Monthly Mani Favs

The One With February's #MonthlyManiFavs

9:00:00 AM

Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It's the end of February, so I'm going to be proactive and actually post my #MonthlyManiFavs at the appropriate time.  You know, I'm not going to wait until the first week of the next month.  Plus I posted 9 manicures this month, which I feel like is a lot for me.  Now March is here and I need to start thinking of St. Patrick's Day designs.

Until then, let's take a look at February's favorite manicures!



  • The One With the Smoosh Manicure - Loved this smoosh manicure using ILNP Charmingly Purple.  A polish which I cannot find that I have used before on this blog.  It's kind of surprising to me because I swear I've used it a few times.  I'm stumped.  Regardless, it was such a pretty smoosh design!
  • The One With the Valentine's Day Nail Art - Loved these hearts!  This is a design I wanted to do last year but chickened out because it looked difficult.  This year I thought it looked easy, attempted it, and realized it wasn't as simple as I thought.  Absolutely loved the end design.
  • The One With Valentine's Day Tic Tac Toe - I've done a variation of this design since I started the blog six years ago.  Can you believe it, six years?  Anyways, this year I switched the layout of the manicure up and really liked the end result.  I'm in love with Let's Jam by Sally Hansen.  Such a pretty red.
  • The One WIth the Dry Brush Manicure and Sally Hansen - Loved this dry brush design using some of the new Insta-Dri polishes.  Out of all the dry brush manicures I've done over the years, I think this one is my favorite.
What do you think?  Which of these were your favorite?  Was there one you liked better?

Until next time, <3.

Dot Mani

The One With ORLY Blue Suede

9:00:00 AM


Happy Saturday polished world!  How are you all doing today?  You know me and my weekends, I'm going to be catching up on my sleep and be a complete lazy bum.  I need to go to the store though and buy some yarn because one of the resident's at the facility I work at is going to make me a lap blanket.  I love this lady, she crochets all day long and sells her blankets for bingo money.  She's just so dang adorable, and she makes the best blankets.  I need to have one.

Today's design is a simple dot manicure I did the other night when I had a horrible migraine and naked nails.  I had work the next day so I needed to paint something, and I really wasn't in the mood for just a plain color.  I debated on doing a leopard print manicure, then I realized I could just do a simple dot mani and be done in the same time as a simple swatch.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ORLY - Blue Suede
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • ORLY - Mirroball
ORLY Blue Suede is from the Velvet Dream collection.  Now, I googled this color, and I found swatches a few people did where they were holding the old ORLY bottle.  So now I'm partially wondering if this is a re-release.  Although the swatches in the old bottle look like a matte polish.  Who knows.  Could be that they forgot they already had a polish named Blue Suede.  This polish applied perfectly in two coats and had a beyond shiny finish.  For sure was not matte like the old bottle shots I found on Google.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Are you as mesmerized by ORLY Mirrorball as I am?

Until next time, <3.


China Glaze

The One With the Dry Brush Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing on this fine Thursday?  The weather was super nice the past two days, but unfortunately it's back in the 30s and we are supposed to get snow again.  I'm used to this happening, but I always get hopeful that the warm weather will stay.  Especially when you head into work with the birds chirping and sun shining.

Today's manicure is a simple dry brush one I did a few weeks ago.  I held off on posting it because it was a similar color scheme to a smoosh manicure I did right around the same time.  It's unlike me to do two manicures so similarly colored in a row, but I guess I was feeling uninspired.  Thank goodness for the back log of manicures to post so I was able to space them out.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • China Glaze - Lip Smackin Good
  • Zoya - Tomoko
I do love China Glaze Lip Smackin Good.  One of my all time favorite neon pinks.  Makes me look tan, which is a huge plus in this winter weather.  I need to check and see if this polish became part of the China Glaze core collection at Sally Beauty.

What do you think?  Like this dry brush manicure??

Until next time, <3.


