Nail Tech Secrets

In light of recent events – in particular, at the most recent New York Fashion Shows for Spring 2007 – we feel it is in our best interest to dissolve our relationship with Coutorture. We wish them the best of luck.

Signed,

Aesthetics + Economics
Beauty Addict
Blogdorf Goodman
eBeautyDaily
Fashiontribes
Girlawhirl
Jewelry and Beading
The Jewelry Weblog
Nailtechsecrets
Second City Style
Style Bites
Trashionista
The Bag Snob
The Beauty Newsletter

[Update 9/20] More blogs have joined the exodus:
Bois de Jasmin
Perfume Smellin’ Things
Product Girl
Scentzilla
Spa Black Book

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OPI is offering this preview of the beauty and nail trends for Fall 2006:

Fall’s beauty color palette is very sophisticated, with shades ranging from warm brick reds, rich browns and sweet toffees, to lighter shades of nature and earth – wheat, sand, cement, gray, moss. Opulent, deep jewel tones of ruby, garnet, amethyst and emerald glow, with nails and lips echoing tones of velvety red, purple, wine, fig and grape. Cheeks are subtle, while hair is softly curled or worn in jeweled chignons. Cool metallics make an appearance.

Be sure and check out OPI’s 25th Anniversary collection of nail colors - as always, the colors are gorgeous and rich and perfect for the fashions of the season!

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I have had my eye out for Avon’s Instant Manicure Dry Nail Enamel Strips, as it is intriguing to me, but I cannot imagine that it actually works. When I say works, I mean is lasting and is pretty. There is a real nuance to applying nail polish that lasts and looks great, and I find it hard to believe that this product is going to cover all of those issues. I have questions:

Do you wear base coat? Top coat? Is is shiny after all of that pressing on it to get it into place? Can you apply top coat?

KOMO News has an article and an accompanying video that asks and attempts to answer the question - Does it work?

Instant Nails gets a thumbs up if your nails fit the strip sizes. Thumbs down for anyone with very wide finger nails. If they want it to work for everyone, Avon has some work to do.

Instant Manicure is sold in sets of 16 strips for $8.00 and comes in ten colors.

Avon says the finish lasts 14 days, and while the strips do dry to a nice hard finish, Rosie told me she found the nail tips chipped about as much as with regular nail polish.

I guess to them it worked, but I am a much tougher critic. I am thinking of giving it a try. Have you tried it?

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Does this sound like you?

Even now, rarely a week goes by without my pinky bandaged. I seem to pick on the pinky the most.

My dad tried to get me to stop by shock therapy. Every time he saw my fingers in my mouth, he’d slap them out. I was shocked all right, but I didn’t stop and developed an eye twitch as well.

I know it’s an ugly habit. I’m always trying to quit.

The morning of my wedding, I got acrylic nails. By the reception, one nail was bitten off; the others didn’t make it through the honeymoon.

Someone told me regular manicures would help, but first my nails would have to grow past the quick. I would try and try, but there’d always be a hangnail, a rough edge or overgrown cuticle. My fingernails and teeth seemed to have a magnetic attraction.

I was 36 when I had my first manicure, and have had very few since then.

Source: Daily Bulletin

I hate to admit this, but I have been a nail biter for my whole life. I obviously have a hand to mouth horrendous habit that finds me biting my nails and cuticles, smoking (which I recently quit) and eating too much.

I have tried products like Orly No Bite, but nothing ever tasted bad enough for long enough. Honestly, regular manicures are the way to go for me, and they might be for you as well. If my nails are kempt, polished and my cuticles are moisturized, I won’t mess with them. As soon as they start going downhill or my cuticles start getting dry, here I come. I don’t care if your nails look as bad as the nails in this photo, get them done, or do them yourself, it will make a world of difference.

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This article is one woman’s view of nail polish and what is appropriate. I can sort of identify with her, as she is pretty staunchly convinced that the only alternatives that are ok are red on the toes and nude on the fingers. I really have a huge tendency to be this way myself, with everything from nail polish to fragrance, but I have been really trying to unbrainwash myself lately and come to that real realization that it is ok to be fickle with all of these things - there are zillions of companies working hard to attract our business and how in the world are they supposed to do that if we stay in a huge rut forever? I don’t know, but I am quite fickle now, and am having a great time with it!

