Today is the beginning of my European adventure!  My mom and I will be visiting four cities in twelve days.  A good friend is getting married in Southern France and I couldn’t pass up the amazing opportunity to travel overseas and celebrate with them.  Tomorrow morning we will land in Barcelona, where we’ll spend two nights.  Then we will head to Martisserre, France to join our friends in wedding festivities.  After the wedding we will depart for three nights in Paris, and then we will be heading to Amsterdam for three nights.  In Amsterdam I’m meeting up with Steven and Leontine, the creators and owners of Pink Gellac!  I’m hoping to get photos of their facilities and perhaps interview them so that you can meet the people behind the brand, and see how it’s made, packaged, etc.

This is the first time I’m taking a break from blogging since I started more than three years ago.  Normally when I travel I prepare posts ahead of time, but I didn’t do that this time simply because I ran out of time.  I probably won’t be able to check in online very often during my trip since I have to rely on wifi to connect, but keep an eye on my Instagram and Facebook accounts because I’m going to try to post some photos along the way.

One other bit of exciting news is that I’m starting a new job when I return!  I have accepted a natural nail tech position at Polizhed, which is located in Beachwood Ohio.  If you’re a Cleveland-area local, you will soon be able to book an appointment with me for a gel polish manicure, pedicure, or other natural nail service!  I’ll post more info once I’m settled in.  My first day will be on September 1st!

This is how I did my nails for the trip.  The dress I’m wearing to the wedding already has a pattern so I went with a solid color and just one accent nail on each hand.  The glittery pink color is CND Shellac Butterfly Queen.  The accent nail has a white base using Pink Gellac Soft White, and then it’s double-stamped with the Eiffel Tower (Cheeky European Romance plate) and the words “Ooh La La!” (Messy Mansion plate MM06).

I almost forgot… my thumbs also have a stamp that says “Live – Laugh – Love” in white (BM-405 plate).

I’ll be back to enable you to purchase more gel polish goodies in about 2 weeks!  In the meantime, give your wallets a break.  Nah, what fun is that?  LOL

Hi everyone! I’m back from an amazing trip and am feeling refreshed and ready to get to work. Today is my first official day accepting appointments at my new nail tech position at Polizhed Natural Nail Studio in Beachwood, Ohio!

Since I’m just getting started in the industry and need to build a clientele, I’m running an Early Bird Special through the end of the year. The promo offers special mani and pedi prices on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10am-4pm. If you’re in the Cleveland area, I’d love for you to book an appointment with me!  Appointments can be made online via StyleSeat (services & pricing are listed here too).

When I interviewed with Brittany of Polizhed, I had an immediate sense of belonging.  We had an amazing rapport and discussed gel polish brands and techniques, and even learned new things from one another.  After ten years of doing acrylics, Brittany converted to providing natural nail services exclusively and her focus is now on gel polish manicures and pedicures.  She has been working on her own and decided to open a new studio and bring on two additional nail techs. I’m the first to fill one of the spaces.

Yesterday was my first day in the studio and I brought in my products and setup my nail station.  I shadowed Brittany while she performed some services and was happy to see that we do things very similarly.  We’re also both on the same page when it comes to cleanliness and professionalism, so I think this is going to work out really well!

I took some photos at the end of the day so that you can see the space.  The studio is located in an office building on Chagrin Boulevard in Beachwood, Ohio.  If you happen to be familiar with the area, it’s just across the street from Marshall’s.  This is the waiting area that you come into when you enter the studio.  There will soon be a coffee/beverage station on the shelf to the right.

This is the other side of the waiting room.  You can see that there are two doors that lead into other rooms, the first is the pedi room and the other leads to the nail stations.

This is the relaxing pedicure room.  It has a really nice spa vibe with trickling water, nature sounds and soft lighting.  The foot baths are pipeless (no jets) and a new liner is used for each client ensuring ultimate sanitation.

This is the first nail room that has two stations.  That’s my station setup on the left, and the station on the right is yet to be filled… though I’m going to temporarily take over the empty shelves because I have too much polish to fit in my own!  Big surprise, right?!

