Nails, hair and beauty by Annabelle

Thursday, September 4, 2014

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

Monday, August 25, 2014

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!