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

New Gel Paints

My My My!  What a neglected blog this is!

Anyhow - I have been a busy busy bee as of late with all those clients on the run up to Xmas and the usual Xmas illnesses I seem to end up with every year, but I am now back to the land of the living!

Well a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a Gel Polish Design workshop on Birmingham held by the fantastic Sam Biddle.  We had the benefit of learning more about different designs that can be achieved with Gel Polish (those of you that know me well know what a big fan of gel polishes I am) and we also got to have a play with the new Gel Paints that Sam has recently launched.

Now, I am not an artist at all but the fab thing about these gel paints is you can play about with them for as lon as you want - and they wont dry(or cure as they are a gel) until they go into the UV or LED lamp.  The hardest thing to get used to is they are a paint and need to be used like a paint but they feel like a gel.  But once you get your head around that you have the best of both worlds!

Here is a picture of my first attempt at playing with them - more practice is needed but as a complete none artist I am quite chuffed with my efforts!   I certainly need to have a few lessons on light and shade thats for sure - if there was ever a time I wish I had paid more attention to the art classes as school it was now.

I am trying to get a clearer picture of this to show you but this gives you an idea for now.

I also loved some of the different design techniques we learned with gel polishes - the great thing I liked about these designs is they can be used quite easily on salon nails - without being too much of an artist!

I will do a separate update on the gel polish designs - hopefully a little bit quicker than this blog.

Bye bye for now. x x x

Cant Afford a Face Lift? - Try a Faith Lift Instead!

I recently had the opportunity to try a brand new product that has come onto the market that claims to be: 

"a non surgical facelift system that gives dramatic results your clients will love even after just one treatment" 

"Faith Lift non-surgical facelift gives dramatic results in an instant, it lifts, tones and firms leaving the complexion refined and radiant giving you a younger fresher look"

Now - being a person of 'above the age of having the most youthful looking skin' (for those younger ones out there - that is above the age of 25!  I know!!!) I couldn't turn this opportunity down of trying it out!

So thanks to Enhance Direct I set aside some time last week to try this facial mask out!  

As a fully trained Facial Therapist it is recommended that this mask is initially used as part of a full facial  - for those of you that aren't a training facial expert thats a thorough double cleanse, exfoliation preferably with a foaming sugar exfoliator and tone.  Then its time to apply the 'mask'.   

The mask product is like a thick gloopy gel compared to many other masks I have used, so the application method is one that needs to be followed and practised to get it right.  The full details are all provided on how this is best done luckily or you could end up with a right sticky mess!  

Once the mask is applied you need to avoid any facial movement as the product dries for 10 minutes (for a firmer lift it is best left on for 30 minutes which I did - I need all the help I can get).  Now don't be alarmed by the tightening sensation as the mask begins the lifting and toning process.  Its is a very weird feeling and if you do move the mask will potentially crack therefore not achieving the best results - this I know from experience and turned my neck during the first 10 minutes and it just looked like my skin was just peeling away!  So the best thing is once applied take some chill out time and lie completely still.  Which if you are having this done as part of a professional facial treatment is a great opportunity to re-charge those batteries and maybe perhaps have a little power nap too!

When the mask is dried it feels very tight on your skin and - when I looked in the mirror I looked just like an alien is disguise!  And also looked like I had aged by 50 years all in one go!!!!  Not a nice look - just for a laugh have a look at the picture of me just before I took the mask off! Although I do feel a public warning needs to be issued first!!!!!!   I cant believe I am actually showing you guys a picture of me with no makeup on!!!!

You can see from this where I moved my necked and the mask cracked so if you try this out avoid doing this if you can.  When the mask is dried it can be quite painful to try and talk so dont go and answer the phone when it rings!!!!!


A good 30 minutes later I removed the mask with warm mittens and after looking in the mirror before I took the mast off I felt a little concerned to say the least - well what a pleasant surprise I had.  I applied my normal daily moisturiser and my skin felt fantastic!  It was lovely and smooth  and really hydrated and plump (if that makes sense).   When I looked in the mirror what I saw wasnt a face that looked like had gone through surgery to remove the excess baggage but that healthy glow that certainly looked younger and more healthy than it did before.  The lines around my eyes were less obvious than before and for a while after I had that feeling in my eyes - as if my muscles around them were being pulled tighter and therefore making my eyes smart slightly - so I know that the muscle tightening effect was still working for some hours after.  


Faith Lift is an easy-to-use mask that works to gently stimulate circulation and increase blood supply to help restore the skin''s muscle tone and elasticity. It leaves the face looking and feeling firmer with a fresher, brighter and more youthful complexion.


When I put my makeup on the day after my skin still felt great and made me feel more confident and yes - I did feel like it was putting my makeup on younger skin!

Unfortunately I havent got any before or after photos of my experience to show you.  I was so pleased with how I felt about my skin I forgot that I would be showing you guys too.   

So I have attached here some photos of 'before and after' shots provided via Enhance Direct Faith Lift Facebook page and as you can see for yourselves the difference is amazing:   And this is just after the first faith lift treatment.

What not to expect -'dont expect miracles to happen' - it wont cut away the excess skin that was there before like face lift surgery does.  'Dont expect permanent ever lasting results' - it is recommended that to maximise the results you should have the treatment done twice within the first week and then weekly for 5 weeks, then monthly maintenance thereafter.   So to keep this result going you need to be committed to maintaining your treatments schedule.   But once you start receiving this facial you should be able to buy the faith lift mask from your facialist.    Personally I would recommend that my client come to have this done professionally at least once per month as a full facial treatment.

This is a very new treatment so you may not have heard about it before but Enhance Direct and Faith Lift have also just launched the face cream and eye cream to maximise the ongoing effect on a daily basis and have also launched a 'Faith Lift' Lip treatment which I am going to look into more at a later date.


I am so impressed with this treatment I shall be offering this as a treatment to my clients as a professional treatment and will also add the new Face Cream and Eye Cream as part of my retail products too.


For you Professional Facialists that would also like to try this system out - contact Jane or Lyndsay at Enhance Direct:


www.enhancedirect.co.uk/


or their Facebook page:  Faith Lift or Enhance Direct

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

Nail Colour of the Month

Ok guys - from now onwards I shall be having a new Gel Polish/Power Polish "Colour of the Month".   

I would love you guys to help and choose.  First of all - feedback on the type of colour you think is going to be popular for the season.  Then -   about a week before the 1st of the month I will list some brand specific colours  to choose from that I dont have. 

I will order the first colour of the month on the 1st October - so please let me have feedback on the up and coming seasonal colour to have!

Look forward to hearing your views! x x x

Nail Design of the Day - Gelish Efx Design - A little Multi Colour

It is time for me to do my nails again - but just didnt have a clue what to do!!! (I am sure there is a song in there somewhere) :)

So - fancied using the Gelish Efx colours but didnt know which one - so I ended up with 4 of them!

Because I was messing about for so long not knowing what I wanted to do with them - I started with a base colour of Night Shimmer (shimmery silver white) on all my nails.  I played about with the Aurora Efx colours for a while and ended up with 2 feature nails (thumb and ringer fingers) as you can see above.

Now, the next question is - do I keep the design as feature nails or do I do this design on all the nails?  What do you guys think?  All or feature?