Shellac Winter 2015 Aurora collection - Swatches and Reveiw

My first impression of this winter collection was refreshing! Here we have a winter collection that isn't dark or Christmas red but instead light and bright! All of these colours appealed to me. Here's a closer look at the colours. I apologise I couldn't find my lens for my camera so the picture quality isn't the best but at least you get an idea of these colours.

Winter Glow

Apart from loving the name, Winter Glow is most definitely comparable to Cake Pop which surprisingly doesn't annoy me too much, Cake pop is up there with one of the most popular Shellac colours so I think Winter Glow will do quite well. It is paler than Cake Pop but almost the same shade. Winter Glow OK that's the last time I'll say it! 

Glacial Mist

"The cold never bothered me anyway!" See where I'm going with this?? Yes ladies this is Frozen in a bottle. That's all that really needs to be said oh and it glitters!

Tundra

Not usually a fan of shimmers but I'm not sure I class this as a shimmer more like a chrome. It's a pinky lilac chrome. And surprisingly I like it!

Nordic lights 

It's purple and sparkly what's not to like! Although there is something different with this shellac colour, it's actually sheer. That was a surprise when I first put it on -a nice one though, it made me think of all the possibilities of new colours and effects we could create with this colour. And still easy to create a solid colour as the purple is almost the exact shade of Rock Royalty. 

Well done CND I was very impressed with this collection and all the colours beautifully compliment each other. I look forward to creating new looks on my clients with these. My favourite so far? That's hard.... But I think it has to be Glacial Mist I find it the most original. 

What are your thoughts on this collection? Or dare I ask what's your favours colour? I'd love to know in the comments below. 

Thanks for reading! 

Until next time pretties! 

SWAROVSKI HAUL

I don't know if it's just me but when I see sparkly things I'm so attracted to them! I actually get excited - is there something wrong with that?? Well if there is, I don't care! So I went onto Stephen Arnold just to have a look - but who was I kidding, the shopping basket was overflowing before I knew it. I actually had to take things out it was getting out of control. This is what made the cut and I'm counting my pennies until I can place another order!

I just love metallic crystals, I've never tried the metallic Swarovskis before and I'm glad I did, they are beautiful!!

I also bought a few colours, I have been trying to build on my colour collection of Swarovski crystals.

Here we have Citrine, Light Siam and Tanzanite.

The whole reason I went onto Stephen Arnold was to get some Swarovski shapes as Valentines day is coming up..... Oh yes, Swarovski hearts! 

I have to save the best for last! These actually make my heart beat faster - it's not normal but it's true! These Rhombus AB Swarovski crystals are the most sparkly things I have ever seen, and I cannot wait to get them on my nails!!! 

I would highly recommend Stephen Arnold, They have a fantastic selection of Swarovski crystals and delivery was very quick. I will be using them again for sure. As you can imagine, I can't wait to finish this blog post to go and do my nails - of course they are going to be the blingest of bling!! I can't wait to show my clients!! 

Please comment to let me know I'm not the only magpie who gets this excited about crystals and also if you like this kind of blog post. 

Speak soon Pretties! 

Pretty Polished

Nails of Christmas past!

The appointment book is well on its way to being fully booked. So with that in mind I thought I'd give everyone some inspiration for their Christmas nails. These are the nails of Christmas past at Pretty Polished. Please excuse the quality of some of these photos as some are a few years old, my knowledge of photography is slowly growing and also the upgrade of a few phones might of helped some too! There are many types of Christmas nails from the extreme to the subtle, I believe there is a Christmas nail design for everyone.

Not So Christmassy Nails

For those who want to get into the Christmas spirit but still like something quite simple.

Winter Nails

Snowflakes are a great way to incorporate a Christmas feel to your nails although are technically nothing to do with it!

A French Christmas

A Christmas twist on the French Manicure. Those Santa hats are a personal fave of mine!

We love Christmas!

Olaf himself retweeted these when I posted them! I was beside myself! 

You just cant beat Santa faces and candy canes and I don't know what it is about that Santa suit but I just love it!

Christmas to the extreme!

When you just cant get enough of Christmas and wish it was all year round! This is my category oh yes I am a Christmas nut! I'm not afraid to admit it but sadly I never get to enjoy nails like these as I always end up too busy to do my own nails but I don't mind it's still so much fun creating these beauties!

