Professional Beauty Show Countdown

I'm super-excited, only 7 days until the Professional Beauty 2012 exhibition at the Excel in London! My blog posts have declined a bit (sorry about that) because I have been busy trawling the website to find out which exhibitors are going to be attending, and have then been writing buying lists for all of the goodies that I need/want.


I have been speaking to Emma Hawkes at Taunton Nail Training recently about the next training courses that I would like to do. My main priority is the Manicure and Pedicure Diploma, so I need a starter kit for both. There are so many products out there and my first instinct was to stick with what I know and buy OPI, however I am going to keep and open mind and test out the other ranges on offer before I commit.


The next service that I wanted to offer was Minx nail wraps, however after speaking to Emma she has almost convinced me that Trendy nail wraps are the way to go as they have such an amazing selection. Again, I'm sure that there are plenty of brands out there, and should try before I buy. I have almost decided again OPI Nail Apps as the website says that they should last for 2-3 days if applied properly, whereas Minx can last 3 weeks or more!

I cannot believe that I have managed to resist buying this beautiful OPI Professional Case from Lena White, especially as I really, really need one. I have done a bit of online research into alternatives, and to be honest there doesn't seem to be much competition as some of the general beauty cases aren't really fit for purpose and look a bit naff, but again, I'm prepared to wait to make sure.


                                                 


One purchase that I'm definitely going to make a beeline for is the new Holland Collection by OPI. Reason? I'm part Dutch and squealed with delight when I saw this advertised. The names are amazing and the colours are really on trend, and the OPI stand is set to be one of the biggest there!!!! Yay.

Note to self: avoid the Fake It! stand as Chantelle Houghton is going to be signing autographs...yawn. But Amy Childs is going to be there and I love TOWIE so I am definitely getting tickets for her seminar (that's if there are any left).

Katy Perry Disco Ball Crystal Covered Nails

                                

I am most definitely going to be doing these Katy Perry disco ball nails very soon. I imagine that it will take a really long time, so maybe best to wait until I don't have the kids around. I might actually do them on the train on the way to the Professional Beauty show at the Excel in London!!! 


In the meantime, here is a video tutorial that I found on You Tube. Click here to view.


L xxx

Adele Does the Louboutin Manicure at the Grammys

You may have seen that I recently featured a black and red OPI Louboutin Manicure on my blog (if you didn't see it then go and take a look).

I'm loving how Adele rocked the Louboutin Manicure at the Grammys, but instead of using the black on the top of the nails, she used a gorgeous silver glittery polish. 

Valentines Nails

I was planning to file off my gel extensions this weekend as they are getting a little bit long and I have a lots of new OPI polish that I'm dying to show off, but I had always wondered whether nail polish would work over gel. I decided to give it a try and knew that I had nothing to lose, because if it didn't work then I would just remove them anyway.


As it was Valentines weekend (Mr Wonderlust is working on Valentines Day) I decided to use the red hot OPI The Thrill of Brazil. I had already filed off my left thumb extension as it had a snag in it and didn't look great hence why my thumb nail doesn't feature much in this post. I'm pleased to report that the polish went on really nicely and dried brilliantly. I was half expecting it to turn into a horrible, gloopy, melted mess as I had no idea if the ingredients of the polish would react with the ingredients in the gel. I am definitely going to do this again to refresh tired french extensions.

L xxx

OPI Axxium Gel Nail Extensions

I decided that it was time to get some more practice in with gel nail extensions as I have to get the knack of working with the OPI Axxium sculpture gel. My natural nails have been growing really well, but I have felt that they are dry and bendy, so I wanted to give them a little added length and strength to help them along.


 Ever since I started training, I found that I was a bit heavy handed with the sculpture gel and brush and as a result, it ended up a bit uneven. One of the main services that I will be offering as a nail technician will be extensions, so I am determined to get perfect as soon as I can. 


I started to practice on tips attached to my freaky fake hand and eventually I felt confident enough to have a go on my myself, and here is the result of my first solo attempt (without the supervision of my tutor Emma from Taunton Nail Training).

Shame about the flash on this one, but you get the idea.

I actually feel happier with the right hand which I was surprised with as I am very much a right hander, but maybe the extra concentration paid off after all.

The pictures above were taken 5 days after I carried out the treatment, and they are still staying strong, however I have learnt the following:

• I need to working on practicing my filing and shaping of the extension as some are more oval than others.
• I need to make sure that all nails are the same length as a couple are a little longer than others.
• Until I build up my experience I need to level the finish a little better and they aren't as even as I would like them to be, although they certainly aren't bad for a first attempt.
• I have to practice the 'rock on' tip gluing method a bit more as the ring finger on my left hand has an air bubble, which shows under the gel and could compromise the finish and staying power of that nail.

As always, let me know if you have any improvement suggestions as I want to get really good at this, and constructive feedback is vital.


L xxx

OPI I Vant To Be A-lone Star In Many Guises

I'm loving OPIs I Vant To Be Alone Star, so much that I tried it with my Rimmel Matte Top Coat and also with Save Me from the Nicki Minaj collection. 


The matte finish looked amazing, especially with the shimmer of the blue on it's own. The end result looked like silk without being too over the top and would be perfect for both the daytime and the evening.

OPI I Vant To Be Alone Star and Rimmel Matte Finish

OPI I Vant To Be Alone Star and OPI Save Me from the Nicki Minaj Collection

OPI I Vant To Be Alone Star on it's own

OPI I Vant To Be Alone Star with Rimmel Matte Finish Top Coat

L xxx

Lobster Rocks

I'm loving OPI 'I Mainely Eat Lobster' and I really like coral shades, especially in the summer when I have a tan. This is slightly more on the red than the orange side, and it has a nice bit of shimmer too which would look fab when the sun is shining. Unfortunately is raining non stop and it's cold here at the moment (good old English weather) but I can't wait to try it out on my holiday to Florida this year.

L xxx

OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window

I had a rare 5 minutes this evening and decided to have a little look around some other nail blogs and a particular post caught my eye. OPI have a polish called Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window and I had never looked at it properly because the name was so gross, but I saw it on Addicted to Polish and I think that I'm converted. I decided that it could be a great alternative neutral shade, but OPI - the name is an epic fail.

Credit to Addicted to Polish for the image.

Louboutin Manicure

In my last post I hinted that I have just purchased some new OPI nail polish and had plans for The Thrill of Brazil and Lady in Black, well here it is...the Louboutin.

As you can imagine it was really easy to do, just OPI Lady in Black on the front of the nail and OPI Thrill of Brazil on the underside. Two coast were applied to each side to increase the depth of colour, and I found that  the black on the front showed through on the underside, so a third coat may be require to deepen the red underneath but this depends on the quality of the polish that you choose to use.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to do it on my own nails as I'm a recovering biteaholic, but I'm getting there. I can't remember where I first saw this idea (probably on another blog) but I did a bit of research into getting the right red and I think that the result looks great. Let me know what you think!

L xxx

Totally Inspired

My recent discovery of matte top coat has inspired me to try the finish on other nail lacquers that I have. Some worked and some not so well... but I love the OPI French Quarter For Your Thoughts. I cannot get over how smooth my nails feel, but I did prep them well - I used OPI From Start to Finish as a basecoat.

I welcome any feedback as I'm thinking of offering matte nails when I get the manicures up and running. Do you like matte nails? Which colours do you think work?

L xxx