5 Nail Polish Colours You Need To Try This Summer

5 nail polish colours to try this summer.


When you’re busy, finding time to put yourself together can be challenging. One of my favourite ways to spend my self-care time is doing my nails. I’ll usually do it after I’ve put the baby to bed, with a glass of wine, and while it may seem simple, you’d be surprised how effective having your nails done can be at making you feel easily put together!

There is always such a huge selection of nail polish colours available that trying to pick a colour can be so hard! Don’t worry, I’ve picked the top 5, most universal colours that are guaranteed to suit everyone and anyone. These are my favourite nail polishes ranging from neutral and discrete, to bright and bold.

A little nail polish is an easy way for a busy mom to feel more put-together.

OPI- Lisbon Wants Moor

If I could only wear one colour for the rest of my life, this would be it. It’s a beautiful creamy pale pink with neutral undertones. It’s the kind of colour that doesn’t look washed out on lighter skin tones and pops on darker skin tones. It’s a great colour if you just want an everyday polish that goes with everything. The classic pale pink and a staple for any nail polish collection.

Essie- Clothing Optional

If you are looking for the perfect dark neutral colour, look no further! This sienna brown toned polish the perfect compliment to every outfit. It’s flattering on every skin tone, in every light, with every outfit. I love this colour going into the end of summer and beginning of fall when the temperature starts to drop and I start pulling out my comfy sweaters.

OPI- Gelato On My Mind

For a bright colour that is still discrete, Gelato On My Mind is your colour. It’s an almost robin egg blue which is bright enough to feel different than your neutrals but is still modest enough not to draw too much attention. It’s a great starter colour for the ladies looking to slowly step out of their comfort zone and try something different!

China Glaze- Pool Party

This colour is NOT for the faint of heart. It’s the brightest, boldest, and most beautiful tangerine orange nail polish I have ever seen. It is perfect for the summer months and guaranteed to be noticed when you wear it! The formula is great but it does best with a glossy topcoat as it dries down matte.

Sally Hansen- Strobe Light

No best nail polishes list would be complete without a glitter polish! Sally Hansen’s Strobe Light polish is the only glitter you will ever need. For a subtle look, apply one layer on a clean nail but to amp it up, apply a couple of coats for a more opaque colour. You can also layer it on top of your favourite colour to give a different look to your usual solid colour!

Choosing the right nail polish.

Finding ways to feel put together doesn’t have to mean spending hours on your makeup everyday or having perfectly styled hair! Something as simple as having your nails done can make a huge difference. Bonus, you can do it at home which is super cost-effective for the mama’s on a budget. Enjoy!

If you want to learn more quick makeup tips that you can add to your everyday makeup routine, check out www.elysemorency.com. You can also find Elyse on Instagram at www.instagram.com/elysemor/ where she talks about the real and raw life of motherhood and makeup!

Are you practising self-care, or self-sabotage?

Self-care has become trendy; there are 4.6 million #treatyoself posts on Instagram alone.

Are you practicing self-care or self-sabotage?

As you scroll through the posts, you see a lot of food; pastries, desserts, pizza. Good food can definitely be considered self care. Especially as a mother, it can be difficult to fit in a satisfying meal amongst the chaos. But when does this cross the line into self-sabotage?

I use food as a comfort, like a lot of people. Whenever I am worried, anxious or stressed, I’ll reach for something sweet. In the moment, I feel so much better. Until the sugar crash hits me and I feel more drained than I did before. Or all the greasy deliciousness of a pizza makes me bloated and uncomfortable 30 minutes later.

It’s a dangerous game to start classing unhealthy binge eating as self care. Sometimes self-care absolutely calls for a homemade batch of cookies, a steaming hot pizza delivered to your door and eaten in bed, but it’s also important to notice when these acts are detrimental. When it’s your new norm to eat takeaway, grab a few cookies whenever you pass the pantry, or turn to food when you’re upset, you are forming unhealthy habits.

I’ve fallen into this trap recently. With never ending winter colds and stomach bugs sweeping through our household, I’ve been extremely complacent with what I’m putting into my body. I’ve also skipped my planned workouts because I wanted to nap, have a lazy day or felt too tired. Taking a break is important, treating yourself with yummy foods is important; but everyday isn’t a treat, and if you’re left feeling worse than before, have you really cared for yourself?

Self-care should make you feel good. Caring for yourself can be a sacred soothing act, if you let it.
Meditation is an amazing tool to instantly destress and combat anxiety

If you find yourself turning to food when a stressful situation hits, ask yourself what you’re feeling. Similarly to alcohol, or drugs, food can be used to block out something unpleasant and serve as an enjoyable distraction. Instead of continuing to bury yourself in food, take a look at what triggered you to eat, and see if you can work through it without the crutch of food. Perhaps you meditate for 5 minutes, or put on your favourite song and dance your worries away.

Self-care should make you feel good. Caring for yourself can be a sacred soothing act, if you let it. My favourite acts of self-care are taking a hot bath once my daughter is asleep, reading a good book in bed, writing in my journal, or having a long yoga practice.

