Thursday, December 31, 2020

Year in Manicures: 2019

It's almost 2021 and I'm FINALLY through my backlog of posts from 2019!! /cries

Looking at my 2018 year in review post, I said there that you could tell how busy I had been since I was writing the review post in March - I wonder how busy that means I was this year since I'm writing this post literally almost a year late...

Despite how far behind I fell with posts, I did manage to paint 70 designs for myself in 2019, as well as 12 videos for CutePolish (I'm a part of the team on Sandi's channel if you didn't know!).
Out of those 70 designs, I'm going to take a quick look back at my nine favourites from the year!


Tuesday, December 29, 2020

NYE2020

Originally posted on December 29th, 2019.

I’m going to be ringing in the New Year in my favourite way - with my nails literally dripping with glitter! ✨πŸ₯‚πŸΎ


Friday, December 25, 2020

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Colours of the Season

Originally posted on December 23rd, 2019.

I really loved the fall colour palette nails that I did a few months ago, so I wanted to revisit them again for winter!


Saturday, December 19, 2020

OBSESSION

Originally posted on December 1st, 2019.

I want you, I want you, want you πŸ‘€

EXO is back! Even though we were completely robbed of seeing X-Xiumin, X-Lay, and X-DO, EXO still killed it with this album's 6 member lineup.

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Faded Forest

Originally posted on November 19th, 2019.

I'm still sticking with nature inspired nails for the moment, but this time I'm focusing on trees instead of flowers.


Monday, December 14, 2020

EXODEUX

Originally posted on November 9th, 2019.

EXO: *releases one (1) minute-long concept trailer*
Me: I must make a nail design for this IMMEDIATELY πŸ‘€


Sunday, December 13, 2020

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Wednesday, December 09, 2020

You're My Twenty-Four

Originally posted on October 12th, 2019.

Guess who's officially in her mid-twenties? πŸ™‹‍♀️πŸŽ‚πŸŽˆ
I thought my birthday nails had peaked at 21, but this set is giving them a run for their money.


Tuesday, December 08, 2020

Jopping

Originally posted on October 10th, 2019.

Cause when we're jumping and popping... we're JOPPING! πŸ€˜
There were a lot of differing opinions about SuperM's concept when they first debuted - and some fans are still divided on it - but I'm personally totally here for it. I love being able to see so many of SM's powerhouses perform together in one group (and let's face it, seeing Taemin and Jongin in a group together at last is something to be hyped about)!

Since I was so excited for their debut, I kind of went all out for the design.

Monday, December 07, 2020

Sunday, December 06, 2020

BT21

Originally posted on September 29th, 2019.

I’m mildly embarrassed to admit that it’s taken me nine months to add BT21 to my Character Cuticles series πŸ™ˆ


Wednesday, December 02, 2020

Gucci Boy

Originally posted on September 20th, 2019.

The last design in my mini autumn series is inspired by Gucci, and more specifically by Kim Jongin's (EXO's Kai's) all Gucci airport fashion from 190907 ✨πŸ‚


Monday, November 30, 2020

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Undertow

Originally posted on August 31st, 2019.

I managed to squeeze one last summery design in before September rolled around πŸŒŠ☀️


Saturday, November 28, 2020

Barbie Girl

Originally posted on August 29th, 2019.

Last summer I was fortunate enough to work with Butter London to make a design using their BUTTERxBARBIE polish duo in celebration of Barbie's 60th anniversary! In honor of the milestone, I based my design on the bathing suit worn by the original Barbie in 1959.

[sponsored]


Friday, November 27, 2020

We Bare Bears

Originally posted on August 19th, 2019.

More character nails today, this time featuring Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, and Ice Bear from We Bare Bears! 🐻🐼


Thursday, November 26, 2020

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Monday, November 23, 2020

What a Life

Originally posted on July 27th, 2019.

Not only did we see some awesome solo debuts from EXO in 2019, but we also saw the debut of EXO's second subunit, EXO-SC! The music video for their first single, What a Life, was fun and bright and I tried to capture that feeling in my design.

Sunday, November 22, 2020

UN Village

Originally posted on July 18th, 2019.

There were a lot of quality albums released in 2019, but I have to say that one of my favourites (if not my number one album) of the year was Baekhyun's first solo, City Lights. The lead single, UN Village, which this design is inspired by, remains one of my favourite songs.


