Nails... Sea Shell

This week I choose to do my nails in a very pretty but simple way. They have a very natural look to them, with a very shiney but sheer opal finish. 

This week I had my nails filled. They were orginally done and filled with UV gel. UV gel is known to be better then other products like acrylic for your nails. It also gives your nails a much more brillant shine. The only down fall with getting uv gel nails is the price point. They do tend to be anywhere from $10-$15 more then acrylic nails, but depending on what you value in your nails the price may be worth it for you.

I then had my nails painted in a shellac polish by ibd called Sea Shell Pink. It is a beautiful soft pink with an opal finish. This color is extremely sheer and will probably need quiet a few coats. My nails have three coats applied to them. I personally could have gone for a couple more coats to really let the color shine through. Just remember you don't want to layer the polish on your nails too thick or you'll create a wonky odd looking nail.

I enjoy this very pretty and natural look. It's definitely something diffrent then what I would ususally wear, but I really enjoy it because it looks so clean. 

I got my nails done at Urban Nails in Toronto, located on the Danforth. Ask for Michelle. She is bomb! 

If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below.

Peace and Luv

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Review

Since Sally Hansen first released thier Miracle Gel polish I have wanted to try it. I was pretty excited to see what I thought of the product simply because of all the mixed opinons I have heard already. (With that said, I do not base my reviews on any other opinon except for my own. -Just sayin.)

Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel Polish is suppose to give the wearer the look and feel of a gel polish with the covince of being able to do your nails at home without using an LED or UV light to cure the polish. 

When I first heard of this idea I loved it. Quick and easy, but was it too good to be true?

The bottles themselves are pretty standard size (14.7 ml/ 0.5 fl oz) The packaging is simple and straight forwards. Sally Hansen seems to offer a good variety of colors too. 

I purchased these polishes at Shoppers Drugmart for $11.99 each. Definitely a little pricy for a bottle of nail polish, however it is suppose to act like a gel polish and should last much longer then a regular nail polish. I feel like for these reasons if the product works, its worth it.

Creme De La Creme (430)

Miracle Gel Top Coat Clear (100)

On the label it says to apply 2 coats of your colored Miracle Gel polish. Then apply a coat of your Miracle Gel Topcoat. 

I applied this exactly on one of my test nails and found the color to streaky and transparent. I tried appling more coats of polish and found it took me 4 coats before I achived the opaqueness I was looking for. I found the drying time between layers of polish to be a little trickly. The layers of polish dry quickly to the touch, however will remain soft for a few hours afterwards so you still need to be careful.

When I applied the topcoat I found 1 coat didnt really give me the amount of shine I wanted. I was disappointed to see the Miracle Gel topcoat wasnt as glossy as I had expected it to be. You may want to apply a second coat. When appling to my own nails I waited a while (45-60 mins) before appling the second clear coat. Again you may have to wait a while for this polish to completely dry.

I also wanted to try and compare a couple things with this polish. At one point I did put one of my test nails under an LED lamp to see if it would dry or cure any faster or stronger. It definitely helped the polish dry faster snd seemed to make it stronger. I also tried comparing the Miracle Gel topcoat to my regular nail polish topcoat. I found that my regular topcoat was just as if not more shiney and glossy then my Miracle Gel topcoat. 

I applied this polish to my toe nails about 5 days ago and they are still polished and looking nice. A couple days into thier wear I did apply an additional top coat to help keep them looking fresh and shiney.

Hope you found this blog helpful. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments 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

Theatre Class Photo Shoots

Two weeks ago I had completed my Theatre course at Complections. We had our photo shoots within the last couple days of the course and got our final prints back on Wednesday.

Doing these photo shoots for school was quite exciting because I got to control the creative direction.

My first photo shoot was based off prints made by artist,  Roy Lichtenstein. My model was meant to look as much like the printed comic as possible. 

My idea was to play on the tears already rolling down her cheeks and really see the sadness in her eyes. She was meant to look like she was almost at a funeral. I also choose to dress her in all black to contrast from her colourful make-up and hair. 

Model: Amanda F

My second photo shoot was created around the idea of doing a shoot in UV black light. I have always loved  black lighting, as well as any glow in the dark art or paint.

I had chosen to do a tiger lady because I wanted to create a image that would be simple but bold and powerful. I also need something that was still bright enough to leap off the page.

Model: Camille H

A lot of work went into these photo shoots on everyone's part. I would like to send out a very special thanks to Amanda & Camille for coming down to Complections and volunteering their time to model for me.
Thank you so very much!!

Current course: Film & Television... blog to come soon. :)

Peace & Luv

UV Nail Polish

Today I went through my nail polish and picked out all the polishes that would react to UV blacklight. I found 7 different polishes that I wanted to show you. They are from a variety of different brand names, shapes, and sizes. I also created my own little Frankenstein polish.

 

For more pictures and information click below!

Nails...Confident Pink

Last week I was at Claires buying a couple things to add to my sister's birthday gift. I came across a couple cute looking nail polishes and thought why not. The first one I looked at was a 'mood' nail polish called Confident/Peaceful. The second polish I looked at was a UV reactive Pink. I'm always down for the black light. :)

Kryolan's Aquacolor UV Dayglow Palette

Boys & girls! Ladies & jelly-beans! I give to you….. Kryolan's Aquacolor UV Dayglow Palette!!! *Dun Dun Dun* Ohhhh how I love Kryolan and its amazing UV palette. Sooooo this palette is amazing. The first time I heard about this palette I knew it had to be mine!!! J