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

The man with the Cotton Candy toes

Standing behind my chair one seemingly normal Thursday-the only reason I remember it being a Thursday is that one of my favorite Texan accented guests only comes on Thursdays, and this was her day- I witnessed this scene:

A burly looking  manly  man entered the salon in the morning. He had eagerly called ahead the day before to book an appointment, to be sure to get all planned services done this day. Now upon calling the day before, we were absolutely sure he was booking an appointment for his wife, mom, sister, girlfriend, aunt, etc. and had given us his name to hold the said appointment. 

Now it is not uncommon to have a male come into a salon and get a manicure/pedicure. In fact quite a few men have standing (regular) appointments on the books. On this such day, however this man was quite different. 

He was definitely NOT here because he was a dentist and needed his hands regularly groomed, or a construction worker who needed some TLC. Actually, we really couldn't get out of him what he did for work, where he was from, or the reason for the salon visit. Only because he was "visiting a friend from out of town."..it was the week of Valentines Day. (hmmm)

Well after the manicure was finished, and his toes were trimmed, cuticles pushed back and surfaces buffed, the nail technician was all ready to send him to his hair technician, when he asked for  his toes to be polished as well. "With color?" she asked (very politely and no expression, she's one good for that) "yes" he replied (manly) "Go ahead and pick out a color" she said, pointing to the vast array of options gleaming on the wall. And now, my friends, can you guess why this post is entitled "The man with the Cotton Candy toes"?? This Cotton Candy definitely fit the name! Bright pink and all. 

So sitting in the chair next to mine, this man sat, after his toes were finished and dry. Now I wish I could say that is where all the weirdness ended... unfortunately not. He asked for a roller set. A old lady wet roller set, under the dryer! 

....which he was given, then requested it to be backcombed and styled. Until it ended up looking something like this...

(Not actual client)

Which is great and all...but he's a man with Cotton Candy toes. 

Needless to say my poor ultra conservative Texan client in my chair was appalled and still speaks of it today. 

We never found out his story. He never came back. We will never know. I will always wonder....But why?

Odd.

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

FRIDAY FAVE: You say Burlesque, I say Fabulous...

I am a total "girlie girl." I like all things pink, pretty and shiny. Wait, did I mention SPARKLY?! This new line of nail colors from OPI is amazing!

It is themed after the movie "Burlesque" starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. 

The polishes are divided in two collections that separate the shimmers from the glitters. Colors are as follows: 

SHIMMERS

Rising Star- Faceted glimmering gold

Take the Stage- A warm spotlight shimmer orange

The Show Must Go On!-  Deep pink shimmer

Let Me Entertain You- Multi-talented fuchsia glimmer

Ali's Big Break- Glowing red stylish glimmer

Tease-y Does It- Tempting burgundy shimmer

GLITTERS

Bring On The Bling-  A gold that glitters

Glow Up ALready-  Glittering green

Extra-va-vaganza!- Orange glitter, not for the shy

Simmer & Shimmer- Blue glitters for you

Show It & Glow It- Fuchsias got you

Sparkle-icious- Multi-color glitter goodness

The polish retails for about $8.50 and the set up will look something like this:

Now just take a look at the awesomeness of the glitters.. (all included expect Sparkle-icious)

I'm not only in love, I'm OBSESSED. Also, layer anyone of these over another color, and you have something different! Let your creative mind blow! 

Polish on!

XoX