Here’s a little closer look at my station.  Brittany provided the table, chairs, arm rest, lamp, shelving, storage and decor, and I supplied the products and tools.

Here’s a closer look at my polish racks.  I had a heck of a time deciding what products to bring with me.  I want to offer a good range of colors, but not so much that it’s too overwhelming.  The products also need to apply well without shrinkage and fading issues.  I opted to bring my LeChat collection since I have matching lacquers for most of the gels and I think people will like matching their toes to their nails, and I also brought the entire Pink Gellac line since it provides a good range of unique colors.  Madam Glam has great quality polishes with unique colors and finishes, so I included those as well.

I don’t own a ton of regular nail lacquers, but I brought all of my Vinylux and Morgan Taylor polishes in addition to the LeChats.  I have some additional Morgan Taylor polishes and some indies in a box that will go up on a third shelf.  I’m also debating whether to include my Shellac collection… love the quality, but don’t want the color selection to be too large.

There’s one other nail room that’s accessed through the room that my station is in, which is where Brittany is setup.  I had a hard time getting a wide-angle shot of her room because of the shape, so these photos are broken up a little.  This is her work station.

This is the wall opposite her station with her polish racks.  The wall color looks darker than it actually is in this photo.

And this is the storage and decor that’s to the right of her station.  I love all of the wicker accents throughout the studio!

I’m currently working with a work permit as my State Board exams are next Friday (eek!).  So with starting the new job and studying for the exams I may not post as much as usual.  I do have a few exciting new things to share with you and can’t wait to get back to blogging after my short break.

If you’re in the Cleveland area, I really do hope you’ll come out and see me at Polizhed!

Good morning!  I’m heading into the Polizhed studio in a few minutes to start my day, but wanted to put up a quick post to let you all know that I’m running a Labor Day sale this weekend on Pink Gellac gel polish.

Buy 3, Get 1 FREE! Use coupon code LABOR2015 to take advantage of this offer.

Valid through September 9th at midnight EST.  Here is the link to the sale:  http://www.chickettes.com/boutique/

Also shipping is always FREE on orders over $50 within the US!

Have a fabulous weekend!

The gel polishes applied really nicely and were opaque in 2-3 coats.  The holographic effect is good for gels, though the linear effect is slightly duller than the regular lacquers.  I found that most of the day while I’m indoors the polish just looks shimmery… it’s when I get outside in the sunlight that the holo effects really show.  I can’t tell you how many times I was distracted while driving when the sun hit my nails.  LOL

Eternal Beauty is a purple holographic gel polish.  You can see a bit of the linear rainbow effect in my photos, though I admit I didn’t do the best job of capturing the full effect.

Here’s another shot of Eternal Beauty.  You can see more of the linear effect on the index finger with the angle of the nail.

Blue Heaven is a blue-toned silver holographic polish.  You can see a bit more of the rainbow effect with this picture.  The third color that I picked up is called Harp On It and it’s a pure silver holo, but I opted not to swatch it since the color is so similar to Blue Heaven.  If I had realized how similar they were I probably would’ve selected a different shade to try.

Here’s another shot of Blue Heaven.

This photo shows all three colors in the RNP and gel versions.  From left to right the colors are Harp On It, Blue Heaven, and Eternal Beauty.  You can see that the gels do have a linear holo effect, though it’s not quite as vibrant as the RNP versions of each color.

This is a closer shot of Eternal Beauty RNP, next to the gel version.

As I mentioned, I also picked up a bottle of the Color Club Simple Soak which is a non-acetone remover.  Color Club said this remover would soak off gel polish in 5-8 minutes so I had to put that to the test.  The ingredients on the bottle say: Ethyl Acetate, Fragrance (parfum).  Pretty straight forward.  The solution has a very sweet citrus scent to it that I found pleasant.

I only had my polish on for about 5 days when I used the remover and I didn’t use the Color Club base & top coats (to be honest I don’t remember what brand I used).  With that in mind, this isn’t a formal review but I thought I’d share my experience regardless.