Have you picked your Christmas nails yet? Which is your favourite of our nails of Christmas past?

Pretty Polished

October Nails of the Month

So of course Octobers' nails of the month have to be a Halloween set. Though what I love about these is that they aren't obviously Halloween nails. But very much witch inspired!

'I put a spell on you,
Because your mine!'

I may have mentioned before that Hocus Pocus is my favourite Halloween film so loved doing a nail with the best song ever, 'I put a spell on you' (cannot say those words without singing them in my best Winnie Sanderson voice!) Although with these nails I did do probably one of the worst things I've ever done in my nail tech career. To paint I put a spell on you on a nail obviously takes some time and patience. So what did I do? I decided to wipe it all off thinking the nail was cured with topcoat. I KNOW! I thought I was going to cry and so did my client. Lol but we got there in the end and were able to laugh about it too! 

What Halloween nails did you go for in the end? I didn't get any on as I didn't have time. #lifeasanailtech!

 Hope everyone had a great Halloween! 

Shellac Autumn 2015 Contradictions Collection -Swatches and Review

So we have finally got our hands on the new Autumn Shellac colours. This is the Contradictions Collection. At first look at the collection I had very mixed views, I got excited to see there was a chunky glitter Shellac but disappointed to see a red and pink. Of course it's always hard to tell what the colours are just from the pictures of the bottles. So let's have a closer look. 

Poison Plum

As predictable as I am as soon as I opened the box I reached for the glitter Shellac. This is Poison Plum. A very dark plum with also a hint of brown this colour reminds me of a cross between Dark Dahlia and Fedora with chunky pieces of purple glitter. Although this did not have the finished result I expected. The glitter is actually very very subtle and can only be seen reflecting in light I was diaspointed with this being a lover of all things bling! But once I got my head around this fact it actually is a beautiful colour in its own right and a completely unique colour in the whole Shellac range. 

Peacock Plume

Peacock Plume is a gorgeous dark blue almost navy colour with a green sparkle through it which gives it that peacock appearance. It is not as dark as Midnight Swim and from pictures looks very close to it but the green sparkle off this colour makes it stand on its own. Looking forward to trying this out on a client. 

Safety Pin

Safety Pin is not a shellac I would rush to buy I am not, nor do my clients seem to be a fan of colours that a very shimmery which is what this colour looked to be. But imagine my surprise when I opened the bottle and had a very hard time even being able to describe what colour this actually is! From what I can gather it's gold, rose gold and silver. I didn't think it was possible to make a colour that could be both gold and silver but somehow Safety Pin seems to mange that. It is a complete neutral, add the shimmer to that and you have a glam neutral. I love it. As shocked as I am to say it. I know this colour is going to go down well with clients.

Rogue Rite

Rogue Rite another red (excuse me while I yawn) looks exactly like decadence even when the bottle is opened, that was until I actually applied it. It's not just a red this creme red has a purple tone to it which neither Decadence or Wildfire have. Think Decadence meets Tinted Love. It is pretty but I'm not sure it is different enough and I'm not sure how it will stand beside Decadence on my swatches board.

Tartan Punk

Tartan Punk I thought was a pink from pictures while I was looking again nodding off! But actually I think it's closer to the red family (I know I'm asleep now)! This colour is compared to Red Bareness as there is a shimmer through it although defiantly brighter than Red Bareness it's almost wildfire with shimmer. Personally not being a fan of shimmer it's not the red I'd reach for. Although while I was swatching  this on one finger the rest of my nails where still in an Autumn glitter which reflects a lot of green, you should of seen Tartan Punk with the green. It just screamed Christmas. It might be the colour to give Ruby Ritz a run for its money. If Ruby Ritz didn't exist this would be the Christmas Red. NOT THAT I AM IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM CONDONING DISCONTINUING RUBY RITZ! In fact just go ahead and make it a permanent colour for our collection to stop us techs and clients fretting every year that it might not come out again. 

Naked Naivete

I got a bit sidetracked there sorry, back to the collection last but not least Naked Naivete immediately we can tell we have an original colour here. A lot of clients though are looking at this and saying nude, this is not a nude it's a neutral another Creme finish which I love. If anything this colour is closest to the peach family a very very very pale peach with the brightness of cake pop. And giving the popularity of cake pop I can defiantly see this colour becoming a hit. 

