My nails #20: More neon nails...

Hey kids! Thanks for all the awesome comments in the last post...you guys are so supportive and I took into consideration what you guys recommended for the business cards and I've sent in the pic to my friend who's doing the cards for me. Can you guys tell that I basically wanted the most loud and obnoxious cards I could come up with? Haha. Anyway, I felt like I needed my nails did and I've been rocking the squoval french manicure for work for what felt like YEARS (but was really more like a week or two) and I couldn't take it anymore. Back to my pointed/oval nails. And I painted them too, so I could feel more like myself (I had 3 days off from work and I was excited to paint them.) So here's what I came up with...can you tell I'm on a neon kick?? (you can click on the pics to enlarge):

Hope you guys enjoyed them! Talk soon :)

My nails #19: Photoshoot for business card.

Hi you guys. Okay, so I kind of lied in the post. NOT my nails, but nails that I worked on. I've been trying to work on some pictures to put on the back of my business card and my friend was kind enough to let me steal her hands :) If you're wondering who owns these lovely digits, you can check her out here at her blog, Glamour Buzz. Thanks Sheena! She's got a few upcoming posts where she'll be reviewing hair tools :) Anyway, here are the pics, hope you guys enjoy (click to enlarge):

I think I pretty much have my mind set on the last picture, it seems to show the details the best which is a big deal since it's going to be on a tiny little business card but if you had to choose one photo of the bunch, which one would you choose? It's always nice to have an opinion and I trust you guys!

It was such a great experience, but I think I need to relax. That took so long, cuz all I kept thinking was that it had to be perfect cuz it was going to be on a business card...but by the end of it I was just trying to get it done so I could get back home before my husband had to leave for work. Now looking at the pics (especially enlarged) I see all the imperfections...no one is as hard on me as I am. Ugh. Oh well...I guess it's good that's it's going to be on a tiny business card then. Haha.

Hope you guys are doing well, nice to be on here again! lol.

New tumblr account for nail art...Haus of Lacquer.

Hey you guys, so I decided to make a tumblr account for myself to organize my nail art pics. I do have a blog specifically for nails and nail art, which is Nail Babble, but I feel like I'll have easier access to Tumblr since there's an app for it on my phone. This way, if I'm out doing nails or get random inspiration while I'm out, I can snap a quick pic with my phone and post it immediately. I'll still keep up with both my makeup babble and nail babble blogs, but this just makes sense for me. It's like a big photoalbum without having to do all the work of printing out the pics and organizing them by hand. So here is my new Tumblr page...Haus of Lacquer. Hope you guys can check it out if you like nail art. Thanks :)

My nails #19: Needed some colour in my life...

Hi you guys, hope you guys are getting some sun in your lives. Recently we've had some great weather and it just makes me feel like I need to lighten up. Like I need some colour in my life. So I decided to start with my nails. Haha, like always. Here's what happened (click to enlarge):

On Sunday I went to the Spa and Esthetics Show here in Vancouver and I picked up more than a few gel polishes. Haha, I think I bought about 9 or 10 Shellac colours to add to the collection and then about 13 Gelac colours to try. Gelac has some really great colours that Shellac doesn't have, so I went a bit nuts!

Have you guys ever tried the new generation of soak off gel polishes? I love them and asked the store I work at to bring some in because I knew they'd take off and we've been doing a ton of them lately. It's doing so well. If you guys haven't tried them, it's a mixture of gel and polish (wheras traditional colour gels use a mixture of gel and pigments) and it comes in a polish bottle instead of in a pot. It applies nice and thin onto your natural nails (although you could use them over a gel or acrylic), and it lasts about 14 days depending on how hard you are on your hands. I've had women go 3 weeks with no chipping. You cure it under a UV light like a gel, but the removal process is so easy. All you need is 5-10 minutes with acetone to remove it. It's great! If you like colour and need your manicure to last longer than your regular polish, I highly recommend looking for a reputable nail salon to try it. Because I have my hands in polish remover and acetone all the time, this is the only thing I can wear without it coming off all over my clients and myself. This of course and regular gels and acrylics, but I do love changing my nails up weekly, so because of the easy removal and application, it makes sense for me.