I broke the seal on my top coat with a file and used Simple Soak with my NailMates.  The Simple Soak seemed to foam a little when I pumped it onto the foam pads.  I placed them on my nails and waited about 6 minutes before checking them.  The polish was visibly peeling off and I was able to push all of it off with an orangewood stick with ease.  In less than 8 minutes the polish was completely removed!  That may have been the easiest removal I’ve had in a long time.

Here’s what my nails looked like after the removal.  I didn’t touch this up or do anything to my nails other than push off the polish and wipe them with a cleanser.

I’m curious to see how this remover works with different brands of gel polish, so I’ll be taking it to the studio to try on clients.  Unfortunately, at $12.95 for only 6 ounces it’s not really practical for salon use.

So what do you think of the new Color Club Halo Hues and Simple Soak?  Will you splurge to buy them, or are they simply priced too high?

Wicked Love is an exceptionally gorgeous shimmery mood polish that changes from a vibrant pink when warm, to a dark blue-toned purple when cold.  I really like both colors, as well as the smooth transition.  This is a color that could be worn year-round.

Here’s a closer look at the transition.  Mmmmm…. shimmery goodness!

Smokey Haute is a cooler shade that’s a taupe-leaning light grey when warm, and dark grey when cold.  While this mood stays within the same color family, the two shades are quite contrasting.  This color would be great for the fall and winter months.

Here’s a closer look at Smokey Haute in transition.

I love mood polishes, though I have to admit that they’re a pain to swatch… especially in extreme weather.  I swatched both of these when it was hot out and had a heck of a time getting photos of the cold colors.  :)

For this first look I used the plate BM-S104, which has lots of swirls and florals.  I started with a white base using Pink Gellac Soft White, and then dabbed on three different colors to create a marbled looking background.  The colors used were Pink Gellac Extreme Pink, Sunshine Yellow and Neon Orange.  I put a few dots of each color over the white and then took a dry brush and dabbed at the colors to blend them.  After curing, I applied the stamps using Mundo de Unas black stamping polish and the BMC plate.  The solid colored nails are done with Pink Gellac Gipsy Blue.

Here’s another look at this design next to the plate that was used.  I chose this plate because the pattern has nice bold lines and it leaves enough space in between the lines for my background colors to show through.  I love the whimsy!

I actually took the photos of this first design about a week after applying it and it was still holding up great!

For the second look I used the plate BM-S110 which combines geometric shapes with floral patterns.  The two stamped nails also started with a Soft White base and then I used a black Sharpie marker and some alcohol to create the marbled look before applying the stamps.  Again, I used my black Mundo de Unas stamping polish.  The gold accent nail is Pink Gellac Luxury Gold, and the red is Pink Gellac Rockstar Red.

Here’s a closer look at the plate that was used for this design, and below are previews of each of the ten plates in the set.  The Shangri-La plate set is one of my favorites so far.  There are endless possibilities as to what you can achieve with them!

The LeChat Perfect Match Rock It! Collection contains six rockin’ glittery shades for Fall!  I personally love shimmer and glitter finishes so this collection is right up my alley.  I’ve also started transitioning into the darker Fall colors now that the weather is cooling off here in Ohio a little.  The bottom three photos in the collage above really remind of me of the gorgeous colors that we see on the trees here in Fall.

The LeChat Perfect Match sets all come with a gel polish and a matching lacquer.  I’m finding the matching lacquers to come in handy at the nail studio since many clients want to match their toes to their hands.

Rock the Mic is a black gel polish with silver microglitter shimmer.  I love this look for the cooler months.  This color however, is almost identical to LeChat Obsession which was a limited edition color.  If you already have that one, you don’t need this.  If you couldn’t get your hands on Obsession for any reason, Rock the Mic is a great substitute.

Showstopper is a shimmery teal blue.  With as many blue and teal shades as I own, this one is completely different from all of the others.  It’s more blue than most of my teals, but still not quite a true blue.  The finish is also amazing!

Center Stage has a really interesting combination of colors with a plum base, and blue and copper microglitter shimmer.  I don’t own and haven’t seen anything else quite like it!

