Go Gens Go! TGIF Ruffian Mani

Happy Friday! I'm always proud of myself when I'm punctual with a challenge. That is kinda of sad as it speaks to my punctuality in general. Oops! Today's theme is "Ruffian".

I'm so excited for today's nail art, because it's in support of my favourite hockey team, the Oshawa Generals! I grew up in Oshawa and have been a longtime fan of the junior (OHL) team. Tonight they head into game 5 of the finals with a 3-1 series lead. Can they take Connor McDavid down? I am not sure but i will BE THERE to cheer them on, sporting my festive mani!

Products Used

Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Willa

China Glaze Up All Night

White Acrylic Paint

INM Out the Door Topcoat

This was my first time using acrylic paint in a mani. It was pretty easy to work with and I love that if you mess up you can wash it off with water before you seal it all in with topcoat. I also found the white paint really pops over the dark base in a way that can take many layers of polish to achieve. I'll be doing that again!

Do you use acrylic in your nail art?

xo Shawna

Cherry Blossoms for TGIF & My Engagement Shoot Mani

I'm late! That seems to be a theme in my posts lately - life is definitely crazy this spring!

Friday's theme for the TGIF nail art challenge was "Cherry Blossoms". I actually spent Friday playing with cherry blossoms at our engagement shoot in High Park. We had to move the shoot up an entire week at the last minute, because the blossoms happened much earlier this year compared to the last few springs! So, I wore a classy and timeless mani for the shoot and my challenge mani was put on hold. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the engagement shoot mani!

Products Used

Ciate Chinchilla

Nicole by OPI Hard-Kourt Kardashian

OPI Mod About You

Ciate Snow Virgin

essie Good to Go Topcoat

I freehanded the branches and dotted on the blossoms. I am absolutely in love with the look and it was fairly simple! 

Here's the mani for my engagement shoot. Mod About You base with a China Glaze Fairy Dust glitter tipped gradient, and a simple red holo heart with Daily Hues Nail Lacquer in Willa, made with a dotting tool. 

Check out this gorgeous shot our photographer Jacqueline from Injoy Imagery snapped for my instagram. 

Stunning! Are you in love with cherry blossoms like I am?

Happy Mother's Day!

xo Shawna

Quatrefoil Vinyls Mani

I love quatrefoil. Like, a lot. But I find doing it by hand with a dotting tool (which I've done a few times) just never looks as nice as I want it to, and it's also tedious as hell! So one of the very first stencils I designed was quatrefoil, of course. (I even made two different designs!). 

When I first designed the stencils, the lines were a little thin and tore pretty easily - I made them thicker and had to test them out! So I can say my vinyls are new AND improved, which I always laughed at as a marketing gimmick before. But it's totally true! They're a week old and already improved! And wow, am I in love. 

Products Used

Finger Paints Night Lights

OPI Love Angel Music Baby

My Nails Did Vinyls Quatrefoil 02 Stencils

essie Good To Go Top Coat

(code OPENING for 15% off and free decals with min. 2 sheet purchase - until the end of the week!)

I sponged the gold overtop my completely dry base. Shhh, I was able to use each stencil 2-3 times and my whole mani took only 4 stencils! Talk about value. Is it narcissistic to say I freakin love my own product? Hope you love it too!

xo Shawna

Neon Skittle Swirls

Last night I got creative making new Vortex Swirl Stencils  which are available now in my shop! I wanted to showcase their awesomeness so I layered a graphite coloured holo over a skittles rainbow of neon. 

China Glaze Japanese Koi

China Glaze Pool Party 

China Glaze I'm With the Lifeguard 

China Glaze Shocking Pink

Color Club Unnamed Mini (neon purple)

Daily Hues Nail Lacquer New Beginnings 2015

My Nails Did Vinyls Vortex Swirl Stencils

How amazing does this look? So simple and definitely a knockout mani. Don't forget code "OPENING" saves you 15% and if you purchase a minimum of two sheets you'll get a free sheet of decals (TBD). 

xo Shawna

Braided Mani for TGIF

Oh hey guys! So my shop is open. Link is overhead or you can click right here--> My Nails Did Vinyls.  Use code "OPENING" to save 15% off your entire order, and if you order 2 sheets or more you'll get a free sheet of decals (TBD)! Prices are Canadian, so if you're from the States or international, the exchange is probably in your favour ;)

Today's nail art was literally done in a car. I didn't feel like joining my dad inside the chaos that is Costco, so I sat in the car with the windows down, enjoying the sunshine and painting my nails like the crazy nail lady that I truly am. The theme for week one of May's #TGIFnailartchallenge was Braid, which I've seen done so many times but never done myself! I decided on a pink monochromatic look.

Products Used

Finger Paints What a Night

OPI Suzi Shops & Island Hops

Color Club Miss Bliss

INM Out the Door Topcoat

I love this look! It's pretty simple to create but packs a lot of punch. 

Go check out the shop!

xo Shawna

Holo Zebra

I've been so busy preparing my shop for opening I have barely been getting my nails polished! I was testing out my new zebra vinyls yesterday and I loved the look, so I decided to get my butt in gear and do a proper mani with them. In holo of course! Channeling Lisa Frank, I used a bright neon base and some black holo for the stripes.

Products Used

China Glaze Pool Party

Mad Scientist Lacquer Unicorn Blood

Color Club Beyond

INM Out The Door Top Coat

My Nails Did Zebra Stripe Stencils

Here's a pic with direct light to better show the holo gorgeousness!

This is so fun, a little crazy for my usual tastes but I'm totally digging it. AND, my shop will be officially launching this weekend so keep your eyes open for a special discount!

Hope you enjoy!

xo Shawna

Seaside Stamped Gradient

I'm glad I photographed this mani ASAP because I proceeded to dent all the tips when I left the house before the fairy dust properly dried! Oops. This is my mani for week four of the April TGIF nail art challenge- stamped gradient. I wanted a light base colour that would allow my stamping shades to pop, so I dug deep into my drawer and pulled out Panda-Monium Pink, which I'm pretty sure is the first OPI colour I ever fell in love with. I finally used my last untied MoYou London plate, which I ordered back on Christmas! Baby steps, right? I find the longer I do nail art, the less i reach for stamping plates - but they're definitely nice for a quick, pretty mani. 

Products Used

OPI Panda-Monium Pink

Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

Konad Princess Polish Deep Jungle

China Glaze Fairy Dust

INM Out the Door Top Coat

These two stamping colours blended together beautifully. It's too bad this mani got ruined, but I am going to pick up my cutting machine from FedEx tonight (an aside: I hate FedEx!) so I'm not too upset because I'm going to be all about testing the nail vinyls soon! Watch for the shop opening announcement and specials!

xo Shawna