Category Archives: Nail Polish Swatches & Reviews

Nail Art Tutorial: Santa Claus Nails

Santa Claus Nail Art Tutorial Back in 2011, I did Santa Nail Art where each nail featured The Big Man in Red’s suit. I really loved that design, and even though I wanted to wear it again, it was time for a challenge. (Click to see my step-by-step tutorial for the Santa Suit Nail Art!)

After seeing The Little Canvas’ cute nails with Kris Kringle’s face, I knew I had to try my hand at this design. Although mine didn’t turn out as well as neatly as hers, I had tons of fun painting this, and it was fun to bring my Santa Claus gang with me everywhere I went! (Thanks to The Little Canvas for the inspiration!)

Haha, I intended the Santas to be smirking or to at least look happy, but I guess my nail striper brush was a bit too thick and I was rushing a little. So, some of my Santas look like they’re being very sarcastic. Haha, can you spot which one drank too much of the spiked elves’ Christmas punch? 😛

Hey, it would be neat to combine this and the santa-suit design in a single manicure. You could even paint Santa’s hat on one nail. That would allow you to paint a whole bunch of different designs.

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Nail Art Tutorial: Snowman Nails

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Snowman Nail Art Tutorial It feels like I haven’t worn faces or eyes on my nails in a long time.

(Taken out of context, that might make some people scratch their heads.)

Although my schedule after work has somehow gotten busier than ever before, I want to make time to do more freehand designs, especially festive ones leading up to Christmas.

Today, I’m showing you easy Snowman Nail Art that only requires a base coat, a top coat, five colours, a dotting tool, and a striping brush.

The nail polishes I used to create the snowman nail art are The Body Shop Colour Crush in Minty Amour, OPI Queen of the Road, OPI Angel with a Leadfoot, OPI Juice Bar Hopping, and OPI This Gown Needs a Crown!

I love sharing these kind of simple designs because it might encourage someone to try their hand at nail art, even if they’ve never done so before. There are a lot of overly complicated designs out there that, while nice to look at, can be intimidating to beginners.

It’s my goal to make nail art that’s easy to replicate because I believe that everyone should enjoy the fun and creativity that it has to offer. I don’t want anyone to feel excluded!

To do this design, you don’t need masterclass skills, but you will need patience. Also, remember that happiness is your goal, not perfection, and you’ll always be a winner. 😉

P.S. Read the bottom of this post for a short story from my childhood about how I once got in trouble for building a snowwoman.

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Nail Art: Green Dotticure (OPI My Gecko Does Tricks & OPI That’s Hula-rious!)

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OPI My Gecko Does Tricks & OPI OPI That's Hula-rious Swatch Green and I are tight. We go everywhere together. We watch each other’s back. We are in mad love.

So when I saw that the OPI Hawaii Collection had not one, but two green nail polishes, my heart palpitated a little. Scratch that. It started crunking – that’s how happy it was! 😉

Since I couldn’t choose just one for a manicure, I decided to do an easy Green Dotticure featuring OPI My Gecko Does Tricks and OPI That’s Hula-rious!, which are both from the OPI Hawaii Collection for Spring/Summer 2015. (Click here to see my OPI Hawaii Collection Media Launch Recap post!)

This is such a simple nail design that I whipped up very quickly, and it’s what I wore to the Contessa 2014 Awards.

If your schedule is as busy as mine is and you’re trying to juggle a million things at once, this nail art is for you. It’s fuss-free, and all it consists of are dots arranged in two vertical lines. Easy, effective, and simple to replicate! 🙂

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What I Wore on My Nails for Hallowe’en

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Halloween Manicure This is What I Wore on My Nails for Hallowe’en! 🙂

At first I really wanted to do some Frankenstein Monster or witch nail art, but I was so pressed for time. However, I didn’t want to just wear any ole manicure. It needed that Hallowe’en spirit!

As I browsed my nail-polish collection, my eyes zeroed in on Pretty Serious Swatch And Learn, the multichromatic green that I designed. (Click the link to see it solo – the multiple colours really shine through that way.)

But it needed more of a festive vibe, so I kept searching for something to layer on top. Finally – I found my bottle of OPI Where’s My Blanket???, which is from the OPI Peanuts Collection. It’s a glitter polish suspended in a clear base, and it has pale peach, black, and white sequins.

Layering a coat of OPI Who Are You Calling Bossy?!?, a black creme also from the OPI Peanuts Collection, I put the green on top. I did this to darken the green. The finishing touch was the glitter. Together, I call this manicure “Hallowe’en Soup” – hehe, it’s the first thing that sprung to my mind!

Edit: This is the manicure I wore to the OPI Hawaii Collection Media Launch on October 31, 2014!

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Quick Look: OPI Hawaii Collection Swatches, Photos & Press Release

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Last week was pretty amazing because I got to attend back-to-back exclusive nail-polish events: the Nicole by OPI 2015 Collection Blogger Dinner on Thursday and the OPI Hawaii Collection Media Launch on Friday! (Many thanks to PR for the invitations!) 🙂

Today, I have a Quick Look Post on the OPI Hawaii Collection for Spring/Summer 2015, which will hit stores on February 4th, 2015.

At the OPI Hawaii Collection Media Launch, PR was generous to provide me with all 12 shades contained in a beautiful collectible keepsake box! 🙂 They also graced me with the official press release, promotional card, and nail-swatch board, so I could share further information with all of you.

Included in this Hawaii Collection by OPI are bottle shots that I eagerly photographed, so you can see each shade up close and personal!

My initial reaction when I first ‘lei’-ed eyes on the OPI Hawaii Collection? *Jumps up and down after seeing two greens* (Hehe, I couldn’t resist the corny pun!)

Also, I thought that the gold with glitter was so different than the rest. It’s wild, crazy, and unexpected from OPI, which makes me curious to wear it even more! 😉

Overall, the Hawaii Collection by OPI explodes with a wide variety of colour, which jives with my mental images of Hawaii’s lush scenery! (What a wonderful way to temporarily ‘forget’ about winter coming and focus on spring and summer, right?)

This is one of my favourite OPI collections since the OPI Brazil Collection, and I’m excited to wear and review a bunch of them. (Check back soon for my separate blog posts on select shades, and feel free to let me know if there are particular ones that you’re most interested in seeing in-depth first!)

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