Monday, December 22, 2014

The Nail School Chronicle: Week 5


Hello Loves!  Want to hear what we learned in week five in nail school at GCI?  Yeah?  Me too!  Sadly, I don't have much to share this week.  My little one caught the flu, so I was only able to attend class for two of the four sessions.  As if I needed anything else on my plate, right?  Thankfully I've had my flu shot and it seems to be keeping the flu at bay.  Of course, we're having to be extra careful to keep Keith from catching it.  The flu on top of his broken ribs from the accident would be pretty brutal.

Anyway, I may have only been in class for two days, but I did have a breakthrough.  As you know, I have been struggling with ball size and consistency when working with acrylic.  I've become a master at filing down and shaping mountains of acrylic, but my application was still lacking.  When talking to my instructor, she mentioned that watching different techs might help since everyone has a different technique to reach the same result.  About that time, the night instructor came in.  Ms. V is the cutest, funniest lady ever!  So I put her on the spot and asked her to show me her method.  Bless her heart, she wasn't quite sure what to think at first.  Like maybe she thought I was insulting my instructor?  lol

Anyway, watching Ms. V definitely helped.  My instructor is amazingly talented with acrylic, but she rolls the ball off of her brush, which makes it difficult for me to see how wet the ball really is.  Since Ms. V uses a flat brush, she gently presses the ball onto the nail and it made a world of difference for me to see that little puddle of liquid on top of the ball when she pulled her brush away.  Previously, I have been able to finish one set of blended tips with an acrylic overlay in about 4 hours.  Now I'm rocking along at 4 sets per full class day.  Given, I still need a lot of practice, but I have my consistency, ball size and placement much closer to correct now.  Yea!  You won't have to hear me whine about the size of my balls anymore.  lol  Turns out I was working way too dry and overlapping the balls too much.

Moving on...I did find that there is a benefit to wrecking your nails and wearing enhancements.  I can play with my nail shape risk free!  Don't like my current shape?  No biggy.  I can just sculpt out another shape.  So I decided to give round a try.  I'm personally not a fan.  The shape is ok but they feel too short to me.  I think I'll extend them to true almonds after Christmas.  I might even go stiletto for a week since we're on Winter Break until January 5th.  ;)  Of course, my right hand still has natural nails, so they're still square/squoval.  After all, I couldn't possible have nails that match completely on both hands.  I don't even want to think about what might happen if both of my hands matched.  The world just might stop turning.  Or the polar ice caps would melt in a day.  Or Hell might freeze over.  I'm really not sure, but I'm not going to risk it.  ;)

Wanna see my sculpted rounds all dolled up for Christmas?  Of course you do!  I took a bunch of photos this time.  Why?  Well, when else can you pose with a glittery red ornament without looking crazy?  ;)
Christmas Nails with Ribbon and Bow

After sculpting the acrylic into this round shape, I applied two coats of Moulin Rouge by Pink Gellac.  This is one of the new colors that Chickettes has brought to the States.  I'll have true swatches of this and the other 5 new colors for you in a week or so.  (Not that these photos aren't true.  They are.  But I'll have swatch pics without the art soon).  I added a few white stripes for ribbons using Akzentz Gel Play and topped it off with a bow.  Simple, but I think it is pretty.
Christmas Nails with Ribbon and Bow

The photo above shows why I'm not in love with this nail shape.  My nails look too...bubbly?  Chubby?  The shot below, however, shows the one great thing about this shape.  My crooked finger and crooked nail don't look quite as crooked as they do with my beloved squovals.  lol
Christmas Nails with Ribbon and Bow

The shape is definitely growing on me a little.  I don't know that I'll ever completely learn to love it, but there is something very elegant about it.
Christmas Nails with Ribbon and Bow

Finally, another shot with my glittery Christmas ornament, because, well, glitter!
Christmas Nails with Ribbon and Bow

Sorry I don't have anything else to share this week.  I'm telling you, things have just been crazy.  I'm really looking forward to a new year.  2014 has simply sucked.  Anyway, I'm being pulled in a million directions right now.  With Keith out of commission from the wreck, William sick with the flu, Christmas only a few days away, and shopping still left to do, I'm drowning.  So as much as it breaks my heart to do it, I'm going to take a week off from blogging.  There simply isn't enough time to squeeze it all in.  Since Christmas and the flu have to be so rude and force themselves into my "me time", I guess I have no choice.  ;)

I'll be back around the first of the year (give or take a day) with some pretty awesome swatches.  I have the new Pink Gellac colors, the Bundle Monster Metallic gels, a few Bundle Monster thermals, some random OPI GelColors, and some stamping plates to show you.  Plus I'm playing with a few nail art techniques that are new to me.  We're going to start the new year off right, I promise!