Headliner is a deep burgundy red glitter/shimmer polish with a blackened base.  I also own a million red shades, but none quite like this one.  It’s the darkest glittery red in my collection now.

Encore is a shimmery red-leaning brown shade with a golden shimmer.  It almost looks like a hybrid of Headliner and VIP Access, doesn’t it?  I don’t quite know how else to describe it.  The color is similar in tone to Gelish I’m Snow Angel, but Encore is more glittery.

VIP Access is a rich, golden brown with a shimmer finish.  The only color that I have that’s even close to this is Gelish Sweet Chocolate but the finish is completely different.  It’s also much more yellow in tone than Gelish Who’s Cider Are You On.

I’m excited to share the new Pink Gellac Fall collection with you called Majestic!  This collection consists of five rich colors that are perfect for the season.  All of these colors have amazing formulas with two-coat coverage.  I’ve been using them at the studio for the last couple of weeks and they’ve been a bit hit!

The colors from the Majestic collection are available for sale at Chickettes Boutique.  Save 20% on any order of $35 or more using coupon code SAVE20 through the end of the month!  Also, get FREE SHIPPING within the U.S. on orders over $50.  We ship globally!

#169 Smoked Grey is a dark grey cream with very mild blue undertones.  This has been a very popular color with my clients and works well with all skin tones.

#170 Powerful Plum is a vibrant magenta with a glowing shimmer finish.  This is a great year-round color!

#171 Golden Rose is a light metallic gold frost with a rosy shimmer.  This color is just a tiny bit sheer with two coats, so I added a third coat for optimal coverage in this swatch.  Metallics are awesome accents in the cooler weather seasons, and Golden Rose pairs perfectly with just about any color.

#172 Marvelous Blue is a lush, dark blue with a shimmer finish.  This color is so rich and beautiful!  I felt like my fingers were coated in sapphires when I wore it.

#173 Bordeaux is a dark, plum-toned purple with a creamy finish.  I was amazed at the coverage of this polish with just two coats.  I’m in love!  This is the color that I selected for my mani this week.

What do you think of the Majestic Collection?

The colors from the Majestic collection are available for sale at Chickettes Boutique.  Save 20% on any order of $35 or more using coupon code SAVE20 through the end of the month!  Also, get FREE SHIPPING within the U.S. on orders over $50.  We ship globally!

I took the organizer into the Polizhed studio to see if I could maximize space on my table.  I have lots of little bottles sitting on the table, so it’s nice to have them all tucked neatly away to the side.  My larger bottles such as my acetone don’t fit in the top tray, but it works great for smaller items.

There are two smaller drawers, and two full-width drawers.  I put my stamping tools, rhinestones and small pots of glitter into these drawers.  The bottom drawer is the deepest, and also has a tray inside of it that’s removable and interchangeable with the top part of the unit.  The top part could then be used separately for more storage.  The drawers also all come lined with a black mesh padding and it keeps the items inside from sliding around.

Here’s another view of my setup.  The bottom drawer has some larger pots of pigment powders and rolls of nail art foil.  Next to the organizer is a small clear cotton ball and cotton swab holder, and my Barbicide disinfectant jar.  I picked both of these items up on Amazon.com.

I wanted to make sure that this organizer would stand up to acetone because I’m often splashing little drops, so I poured some onto the bottom side of one of the trays to test it out.  I left it sit for about 30 seconds and then wiped it off and am happy to report that it didn’t cause any damage to the surface.

I tried to take some photos of the unit when it was empty, but my shots weren’t great so I’m sharing the manufacturer photos for this product.

This image shows the three separate pieces in a little more detail.  As I mentioned, either of the trays can be placed on top of the little cabinet.  The organizer with all three pieces is currently available for sale on Amazon.com for $49.99!  Chickettes readers will SAVE $10 when ordering on or before September 28th with coupon code: CHICKTLS.  Click here to view or buy.

Hey everyone!  I want to share one of the exciting non-nail discoveries that I made at the Cosmoprof trade show this year.  I stopped by the ittsē booth with a couple of other bloggers to learn about their makeup line and palettes.  They have these cute and functional magnetic makeup palettes that hold and organize your makeup collection.  The Palettes are made of vegan leather, are portable and durable, and come in three different colors… white, grey and black iris.

