MINX Live Webcast Minxy Mondays For Nail Technicians

      As you all know I am a person who absorbs knowledge where ever I can grasp it.  Being in the middle of the country, with no real city to depend on, continueing my education usually ends in me driving a ways away to get education.  I cannot afford the fees, and gas is outragious! So therefore I look to webinars, nail pros test yourself, and other things.  Well Minx Nails has done it!  
     Minx Nails offers a weekly free live web broadcast that is available to nail technicians worldwide with the purpose of supporting them as they learn and perfect their Minx nail design applications.
     Minxy Mondays, a live Web broadcast which takes place at www.justin.tv/Minxinc most Monday mornings, 8am to 10am Pacific Time, helps manicurists who are just getting started to support them through the learning process. It also guides them through problems they might have come across in their experience applying Minx. Minxy Mondays is live and includes a full chat feature, which allows manicurists to bring their questions to the table in real time and get their answers in real time. Not only are questions answered verbally, but the problem and solution demonstrated.
     I did not find this till today.  I will repost after I have attended a web broadcast.  Until then keep learning!

Reduce Reuse Recycle Nail TIPS!!

    We hear about recycling plastic and glass bottles, alluminum cans, copper wire, and much more. In a world where everyone is trying to go green, as well as save a few pennies.  Most people will say going green costs more.  You can go green without changing your entire salon.  We are just talking about nail tips here....
    Any good nail technician will practice nail art in her spare time.  We usually use full well nail tips to practice our art on.  One of the ways I have found to reuse the nail tips is to make a piece of art out of it. I buy myself a piece of canvas from Wal-Mart that measures anywhere from 2 feet x 2 feet or 2 feet by 4 feet or 3 feet by 4 feet. I save my nail art in a simple plastic baggie.  If I just practice on one nail it goes in there, or if I make a while set of nails for myself the nails that pop off go into that baggie.  The bagging is simply a collection over time.  Now the recycleing comes in when I turn that baggie of polished nails into an amazing work of art.
    Sometimes I will spend 8 whole hours on one nail, and I put so much work and detail into just one nail it almost seems like a tiny work of art.  Sometimes I will make a collaborative of several nails with one unified look, whereas other days I just pop the ones I have on off and put them in the bag (gross I know).  All of those nails go onto a blank canvas spaced out an inch a part.  This is one way to not only have a craft project to do (that turns out badass!), but your recycling as well. 
    Hope you enjoyed this wonderful recycling craft project, it looks great in the salon.  You can even put a price on it and it will sell like you wouldn't believe.

Pomegranate & Fig Mani Pedi Soak Fabulous

     Cuccio Naturale has done it again!  I bought Cuccio Naturale's pomegranate and fig manicure or pedicure soak.  I found that these are best used as manicure soaks, just because of their size.  Perfect for manicure bowl.   These soak balls are antioxidents enriched with pomegranate and fig extracts. This soak will whiten nails,revitalizes skin and cuticles, and replentishes the exact amount of moisture your feet or hands will need. 

     I use this product on my friend as well as me yesterday for our pedicures.  I had already added Heel to Toe rock salt to the soak, so I couldn't smell it very well.  The rock salt was over powering. That's why I am suggesting you use these great lil balls for just manicures.  I will be giving my mom her manicure today, and will use these.  If it does better for manicures I will comment on my own blog later to update.  I think in a smaller bowl it will have more of a pomagranate and fig smell. 

    I bought the 24 count fizz balls not hte 100 count.  If you have a high clientel base you will want to get more than the 24 count.  I could tell by looking at the tube that I had already taken 2 out.  24 count isn't going to last that long, so for me it may be an addon for paying customers.  I am satisfied with my purchase, however, I cannot give it 5 stars.  I am going to give this a 4 goddess stars for now.  If the manicure goes well it could get bumped up to 5 star status.

A Review of ORLY Basket Case (My friends polish)

    My best friend purchased some gorgeous polish.  The brand name is ORLY.  First I want to start off by saying I LOVE the ORLY polish bottle's neck that has the brush on it.  It is covered in a no slip grip.  The color is Basket Case #40234.  I love the color it is gorgeous.  Very feminine in color and totally a hot color for the younger generation.   I give this polish two thumbs up!

