Catching up...

It's been a while since I have updated my blog, but I have been busy. Yesterday I spent the day at Bliss Hair & Beauty in Abergele, North Wales doing Gelicure nails. It was a very long day but I enjoyed it and Jane, Debbie and the rest of the staff were great.

I have also recently been the the Professional Beauty North West show and managed to get some new colours to add to my collection.

Here is a selection of some of the nails I have done since my last post.

 

Nubar Gelicure 'Toasted Marshmallow' looks just like melted caramel

Nubar Gelicure 'Luscious Marshmallow' with Swarovski Crystals is one of the new nudes available

Here it is again on nails with a shorter nail bed. It looks just as good and these lasted three weeks         

Nubar Gelicure 'Lustful Red'

Nubar Gelicure 'Lustful Red' with 'Cherry Bomb'

Nubar Gelicure 'Vampire Red'

My new Nubar Gelicure colour chart

My colour sticks showing all the colours available

Back to Black

I love black polish and the shine you get on Nubar Gelicure's 'Black' is fantastic. In my opinion it's a great look for any time of the year regardless of how long or short your nails are.

Gelicure 'Black' Soak-off Gel Polish

Nubar Gelicure 'Black' Soak-off Gel Polish

Off with the bling...

...and on with something a bit more dramatic. This is called 'Vampire Red' and is a really rich dark blood-like colour. It can be made to look even darker with a layer of Gelicure 'Black' underneath or a layer of Gelicure 'Electric Touch' over the top can give it a pinkish shimmer. It looks great with a bit of glitter polish like Gelicure 'Silver Waterfall' over the top too.

Nubar Gelicure 'Vampire Red'

Before & After

Went out for a meal last night and noticed that my son's fiancee's nails were still looking pretty good after two and a half weeks. I used Gelicure 'Purple Power' and added some Swarovski Crystals on 25th July for their Engagement party the next day. I am very pleased with how they have lasted, especially as she has been working and horseriding. Obviously they will need redoing again in a week or so before the nail growth begins to look too excessive.

Nails on 25th July after having Nubar Gelicure Soak-off Gel Polish applied

Nails after two and a half weeks. Still looking pretty good with no chips.

Healthy nails again

Since beginning my manicure course my poor nails have been put under enormous pressure to stay strong and healthy. Constant manicures and then acrylic tip and overlays and soak off gels being applied and then taken off at least a couple of times a week for the duration of the course took their toll. Thankfully they now seem to be growing again and not breaking off at the free edge and although they haven't got much length to them they seem to be strong.

As I seem to have done nothing but gel polish lately I thought I would use normal nail polish. The picture is of my right hand so it is not as good as I would have liked but I find it difficult applying polish on myself, especially with my left hand.

Colour Club 'Naughtycal Navy'

I do nail polish too

French Polish using Nina Ultra Pro 'Pink Frost' and technic nail art 'White' with a Filo flower on ring fingers

My New Obsession

I got my first chance to use one of my newest Gelicure colours yesterday and make my first nail repair. Very pleased with both.

Nubar Gelicure 'My New Obsession'

This blue looks great dressed up for a night out or when you are dressed casually in your denims or summer shorts and dresses. It can also be made darker by layering a darker Gelicure colour like 'Aubergine' or 'Black' underneath. A coat of 'Electric Touch' over the top makes it shimmery.

Before my client arrived I received a call to say that one of her nails had split horizontally towards the middle. This gave me a chance to try and repair it using nail glue and a teabag. I wasn't holding up much hope but the result was amazing and the client said it had stopped hurting too. I had visions of being able to see the patch where the teabag had been placed over the break but after blending it in with my Sand Turtle file it was invisible.

The repaired nail. The split is from the right hand side towards the cente just where the nail joins the nailbed.

Nubar Gelicure Soak-off Gel Polish Collection

Painted some colour sticks to show my Gelicure Collection to clients. Only small at the moment but I will gradually build up the collection.

Gelicure Soak-off Gel Polish Colours available at present ('Whipped Cream' is IBD not Gelicure)

Familiar Colours...