I took this palette with me on my trip to Europe and it was extremely handy. As you can see, the palette has a large mirror and it neatly holds the eye shadows and blushes.  The palette has a strong magnetic closure and didn’t once open up while packed away in my luggage, and the shadows and blush all withstood the jostling of my suitcase as I traveled from city to city.

The ittsē palettes are available on their website for just $21.99, and you can buy the makeup pans to fill the palette individually, in collections, or in quads.  The colors that I have here are mostly from the soft & sultry collection.  The brown shadow in the top middle is called Mocha and I swapped it out for another color in the collection.  The collection consists of 9 eye shadows, a cheek color and a mattifying powder, and sells for $79.99.

The products are packaged really nicely, and ittsē has the cutest darn website!  Below are photos of the front and back of the palette packaging.

This is the outside of the palette.  It’s clean, stylish, and very well made.

Below is an example of the packaging of the individual makeup refills.  These are seriously the most pigmented and easy to apply powders I’ve ever used.  I’m not a makeup blogger and don’t even know what words to use to describe makeup, but I seriously love the ittsē powders.  They apply like butter and just glide right on.  I don’t end up with eye shadow all over my face, and it doesn’t take any effort to get the coverage that I want.

Hop on over to the ittsē website and check them out!

I’m learning that becoming established in this business requires a lot of hard work and dedication, and I am focused on success!  Things started off slowly as expected, but one-by-one I’m gaining loyal clients that appreciate and trust my skill and expertise.  It’s truly an awesome feeling when a client rebooks for future services!  In my first week I only had two services, but by my third week I had 12.  It may not seem like a lot, but it’s a really great start.

I’m going to continue blogging as usual, and I’ll be posting a monthly update that recaps some of the work I’ve done in the studio.  I figure this is a great way to show you a variety of colors on different skin tones, and also a range of nail art techniques.  I’ve only done a handful of gel manicures with nail art, but over time I’m sure there will be many more.

Below are photos of some of the manicures that I did this month (in no particular order).  If you follow me on Instagram you may have already seen some of these.  I’ve found that Instagram is a really great marketing tool for my services, so I’ll be posting my work there more frequently.  I’ve noted the colors used in the photos below for the ones that I can remember.  I’ll try to do a better job of keeping track going forward.  ;)

LeChat Perfect Match Castaway

LeChat Perfect Match Into the Deep

LeChat Perfect Match Into the Deep

LeChat Perfect Match Showstopper

LeChat Perfect Match Sweet Iris

Pink Gellac Bronzy Pink

Pink Gellac Smoked Grey

QRS gel polish

Pink Gellac Pure Cashmere

French manicure using Pink Gellac Blush Orange as the base

Pink Gellac Blush Orange

Red gel polish – I forget which one!!

LeChat Smokey Haute (mood polish) with Sharpie nail art

Red gel polish with a Sharpie marble effect

Pink Gellac Smoked Grey & Fabulous Silver with Stamping

If your in or near the Cleveland, Ohio area please come in and see me!!  Book Online!

I was playing around with color combinations for Fall the other day and came up with this simplistic geometric look. It’s not really a French manicure, but I’m calling it that since the design is on the tips. I used three Pink Gellac colors to create this look.

First, I applied two coats of #168 Elegant Taupe as the base color… this has been a popular nude. Then I applied a stroke of #113 Intense Taupe on an angle, and a stroke of #172 Marvelous Blue in the other direction over top (curing after each coat of course). I needed two thin coats of #172 Marvelous Blue for optimal coverage. I applied a few dots with my dotting tool and Natural Taupe before topping the whole look off with my Ultra Shine top coat.

I applied the tip colors freehand with the polish brushes.  Some polish did get on my skin each time, so I just cleaned up my edges before curing.  Easy peasy!