Apps Thank You Apple!

There are many apps out there, infact the words to say would be there are thousands upon thousands of apps. On my phone I have apps for games, navagation, photos, finances, music, and a whole lot more.There are personal assistant apps, beauty apps, and the options are endless really. I will break down a few of my favs!
OPI Application is an awesome app. This app allows you to preview over 200 OPI shades. Not only do you get to preview 200 shades but you can change the color of your skin right on the app, so you can asure yourself it is your color. Darker skin tones look different in pink than say pale skin tones.
Personal Assistant is another fantastic app. With the highest user rating since 2009 there's no wonder why it is a dead ringer on the list! This app includes tools to manage your clients, appointments, products, services, as well as point of sale.
Dress Up and Makeup: Manicure is another well respected app in the salon industry, that is awesome with an IPad if you have one for clients to use. Clients can make 100s of nail combinations with this game. Choose from dozens of polish colors, skin tones, nail art ideas, and more. Looks can even be accessorized with rings and stuff.
Nail Art Catalog offers thousands of different chinese nail arts .
The Nail App is my favorite nail art reference period! I can post my nail art and get feedback from other nail techs. Your nail art can be rated to see what fads are working. There is also nail art you can view to give yourself inspiration.
With technology as advanced as it is now it would be foolish not to use it! There's not a reason why if you have a smart phone you should not use it. The older generation, like my parents, see technology different than us youngens. I say screw it and use it! It's benefical in every aspect. The only downside to technology is that it can become addictive and become an issue. As long as the client is first all is well!

Nailgasm The Nail Art Movie link included

    There's a mini movie targeted at nail technicians.  "Nail Art Movie: Nailgasm" explores the endless creativity and work that goes into nail art.  This movie enbodies the global culture as well as its many fans.  The movie shows the taboo aspects of nail art as well as the artistic avenue of the art form.  Nail art is "an artform" that has morphed into many different areas in the past 20 years.   Find out why nails are making the headlines by watching this 4 minute 35 second film.  Here's the link to watch: http://www.nailpro.com/nail-art-movie-nailgasm 

Enjoy I did!

Airbrushing is making it's new debute

       Airbrushing is an artform that many nail technicians have seemed to steer clear from.  I personally love freehanding art onto nails, I feel it shows my true artistic talent.  Not all nail technicians are excellent artists.  I have found that many of my nail technician friends do not have that artistic thumb.  Crazy, I know, but not everyone is nuts about art.  With that being said airbrushing is a spray and paint with a nail art tool that is making it's way back into the nail art circut.
    One of the newest and best items in the airbrush catagory is new and improved stencils.  Tip: Use a CD case to keep the stencil in place.  There are literally thousands of stencils out there with a wide variety of shapes and sizes.  Some stencils are made of paper, while others are made of plastic.  Some stencils have sticky backing which makes those stencils one time use and disposable which can be more sanitary.  You can get stencils at a salon supply store, a craft store, or wal-mart. 
     Another perk of airbrushing is the paint.  Airbrushing paint seems to the thin, and thinner paint can flow more freely.  So that your paint flows freely, cleaning your gun has to be the biggest and most important step.  Without cleaning the gun you will not get free flowing paint.  A few handy dandy cleaning helpers for cleaning the airbrush machine are: cotton swabs, squeeze top for better sanitation, a wire brush, detal proxy brushes in all sizes, and then a glass dish.  Acetone will turn acrylics into gelly.  Use the small dish to corral all the small parts to the airbrush gun and machine.  DO NOT put whole gun in cleanser.  Only soak parts of the brush for short periods of time, and then turn around and brush off the loose paint.
     Just as polish gets more technologically advaced, so does airbrushing.  Everything cycles around, and usually the second time around the medium will be more techologicaly advanced.

Nail Art Pens Which Work?

