While July may be over there is still lots of flip flop weather ahead of us. With that in mind I thought I’d share a few of my favourite nail polishes to use for a summer pedicure! I like choosing colours that are fun but will go with as many of my outfits as possible. My picks are all quite different from each other but they are the ones I go back to frequently! Continue reading
I shared some coral makeup products a few weeks ago as it is Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2019 so today I thought I would share a coral manicure. The two nail polishes that I chose to combine for this manicure are both from my favourite budget beauty brand: Essence.
When I want a quick manicure that will survive about a week with minimal chipping, Essence’s gel polishes are one of my go-to’s. They are inexpensive and they really do last on the nails. Today I’ve got Essence Do You Speak Love? on my nails, which to be honest, I don’t remember purchasing. I had to double check to make sure I hadn’t previously featured it on the blog. I sometimes pick them up when I’m grocery shopping so that would explain why I don’t remember purchasing it. I’m sure I’ve worn it at least once before though. It’s a beautiful deep red shade which is the type of red I’m more drawn to wearing versus the classic brighter reds. Continue reading
Hi guys! One of my greatest pet peeves is when a manicure chips pre-maturely. At times, I don’t repaint my nails because I dread the first chip which usually occurs a couple days later while the rest of the manicure looks okay. I love painting my nails but I just have to be in the right mood for it. With all of that said, I was quite excited when Nail Polish Canada, one of my favourite websites to order nail polish from, asked me to pick two shades from the Essie Gel Couture line to review. Inspired by the fall season I chose a merlot shade, Model Clicks, and a grey shade, Closing Night.
The Essie Gel Couture line is a gel-like system that does not require a UV lamp. Interestingly enough, it also does not require a base coat. Being an avid base-coat user this seemed strange to me, but although it sounds insignificant, it saved me a LOT of time when doing these manicures.
The first shade I tried was the Essie Gel Couture in the shade Model Clicks. It’s a deep merlot shade that is beautiful for the fall season. The first thing I have to say about the Essie Gel Couture system is that I absolutely LOVE the brush. It’s a bit wider than your average brush and is also flattened. It was so easy to get a nice, even and clean application. I barely had to do any clean up afterwards. It took two thin coats to achieve opacity which is pretty standard.
I was also very impressed by the dry time. I was a bit skeptical since I always choose top coats specifically for a quick dry. A top coat that is part of a system like this usually isn’t quick dry so I was worried. However, my nails dried in record time! Within 15-20 minutes I could start lightly using my hands again without worrying about ruining my new manicure. It definitely felt like it was a quick dry top coat. It also is quite shiny as well!
The photo above was taken after SEVEN days of wear! This includes five work days, where I essentially type on a keyboard like a mad-woman all day and it also survived a wedding on it’s second night of wear. Aside from a tiny bit of tip-wear and tiny chips out of the bottom, it looks passable! I can’t believe it! I think I found my new favourite nail polish formula!
Next up, I currently have Essie Gel Couture in the shade Closing Night on my nails. It’s a grey with a soft shimmer to it. It applied just as nicely as the previous shade and looks beautiful on the nails. This shade as well took two shin coats to achieve opacity.
Overall, I am super impressed with the Essie Gel Couture line and am shocked it took me this long to try them. If you’re looking for a long wearing manicure you can try at home I would highly recommend these! You can find the full selection of Essie Gel Couture over at Nail Polish Canada. They offer free shipping to Canada on orders over $19 which is very reasonable!
Have you tried the Essie Gel Couture line? Let me know in the comments down below!
xoxo,
Robyn
These products were all sent to me complimentary for review however all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Hi guys! It’s been awhile since I did a Mani Monday post! My nails have been on vacation again, I haven’t had much time to wait for wet nails to dry between enjoying the summer weather and spending time with the bunny that I adopted in June. Bunnies and wet nails don’t mix very well. Anyways, the mood struck to paint my nails and I was feeling something darker and blue. After much deliberation I decided to go with OPI’s Ski Teal We Drop which I haven’t worn in a long time.