Pink Gellac polishes can be purchased at Chickettes Boutique or on Amazon.com.  The current deal at the Boutique is Buy 3, Get 1 FREE on gel polish colors using code B3G1!  :)

I recently picked up a few Cuccio Colour Veneer shades to use at the studio.  I needed a few shades to fill in some gaps in my color wheel, and I wanted colors that would be great for the Fall and Winter months.  Today I have swatches of three of the colors and I have a few more that I’ll post at a later date when I’m able to swatch them.

I haven’t used the Cuccio brand much so I also wanted to experiment a little more with their gel polishes.  I found the consistency of these three colors to be very thin, so they needed to be applied with a little extra care so that the color didn’t pool into the cuticle area.  They all had great coverage with just two coats though!

This is London Underground, and awesome dark blue cream.  This is the color that I’m wearing on my nails this week… I was in a dark mood.  This is a great shade for the cooler months.  It’s so dark that it almost looks black in certain lighting, and it also has some hints of purple.

Soaked in Seattle is a medium grey with a subtle shimmer.

Shaking My Morocco is a brighter shade of orange that leans slightly coral.  It’s very similar to Gelish Tiger Blossom.  When I bought it I though it was going to lean a little more orange.  This is a good year-round color actually – it’s bright enough for some Summer fun, but also rich enough for cool weather wear too.

What are your favorite polish shades for Fall?

This is a week-old gel polish manicure that I spiced up with some stamping.  The base color is a super dark blue called Cuccio Colour Veneer London Underground (see the original swatch here), and I stamped over it with two different patterns and colors.  The patterns are both from the UberChic Love & Marriage-01 plate, and the colored polishes that I used to stamp with are Mundo de Unas Velvet & Lime.

I receive a lot of questions about stamping and recommendations on stamping polishes and plates.  First, I can’t say enough good things about the UberChic Beauty stamping plates.  The company was developed by a fellow stamping fanatic that was in search of the highest quality plates.  Brittany designed the plates and images to work for the majority.  The patterns offer full coverage on most nail shapes and sizes from large to small.  There’s enough detail packed into them that even if you have tiny nails, the patterns will still be recognizable.

As for stamping polishes, I’m in love with the Mundo de Unas polishes.  Of all of the polishes I’ve tested with stamping, these are by far the best quality and most consistent.  They’re super thick and fast-drying and stamp perfectly every time whether you stamp light over dark, or dark over light.  The company is based in Mexico and international shipping can take some time, but I promise it’s well worth the wait!

I also want to show you another awesome product from UberChic Beauty… the Uber Mat.  The mat was designed to be used for stamping and nail art.  It’s made of a material that’s acetone and polish remover resistant so you can easily clean it off.  It protects the surfaces beneath from polish and acetone as well.  If you’re doing nail art you can put some blobs of polish onto the mat for easy access.  You can also practice stamping on the mat or create decals.

Below is a photo of the mat on my glass table.  It’s translucent so you can see some of the pattern from my glass table top showing through.  The mat is made of a super soft material and can be folded up and packed away when not in use and it doesn’t wrinkle or crease.  Also seen in the photo are the Love & Marriage-01 plate, a couple MdU stamping polishes, my squishy stamper, Creative Shop stamper (available through Creative Shop and UberChic), and the UberChic scraper.

I used my Uber Mat to practice stamping to see what patterns and colors would layer well.  I put a little bit of RNP base coat on the mat and then stamped over that.  Below you can see how the design picked right up off of the surface.  This is how decals are often created, though I prefer to stamp directly onto my nails.

Check out my stamping basics video for a quick overview of how stamping over gel polish works.  I have since mastered the squishy stamper since making the video.  ;)  Let me know if you have any other stamping questions that aren’t covered here or in the video.

For this look I applied two coats of Pink Gellac Beautiful Black on three of my nails and stamped them with a spiderweb pattern from the Cheeky Happy Holidays stamping plate.  On my ring finger and thumb I applied two coats of Pink Gellac Sunshine Yellow and then created a gradient by brushing CND Shellac Lush Tropics onto the tips.  I applied a very thin coat of FingerPaints Lots of Luau over the nails to add a bit of glitter, and then drew a spider using a black stamping polish.  I added two coats of Gel II Rave over all of my nails to give them a good glow effect.