     I am a nail art fanatic.  I love the art as well as the small tiny details.  Not all nail technitians like nail art.  I always use different brushes and other impliments to do my nails art.  Recently I bought a nail art pen as Wal-Mart.  Yes Wal-Mart, I bought two Sally nail art pens.  They were tranlucent and not at all what I was expecting.  Then I saw an ad in Nail Pro magazine.  The ad was for nail art pens made by Cina.  They only offer a few colors which are: Purple, black, pink, red, and white.  I bought a Cina white nail art pen when I was shopping for supplies at Sally's.  I then took it to school and did a french manicure with it.  Although I was not using my brushes which was weird, I used this pen and the consistency as well as the polish itself was fantastic.  The polish was not translucent, the polish dried faster than if I had used a brush, and it was quick!  So to all the nail technitians out there, DO NOT BUY Wal-Mart nail art pens.  For less money you can go to a salon supply store and buy one of these pens and you will get what you were expecting.  The pens at Wal-Mart are horrible!

History of nail polish

The Incas decorated their fingernails with pictures of eagles, but it is unclear how the practice of colouring nails progressed following these beginnings. Portraits from the 17th and 18th centuries include shiny nails.  By the turn of the 19th century, nails were tinted with scented red oils, and polished or buffed with a chamois cloth, rather than simply polished.  English and US 19th century cookbooks had directions for making nail paints (polishes). In the 19th and early 20th centuries, people pursued a polished rather than painted look by massaging tinted powders and creams into their nails, then buffing them shiny. One such polishing product sold around this time was Graf's Hyglo nail polish paste. Some people during this period painted their nails with clear, glossy varnish applied with a camel-hair brush. After the creation automobile paint Cutex produced the first nail modern nail polishes in 1917 with the introduction of colored nail glosses.  Once nail polish was refined, it was often used in the place of gloves to cover up the grime underneath the nails.  Colored nail polish was also considered at one time self-mutilation by psychiatrists and unhealthy. Despite this, the first lady to wear solid colors was Eleanor Rosevelt. 

Introducing the Goddess of Nails!

     I realized that after the start of the year 2012, I was ready to start a career.  I have always been the artsy one in my family.  I love to pay attention to detail... I am a perfectionist.  I have a loving heart.  So I started polishing nails out of my own house (yes it is illegal), but I experimented with friends.  Amazingly I was freakin good!  Wow! I thought, could you do this the rest of my life?  Answer was yes!  So I enrolled in Arkansas Academy of hair design.  It's a private school of sorts not regulated by the State so much. 
     I have found out a tons of new things about myself, like I am an amazing artist.  I love to pay attention to details and the really small things in nail art.  The more introcate the better!  I have currently learned nail enhancements such as acrylic, gel, fiberglass wraps, & silk wraps.  I also know a few little tricks that I will reveal later. 
      I will be keeping you posted on articles out of nail pro magazine and give brief synopsis of articles I love personally.  Keep you up to date about the newest fads, newest products, ect. 
I will be working at Sheer Glitz Heriloom, 210 S Pruett, Paragould, AR 72450 come the end of August.  I graduate from school July 7. The school is throwing me a party, kinda gonna miss the place. I am ready for my life and rise to the top.  Remember me I am gonna be famous some day or a really awesome business owner.  Hope you will join me for something you won't regret.
     I am a 3 college degree holding nail tech!  I have booksmarts as well as a fabulous artistic side.  I did originally started out an art major so I have had many art class on the collegate world.
    A little background on me: I am a married mother of a 5 year old genius daughter named Addison.  My husband is my best friend, and my heart and soul.  I am his queen he says.  I live in a town of sixtenn hundred people.  It's a small town but it has its good points.  I miss living in Texas.  Texas is my home now, not this place I grew up in.  I have been in beauty school for some time now.  I am so ready to get out and spread my wings and fly.  I am also ready to get rid of the immatureity of the girls in beauty school.  Sometimes it's as if I am in Jr. High again, but it has taught me quite about myself.  Anger management, self-controll, trust, hard work, ethics, laws of the state, sobriety, and confidence are just a few of the things I have learned.