Pink plaid

She adored this set so much, we had to do matching shellac toes a week after her acrylics! So much fun!

Crosses and skulls

This set was one of my first attempts at sugar skulls. I wish I could have gotten a better picture of how cute and detailed the little skulls (on the middle fingers) were! All art was hand painted, except for the thumbs. I used my colored rhinestones to make the 3d crosses. 

A little Geometrical

As I am catching up on posting all of these sets, I realize I am in love with way too many. This being yet another set that I look back on, pat myself on the back, and fall in love all over again. #nailtechprobs 

Crosses and skulls

I absolutely adore this set with the hand painted skulls and cross bones, the studs, celtic crosses, and a few painted crosses too! Love it!

Baseball nails

This set was too cute! We did the baseball set for one of her games, all art is hand painted! 

Best Gel polish top coat for acrylics

O P I  A X X I U M

When it comes to a top coat for acrylics - I can honestly tell you have tried absolutely EVERYTHING in the last 4 and a half years, everything. I started with just the basic top coats, the ones that promote no yellow, the ones that promise the best shine, all of them, I probably have spent hundreds on just top coats (this hunt started before shellac and gel polishes were huge and I wasn't quite as established/professional). After my hunt for the perfect top coat really was proving itself to be a bust, I started investing in buffers. 

Yes, buffers. I decided that top coats were not going to produce the shine I was looking for so the next best thing would to invest in the super expensive buffers that produce shine on their own. My only problem was: it was not practical. I was not charging enough at the time to be spending two plus dollars on each client just so their nails would shine. That wasn't going to work.

Then here comes shellac, and all the other gel top coats to try. I tried a few "gel toppers" for acrylics - they were all hit or miss. I didn't find one that was completely consistent. Sometimes they would produce small bubbles, sometimes they would peel off of my clients nails, some would turn yellow; yet another bummer. 

Next resort, I started used both base and top coat of CND shellac. The results were awesome! But, this also added a lot of time - two coats, plus the added time of curing, plus wiping the tacky coat off. AND have you seen the price on those tiny base and top coats? Yes, they go a long way but when you are using them for both shellac and topping acrylics/glitter toes with them they seriously go away too fast. 

I had heard rumor of this OPI axxium; a few times, but my nail supply hadn't had it in stock for a while. Then I moved from Utah to Ohio. First time in a Salon Centric store what do I see? OPI Axxium! I was so excited!! Since I have bought it, I'll never go back to anything else!

It cures in 90-120 seconds, there is only one application, you don't have to wipe anything off, and it is so durable! The shine is unbeatable and so is the price. It is SO worth it!

If you are on the hunt for a good top coat, this is it! I wasted way to much time, money, and perfect sets of nails on this search - so hopefully this will help someone else looking to find a good shiny, strong, gel topcoat for nails! XOXO

Fun End of summer set

Wow! I haven't posted in a while, but I have some serious catching up to do with all my pictures! Here is a fun end of summer set I did on myself the other day. I love the brown sparkles and am absolutely obsessed with my 3d flowers! I also recently bought a new OPI gel top coat I will do a post about later that I am seriously loving! 

Orange and Grey

Tiffany & co. and Chanel!

... and then there were 3d flowers

I ordered these 3d flowers kind of on a whim, and I figured I would be the only one who really used them. Boy! Was I wrong. I put some on myself, because I am always the first test subject with any idea, and they were an instant hit! I have already had to order 2 more cases of them because I ran out so quickly. I have done so many fun, simple, and/or extreme sets with these fun flowers, and I haven't seen very many other nail artists in my area using anything close to them! I love when I am able to give my client's something unique, so their nails can stand out wherever they may be, no matter what they may be doing! 

In this set we used my "party silver" as I like to call it, then of course added some hand-painted cheetah to really spice up this set! The flowers really just worked themselves in. I wish the picture showed the little specks of sparkles on these gorgeous 3d roses. 

Ah! The bumble bee! Once we had finished the set, and secured the flowers onto her ring fingers, the idea just struck me. I didn't think she would even agree, and I had never actually done it before, but I just said, "How cute would it be to have a little bumble bee flying across a nail, like it's going to the flower?" She was like sure! So there it is, my first hand painted bumble bee! She said it was such a hit, and so many people complemented her on it! I love those moments where you just get a "vision" and it turns out to be a very good idea!

I love the yellow polka dots we did on this set, with the sunflowers! It added a little bit more fun to this adorable set!

Flowers

I was so happy the day I convinced my client to go from simple pink and white acrylics to adding some color and design! Clearly that is my favorite way to do nails! She decided on a darker, royal pink colored acrylic, and to make it pop a sky blue! I love the way the two colors complement each other, and how much they make each other pop with some solids, and some sparkles. It's amazing how much changing your nails can brighten your day! 

The flowers were hand painted, and I wanted to try a new style that I hadn't really don't a lot of, I was pleasantly surprised how well they turned out! 

Gradient Glitter Fade

Simple filled in acrylics!

Love the full filled in look! We used a mixture of pinks and peaches to make that light sparkle pink, and the gray we did is one of my favorites! The pin stripes on the solid white were just a touch to add some fun to these cute nails! 

I LOVEE THESE!

This set will forever be one of my favorites I have done!! 

Chevron and Anchors

Coral and Floral

Cheetah plus pin stripes