Knock... knock...anybody there?

My oh my... I've been slacking! Well...
Currently working 6 days a week leaves me with 1 day to relax, browse the Internet for inspirations, product reviews, keeping up to date with some of my favourite blogs and doing the background work for my business.

Here is what's happening in a short, short version:

Shellac Fall/Winter 2012 Preview..... and some salon talk

Summer has been very busy. I would say it has been one of the best summers ever business wise.
I have been enjoying doing lots of gel polish manis and pedis. Clients are in love with color and I rarely do "french". I'm OK with that LOL.
Overall, I think Shellac is the winner in my books. It's my favourite brand, hands down.
The issues I used to have with dryness seemed to fix themselves. I owe this to Doug Schoon. I'm surprised how many people in the industry still don't know him.
He's advice and knowledge are priceless.
What do I do differently? Doug said to time the soak off time. I used to "eyeball" it. Now I actually set a timer. I use OPI Expert Touch for the removal and tell each client to use cuticle oil till I'm blue in the face. I make sure that I remove the Shellac GENTLY, not scratching the nail.
I do very but very light buff just around the cuticle area with a fine buffer. Just like I would before a manicure. This step is used to ensure a very smooth surface so the color doesn't snag on anything.

One thing I'm lacking is.... MORE COLORS!! I NEED more colors! I was super excited when I came across the preview of the fall/winter collection. Darks!! YES! Navy! YESSS! Green? Even better.

OPI Spring 2012 Gel Colors collection

I can't believe that the last time I posted wast the beginning of April!! It's been 2 months and it feels like 2 weeks!
It's been a busy spring for me in the salon! I'm also changing locations so it's been hectic!

Today I picked up the 2 new OPI collections. I can't say I was super excited. I don't know why...
I like OPI GelColors but sadly I'm not in love with the line overall.
Surely it's a great addition to my Shellac collection (I can't wait for more Shellac colors!!) so I'm glad that OPI came out with new colors. My clients have been demanding more colors I must say ;)

OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Apps

When I heard that OPI is coming out with "nail polish strips" I was super excited! I have tried Sally Hansen Salon Effects when they first came out and I loved it... the only drawback was the lack of nice patterns. I only found maybe couple that appealed to me.

I know that OPI introduced product called (Nicole by) OPI Nail Apps a while ago but that I was a consumer product and those were not "polish strips" but stickers.




OPI "stickers"



OPI "Lacquer" Nail Apps

ABA Toronto, Doug Schoon and Dashing Diva French Wrap System

Happy Easter everyone!

I haven't posted in a while but don't think I was slacking off! I was busy shopping, working and checking out new stuff. Click below to read more about the ABA show in Toronto, Doug Scoon and Dashing Diva French Wrap review and pictures.

Luxio by Akzentz Spring/Summer 2012 - preview

Luxio by Akzentz just came out with their new Spring/Summer 2012 collection.
I'm very impressed with the colors I must say!
A little background:
Akzentz is a Canadian line of nail products manufactured by Haigh Industries since 1989.
Some of you might now that I have a quite a history with Akzentz... since mid 90-ties I was an educator and a distributor of Akzentz. Later on I started educating internationally and became one of the 4 Akzentz International Educators. I had a privilage to train some of truly awesome educators along the way. I worked trade shows and traveled to Europe at least 3 times a year to teach educator classes. At the beginning of this year I decided that it's time for a change (year 2012 is a year of changes after all!).
I decided to part with Akzentz and devote my time to my salon and my clients. So far.. I have to say.. I'm enjoying my freedom!
Anyway... back to the products!
The spring/summer 2012 collection looks exciting. After the 2 previous collections Fall 2011 and Winter 2011 this one contains quite different and interesting shades.
Here they are:

For more pictures please click below

CND Shellac Spring 2012- Dark Lava & Silver VIP Status

Finally another 2 new Shellac colors appeared at my local supplier. Of course I had to grab them both!
Dark Lava and Silver VIP Status have joined my collection.

from left to right:
Entity "Fashion Icon", Shellac Dark Lava x 2, Dark Lava + Shellac Silver VIP Status

Click below to read more about the colors

Pro Linc "Callus Eliminator" vs. Footlogix "Callous Softener"

I love doing pedicures and I love finding products that make my pedicures even better!
So far I have been using Footlogix "Callous Softener". It works well but I find that you need way more then 1 spray per area for it to work. I like how gentle Footlogix is and considering that it's urea based and that it doesn't contains any corrosive ingredients- it's ideal for diabetic clients.
Last week I bought Pro Linc "Callus Eliminator" and I did have a chance to use it on myself and a few clients....

Entity (as well as Gelish and Artistic Color Gloss)

This was totally random.
I went to get new Shellac colors today and I ended up picking up a few Entity colors too :o

 To see more images and descriptions click below:

CND Shellac new colors- Spring 2012 (Part 1)

Finally I will be able to get my hands on the new Shellac colors! I'm super excited!
I received an email from my distributor that they have few of them in stock so I will be picking up the beauties... TODAY!
For now I will leave you with images courtesy of Beauty And the Blogger

OPI GelColor Removal & NARS Polish

2 weeks went by and I'm ready for a change. I recently bought beautiful NARS polishes and I couldn't wait to try one of them.
OPI GelColor wore really well. I had a minor chip on my right thumb.. well, more like a wear. The area stayed the same, the product didn't peel further etc.



(click to enlarge)

NSI Polish Pro- random swatches & reviews

Polish Pro by NSI is one of my new additions to my (growing) collection.

Courtesy of NSI

I bought 3 colors (along with 2 top coats and a base coat) at the Chicago trade show but then I kind of forgot about them. Later on I read a few "not so good" reviews and I just didn't get to testing it.
Just recently I found out that NSI reformulated their base and top coat....

OPI GelColor. Random colors- reviews (part 4)

OPI GelColor. Random colors- reviews (part 3)

OPI GelColor. Random colors- review (part 2)

OPI GelColor. Random colors - reviews (Part 1)

It amazes me that after 10+ hours at work I can come home and write about.... nail polishes. What can I say... I'm very lucky that I love my job!
Here are some random pictures of the OPI colors that I swatched.. and their descriptions after the jump break.

(Click on the picture to enlarge it)

OPI LED Lamp - review

I know I'm a sucker for all things new for nails. I'm also a perfectionist and when I'm into something... I'm IN. The hefty price tag didn't deter me. Made in the USA, cures 5 fingers, sturdy design- the lamp had my name on it....
To find out more, click below:

OPI "Good Man-Darin Is Hard To Find" (GelColor)- review

It's been so gloomy the last few days so I felt that I needed something bright on my nails.
I decided to go with OPI GelColor in "Good Man-Darin Is Hard To Find".
Little background:
OPI came out with their GelColor line just recently. I have tried Axxium and I found it too difficult to remove. The base coat stuck to the nails like nothing else!
Anyway... after reading some reviews posted on BeautyTech I decided to give this one a try. So far, I'm loving it!



OPI

Keep reading to find out more.....

Welcome!!

Welcome to my blog- a great excuse for my product addiction ;)