My lightbox really charged up the glow-in-the-dark polish creating a great glow.  The glow started off really strong, but did fade within a minute or two.  They glowed for quite a while though the glow was faint after a few minutes.  I tested Rave over dark and light gel polish colors – it glows over all colors, but the glow is more vibrant when applied over light colors.  Note that the green tint can alter the base color slightly, and the polish may need to be shaken before using.  When I first applied Rave the results were splotchy – that was because my polish had separated.  After giving it a good shake it went on nice and evenly.

What do you think of this?  I see lots of fun possibilities for Halloween nail art!

While walking the trade show floor at Cosmoprof NA this summer, I came across the IndieGirl booth.  I’d heard of their gel polish line, but never tried it so I was intrigued!  They were very friendly and helpful in educating me about their brand and provided me with a few samples to try.  I finally had a chance to use them and I swatched a few colors to share with you today.

First a little info before we get to the swatches… IndieGirl is a professional brand that’s only available for sale to licensed professionals through their website (sorry DIY friends!).  Their Two-Touch line is a two-step LED/UV gel polish with the base coat being optional, which is meant to save time during a manicure service.  They told me that the optional base coat is a smoothing gel that helps with hiding nail imperfections, though I find all gel polishes to hide ridges and imperfections since they are all self-leveling.

I wore one of the Two-Touch colors with the optional base coat for a while, though I didn’t conduct an official wear test.  I found the polish to apply with ease and wear really well.  The top coat was super shiny and held up to my daily acetone usage in the salon with just a little tip wear after a full week.  The soak-off was also decent and removal took about 10-12 minutes with acetone and my NailMates.

Let’s take a quick peek at a few of the colors that I swatched!

Stardust really caught my eye and I couldn’t wait to try it.  It’s a dark blue-leaning purple with a microglitter shimmer finish.  It’s really stunning in person and was my favorite of the samples I received.  This is an awesome color for the season and the upcoming holidays.  This color offers full coverage in just two coats.

Anastasia is a purple-leaning pink cream.  My camera made this color look a little pixelated, but I assure you that in person it’s smooth as silk.  This is a nice year-round color, and is also a two-coater.

Glitz is a sparkly red gel polish with a microglitter shimmer.  This is a very festive color that would also be great for the upcoming holiday season.

Royal Blue has medium blue glitter in a clear base and offers full coverage in 2-3 coats.  This swatch shows three coats, but the coverage was pretty decent with two coats.  You could also apply one coat of this glitter over another color for a nice effect.

Check out the IndieGirl FAQ page for more information about the Two-Touch Gel Polish line.  You do have to create a professional account on their website before being able to see the pricing and place an order.

Dream Chaser shifts from a medium shade of purple when warm to a dark grey-ish purple when cold.  The dark color is really hard for me to make out… sometimes it looks blue, sometimes it looks purple.

Limelight is a shimmery gel polish that changes from a light lime green when warm to a dark forest green when cold.  This might be a fun color to do some holiday nail art with.  :)

Lost Lagoon is probably my personal favorite of this lot.  It changes from a bright minty teal green when warm to a darker shade of teal blue when warm.  I love all shades of teal, so this one’s right up my alley.

Heart’s Desire is a lovely shimmery red gel polish that changes from bright red when warm to a dark burgundy when cold.  This is another color that would be great for the upcoming holidays.

DIY Hard Nails just released nine new gel polish colors, six glitters/shimmers and three color changers!  Below are swatches of all of the new colors, and at the bottom of the post you’ll find information about a GIVEAWAY!  Enter for a chance to win some of these awesome polishes.

DIY Hard Nails gels can be purchased at www.DIYHardNails.com OR Amazon.com.

• Get FREE shipping when you order 3 or more gel polishes (USA Only)
• International shipping is available
• DIY Hard Nails gel polishes are free of formaldehyde, DBP, toluene, mercury, and lead

Save 15% at www.DIYHardNails.com with code CHIDHN15 through November 30th!

