Nails... Alien Invasion

I haven't posted a nail blog in forever, and this specific appointment was pretty cool. To catch everyone up I recently moved to Toronto. Since I was now living downtown this meant I need to find a new manicurist to do my nails. I had to try a few places before I found a couple spots that would make me happy. About a month ago a decided to book an appointment with someone I had recently seen on instagram. It was definitely a new but fun experience.

I got my nails done in a tattoo shop and was beyond excited to do so. Being involved with the cosmetic industry I am obviously into make-up, nail, and hair social media. I love following local shop and artist because I love to support my city an the talented people who live in it. I was actually following something completely unrelated, an e-juice company called Cheap Thrills, when a girl who worked for them posted her wicked new manicure on Instagram. She credited a nail artist I had never heard of before, so of course I had to check them out. The name of the company is Nail Kandy, and it is run by a lovely girl named Kate.

The first thing I discovered was that Kate works out of a tattoo shop, something I would find instantly appealing. I decided to email Kate right away to see what her pricing and availability was. She got back to me the very next day and was extremely helpful in giving me the pricing I needed as well as the availability she had. I, of course booked my appointment right away. I continued to search though her Instagram account out of interest, and excitement that I had an appointment to get my nails done too.

Over all I was very happy with my nails. I decided to go with a super fun custom teal shade with a chrome finish. A perfect back ground for some alien nails. The little alien and ship was free hand drawn by Kate. I absolutely loved that she included a little tiny alien inside of the ship. 

Nail Kandy is located in Toronto inside of New Tribe Ink (Queen St). If you would like to check out Kate's work you can find her on Instagram at @nail.kandy. All contact information is available in her profile. Remember to follow and show her some love!!

 Peace & Luv

Nails... Holographic Starry Night

Today's nails remind me of a deep ocean, or the night sky. My nails are painted a deep dark blue mixed with small silver sparkles and blue reflective flakes. 

This time around I deicded to start my nails off fresh. The last time I got my nails done I didn't go to my usual salon and found that where I did end up going sadly did a terrible job. A week and a half later I got all my nails taken off (which majority of them were already falling off) and got myself a brand new set. I must say I was very happy with the outcome this time. I actually tried another salon called Urban Nails (on the Danforth in Toronto). My nails were done by Michelle, and she did a fantastic job. She is a sweet heart and I work definitely reccomend her work.

I was convinced to change my nails again from acrylic to gel once again. Gel is better for you, tends to last longer and is over all more shiney and natural looking then acrylic nails. Plus the price diffrence really wasn't a huge jump. (Less then $10) 

As usual I got a shellac coat on my nails instead of just regular polish. I find that shellac really does last longer, even on false nails. I also find that it strengthens the nails and do not allow them to break as easily. Unfortunately I am not sure who the shellac is made by but it is called Night Sky. As mentioned perviously Night Sky is a deep dark shade of blue with tiny sliver sparkles. The shellac is very nice on it's own. I wore it for a good couple of days before adding my own decorative touch.

A couple days later I decided to add another decorative top coat to my nails. This "top coat" is called The Holographic by Loréal. (I love the look of the reflective flakes but have absoluely no idea why anyone would call this a holo polish.) In the bottle it looks like a cloudy, clear polish with reflective flakes that shine blue or purple depending on the light. Once applied to my nails it really gave them that extra dimension and that shine I'm always looking for. I then applied a top coat to seal in the reflective flakes and protect my nails.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below. Happy Sunday everyone!

Peace & Luv

Nails... Silver Halo Sparkle

Today's nails are all about the holo. I am absolutely dying to have completely holographic or shiney chrome nails. While todays nails are neither of the above they definitely sparkle and shine.

I am wearing false nails made from acrylic powder. The nails are covered in a silver glitter that has a holo sparkle. There is a gel coat by CND applied on top of the glitter to create a smooth finish. I applied another silver holo sparkle on top from Gwen Stefani's collection by OPI called In True Stefani Fashion. I also applied another holo glitter polish by OPI's Nicole called Party Bus. I then topped the nail with a gel top coat.

These nails are very simple but truly stand out. Also my nail tech had a couple new gems and decals she wanted to try out so I decided to try this cool rainbow reflect cube. I personally wish the placement was different, and probably should have dressed up with a few more gems but it seems pretty cool none the less.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the space provided below. Up next will be fancy chrome nails. I'm super excited and can't wait to rock them.

Peace & Luv

Nails... Dragon Scales, Mermaid Tails. Fairy Dust, Sparkly Nails

This month I chose to go with a some what more simply designed nail. With that said I am still in love with them. They remind me of dragon scales, no wait mermaids tails, no wait fairy dust, no wait... Theysparkly  and shiney nails are eye catching in any lighting. I love they way they sparkle and shine from any angle.

