Pink Holographic Swarovski Crystal AB Manicure With Gel

Isn't that the longest title you have ever seen on a nail blog?! It was sort of needed as there are so many different trends included in this set of nails, that I didn't want to miss out a single thing.

I did this very girly set of nails last night on one of my friends and Chief Hand Model, Daisy May. I had received a very exciting delivery earlier on in the day which included some more classic Swarovski Crystals as well as a stunning new colour that I have decided to launch due to the popularity of my Swarovski Crystal Manicures and Pedicures, Swarovski Crystal AB. She chose the pink Tutti Frutti gel for the overlay and decided to go for a holographic top coat called Disco Ball, which complements the iridescent shine of the crystals.

This is starting to become very expensive to offer as Swarovski Crystals don't come cheap, however they look so much better than standard crystals that you can purchase fcraft raft stores, eBay or in big multi-packs for next to nothing from China. I would never compromise on the quality as I promise you that it's just not worth it. I have tried with cheaper alternatives but the sparkle is gone as soon as a protective top coat is applied and if a top coat isn't applied then they just don't last.

Thanks for reading, and as always, your comments are always read and appreciated.

Crystal Manicures and Pedicures

I have recently had a lot of enquiries for Swarovski Crystal manicures and pedicures and have run out of kit, so I have ordered some OPI Axxium DS Radiance as the embedding gel and Swarovski Crystals. All in all it set me back quite a lot as I anticipated that I would need about 500 crystals for a pedicure/shortish set of nails and OPI doesn't come cheap in the UK, however I went to the beauty wholesalers earlier on today and took a closer look at Sally's range and thought that it would be fun to have a play around with their own range. I ended up buying ASP Base Coat, Disco Ball gel and Clear gels, as well as a pack of 250 standard crystals. The Disco Ball gel is a clear gel with holographic glitter micro glitter. It looks stunning and despite some not so favourable reviews, I found it to be really great to work with. It came out with a great effect and overall I think that it's a brilliant cheaper alternative. As a nail professional I will still offer the premium quality version with OPI and Swarovski as I am a bit of a nail snob and want to give my customers the absolute best finish, but I would certainly not be unhappy if a nail technician gave me a set of nails like this (I'm referring to the middle one just in case you were wondering!). Unfortunately the iPhone doesn't have a great zoom and I have used Instagram to give a different effect, but I think that you get the idea.

I would really like to know what you views are on Crystal Manicures/Pedicures, and if you have any experiences then please feel free to comment.

Just in case you were wondering, I offer the Swarovski and OPI version for £30 ($48.57US) for just the big toe/one finger on each foot/hand with OPI Axxium DS Radiance gel, with gel on the remaining fingers or toes, £50 ($80.95US) for a full set of toes and £60 ($97.14US) for a full set of finger nails. Nails Inc offer the Crystal Manicure in their salons for a hefty £120 ($194.28US).