Glam Gal is a dazzling pink glitter gel polish that has great coverage in just two coats.
Red Velvet has a dark purple-ish base that’s loaded with red microglitter.  For this color I applied three coats to get even coverage since the glitter was a bit tricky to apply evenly.
Rock Star is a fabulous black gel polish with silver microglitter.  It’s a real stunner!
Bronze Glitz is a shimmery bronze gel polish.  Metallics are great for the Fall and Winter seasons.
Moroccan Night is a rich, dark brown shimmer gel polish.  This is also a great Fall/Winter color!
Sugar Plum is a complex shimmery plum.  The base leans a little brown and the shimmer is a slighly pink-leaning purple.
Cotton Candy is a color changing gel polish that shifts from a bright medium blue when warm to a gorgeous plum color when cold.
Cream Soda is a color changing gel polish that shifts from pale pink when warm to dark pink when cold.
Mocha Latte is a color changing gel polish that shifts from a light coral-leaning brown when warm, to a very dark black-leaning brown when warm.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS!

The Prizes:

1st Place: DIY Hard Nails top coat, base coat, and 3 colors of your choice!
2nd Place: DIY Hard Nails top coat, base coat, and 1 color of your choice!

The Rules:

• The giveaway will run through November 15, 2015.
• Entries will be collected via Rafflecopter only.
• The winners will be selected randomly via Rafflecopter and announced on November 16, 2015.
• The winners will be notified via email, and will have 48 hours to claim the prizes or new winners will be selected.
• This giveaway is only open internationally.
• Entries will be verified.

GOOD LUCK!

Enter the Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’ve found Instagram to be a great tool for sharing my client work, and it helps clients get ideas for what they want.  Since we charge for nail art by the nail most clients opt to get just a few accents.  So far I’ve mostly been using transfer foils, glitter, stamps and rhinestones/studs.  I’m trying to think of more ideas for nail art looks that aren’t too time consuming.  Leave me a comment if you have any tips!  :)

Let’s take a look at a few of my favorite looks from October.  You may notice that nudes, black and darker colors were trending.

Below is a sharp design that combines dark grey (Pink Gellac Smoked Grey), black, gold glitter, and black and gold studs.  I used tape to create the triangular pattern over the black nails, and then applied a little base coat in the open space to make it tacky.  I cured that for a few seconds and then dabbed on some loose gold glitter.

This is another one of my favorites… a matte and shiny dotticure.  The base color is a dark navy blue by Cuccio called London Underground.  I topped it off with the Pink Gellac Matte Top Coat, and then added shiny dots using a regular gel top coat and a dotting tool.  You can see that on one of her nails we tried to see what it would look like in the reverse with a shiny finish and matte dots.  It looks much better the other way, but the client was open to experimenting.

This is a simple, yet fun look that one of my clients requested after seeing something similar on one of her social media accounts.  The colors used here are Cuccio Soaked in Seattle (dark grey), Pink Gellac Satin Grey (light grey), Pink Gellac Soft White and Pink Gellac Fabulous Silver.

I did a couple of simple looks for Halloween.  This client wanted nude nails and a matte spiderweb accent.  The nude is Pink Gellac Vintage Nude, and I stamped the spiderweb design over black and topped it off with the Pink Gellac Matte Top Coat.

Pink was our special color of the month since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  We offered a 10% discount on full-priced services if clients chose to wear pink.  Below are a few of the pink manis that I did.

And this is a gallery of some other looks that I created.  You can click on them to view larger images.

The popular colors this month were:

• Pink Gellac Smoked Grey
• Madam Glam Perfect Black (great two-coater!)
• Pink Gellac Chique Red
• Pink Gellac Nude Beige
• Pink Gellac Powerful Plum
• LeChat Forest Green

Just for a little extra something, I decided to add a couple of crystal rhinestones.  I picked these up at the Born Pretty Store… the set comes with 400 pieces in 4 different sizes.  I set the rhinestones on a dab of Gelish Foundation, cured for a few seconds and then put a little more Foundation gel around each of the stones to hold them in place.  After curing, I covered the whole nail with a gel top coat to seal it all in.

What do you think of this look?  It makes me want to play with more color combos.  :)