Shellac, Gelish and Other Professional Gel Polish Products Update

It has been over 18 months since I did the post on What are Shellac and Gelish Nails? and in that time over 30,000 of you have viewed that post!  Wow, Wow, Wow!!!!

During that time an abundance of other professional brand gel polishes have come on the market some of which are listed here:  (but there are too many for me to list).

I only discuss the professional use products on this post here and not the use at home stuff as I dont believe that this type of products should be used by the untrained:

• Gelish from Nail Harmony
• Shellac from CND
• Colour Gloss from Artistic
• Polish Pro by NSI
• Axxium by OPI
• Mani-q by Young Nails
• GelColour by OPI
• GeleSSe by NCO London
• Colour Lock by Kirsty Meakin

etc, etc, etc ....................

My fingers got tired of finding the most popular ones as I could go on and on and on...............

A few points to mention (in my opinion) on some of the above:- Shellac is easiest to remove and very well known. Gelish and Artistic are popular due to celebrity endorsements and marketing. GeleSSe is unique as the colours can also be used with regular polish base and top coats to enable at home removal easier, plus I have found it is the easiest to do nail art with and has great colour pigment coverage.  Colour Lock by Kirsty Meakin can be used with no base coat or top coat, just the colour to give the speediest application.

So, although some are said to be the same product (Gelish and Artistic Colour Gloss as an example) and others said to be unique (Shellac from CND is the nearest to polish, where as many of the others are more Gel like) they all pretty much do a similar job in that they act as a semi permanent polish that can last 2 or 3 weeks.

All gel polishes are light cured (so are dry when the treatment is finished) and can be soaked off for removal.

Some will  suit other clients better than others as with my clients, one brand suits some people better than others and visa versa.   So in essence I am saying that there is no one brand that suits all - lots of people will tell you that 'this brand' or 'that brand' is better, but my experience has shown that in using many of these I still cannot stay which is best as each client is different as each of these products are.

What I will say is each brand will use clever marketing methods to convince you that theirs is the best.  Do your own research when deciding which one (or more) is for you, your salon and your clients.  

I always recommend that which ever you decide that you at least attend a workshop (or as a minimum have a very thorough conversation with the supplier) on how to get the most out of that product as each one has little differences that can make the treatment work for your clients or not.   The number of forum or facebook discussions I have seen where people have had problems and eventually worked out it was because the method they used was what they were taught as best for another brand.  A 'few tweaks'  later on how they should be applied or used and hey presto they were getting success!

Many of these now appear for sale to the public via ebay or similar 'non authorised' web sites.  All I can say is only buy your products from the authorised distributor!  It has been proven many times that the products you end up with are fake copies and not what they say on the tin!  Just not worth the grief and you will get no support from the suppliers if you go through that route!  I have learned many times the suppliers support is worth its weight in gold!!!!!

Talk to your clients to find out what they want from a treatment as this can help you decide which products to look at in more detail.  The amount of clients that have contacted me saying they want a shellac manicure but when questioned they want a semi permanent polish treatment and are open to discussion as to which is best for them!

Please feel free to contact me if you want more of my opinions on each brand (as I could go on for ever about each one) : - theresa.bloor@gmail.com  

Happy reading and I look forward to your questions. x x x

Artistic Gel Polish Colour Fade - Step by Step

Many of you Professional Nail people out there have been asking how I achieve the colour fade look that so many of my clients are having this season.  So, with the kind permission of Louella Belle, UK Artistic Colour Gloss Distributor I have done some simple step by step photos and video to show you how I achieve the look:

 The colours used in this example are Lovely, Trendy, Diva Chic and Princess.  I dont always use this number of colours as it all depends on what finish the client is looking for. 

The recommended preparation/application guidelines given by the manufacturer for all products must be followed on all occasions to achieve that professional look. 

Step 1.  Apply the  Bonding layer as normal and cure for the recommended time.
Step 2.  Apply the first coat of colour as you would for a normal overlay and cure - in this example 'lovely' was used.  As the  colour stick was clear I applied 2 coats of this colour and cured in between each layer.  

 Step 3.  This is the first stage that is different than a normal colour overlay.  Instead of applying the next colour with a brush I actually apply it with a sponge.  In this example I used a make-up sponge but have tried different sponges which each give a slightly different effect.  Try different ones yourself and see which you prefer.   The colour I used here was 'Trendy'.

Cure after sponging this colour on.

Below is a brief video showing the technique to apply this first colour:

This image shows how it looks after this colour has been applied.

Step 4.  Apply the next deeper colour using the same sponging method, but only apply over the tip of the nail where the darker colour is needed.

This shows how the fade looks after the last colour has been applied with the sponge and cured.

Step 5.  Apply the sparkle colour 'Princess' over the whole nail as normal with the brush and cure.

Step 6.  Apply the Glossing Gel layer as normal over the whole nail and cure to seal the design and add that fabulous shine!

This is the finished look used with the above steps and give you a brief guide.  However, this step by step is just a great introduction to the 'Artistic Design Class' which will give you even better hands on experience for learning this technique and lots of other designs too.  

This method may vary from that in the Artistic Design Class and I also vary the method I use depending on which colours the clients would like and the finished look they want.  So, go ahead and experiment and find a way that works for you.

Thank you to Louella Belle for your permission in allowing me to publish this 'step by step guide' .

If this proves popular let me know if there is a particular nail design you would like to know how to do and I will see what I can do.  Please feel free to add comments on here.

For that added bit of giggle - lets see if you can guess what I was watching whilst recording the video and what other multi-task duty I was also doing at the same time!?!?! (hit - you may need to turn your speaker volume up)  . . . . .   Answers on a Post Card to Beauty by Theresa x x x    lol

Easter Theme Nails

This year I have gone for quite a simple design for my Easter nails and they are very wearable for anybody!

I have used Artistic Nail Design Colour Gloss gel Polish for the base colour and also the spots - and the number of clients that have requested this design since I started to wear them has been incredible!

For details of this manicure see www.beautybytheresa.co.uk

Artistic Colour Gloss - Diva Chic - October Colour of the Month

As promised here is a live picture of this months Nail Colour of the Month - Diva Chic by Artistic Colour Gloss

It is a fabulous dark red - I think has more of a shimmer than a sparkle as previously described and is a fantastic rich Autumn/Winter colour.

The nails done show the colour as it is with no added bling or art.  But those of you know me will expect to see at some point over the next 2 weeks some added bling - so I will keep you posted when I do.

I am also loving this water photo app for ipad/iphone.  Dont know whether it masks or shows my poor photo taking skills but I love the effect it gives. :)

Nail Colour of the Month - October - Diva Chic

As promised (although a little later than I liked) a decision has been made on the nail colour of the month for October and I am really pleased to share with you all the fabulous Diva Chic from Artistic Colour Gloss.








 As sophisticated as its name, this warm deep red with sparkle adds the perfect touch of glamour to your nails.

I will hopefully post you a picture of the colour on real live nails tomorrow but just wanted to share. x x x