Gradient Mani

The One With the Fishtail Tape Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world and Happy Monday!  Not sure why I didn't bring you all a post yesterday other than I was extremely lazy and didn't feel like typing one up.  I really should type the posts when I edit the photos, but seeing as I edit about 4 manicures at one time, then that means I'd be editing and writing 4 posts in the same night.  That's just a lot of work.  Oh well.

Today's design is one I did shortly after I stopped doing Christmas manicures.  You know, since I have that lovely backlog that I don't get around to posting.  The other issue with me not writing my blogs when I edit my photos - I forget the colors of the polishes in the post.  Which I'm blanking at the moment right now.  Anyways, here's a cute fishtail tape design!

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • INM - Granite
  • Serendipity Polish - Party Gown
  • Zoya - Suri
  • Zoya - Hudson
  • FingerPaints - Sterling Sculpture
Just spent ten minutes Googling the colors that I used because I knew what collections they were from, just not the names.  Better than nothing though, am I right?  Granite is one of my all time favorite grey polishes so that one I didn't have to Google.  Same with Sterling Sculpture.  That is my favorite silver glitter polish.  So happy I have two bottles.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Something you'd try?

Until next time, <3.


ILNP

The One With the Smoosh Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  It was 60 degrees out yesterday and now it's supposed to be in the 30s today.  You can imagine how lovely my head feels.  This up and down weather kills my sinuses and gives me the WORST headache.  Oh well, at least winter is somewhat over with and soon Spring will be here.

I'm not completely done with purple/pink manicures quite yet.  This one has some black mixed in so clearly it doesn't have the Valentine's day feel.  I'm obsessed with smoosh designs and hadn't done one on all ten of my nails in quite some time.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • ILNP - Charmingly Purple
Okay, why is it just now that I'm realizing that this polish is named Charmingly Purple?  I feel like I've been calling it something else for years, yet when I go back through my posts, I can't find one where I actually used this polish.  I'm shocked that I've owned this polish for close to two years and I've yet to once wear it on my nails.  I must have used it just for pedicures.  What is wrong with me?!  Maybe I'm just crazy and I have used it.  Hmmmm

Regardless, I am in love with this smoosh manicure.  The holo mixed with the two cream polishes.  Absolutely wonderful.  I did the smoosh manicure over one coat of white polish since there's a decent amount of polish which covers any naked spots when you do the design.

What do you think?  Fan of this look?  Do you remember if I've ever used Charmingly Purple?

Until next time, <3.


Sally Hansen

The One With the Valentine's Day Nail Art

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  Happy Valentine's Day to you all!!  And happy six year blog-versary to me!  Maybe I'll celebrate later this month with a special post or something.  We will see.  Regardless, I'm super proud of myself for doing a few different Valentine's Day manicures despite the fact that I hate the holiday.  I'm one of those people who believe we should show how much we love each other every single day, not just one day a year because Hallmark says so.  Sure, there's more meaning behind it other than Hallmark, but we all can agree that this holiday has become so commercialized.

Wow I'm getting side tracked.  Anyways, today's manicure is one inspired by Coffee and Nail Polish.  Shannon created a cute doodle heart design last year that I wanted to do last year, but failed when I tried.  I kept looking at the manicure pinned on my Pinterest board and finally decided to give it another go.  I'm happy that I did because I'm super proud with how they turned out!

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Sally Hansen - Femme Feather
  • Sally Hansen - Let's Jam
  • Sally Hansen - Va-Va Violet
  • Sally Hansen - Flashy Fuschia
  • Black acrylic
Isn't it cute?  It took me FOREVER to do but that's because I was overly critical of myself and wanted my hearts to be perfect.  I honestly forgot that Shannon had called hers doodle hearts, and I was trying to make mine look like stamps.  When I re-read her post and saw the word doodle, I kind of threw caution to the wind and didn't aim for perfection.

The base of Femme Feather was perfect.  I've had this polish from the Xtreme Wear line for awhile now.  I think I might have used it once in the past but I honestly cannot remember.  It's a gorgeous pink nude polish which covers completely in two coats.  I was a little iffy because the first coat was so patchy, but it layered wonderfully.  Truly was the perfect base for this design.

