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

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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

Happy Halloween!

I just love Halloween not as much as Christmas mind you but I love getting into the Halloween spirit and forcing that upon every client that enters the salon with my excessive decorations including our 6ft skeleton we have affectionately named Fred! It's also such a fun time with nails so I've put together a few of our favourite Halloween themed nails.

Jack The Pumpkin King! 

3D Eyeball squilettos

Gravestone nails with 3D spiders

3D skulls, pumpkins and ghosts oh my!

I hope you liked our Halloween work and that it gave you some inspiration for your own Halloween nails. I can't wait to see what our clients ask of us this year! Until then I'm looking forward to sitting in and eating the sweets I've bought for the trick-or-treaters while watching Hocus Pocus! 

Fred being pampered for the big day!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 

FROM ALL OF US AT 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