So that's it the Contradictions collection I've got to say the most unexpected surprising collection I may have ever purchased. Colours I thought I'd love weren't what I thought they'd be and other colours I thought I'd dislike I loved. There a some very original colours in this collection but I am still very disappointed that red/pinks were even considered to add to this collection, when there is still some very big gaps on the Shellac colour wheel. I've been waiting for a Creme grey for years something between Asphalt and Cityscape I know it would be so popular. 

What are your your thoughts on our new Shellac colours? Where you disappointed or pleased with this collection ? Is there a colour you wished was in it that isn't? I would love to know what you think. Please comment below. 

Pretty Polished

Preparing for Halloween in the salon

Halloween is a busy time in the salon a lot of clients are wanting their nails done all in a very short space of time. So to prepare for this rush we have to be a little organised. As you've already seen in our last blog post we have already decorated the salon.

The next step is to be aware (no pun intended) of what our clients want. For a lot of them at Halloween that is... yep you've guessed it Halloween nail art! Now I know your wondering how do we prepare for that?? Well... in 2 ways.

1. Displaying nail art ideas for our clients to choose from, some people just don't know what they want and having a visual is a big help, it also helps us as there is much less time wasted on making decisions. We have ours in a decorative frame.

2. The second way we prepare for the load of nail art coming our way is to pre make them. We most commonly do this by making 3D designs in advance using Arabella forms. These forms come in different sizes but all form a nail curve, they repel liquid and powder just like regular forms so we can just take our design off when finished and store them ready for use.

Can you tell what these are going to be?

 Yep 3D skulls!

Now when a client asks for some creepy spooky nail art we can use the phrase the child in all of us wants to say....Here's some I made earlier! (just love saying that!)

So there you have it an insight into how we deal with the madness of Halloween. It's something I personally really enjoy as I love this time of year!

What do you do to prepre for busy times? I'd love to know any tips and tricks you have.

Pretty Polished

Nails of the Month - September 2015

I thought I would start a series of blogs which show our fave nails of the month! This month that has to go to one of our clients who got married in early September. Amanda has been coming to Pretty Polished for quite some time now, so we had the pleasure to experience her wedding from all the planning and updates being given at every appointment, to the Hen nails and then finally her Wedding nails. Thank you for taking us on your wedding adventure Amanda, you were an absolutely stunning bride and we wish you and your husband all the happiness in the world! 

Love all the Pretty Polished team x

Amanda loves something a little bit different when it comes to her nails and these are probably one of the most understated nails we have done lol, but absolutely perfect for her Wedding day. With sculpted stilettos we applied one coat of Shellac Bare Chemise then sculpted white 3D flowers encasing Swarovski crystals.

 I personally love these, perfect for a bride who wants Wedding nails with a twist. Is the classic French manicure still the wedding staple or should we be trying to funk it up a little? Please comment below I would love to hear your thoughts! 

To the new Mr and Mrs Mills!

Pretty Polished

NAILS AT NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

How lucky am I that my first blog post coincides with New York Fashion week?! We have everything from Colour block patterns to paint splatter nails, mattes and textures. I have picked out a few of my favourite pics from the catwalk.

Negative space is still a hot trend on the catwalk also changing up your standard french manicure.

CND had an amazing collaboration with The Blondes to create all gold, bejeweled and metallic nails for their Egyptian theme.

Now here's an old skool style I've seen starting to reappear recently I was never a fan of marbling but I have found myself starting to come around to it. I always find it funny how time can change our sense of style.

And now for my personal favourite .......

Or what I think will be most popular in the salon is this funky french, I'm not as of yet aware of what we are calling this and I am by no means quirky enough to come up with a name but I think my clients will love it. Also these are a lot more salon friendly than some of the other nails that were spotted at Fashion Week like these ...

Although I can appreciate how amazing these works of art are. All were sculpted using CND Liquid and Powder and Brisa Gels. The sarcophagus actually opens and has a mummy inside! Not exactly realistic in everyday nail wear but I'd love to do one of those wings if any of my clients want a go? 

All in all I was truly inspired by this years S/S 2016 Fashion Week. I don't think I can wait six months to give these trends a go. I have to give credit to the truly incredible nail techs who took part in this event. Thank you for you inspiration and innovation.

Pretty Polished