess and then I tried to fix it with holo but nothing could conceal this disasterpiece. For this week's edition of the weekly nail art challenge (WNAC) I co-host on Instagram along with Kristin of Lacquerstyle and Tracey of MissBellaTracey, the theme is Holo and the prompt is splatter! There's more holo in the video, I swear...

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW ↓!

Russian drag marble secrets UNLOCKED

I DID ITTT MUAAHAHHA or at least I somewhat, maybe only peeked into the secrets of Russian nail art witchcraft (I'm actually serious this time).

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW ↓!

Slutty flakie fishnet nails

This weeks edition the the weekly nail art challenge (WNAC) manis I co-host the WNAC on Instagram along with lovely ladies Kristin of Lacquerstyle and Tracey of MissBellaTracey the theme is negative space & gradient! Well the incorporation of both those techniques doesn't really translate well at first glance.... but on this day we give no facks.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW ↓!

El Corazon active-bio gel polishes: Review and sparkle

A new polish brand to me, El Corazon has released a massive line of "active bio gel" polishes, which are dubbed a "nail treatment that looks, applies and removes like a regular nail polish, but at the same time helps to strengthen your nails and gradually improve their condition. It is easy to apply, dries very quickly and lasts on your nails much longer than regular polishes." The two I have here today have a jelly formula with holographic flakies, unlike any polish I've seen before! There is so much depth to these polishes and I'm in love with their multi-dimensional result, especially the purple. These El Corazon polishes and many more colour options are available from Hypnotic Polish, an international indie polish stockist.

Christmas throwback: Candy cane nails

So I'm on vacation right now in Florida and yes I'll be slacking on my posts cause the sun here is this magical thing I rarely get to see living in Canada. I also broke my middle nail a few weeks ago so I've had to slow down my reserve stash posts in order to catch up to myself once I can resume doing nail arts and swatches. Expect shorter nails when that happen though! In honor of this, here's a throwback to last year around this time when I had shorter nails (but also just less taken-care-of nails, worse photography, clean-up, etc.)! For what I've done in the past year to bring my nails to their usual better condition you're used to seeing on my blog, check out my Nail Care page.

Abstract dark Christmas chevron nails

'Cause who takes holiday nail art literally? I love me some dark moody nails, and I got these two new Orly polishes from Tracey of @missbellatracey on Instagram the other month so why not dress them up in some simple nail art. I'm basically just posting this as 'Christmas nail art' cause its close in colour to Christmas, but I actually haven't had time to do real Christmas manis cause my stupid nail broke, soooo yeah, let's just pretend I actually intended to have these nails be specifically for Christmas. Mmhmmm.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

Bestie twin nails: Colourful ikat chevron

Fun freehand nail art today! I never do many freehand nails, so today is a much needed break from my usual order of gradients, nail vinyls, and striping tape (check out my Gradient Guide for more on that!). I teamed up with Nia of @trendynailzofficial on Instagram and we were inspired by this very retro-feel ikat chevron (is that what this is called anyway?) pattern Nia found while browsing the net. Pretty neat indeed and super colourful!

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

Holo Christmas Jellies from Beyond the Nail

It's holo jelly time - Christmas style - with Beyond the Nail! You may recall I swatched their summer galaxy collection a couple months back. The two polishes I have to show off today are the same in formula - a linear holo jelly that go on sheer and can be built up to full opacity in 2-3 coats! Below are 2 of the 10 polishes in Beyond the Nail's Christmas collection. On my accent nail I've re-created a cross-hatch plus gradient look I did a while back - it uses the 'lead-lighting' technique by layering colourful holo jelly polishes over a pattern of white and black I made with striping tape.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

Glam Polish: Holos from the December 2014 collection

Winter is here to stay! For most of the year! Well for me anyways, being in Canada and all, summer is like the shortest season ever to actually see the sidewalks. Whatever, new seasons mean new nail polish collections to me, so there's that. Especially holo ones like Glam Polish's limited edition Mid-Winters Dream Collection, inspired by icy winter at its finest! This December 2014 collection boasts whimsical holo-day hues galore. I've got 5 of the 9 total polishes in the collection here for review. The whole collection will be available for purchase on December 4th directly from Glam Polish (based in Australia), or one of their international stockists. If you're in Canada or the US be sure to check Harlow & Co.'s website first, they will be stocking them soon!

