Sticker me up

I am a nail polish freak. You should honestly see the millions of colors I like to collect. Every time I go to the beauty supply house (which is quite frequently) I end up picking up at least one color I don't seem to have in my supply at home. I  have an overwhelming amount of pinks, so my new rule to myself is anything BUT pink for a while.

I have been following this new trend that all the stars are seeming to do. Minx nails. Its simply a custom sticker that is applied to your fingernail. Celebrities do anything from metallics, to their names, to their faces, to the president's face! 

Now, to go to a salon and get this done, can be quite pricey. So why doesn't someone come up with a DIY? Wait, they have! 

Sally Hansen to the rescue!! 

These are so easy to use. They come precut to fit a 'normal' nail, but are easy to trim down to fit specifically. They come 16 stickers per package, but when I did my full fingers, I only used 5 stickers. I cut each in half and used each side. 

You simply stick them on your nails, cover them with clear polish, and done! I have a UV lamp that I use for my Shellac nail system. When I use the stickers, I apply the Shellac top coat and bake it under the lamp. That way my stickers last about 2 weeks, just like the Shellac. Its awesome! I have seen people do some pretty creative things with these stickers. This is my first attempt. 

I looked at CVS and Wal-mart. Wal-mart is the cheapest, by quite a bit. $8.00

Stick on! 

XoX

Shellac me!

If you have not heard of the new manicure add on service "Shellac" then you are not in the loop.

Until this magical product, I hated manicures. I would spend an hour and too much of my precious money to get my hands massaged, rubbed and filed, only to have my beautiful nail polish peel and flake off in 24 hours (if I was lucky.)

Well now, the wonderful makers of Shellac have made my day! This ingenious product is basically a nail polish that grows out, not flakes off. I wash peoples hair all day long, clean out color bowls, then come home and do dishes, and STILL my polish lasts AT LEAST 2 weeks! Its amazing I tell you.

It is applied as a nail polish, from a bottle with a brush. There is a base coat that is then "cured" under the ultra violet lamp, then 2 coats of polish color (each cured after applied) and then a top coat as well. It is dry in 2 minutes with no smudging, or chipping. It wears as a high gloss shine and is removed in minutes, not adding any damage to the nail. Not only is it used on the fingers, but can be used on the toes as well.

My manicurist has played enough with the product, that she has discovered how to add glitter on top of the polish, to add some funk. She also can do a 'french tip' using the product.

The colors are somewhat limited as of now, but my distributer has told me that in February (or so) new colors should be arriving.

Most salons are only charging $10.00 more as an add on to a normal manicure. (Mine is only $5 more, I believe.)

If you were hating your plain jane manicures as was I, then go get "Shellac" and see what its all about!

XoX