OPI Chip Skip
OPI Nail Envy in Original
OPI Ski Teal We Drop (2 coats)
Glisten & Glow HK Girl Top Coat
I love this shade, it really is more blue than teal but it is exactly the shade I had in mind for my nails this week. Similar to most OPI cream polishes, it applied like a dream. Excellent pigmentation and consistency. I love when the polish glides on my nails all by itself without much thought as to where it is going. No clean up required! I’ve had it on for about five days now with minimal chipping, mostly tiny chips now forming in the corners on the fingers I use more. Not really that noticeable but I’ll likely change my polish in a few days if I am ambitious enough.
What do you have on your nails today? Let me know in the comments down below!
xoxo,
Robyn
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Hi guys! It’s time for another Mani Monday! I recently posted about the Essence Gel Nail Polish when I did my last Drugstore Haul. I couldn’t wait and I had to immediately apply the whole system to my nails. I chose Play With My Mint as it’s a cute minty green shade, a colour that aside from purple, I’m instantly drawn to. This polish claims to last “60% longer” but I’m not sure what the comparison is to… other gel polishes? Regular nail polishes? Anyways, with how inexpensive these were, and the “gel” concept, I was hooked.
Products Used:
Essence The Gel Nail Polish Base Coat
Essence The Gel Nail Polish in “Play With My Mint” (2 coats)
Essence The Gel Nail Polish Top Coat Continue reading
Hi guys! I’m back with another Mani Monday! I bought two nail polishes a few weeks ago, the first one I posted in my last Mani Monday, so today I have the second one which is OPI Show Us Your Tips! It is a shimmery periwinkle shade that airs more on the sheer side from the New Orleans Collection (Spring/Summer 2016).
Products Used:
OPI Chip Skip
OPI Nail Envy Original (1 coat)
OPI Show Us Your Tips! (2 coats)
Glisten & Glow HK Girl Top Coat (1 coat)
Generally, I’m not into sheer nail polishes on myself. I did originally have 3 coats on but no matter what I did they seemed to smudge or get dinged up, even with a fast drying top coat. I think next time I would attempt 3 coats again but make sure I’m not in a rush and really let each coat dry before applying the next. My normal method I use to paint my nails seems to work well with 2 coats, but the third is just too much. All in all, this colour is gorgeous and I would definitely wear it again. I actually don’t even mind how sheer it is.
What do you have on your nails today? Let me know in the comments down below!
xoxo,
Robyn
You can also find me here…
Hi guys! Welcome back to another Mani Monday! I think I finally have my nail polishing groove back. There was awhile there were I just looked at my nails and felt uninspired. But lately I have been really craving dark purple vampy nails. I was going to do my go-to which is OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark but I decided to bust out Siberian Nights which is a touch lighter and a bit more purple.
Products Used:
OPI Chip Skip
OPI Nail Envy Original Formula (1 coat)
OPI Siberian Nights (2 coats)
Glisten & Glow HK Girl Fast Drying Top Coat (1 coat)
What do you have on your nails today? Let me know in the comments down below!
xoxo,
Robyn
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Hi guys! It’s time for another Mani Monday post! After I removed the gel polish I was previously wearing I wanted something quick and easy to put on. I’ve had this polish for years but I never wear it, but today an all-in-one polish seemed appealing.
I found this polish needed to be built up to achieve opacity so I had to use three coats. Dry time was okay, but would have been faster if I had topped it off with a fast drying top coat. I never get good wear time out of Sally Hansen so I’m sure it will be off in a few days. I find the polishes that wear the best on me are OPI, Zoya and Cult Nails.
Products Used:
Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in Wet Clay (3 thin coats)
What do you have on your nails today? Let me know in the comments down below!
xoxo,
Robyn
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Hi guys! I just have a quick Mani Monday post for you today! Instead of doing a regular manicure, since I knew that I would be away for a week I got a OPI GelColor manicure. I got in done in OPI Ink since it is a nice “burple” that has some shimmer in it. I didn’t want to do anything too festive since I’ll be wearing it for awhile. Continue reading
Lipstick on the Lake 