Another Gelicure manicure this morning. It is very similar, apart from the placing of the Swarovski Crystals, to one I have posted a photo of in an earlier posting.

  'Palau Coral' with ring fingers in 'Purple Power' with Swarovski Crystals.

A busy afternoon

I had an unexpectedly busy afternoon yesterday. I was preparing for my son's fiancee & prospective mother-in-law to arrive at 4 oclock to have their nails done in preparation for the engagement party on Saturday when I received a message asking if I could do a manicure & pedicure in the afternoon or the next day (today). So in total yesterday afternoon I managed to get through three manicures and 2 pedicures. Once again my new summer colours 'Palau Coral' & 'Purple Power' came up trumps. Everyone just seems to really like these two vibrant colours at the moment.

Gelicure 'Palau Coral'

Gelicure French with blue & silver gems

Gelicure 'Purple Power' with Swarovski Crystals

Here you can see the Swarovski Crystals clearer. Lovely.

 

Two new colours

Yesterday I ordered two new Gelicure colours. Can't wait for them to arrive, hopefully today or tomorrow.

                                                                                           

Boise De Rose

My New Obsession

Summer Nails

Here is a sample of my new summer Gelicure colours 'Palau Coral' and 'Purple Power' which have proven to be quite popular.

Gelicure 'Palau Coral' with 'Purple Power' ring fingers decorated with Swarovski Crystals

Gelicure 'Purple Power' with 'Purple Pyrotechnics'

Gelicure 'Palau Coral' with Swarovski Crystals on ring fingers

Gelicure 'Purple Power'

Sparkly, glittery nails

White Tips with Acrylic Overlay and Glitter ring fingers

Twinkle Fingers. Glitter mixed with acrylic powder and applied to client's own nails

Nail Art

Here are some samples of my nail art practice.

Swarovski Crystal Toes

Loved these Swarovski Crystal toes. The photo does not do them justice, they looked absolutely fab in the sunshine. On the smaller toes I used Nubar Gelicure 'Silver Waterfall' which looked great too. As you can see by the pictures I had them on for six weeks before my toenails started to feel uncomfortable because they had grown too long for me. If I didn't mind long toenails then they would have lasted longer. My nails look healthy once the Crystals came off and they were ready for some 'Purple Power' Gelicure with 'Purple Pyrotechnics' on top.

Nubar Gelicure 'Purple Power' with 'Purple Pyrotechnics'

A small sample of nails I have done

Nubar Gelicure French Manicure with Swarovski Crystals

White Tips with Acrylic Overlay

Natural Tips with Acrylic and Glitter Overlay

Nubar Gelicure 'Lustful Red'

Nubar Gelicure 'Palau Coral' with Swarovski Crystals

Yay! I'm a Nail Technician

Now that I have finished my courses I feel I am ready to dip my toes into the water and become a mobile nail technician. I am quite happy to build up my clientelle gradually as I feel I will gain more confidence by starting off with a few clients who are happy with my work and as a result will come back to me time and again. In fact I do have some that have been back to me several times and I am expecting a couple more in the next week or so.


 The services I am offering are manicures and pedicures with or without specialized treatments such as warm wax or oil, acrylic overlays, twinkle toes, Swarovski crystals and Nubar Gelicure.

This is the poster I have in my car window to advertise my services. It needs some tweeking and I need to make it obvious that I am a mobile service. Also perhaps it is a bit too subtle and needs a bit more 'shout' about it.

The beginning...

After so many years of working in Customer Service over the telephone it was a bit daunting to find myself voluntarily redundant and thinking of something else to do. 

When my daughter did a Beauty Therapy course at college a couple of years ago I would go along with her to be her 'guinea pig' and found the whole experience really enjoyable and relaxing. As I am a bit squeamish where eyes are concerned I didn't really want to do the whole beauty therapy thing and decided, in September 2012 to book on the Manicure course. After passing with distinction I did a day course to learn how to apply Nubar Gelicure Soak-off Gel Polish. I have to say this is my favourite so far. After completing these two courses I felt confident enough to do the Nail Enhancements course which covered using acrylics and gel.