My favourite acts of self-care are taking a hot bath once my daughter is asleep, reading a good book in bed, writing in my journal, or having a long yoga practice.
A few of my favourite books which help me relax

I’ve realised my ‘self-care’ habits lately have been making me feel worse, not better. I’m making a real effort to focus on eating healthy foods that make me feel energised, and moving my body often instead of being inactive and suffering with the resulting stiffness.

Take a look at how you treat yourself, are you truly caring for yourself? Have you protected some bad habits under the guise of self-care? Focus on feeling good, physically and mentally, and you’ll start craving different things; a fruit smoothie and yoga becomes more appealing than pizza and Netflix. As you adopt healthier habits, and start genuinely caring for yourself, the ripple effects of a healthier you will spread through every area of your life.

Roseanneis the blogger behind the honest and inspirational personal blog Roseanne Writes. Native to Scotland, now calling Canada home, Rosanne helps mothers navigate motherhood while remaining true to themselves. You can read Roseanne’s full bio, and follower her personal blog here.


Self care after Christmas, think of it as your New Years preview

mother and four kids on beach

Today is December 26th. Every December 26th I feel excited. I know a lot of people who feel low after Christmas, but although I love Christmas, there is something, a feeling like relief that I feel the day after Christmas.

December 26th is like my preview of New Years day, my fresh beginning. My family and I are currently in Florida, enjoying a much-needed family vacation, but we haven’t escaped the hosting, the visiting or the busyness of the holiday season.

My family is here too. Everyone. So instead of spending time with Mike’s family, we have been spending time with mine. We hosted Christmas eve and Christmas brunch and then went to my parents place for Christmas dinner. It was all wonderful and long overdue… 8 years to be exact.

But by the time we finished dinner last night, I hit a wall. The exhaustion took over. Our twins were unravelling too. Although we hadn’t played games yet, I know the three of us were done. So, I thanked my parents for dinner and told Mike to stay with the big kids as long as they would like, and then snuck out the door for the short walk back to our place.

Self care for the remainder of my trip means reading my book when I get a minute (loving A Stranger Next Door right now) and writing. I am also picking up my exercise starting today. I went for a run/walk this morning, and we are renting bikes for our family tomorrow.

What are you doing for yourself during the holidays? How do you feel after Christmas?

In today’s video I am sharing some practical tips that anyone can do.

Look at your body after babies as a fresh beginning

post baby body

After having my twins, (my third and fourth kids), although I felt a deep sadness for the mushy, stretched, bruised and swollen condition my body was in, a part of me felt excitement and renewed.

I was so thankful that my body had done the job it needed to do: carry my babies to full term. I looked at it differently than I ever had before.

Although sad, for the first time since I became self-conscious as a child, I didn’t feel anger, frustration or betrayal towards my body. I was filled with gratitude.

Now was the time to bring my body back to life, to strengthen and love whatever new shape it was going to take. It was like someone dropped a pile of clay in front of me and said, “this is yours to mould and nurture. A fresh beginning.”

before and after

The sadness is gone and my body is mine again. But I will never forget the journey it has been on and I will constantly keep gratitude at the centre of my relationship with my body.

Follow Nesting Story on Instagram for regular wellness and motivational body after babies posts.

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Sick kids, self care and why I refuse to let myself fall apart

sick twins

There’s nothing like looking after your kids when they’re feeling sick. As much as it pains me to see my kids suffer from an awful stomach flu, being needed for lots of cuddle time and one-on-one comforting has to be the most rewarding things any parent could feel.

It comes with the territory, while some days your kids will want nothing to do with you as they attempt to establish some sort of autonomy from mom, dad or both (sad, I know). Other days, they’ll find themselves needing no one else in the world besides their parent, and as parents, you’ll want nothing more than the safety, health and happiness of your child to be at 100 percent.

Almost immediately my focus shifts and before I know it I’ve forgotten to shower, eat a decent meal at a reasonable hour and somehow my baggy clothes have managed to take over my wardrobe. With all four kids being sick from the flu, my priorities meant doing whatever needed to be done to get them back to a healthy state. This meant regular check-ups with the doctor, resting periods together and getting the kids’ appetites going.

You may also like, “When the stomach flu hits and 7 tips on how to survive”

Survival mode means doing whatever it takes to get things back into our normal groove. Without intentionally putting things on the back burner, I have a tendency to neglect everything else, (especially myself) the moment I try to gain control of a situation involving our kids.

It was only until I had time to decompress, between waves of kids being sick, did I realize how stressed I really was. Mike had taken over looking after the kids while I set out for a long-awaited manicure appointment. Although I wasn’t aware of it at the time, as I began to relax, my body recognized the huge contrast in experiencing overexertion and feeling a lot less tense.

As the waves of stomach flu continued through all four kids, (man, we have a lot of children), I felt myself becoming drained again and again. Over and over I pressed the reset button, either by sneaking in a quick workout really early in the morning, or nearing the end of the illness, getting a much-needed massage.

I had to make a conscious effort to do both simultaneously, take care of our our kids and take care of myself. Getting things done one after the other just isn’t an option. 

Watch as our weeks of illness unfolded in our home.

 

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