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

It's a warm glittery Christmas with FUN Lacquer

I have an epic Christmas 2014 collection for your viewing pleasure today, brought to you by the one and only FUN Lacquer! The best part is that not only is this 8-piece rich and oh-so-unique Christmas collection available directly from FUN Lacquer (shipping out of Singapore), but they are newly stocked out of Live Love Polish, a US-based nail polish shop that ships out internationally as well! Exciting news for the indie polish addict in all of us.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

Holo and creme intricate reciprocal gradient with striping tape

Gradient + holo + striping tape = meeeee! I had some fun with this one, that's for sure. Thanks to Live Love Polish, a new online polish retailer, I got to try out one of the infamous Color Club holographic hues (Kismet) along with a teal China Glaze creme I've been lusting over (Shower Together - what a name btw). 

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

Abstract fall leaves in ultrachrome and holo

Fall is in the air and on my nails!!! Went for an abstract simple leaf-like look using two awesome fall savvy polishes from ILNP (I Love Nail Polish). Yes I realize they kind of also look like the tips of a fire and not leaves... but whatever, that's why the key word 'abstract' is so important.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

Turquoise & green returning reciprocal chevron gradient

Another mind bender from the Gradient Guide, this time a new and improved version of the grey and white returning reciprocal chevron gradient I did a few months ago. This look can be done with any colour combo your heart desires! I went with a turquoise and green theme, holding onto summer as long as I can. Chevron mini nail vinyls are from Nailvinyls.com.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

ILNP duochrome holo drybrush over black

Actually easy nail arts today! I've had a few people comment on my Instagram page that they'd like to see some ideas for easy nail art. Here's a straight up drybrushing-with-the-polish-brush technique that's super easy to do. Obviously I had to make it a bit more out-there to suit my overly dramatic style so I've used holo duochromes (that's right, holo AND duochrome) polishes from ILNP* over a black creme base.

Pic heavy cause it's so hard to capture the shifting shades of the two duochrome polishes I used and the holo! *crying kitty emoji*

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

Mani swap with Dorra of Didoline!

Why is it that all french nail bloggers are so amazing??? I mean seriously. What. The. Heck. I am so happy to share with you today a mani swap with one of them, the super sweet Dorra of Didoline's Nails! Dorra chose to replicate my super time-consuming neon and black hypnotizing square mani and I went the simple route baha and chose one of her Fashion Friday nail arts, this one inspired by the Fausto Puglisi 2015 Resort collection.

Work appropriate mani Monday: Rose water decals over not so apparent gradient

Another slightly dated mani for you today, cause I'm purging myself of old nail photos! These were done about a month and a half ago with water decals I randomly got of Mynailproducts.com a while ago. I actually thought that the decals would be transparent (not white) and so you'd see the bottom half of my gradient, but as it turned out they were white, so my initial gradient efforts were lost anyways when the decal covered up the bottom half of my nail. Boo.

Work appropriate mani Monday: Neon and nude

Who says you can't wear neon at work? If someone does, they're lying.

I wore this look for a week at the office and no one told me I was fired. Therefore, you too can wear neon at work. But for real though, I am of the opinion that you can mix nude and neon (at least a lemon-lime neon) and pull it off, assuming it compliments your awesome personality.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

Work appropriate mani Monday: Not so appropriate shrinkage

Further to my last post where I exposed the Seche Vite "shrinkage" phenomenon, I thought I'd use this work appropriate mani Monday post to demonstrate more of this top coat travesty.

I originally did this mani back in May, but never published it, because, well, it's pretty obvious why. Look at those horrendous edges! The tip wear without any actual wear! These shots were taken maybe a couple of hours after I painted them. Seche Vite fail.

Seche Vite bottle image credit

Hypnotizing black & neon squares

Further to yesterday's plain corner gradient post, here's the finished product. No, this is not a stamp. No, this is not freehand. No, this is not a pre-cut nail vinyl (I wish, seriously). This is the result of me turning into a crazy person and placing probably over 50 pieces of striping tape one by one while my eyes go crossed.