These nails were created by using a gel coat and them sticking the glitter peices to my nails by either dipping my nail into the glitter or tapping it onto the nail. She used a combanation of glitters. A super fine purple sparkle and some big chunky green glitter peices. The larger glitter has a duo chrome shine basically giving off multiple colors depending on the light and angle you are looking at it from. When you hold a few of these glitter pecies in your hand they actually look purple, so be careful when choosing a color. Looks can be deceiving. My nails were sealed and toped off with another gel coat to make them smooth and shiney.

As always my girl Lynn at Y2K nails in Brampton made these happen. She is fantastic and would recommend her to anyone, but especially those looking to try or do something new. These nails are super fun and really well done. They always last me at least 4 weeks. ( :( I know, I know. Get em filled.)

Next time we will be kickin it a little old school. I plan on getting some 3D art so make sure your looking out for that. If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comment box below.

Peace & Luv

Nails... Heart's Desire

Today's manicure is call You're Heart's Desire. My nails are acrylic and shaped to a point. The shellac Im wearing is called Heart's Desire by Perfect Match. It is a Mood shellac that changes color based on your nail and body tempature. This perticular shellac changes from a bright cherry red to a dark cherry red. I am absolutely in love with this shade of dark cherry red. I chose this polish in theme of fall and Halloween being right around the corner. Blood splatter to follow... ;)

(My nails are wet in this photo because I had to run them under hot water. They wouldn't stay warm. Lol.)

If you have any questions, comments or halloween nail ideas please leave them in the comment box below.

Peace & Luv

Nails.. Angelic Dreams

As usual I got my monthly acrylic nail “fill”- basically I get where my nails have grown out filled so my nails look fresh and some what real. ;)

I chose to use another “mood changing” polish from the Perfect Match collection. There are so many shades to choose from that I still have new polishes to try.

For those who don’t know what “mood changing” polish is it’s basically a gel nail polish that changes color based on your body heat or the temperature around you. For example your nails will change color when your go outside if it’s cold out or when you wash your hands. It’s pretty fancy stuff.

This time I decided on a shade called Angelic Dreams. Angelic Dreams will change from a light blue (cold) to a creamy solid white (warm).

I am still in absolute love with these polishes. I get comments on my nails all the time because of the changing color. They are super fun!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please leave them in the space below.

Peace & Luv

Nails... Gel Polish Manicure- The Pro's & Con's

About a week and a half ago I went to get my acrylic nails filled. While getting them done I decided to try a gel nail polish instead of my regualar polish & top coat.

The only reason I decided to switch was because it was my birthday the following week & thought I would treat myself to something new. I had gotten nails painted with gel once before but my experience with them was a bit of a toss up. I always enjoyed the look of shiney gel nails, however I was never super excited about the price. (Almost an extra $15 in my case.) I also found that the gel polish would fade and slowly rub off when I would use rubbing alcohol while doing make up. Luckily this time around I havent had the same problem. 

This time Im actually really enoying the look and duriblity of my nails. They seem to be a bit stronger & dont seem to be chipping or fading. (1.5 weeks) They are still beautiful & shiney- just a little grown out.

Earlier today I was reading an article about the pros & cons of wearing gel nails or polish. It seemed to me that the biggest concerns are the damaged caused to your nail beds, the frequent soaking of nails/hands in acetone to remove gel polish or gel nails and hands being left directly under UV light to dry. 

Yes, after a prolonged period of time you could begin to see damage to your nails, but that is with anytime of false nail. It helps to ensure you are getting them done somewhere where they know how to do gel nails properly. 

The acetone was a concer because of how much it dries out the nails and skin. I believe it is even absorbed into the blood stream through frequent skin contact. May salons have begun to use acetone soak pads on each nail instead of having the client completely submerge thier whole hand into the acetone.

The UV light helps to cure & dry the nails, layer by layer- which basically means yout hands sit under a UV lamp for half the time you get your nails done. The UV rays, of course are the best thing to be having our hands sit under. As much as there isnt too much of a solution right now, some brands have begun to use LED light which is much better for our skin.

When wearing false nails for an extended period of time you also need to make sure that there are no cracks or spaces for water to leak in. Not only does this allow yout nails to come off faster but it can cause even more damage to the nails, including fungal infections... Yuck. Only get your nails "filled" once or twice, not as long as they will last.

I will admit when I get them filled I will probably stick with the gel polish. If you have any questions or concerns about a new product or trying a new product always make sure to research & ask the questions you want answered. 

Peace & Luv