2019 in Nails - 14 Looks!

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Despite the rocky times, 2019 was unequivocally a year of growth and experimentation. In the hair and nail department, that's for sure. From the mundane, to the bougie, to the horrendously long...your girl did it all!

I get a lot of questions about my nails from friends and strangers alike, so in this post, I'll be breaking down the specifications behind each set: colour, polish type, length, shape, texture, etc. Everything there is to know!

In high school I was nail crazy. I think I had somewhere around 55+ bottles of OPI? This was before gel was even a thing. I did my own nails and changed the colour every week! Remember the Katy Perry x OPI Collection that came out in 2010? I went and bought the whole set the day it released! Tbh I have yet to find a glitter polish as beautiful as OPI's Teenage Dream (the song too...a total bop if you ask me.) "Let's go all the way tonight...no regrets, just love ~" Emblematic of my early 20s, yes.

Sometime after graduating I gave up (and donated,) all of my polish and went bare for a couple of years. Why I did that...God knows.

A couple of months into 2019 I suddenly had the urge to be well...girlier? Idk. For the most part I'm pretty ambiguous/fluid when it comes to dressing, but it's a whole other story beauty-wise! Bring on the lash extensions, elaborate nails, and curled hair!

Now...let's start from the beginning, shall we?

Before I started getting extensions, namely Aprés Gel-x and sculpted gel extensions, I use to get a gel overlay on my natural nails! I frequented this salon in Kits, called Joyride. I was a regular before I found my now friend/nail girl Liang, @liangnails on instagram! Joyride's selling point is definitely their line of organic products and their use of 5-free, 7-free, 9-free, and 13-free polishes. Now, Liang is the same, she prides herself on her odour-free/toxin-free space!

What really sold me on Joyride was their monthly subscription, unlimited regular or gel manicures for, get this: $99.99!! During the summer when I had more free time, I saw myself going once a week. Realistically gel lasts 3-5 weeks so me going once a week probably wasn't the healthiest. I much prefer my schedule now, getting my nails done once a month in a bid to minimize damage!

Once you transition from natural nails to instagram-worthy/Kylie Jenner nails...there's no going back, I tell you.

   

All of the nail looks I did in 2019, in chronological order:

A Simple White

Gel, Round

For my first foray back into the nail world, I went with a simple white! My nails were obviously really short here, the length I have them at when I'm not wearing polish. 

A Slime Green Jelly...and my Carhartt WIP Bag!

Gel, Round

A lewk. The slime green paired so well with the golden yellow Carhartt logo! The polish was semi-translucent...á la jelly nails!

My Nails for Ariana Grande's Sweetener/Thank U, Next Tour - Pink & Purple

Gel, Almond

Excuse my cuticles. Busted cuticles aside, I'm a huge Ari stan. HUGE. Of course I had to do something extra girly for her concert!! I went for a bright pink, complete with little star decals! On my right hand I had on purple polish, complete with matching stars.

Lilac

Gel, Almond

How lovely is this lilac? I placed a single decorative "diamond" right in the centre of the nail. We went shopping for rings at Pandora that day and my nails complimented my rings so well!

A Shimmery Royal Blue

Gel, Almond

Not quite metallic, not quite shimmer, this royal blue was one of my favourites! I also happened to be wearing navy that day so again, it went with my nails. Yay for unintentional photo opts!

Neon Orange Jelly

Gel, Ballerina

Another standout! I love the slightly translucent, jelly look. The neon orange worked really well with the jelly texture. I intentionally chose this colour to ring in summer!

A Girly Pink

Regular Nail Polish, Ballerina

Decided to try out regular nail polish after wearing exclusively gel for months...and I couldn't help but wonder how high school me had the patience to paint my nails and wait for it to dry?! And the chipping! Don't even get me started on the chipping! Chipped, dented...day of! Never again.

My nails for FVDED '19! Neon Pink + Neon Yellow

Sculpted Gel Extensions, Tapered Square

Rave/festival appropriate, no? My first foray into the world of nail extensions. I opted for a customized shape: a tapered square/coffin aka the Kylie Jenner nail. I get a lot of my nail inspiration from her ngl! Her and instagram, most definitely. 

                              

Cow Print Nails

Sculpted Gel Extensions, Hand Painted Cow Print, Long Tapered Square

MOOOO b*tch!!!! I got - I don't how many compliments on these...two a day, at the very least. A definite crowd pleaser, that's for sure. I got a lot of questions on the cow print, they're actually hand painted believe it or not!

Matte Royal Blue
Gel-x Extensions, Extra Long Coffin

You have to be in a certain mindset to pull off nails this long, I'm telling you. These nails got me feeling like a bad bih all month long! Matte always looks amazing on a solid-coloured set!

Pink Ombre

Gel-x Extensions, Extra Long Coffin

My nails are super short right now and writing this makes me miss my long nails! Ombre was definitely one of the big nail trends this year. That peachy-pink fade though!

My Halloween Nails - Black with a Diamante Heart

Gel-x Extensions, Medium Length Stiletto

One of my favourite shapes to date! I find stiletto to be the most flattering shape for me, personally. Coffin makes my already long fingers obscenely long. Kept things simple with a diamante heart composed of little rhinestones on each hand! If you saw my costume on instagram you'll know that I purposely chose this colour scheme to go with my Ariana Grande "Don't Call me Angel" costume!

My Christmas/Holiday Nails - LV x Supreme

Gel-x Extensions, Medium Stiletto

What instagram dreams are made of. Everyone went crazy over these! Girls and guys alike, I've never gotten so many compliments in my life. Understandably so, these were brilliantly executed! I thought long and hard about the sticker placement, and it clearly paid off! Paired with my Louis Vuitton SS19 A4 pouch by Virgil Abloh...my biggest flex of 2019, that's for sure.

My Contact/NYE Nails - Pink Playboy Chrome

Gel-x Extensions, Medium Square 

Throwing it back to the early 2000s! My instagram caption said it all: "y2k playboy tip$$$$ early 2000s ! 💰💰💰britney, low-rise jeans, juicy tracksuits, baby phat, Paris Hilton!!!!!" Loves itttt.