Anywho, so what I did was I applied the colour Mint Julep from Gelac and then on I used a small brush to make random "V" shapes in several colours all over the nail and then applied the top coat. If you want to recreate this look with regular polish, it's really easy. No real art skills needed for this one. When I look at this it screams 80's for some reason. I swear I had some leggings that looked like this when I was little!

This weekend I'm off to Seattle and I'm hoping to be able to find some time to grab a few Illamasqua polishes. It's the only place near me (and by near I mean like 2 hours away) that I can grab them! Wish me luck :) haha, don't know if my husband will let me after all the shopping we did in the UK ;)

Wah! nails and me...

Oh my life has just been completed. I finally got to get my nails done at Wah! nails today. I think I just died. And just checked out their website and my hands are on there twice. **faint**

Everyone there was amazing and I have to tell you guys how late I was to my appointment. Ugh. What a mess. I totally didn't realize how big London really is. We got held up in pretty much every road construction stop up there was. I was 35 mins late. Could have been more. And the thing is I absolutely DETEST being late. I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach where I just want to be sick. Really violently sick. I don't know why it effects me like that, but it does. For pete's sake, I'm a nail tech and I know when someone is 5 mins late it can make me off timing for the rest of my day, but they were really sweet and didn't make me feel like the mess that I was. (Thanks Melanie!)

And so I got the famous leopard print in this bright, beautiful purple from Illamasqua. Zarra who did my polish change was so sweet and professional...but she made me feel like I'd been going to see her for my weekly manicure for years. And check out her amazing work:



And Zarra was nice enough to pose for a picture with me :)

And did I mention that when I walked in there was a photoshoot going on for Vogue. Peaches Geldof was in there getting photos taken. Seriously good timing. And Zarra mentioned she had just done Nicole Scherzinger last week. This would never happen where I live.

Uuuh-maaah-zing. I want to work here one day. Haha, but it'd be a REALLY long commute to work.

My nails #18: Valentines nails...take 2

Hi everyone! So Valentines day is on it's way...anyone doing anything special? Seems like no one I've spoken to does anything anymore on the big heart day. Hm, too bad. My hubby is not big on it either and I HATE THAT! He says that it should be Valentines day everyday, but let's be serious. We have 2 kids that are 5 and 2 years old, he works at night and I work during the day and when we are home together it's the end of the night and all we do is eat and watch an hour of telly and then off to bed to start all over again. (Rant much?) So I love that there's a day when you can lay it all out the line and just love the person your with, cuz sometimes we forget in all the busy-ness. *sigh* I guess I've got the rest of my life to convince him of that (o_O) Good luck with that one.

On to something that will cheer me up is nails! I posted a set last week of a set I had for a few weeks. Now this set didn't last very long cuz they were too long and pointy for me to sport at work (I'd end up clawing someone during a leg/foot massage). But I loved them all the same...they were a tribute to the Illamasqua Throb collection nails (click to enlarge the pic):



Illamasqua I'm coming to see you and all your makeup and nail polish very soon! Me and the fams have booked a flight to England in early March for the hubs' birthday so he can celebrate with his family and friends :) yay. And I get to party with him...and shop too. lol.

Actually, the reason I made these nails so long and pointy (they don't look as point here as they did in real life...I think it's the angle of the pic) is cuz I went out to a burlesque show for a birthday party with some friends. I thought they'd be perfect little accessories. Oh and I went to get my hair done at the cutest hair salon called East Vanity Parlour. Seriously, click the link and check out the gallery. They specialize in 50's updos and did the birthday girl's hair too. The most amazing victory rolls ever.

Well, that's it for this week. Hope you guys enjoyed! Oh and Happy Valentine's Day :D

My nails #17: Valentines day nails

Hi guys, just a quick one for you guys. I've been wanting to post this new set of nails for over a week now...so I guess it's no longer a new set :( Last week was hell. First my son got sick and then he passed it on to me and my husband and we passed it onto my daughter. Ugh. Oh well, at least I managed to snap a few photos for you guys before it all started to grow out. You can click on the images to enlarge.

They're just clear gel extensions with embedded 3d acrylic hearts. I also added some sparkles and a few rhinestones. I wanted to go for something fun and bubbly just before Valentines day hit, but I'm definitely going to change them up for just before the big V-day comes. I'm thinking the heart nails from the Illamasqua throb collection pictures. So cute!

Okay, hope you guys enoy the pics and I'll get to work on the new set this weekend :)