The new formulation of the Insta- Dri polishes were amazing for nail art.  They colored in the hearts quite nicely and dried super fast so I was able to top coat quickly.  Best part, there was only one nail that had a little drag spot from the art - and that was because the dot was not dry enough.  I kind of jumped the gun with the top coat, but I wanted to go to sleep.

What do you think?  Fan of this look?

Valentine's Day done....time to start thinking about St. Patrick's Day nail art.

Until next time, <3.

Sally Hansen

The One With the Valentine's Day Tic Tac Toe

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  The weekend is almost over and the work week is almost here.  On top of that, Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  Also, the 6th anniversary of this blog.  Kind of crazy to think that I've been blogging on The Little Canvas for six years.  That's a lot of polish and nail art!  Well I probably won't have a fancy anniversary post because I never really have done that, and if I was, I should have done it last year on the 5th anniversary.  Oh well.

Today's design is yet another Valentine's Day manicure.  Okay, maybe the last few weren't true Valentine's Day designs, but they were pink/purple and kind of subtle if you didn't want to go over the top with hearts and all that jazz.  The design I'm sharing with you today is a re-creation of a tic-tac-toe design I've done a few different times.  Same accent nail, different colors.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • Sally Hansen - White on Time
  • Sally Hansen - Let's Jam
  • Serendipity Polish - Holoday Lights
Cute, isn't it?  I really wasn't sure if I was going to like the color combination I picked out, but I really did once it was on the nails.  Let's Jam is another polish from the re-formulated Insta-Dri line.  I'm slowly working my way through the 16 polishes I was sent for review.  This is a pretty red polish which doesn't remind me of your typical red.  Honestly, I'm not sure how to describe it, other than it worked well with my skin tone, and usually reds look weird on me.  Two coats and full coverage just like all the other Insta-Dri's I've already tried.

What do you think?  Fan of this design?  Used any of the new re-formulated Insta-Dri polishes?

Until next time, <3.


Dry Brush Mani

The One With the Dry Brush Manicure and Sally Hansen

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  Thursday is here which means the weekend is right around the corner.  You know, the days where I look forward to hunkering down, sleeping, and doing nothing whatsoever.  Well, I end up doing errands and things, so in the end it's not all relaxing....but at least it's not stressful work, right?

Sticking with the Valentine's Day themed manicures.  And by Valentine's Day themed manicures, I mean pink/purple/red designs.  I received 16 of the reformulated Insta-Dri polishes from Sally Hansen, and since so many of them were pink and purple, it's coming at a perfect time to review.  For today's design, I decided to do a dry brush look.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • White on Time
  • Racing Rose
  • Watermelon Wizz
  • Va-Va Violet 
Absolutely love how this turned out.  White on Time is a great white polish which covers perfectly in two coats.  Insta-Dri lives up to his name as each coat dries super fast and I didn't have to sit around waiting for the base to dry before getting on to the dry brush look.  Now the dry brush was a little difficult to do because of the wider brush/wand, but with some patience I was able to get it to work.

What do you think?  Like this look?  Fan of the new Insta-Dri polishes?

Until next time, <3.


Orly

The One With Precision Lacquer Red Velvet Cupcake

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  Happy Tuesday to all of you!  We are supposed to get a snow storm tomorrow, which means I'll hunker down, paint my nails and bake some goodies.  Okay, that's just wishful thinking.  I'll really be at work, most likely shoveling and helping out where I'm needed.

So, as I might have said in my last post (honestly can't remember if I mentioned it and I'm too lazy to go scroll back and look), since Valentine's Day is around the corner I'm going to try to post only pink/red manicures until the 14th.  This will be hard for me since you all know how much I enjoy pink and red manicures.  Can you sense the sarcasm?