As for me, I’ve decided it’s still all about nude or red. I did try a few brights - on both toes and fingers. I even tried a pretty-but-bold candy pink called Deauville (Chanel again). And though I might, in time, be able to adjust my taste to all the zaniness, my problem is in the application: I just don’t find the bold colours easy to paint on. In fact, they end up looking blotchy, streaky and even a bit messy. Maybe it’s something in my technique, but this is one trend that doesn’t colour me happy.

I do think she needs to come read about Polish That Lasts and get some tips on how to polish without streaking. It can be done, I promise!!

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The Swedish Medical Center in Seattle has offered up this simple instruction on how to wash your hands - a frequently overlooked thing that can not only save your life, but can help your polish stay on a very long time too!

• Wash your hands frequently — and always after using the restroom, changing a diaper, or petting an animal, and before preparing food or eating.
• Rinse your hands with warm water, then apply the soap and lather.
• Rub your hands together, scrubbing the tops and bottoms of hands, wrists, and even under your fingernails.
• Continue scrubbing your hands for at least 15 seconds — or about the amount of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” or another short song.
• Rinse and dry your hands well.
• If soap is not available, use an antibacterial hand sanitizer — but soap and water is best.

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Lush’s Lemony Flutter is not just fun to say, it is a product that is great for your body, not just your nails and cuticles. I have a deep passion for shea butter and this is a shea butter based product that is filled with all sorts of other wonderful things. Here is the ingredient list from USA.lush.com:

Fresh Lemon Infusion (Citrus limonum), Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Beeswax (Cera alba), Lanolin, Soya Oil (Glycine Soja), Cold Pressed Avocado Oil (Persea gratissima), Mango Butter (Mangifera indica), Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Castor Oil (Ricinus communis), Perfume, Cold Pressed Wheatgerm Oil (Triticum vulgare), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Lavender Oil (Lavendula hybrida), Tagettes Oil (Tagetes glandulifera), Chamomile Oil (Anthemis nobilis), Sodium Borate, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

Some pretty delightful stuff there. It smells like a dream too with the strong lemon infusion and the hint of Gardenia (probably my very favorite scent of all time). If you would like to give this a try - I bet you won’t be disappointed - it is available at Amazon.com and the Lush web site for $10.80.

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I just love Glam - raaaaally I do - and have since the minute I discovered it, and am so glad to be a part of it now!!!

I am glad you have found your way here to one of my humble little online abodes and hope also that you will take a little time to look around while you are here. NailTechSecrets is my attempt to teach you all of the things I have learned from 20 or so years as a Nail Tech. Explore the categories to the right and learn all you care to know about manicures and pedicures and all the tricks I know about how to polish your nails so you get great long lasting color! There is tons more information here and tons more to come. If you have come searching for info about artificial nails, that is on the plan for the near future - I am gearing up and getting things organized for that now and I hope you will stay tuned, subscribe to the feed and keep posted on all the latest info on nail care and secrets from a career Nail Tech!

Please do come visit me at my other related blog, eBeautyDaily, which along with being a b5media blog, is also a Glam blog!

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T for Toes Dusting Powder by Lush Cosmetics is a powder that is great for refreshing tired feet, general maintenance of healthy feet or just any ol time you need to feel pampered and perked up. T for Toes contains Tea Tree Oil (a.k.a. Melaleuka Oil), which along with a great many other wonderful properties is antibacterial. This is NOT just for the ladies, your men will enjoy this just as well, and might derive even more benefit from it than you do. Available at Amazon.com for $8.75 for 3.5 ounces. Perfect size for the gym bag!

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Julie, at Almost Girl, struggled a bit with freshening up her toenails over the weekend. She just is not as tuned in as I am to the notion that these details are really important! However, she said this in her post from over the holiday weekend, leading me to believe that her struggle with the details of beauty as a whole is very voluntary (*wink*):

[...]you can carefully discern a person’s class from that state of their cuticles, thus even the scruffiest Misshapes hipster girl will reveal her trust fund status with her freshly manicured fingers.

Now this quote - I can bet dollars to doughnuts that I have heard it verbatim from my best girlfriend. Well, she probably didn’t say “Misshapes hipster girl,” but she certainly said dreadlock-wearing, noodle-dancing, neo-hippie chick. Whatever the decade or the type of gal, it all means the same. If you want to look like a person with a bit of sense about them, much less a dollar or two in your pocket - pay attention to the details. And for petes sake, paint your toenails!

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