Until then, I hope each and every one of you have a peaceful, happy and flu-free holiday season.  To those who celebrate, Merry Christmas! To my Jewish readers, Happy Hanukkah! To all others, Happy Holidays! Please be safe out there as 2014 winds down.  And if I don't make it back before the 31st, Happy New Year!

~Michelle

11 comments:

  1. Congratulation for the break-through in your ball size (LOL)! It is soooo frustrating to know you should be 'getting' it but you're not. That AH-HA moment is just amazing, such a relief! Once you punch through that, other things will go in stride.
    Hope the flu is confined, and no one else in your household get it!
    Love that red gel - I'm not very crazy about the shape, though. But it must be fun to experiment on different shapes!
    This is such a busy time for everyone. Add to that, this is also the time for being ill. And having accidents. Etc., etc., etc.! Don't stretch yourself out so far!!! Deal with what you have IRL first! We'll be here when your life settles back down (is that possible? hahah). Wish you and yours the best!

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    1. Thank you! I agree. I'm still not loving the shape, but it will have to do for a few more days. lol

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  2. Keep up the great work. I hope everyone gets and stays well. And thanks for another installment.

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  3. Hope you have a lovely holiday. The time off is well deserved. Always look forward to reading the blog and seems like there will be a mountain of new stuff in a few weeks. Also, I would love it if you could answer some questions, one of which is about filing. With some nail beds growing at a slightly different angle than others, how do you file them to look rather similar? When looking at your own nail, are you looking for straightness of the free edge from the back, the front, etc? What do the instructors say? Thanks!

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    1. Filing can drive you absolutely mad if you let it. It seems there are several different answers to this question. 1) Some instructors tell you to file so that they are straight based on the finger bone (so that when you look at the underside of your nail, the nail will be even based on the center of the finger). 2) Others tell you to file them so that they are straight when holding your hand out in front of you, palm facing away (like the position in third picture of my nails above). 3) Others still will tell you to file so that they are straight when curled toward the wearer (like my standard nail art pose).

      Personally, I think the second option makes the nails look more balanced in the greatest number of situations. People don't notice differences in filing unless the nails are side by side and compared to the fingers. So filing for the most natural look when the fingers are extended makes more sense to me.

      With that said, I file my left to look straightest when my hand is curled toward me and my right hand to look straightest when my fingers are extended. I take more photos of my left hand in the curled position, so it makes sense to me to file them for that. Since I rarely take photos of my right hand (excluding wear tests), it makes more sense to file it for extended fingers. Like I said in the post, my hands never match - not even the filing. lol

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  4. I'm so happy for you that you've figured out the ball situation! It's great to have a break-through. For some reason, I don't like this nail shape on you, it's just odd to see you with rounded nails! LOL!

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  5. You know, I think about 90% of people (in my opinion) look better with shorter and round nails but I gotta say, I like your long squares better on you! Maybe it's just the length of these....I think they may look better if they were a bit longer or a bit shorter. Either way that mani is hella cute!!

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    1. So funny! Even my sweet Mama agrees that this is not the shape for me. lol She's been on my case to try round for years and as soon as I did it, she told me to go back square.

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  6. Love the post and so pleased that you have mastered ball size now ;) So used to seeing your beautiful long square nails this just looks strange on you... But it's good to try new shapes. I'm growing mine again so I can go back almond. I love the almond shape best on me if think.
    Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

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  7. It still looks adorable with this mani! Have a merry Christmas.

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  8. You definitely rock the squoval, but this shape isn't bad. Take care of your self during this busy season! The blog can wait.

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