Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Another Late Night Life Update


Hello Loves!  So, it's 1:00 am and I'm still awake.  I have to be up in...oh...4 hours to take the boy to school, but I made a few changes to the site tonight and figured I should at least give y'all an update to explain what's going on.  ;)

To make a long story short (and yes, I am capable of keeping things short...maybe), I have a new logo! 
Manic Talons Nail Blog

This new logo will start appearing as my watermark with upcoming posts.  :)  And I just want y'all to know, I drew that polish bottle and brush myself...in photoshop elements...with a standard mouse.  It took me all freaking evening to get it right.  Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of it even if it isn't completely smooth and perfect. 

Why the change?  Well...I'll soon have a new home (salon home) to go with it.  It breaks my heart to announce this, but I recently made the very difficult decision to leave Artistic Expressions Hair Salon in Braselton, GA.  Y'all, I've cried over this for weeks.  I don't WANT to leave.  The stylists there are awesome and so much fun to work with and my clients are amazing.  Sadly, the commute was killing me.  I was spending an hour and a half each day just driving to and from the salon - an hour and a half that I could be spending with my family.  Plus it was proving very difficult to build my book so far from home when I couldn't hang out and network without missing family time.  So after 7 great months at Artistic, I made the decision to take my business home.  I'm currently working to set up a little room in a great hair salon in Athens, GA that is only 7 minutes from my house.  Yeah, it sucks starting over, but I know this is the best move for my family.  Plus I'll have more time to blog!  Whoo Hoo!

With that said, there will be more changes coming to the site soon.  You'll start seeing this logo popping up too.  (Yeah, I know...the red looks different.  It has something to do with the way I saved the file, but I'm too danged tired to figure it out tonight.)
Manic Talons Nail Design
But don't worry!  My little slice of the internet here isn't changing much.  I might add a new home page that will give people the option to visit my salon page or head on over here to the blog, but other than that it will be business as usual.  Swatches, reviews, art...the normal stuff. 

Yes, I have reviews coming.  I promise!  I have some Akzentz Options, the new Pink Gellac colors, a review of the large clear stamper from Purjoi Nail Studio, more Madam Glam swatches (Hi Tiane! I promise I'll have those up for you soon!), and a bunch of other stuff to show you too.  Hopefully I can get all those up before long.  Thank you for sticking with me while I try to get my business off the ground.  I know I've been a bit hit or miss with posting lately.  I'll get it back together eventually!

But for now, I'm going to bed before I crash head first into my laptop.  'Nite everyone!

~Michelle

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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Review

Press Sample

INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Review

Hello loves!  I'm going to deviate from my usual topic and show you some INM Out The Door Nail Lacquers today.  I have been using Out The Door Topcoat for years, so when INM reached out and offered to send me these to try out, I just couldn't resist.  So, wanna see them?

Before we get to the photos, let me say a few things about the lacquers.  The bottles are slightly smaller than some of the other professional lacquers out there, but only by a smidge at .45 fl oz.  The polishes are highly pigmented for the most part.  And look!  They all double as stamping polishes!  I'll talk a little more about the formula as I work through the photos.

Let's start with the springy pastels and end with the darker shades.  The first polish I have to show you is called Vanilla Zilla.  This is a very light grey cream.  The polish itself is almost a one coater for me.  What exactly does that mean?  It means it would be a perfect one coater for someone who uses polish more than I do.  What can I say...I'm a gel polish girl.  My polish application is a bit rusty.  As soon as I polished the first nail, it occurred to me that this lacquer would probably stamp really well.  And I was right!  It does!  With that said, my favorite stampers are at the salon, so the stamped accent nails aren't perfect...but they're good enough to give you an idea of stamping coverage.  :)
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Vanilla Zilla Swatch
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Vanilla Zilla Swatch

The next pastel color is called Bananigans.  This is a pastel banana yellow cream.  Like Vanilla Zilla, Bananigans could easily be a one coater.  It also stamps beautifully!
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Bananigans Swatch
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Bananigans Swatch

Celine's Jelly Bean is a baby pink pastel cream.  I definitely needed two coats with this one for even coverage.  These polishes dry a bit faster than the ones I work with most, so the second coat is probably due to me having to work faster.  But look...she stamps too!  Heck, they all stamp, but these pastel shades are beautiful over black.
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Celine's Jelly Bean Swatch
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Celine's Jelly Bean Swatch

The final soft shade I have to show you is a beautiful blue cream called Cotton Candy Dandy.  Yep, you guessed it...another possible one coater.  And yep, another that stamps over black, though this one isn't quite as bold as the others.
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Cotton Candy Dandy Swatch
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Cotton Candy Dandy Swatch

Let's move on to the darker shades.  Green Machine is an olive toned army green cream.  And this is the only one of the eight polishes I'm showing you today that really left me unimpressed.  Unlike the pastels, the darks do need two coats for full coverage, but Green Machine was still streaky after three coats.  I gave it four attempts before giving up.  It does stamp over white without issues, though.  The stamp looks a little light in the photo, but it actually looks nice in person.  My camera blew out the accent nails a little with these darker shades.  I should have used an image with thicker lines on these, but I was lazy and didn't want to hunt for a different plate.  Yep...my plates collection is also at the salon.
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Green Machine Swatch
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Green Machine Swatch

Tangerine Dream, on the other hand, was dreamy to apply.  I would call Tangerine Dream a red-orange cream.  Two coats provided nice coverage.  As a stamping polish, it is a little weaker than the pastels, but it still stamps ok.
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Tangerine Dream Swatch
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Tangerine Dream Swatch

