Back to School Quick Manicure

Everyone’s going back to school(students & teachers), or you are sending your kids off to school now. It’s so hard switching from summer mode and it might take you a month to get back on track.
Typing away new assignments, making lunches and flipping through books can get hard on your hands. Here are some tips to keep your hands soft and your skin and nails strong.

gels

Tip #1: I always suggest keeping a small bottle of hand mositurizer in your bag and apply at lunch, or 3-4 times a day if your hands get super dry from touching paper all day.

Tip #2: Make sure that you always have a small nail file in your bag as well, typing with long nails is tricky. I know once my nails get to the length where they will either hit 2 keys at once or get stuck underneath the keys on the keyboard and then they break or bend(I think the bending is worse and way more painful). This will help you figure out what length you should keep them at, this is your call of what you can handle.

Tip #3: If you find that your nails are getting weak from typing or just from more general ware that they are used to in comparison to the summer vacation, 2x a week get some vitamin D gel capsules from the pharmacy and cut 1 open and rub the gel over your nails. Lots of hand moisturizers and cuticle creams have vitamin D in it(and more), but the gel capsules are more concentrated and work faster I find.

Tip #4 : Finally as usual make sure to drink lots of water and eat healthy! Drinking water flushes out your system, removing toxins and helping your cells to stay strong. Eat foods with protein, but key vitamins such as the B-complex, C, A, E (alpha tocopherol), D, calcium, zinc, iodine and iron for stronger nails(and Hair!)
Advertisement

Questions for Scotia: What are these bumps on my hands?

“I have these hard little bumps on the palms of my hands, I get them on my feet too. They aren’t contagious, the Doctor told me what they were once but I can’t remember.” – M

It is a very hard word to pronounce: Pompholyx / Dyshidrosis

“When they blisters aren’t as hard and dry and the surrounding skin is plump and moisturized it helps keep the itch away.”

Continue reading

Nail Biting and How to Stop

I have a lot of clients who come in for one thing and then say “I wish I could get a manicure, but my nails are too bad I bite them.”

A Manicure is EXACTLY your answer!

Have you ever tried to keep a bandaid on the end of your finger past a few hours that it isn’t chewed up on the end with a million pet hairs, dirt and fluff on the ends?!  This may work with small kids, but lots of people don’t want to go to work with fingers all bandaided up. 

Continue reading

Make Your Service Last

In some spas you will be told how to keep your nails, lashes, whatever when you go home and maybe some tips too.

I come from working in tattoo and piercings shops so I like to give handouts to make your service last, to keep it clean and healthy too!

Here are some tips and tricks to keeping up your service at home or on vacation  between now and your next appointment.

dont forget to get ready for your vactation

Continue reading

Trends: Wedding Nails

There are so many options for nails for on your wedding day. Do you want all the attention on your ring? Nails? Hair? Makeup? Dress? or the whole package?

Let’s go through what has been coming through my spa lately…

these were my wedding nails
these were my wedding nails: my wedding was vintage pirate themed so pearls, jewels and a little skull on the accent finger with a cream base.

Continue reading

Product Knowledge: ZOYA Nail Polish

In my quest of providing smart, safe and sweet services to all of you, I always have a few things on my mind that I know that I and Yourselves care about.

-cruelty free

-natural

-toxin free

So the newest addition of products that I have for use and sale is Zoya Nail polish!

Continue reading

Nail Polish: Is It Safe for My Kid?

With princess parties, watching mummy and all the new makeup barbie heads and other toys like that, little girls really want to play with makeup. Yes they usually end up looking like the joker, but its cute and usually safe. But what about nail polish?

yes hunny you’re soo pretty *cringe*

Regular makeup we know has natural ingredients and if its for your face, the assumption is that its safe. But Nail polish lasts for  days-weeks! We know its made up of harsh chemicals, but which ones? Is it safe?

Continue reading

Product review: Texture Nail Polishes

For the beginning for 2014 on my  other blog Elegant Embodiments, I did a review about the caviar “Belguria” Essie nail polish and how much I hated it. It had bigger microbeads in it, rather than dipping your nails in it like the Ciate brand has.

read it here:  http://elegantembodiments.blogspot.ca/2014/01/starting-off-new-year-wrong.html   

This week I forgot that I had bought a new pink China Glaze texture nail polish, so I tried it. And I remembered why I normally don’t like these polishes. They look like a popcorn ceiling, or stucco. Especially with this pink I feel like my nails have scabies or some sort of weird skin disease on them. Gross.    Also they look and feel like a cat tongue.

12922_796614677041280_1792577721660445180_n
I do like the colour at least

Now don’t get me wrong there are many different types of texture nail polishes. from even glitter, feather, sand and more!

And I do like some….

Continue reading

Nail Shapes: Part 2

I’m back with more nail shapes, like I promised!

Now to the fun shapes: the shapes you get to choose when you go in for a manicures or artificial nails

When going for any type of nail service, if you don’t ask: you will 99% of the time end up with square nails. This is because they are the strongest shape. Pressure is evenly distributed across the entire nail. This is especially true for 1st time gels or acrylic nails(until you get used to them). They show that you are a easy but still sophisticated and strong. They also give a good sized pallet for trying any nail art and best for showing off bright and bold colours.

dragon gels

These Nails are classic, but can make your fingers and nails look shorter if they aren’t kept on the longer side or if you already have wider nail beds.

 

 

Continue reading

Embracing the Warmth of Marsala

Every year the Pantone company tells the world what the Color of the Year is.

Marsala is this years color. 

I love how it matches any darker shades, from the black in her shoes and purse to the dark, gradient green in her hair

For many of us, we didn’t even know why there is a color of the year.

Continue reading