Today's manicure though I did truly love.  Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
I forgot about how perfect the Sprinkle Collection is by Precision Lacquer.  I received this polish a few years ago and fell in love with them.  Perfect micro glitter polishes which cover in two coats.  Red Velvet Cupcake is a Terra Cotta Red with red and silver glitters.  It's so, so perfect.  What's even more amazing about it is that it removes like a dream for a glitter!

It works well with ORLY Cake Pop.  I cannot remember which collection this is from, but I purchased it years ago and I don't think I ever used it.  Two coats and full coverage.  I was a little nervous after the first coat that it would be a three coater polish, but it evened out nicely.

What do you think?  Like this manicure?  Ever used one of these polishes from Precision Lacquer?

Until next time, <3.


Sally Hansen

The One With the Snowflakes and Sally Hansen

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!!  How are you all doing today?  Saturday is here finally which means I'm going to sleep all day and be the laziest person in the whole world.  Actually, that's a lie.  I possibly have plans to go see I, Tonya with one of my friends.  Who knows though, I should follow up on that.  Don't ask me why I want to see that movie, I just really do.

Since it's February, and Valentine's Day is around the corner, I'm going to try to bring you some sort of pink/red/purple manicure up until the 14th.  You know me and how much I "love" Valentine's Day, so this should be fun.  Can you sense the sarcasm?

Today's design is a snowflake manicure using some of the new Insta-Dri polishes from Sally Hansen.  I received the whole new line from Sally Hansen about a month or so ago, but they weren't packaged right so half of them broke.  They sent out a new package around Christmas time and I haven't gotten around to reviewing them until now.  So February will also be the month of Sally Hansen Insta Dri polishes....

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Sally Hansen - Petal to the Metal
  • Sally Hansen - Greyfitti
Cute, right?  The design is inspired by One Nail To Rule Them All.  Originally I had the snowflake on my index finger as well using a light pink cream base, but it didn't look good, so I removed it and put on two coats of Petal to the Metal.  This is a gorgeous rose gold shimmer polish which covered in one coat, but you know me, I always use two.

Polish really lived up to it's Insta-Dri name as it dried a lot faster than Greyfitti which is from the Miracle Gel line.  My Miracle Gels always take a tad longer to dry, but that's for sure because of the formula.

My only complaint, the bottle shape....ahhh it's so difficult to hold for my pictures!  Well with 16 new colors, I feel like I'm going to get a lot of practice.

What do you think?  Like this manicure?  Used any of the new Insta-Dri polishes yet?

Until next time, <3.




Monthly Mani Favs

The One With January's #MonthlyManiFavs

9:00:00 AM

Good morning polished world!  Happy February!!!  Where did January go??  Part of me feels like yesterday I just posted my Monthly Mani Favs for December, and the other part of me feels like I've posted a ton of manicures in January and can't believe it's taken me this long to get to the post.  It's quite an odd feeling.

I really should have posted my Monthly Mani Favs for January yesterday, but I kind of forgot.  There goes my goal of doing these posts on the last day of each month in 2018.  Oh well....hopefully I can post one each month instead of last year when I ended up combining two months.

Let's take a look at January's favorites!


  • The One With Snowflakes and Zoya Rebel - This manicure is a re-creation of one I've done for the past I think three years now.  I forgot how gorgeous Zoya Rebel is.  I need to bust out all my pastels from that collection since Spring will be here before I know it.
  • The One With ORLY Bling - Loveeee!!!  This manicure has such a neat look to it.  Holo background, cream geometric design.  There's such a 90s vibe to this design.
  • The One With the Holo Grey Floral Design - See there's a holo trend this month.  This polish is from the discontinued Serendipity Polish.  Their holos were amazing, so it saddens me that they are no more.
  • The One With the Mani Swap With 25 Sweet Peas - Absolutely love this snowflake manicure.  It has to be my all time favorite snowflake manicure.  Featuring the always wonderful ILNP.  Seriously Barbara's holos are perfect.  If she ever stops making polishes, I might cry.
What do you think?  Which is your favorite?  Think I should do a holo thing all year??

Until next time, <3.