Saturday, November 21, 2020

Heize Concert Tour 2019

Originally posted on July 10th, 2019.

Sooooo you know how I said Blackpink would be my last concert for a while? I seem to have been mistaken.... πŸ˜…

I honestly didn’t think I’d be going to any concerts during the summer (of 2019) but Heize's Toronto tour date didn’t clash with my work schedule so I figured why not!

Friday, November 20, 2020

Drippin'

Originally posted on July 9th, 2019.

Neon, negative space, and matte - is a cooler combination for summer even possible?! 😍

[sponsored]


Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Zimzalabim

Originally posted on June 28th, 2019.

Red Velvet released a lot of new music in the summer of 2019, but unfortunately with my schedule, Zimzalabim was the only comeback I was able to make a design for. 

Thursday, November 12, 2020

On the Edge

Originally posted on June 21st, 2019.

I had the pleasure of working with Butter London for a couple projects in the summer of 2019, and this was one of those times. This scalloped-outline look features two polishes from their Springtime Romance Collection. πŸŒΈ✨
[sponsored]

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Sad Forever

Originally posted on June 17th, 2019.

I know that kpop designs are kind of my brand around here, but I do listen to Western artists as well and LAUV is one of my favourites πŸ’›


Sunday, November 08, 2020

Saturday, November 07, 2020

White Stripes

Originally posted on June 6th, 2019.

Do you ever get partway through doing nail art and decide that you like the in-between step enough to photograph it as it’s own design? That's what happened here.



Friday, November 06, 2020

Moomin

Originally posted on May 30th, 2019.

“I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes, and dream!” πŸ₯”
                                                                                      - Moomintroll

Moomintroll from the Moomins is the latest addition to my Character Cuticles series!


Wednesday, November 04, 2020

Tuesday, November 03, 2020

Spot Me

Originally posted on May 4th, 2019.

For some reason this design gives me birthday party vibes even though my birthday isn't until October πŸ€·‍♀️


Sunday, November 01, 2020

BLACKPINK In Your Area Tour

Originally posted on April 27th, 2019.

I was super lucky to be able to see BLACKPINK when they stopped in Canada and, as always, I needed to have nails to match the occasion!


Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Soft as Stone

Originally posted on April 25th, 2019.

Unlike the vast majority of my designs, this one is not actually hand painted. Today I'm trying out some nail stickers that I got as a PR sample from Twinkled T!


Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Petal Soft

Originally posted on April 24th, 2019.

I’ve seen a lot of these cool, wavy designs floating around lately and I decided to try it out for myself using @SallyHansenCA’s new Petal Soft Collection! 🌸
[sponsored]

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Boy With Luv

Originally posted on April 17th, 2019.

After a couple of heavier title tracks, it was nice to hear something a little different from BTS with their upbeat, pop-y track Boy With Luv.


Sunday, March 22, 2020

Kill This Love

Originally posted on April 13th, 2019.

When I made this design it had been almost a year since the release of DDU-DU DDU-DU, but Blackpink killed it again with Kill This Love!



Thursday, March 19, 2020

April, and a Flower (Beautiful Goodbye)

Originally posted on April 8th, 2019.

2019 was full of a lot of things for EXO and EXO-Ls. Minseok and Kyungsoo enlisted in the military after both releasing solo songs; Yixing, Jongdae, and Baekhyun all released solo albums; we got a new unit in the form of EXO-SC; and EXO released their 6th full album OBSESSION near the end of the year.
We also got to meet Kyoongtube, Chen's Channel, and Chanyeol's Studio NNG. All super cool stuff that I was more than happy to listen to, watch, and support.

As an EXO-L I was obviously excited about all of the various EXO content we got this year, but at the beginning of the year I was most excited to hear about Chen's solo album, April, and a Flower. I love all the exos, but Jongdae's voice has always been a favourite of mine so I was pretty pumped that he was releasing a solo. Obviously I needed to make a design inspired by the album and this is what I went with!



Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Bare Minimum

Originally posted on April 5th, 2019.

Taking another short break from intricate designs to show minimalist designs some love πŸ’•


Thursday, March 12, 2020

I Can't Be-leaf

Originally posted on April 3rd, 2019.

I called it all the way back in April, and I was right that this design was one of my favourites of the entire year.