I totally adore Grape Escape!  This purple cream has red undertones and applies like a dream.  Two coats provide perfect coverage and I would say she's the best stamper of the darks.  I really wish my accent nail photos had turned out a little better on these.
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Grape Escape Swatch
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Grape Escape Swatch

Finally, Huckleberry Fairy is an absolutely gorgeous navy blue cream.  Like Grape Escape, application is dreamy and two coats are perfect.
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Huckleberry Fairy Swatch
INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer Huckleberry Fairy Swatch

So, lets talk about wear for a second.  I wore Huckleberry Fairy for 4 days on my right hand.  I used INM Clear Bond Base Coat and INM Curiosity Weekly Top Coat for my test.  Ok, so here's the breakdown.  The first three days were nice.  Aside from a little wear at the tips, the polish looked flawless.  I was planning to wear it for 5 days...but I wrecked it with polish remover during a polish change for a client.  Gah!  So yeah, no pictures of that one.

I also used the Curiosity Weekly Top Coat for the swatches in this post.  As you can see, it provides a really nice shine.  It dries relatively quick and applies nicely.  It did smear my stamping on a few of the nails, but that's probably more user error than anything else.  I don't know how you polish girls do it!  Stamping is so much easier over gel polish with a gel polish top coat!

Edit/Update:  In case you needed more proof that I'm human, I missed an important fact about the Curiosity topcoat that explains why the stamp smeared in some of the swatches.  This top coat is intended for application after the polish is 100% dry as a wear extender.  Some of the stamps had ample time to dry while I fixed lunch or was otherwise distracted caring for my son.  Others had less time and those are the ones that smeared.  I'll try it out the correct way and report back in a week or so.  ;)  But really, its a nice topcoat when used incorrectly, so I'm really excited to see how it works when used the right way. lol

So there you have it - INM Out The Door Nail Lacquer.  After playing with these a bit, I'm considering picking up a few more to use at the salon since my polish selection for pedicures is a little lacking.  So I guess it's safe to say that I like them.  The price doesn't hurt either.  ;)

If you would like to pick up any of these colors (or the other colors in the Out The Door Lacquer Line), you can find them at NailEmporium.com here.  You might also find them at your favorite nail supply or distributor.

~Michelle

*The INM Out The Door Nail Lacquers featured in this post were provided by INM for my honest review.  All links within this post are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com.  

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Thursday, April 7, 2016

Whimsical Flowers with Daisy Duo (plus bonus swatches)

Press Sample

Daisy Duo Swatches and Nail Art

Hello Loves!  It has been a minute since I showed you some Daisy Duo swatches, so let's fix that right now!  Esther's Nail Center was kind enough to send me 6 pretties to show you.  Daisy Duo gel polishes include a free bottle of matching nail lacquer.  The gel polish is LED compatible and offers up to 21 days of chip free wear.

I haven't done much nail art on my own nails lately, I decided that needed to be fixed too.  Let's start with some art and finish with the swatches!

Judging by the nice yellow pollen coating on my car, spring has officially sprung here in GA.  So I went with some whimsical dot flowers using three of the Daisy Duo gel polishes.  What can I say...I just couldn't fit all 6 colors in the same design this time.  lol  Want to see them?  Of course you do.
Whimsical Flowers with Daisy Duo Gel Polish

This design is so easy its almost comical.  I started with a base of Greenwich, CN.  Then I created a simple flower design by adding 5 dots of Lilac Season and dragging them to the center of the flower.  After curing those, I added five more dots with Summer Hot Pink and repeated the drag.  I cured again and then finished off with dots of Lilac Season in the center of each flower and random dots in the open area to tie it all together.  I think they turned out pretty danged cute!
Whimsical Flowers with Daisy Duo Gel Polish

So, let's talk about the colors.  For those who are new to my blog, check out my original Daisy Duo review here and wear test and removal results here.

The base for my art, Greenwich, CN, is a minty pastel green that leans slightly blue.  Yep, you guessed it...it drove my camera nuts.  This looks pretty close on my laptop screen.  On your screen?  Who knows! lol  Application was easy enough.  It is opaque in two coats and self leveled nicely.  (excuse the index nail...I sometimes get lazy and skip the capping the nail step when I'm swatching since I'm just going to take it right off anyway)
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Greenwich, CN Swatch
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Greenwich, CN Swatch

The next color is called Summer Hot Pink, and boy is it bright!  This one freaked out my camera a little too.  I would call her a coral leaning neon pink cream.  To my surprise, she applied beautifully and is opaque in two coats.  Yep, just two coats.  For a neon!
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Summer Hot Pink Swatch
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Summer Hot Pink Swatch

The final color I used in my whimsical flower design is called Lilac Season.  Despite the very purple label, Lilac Season is a light purple cream with strong pink tones.  The matching lacquer is the same shade too, so I don't think it's a fading issue as is common with many purples.  Like the other two, application was smooth and coverage is opaque in two coats.
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Lilac Season Swatch
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Lilac Season Swatch

Want to see swatches of the ones that didn't make the nail art cut?  Trust me, you really do!  The other three Gel Polish and Lacquer sets are glitters!  Beautiful, glorious glitters!  Fun, fantastic glitters!  Ok, ok...I know.  Just shut up and show them already.  lol

First up is a stunning emerald green called Emerald Quartz.  This polish consists of green micro glitters in a sheer green jelly base.  Of the three glitters I have to show you, this is the only one that works well as a stand-alone polish in just two coats.  I found application to be typical of most glitter gel polishes.  Shake well and apply carefully.  The glitter load Emerald Quartz is quite nice, though.
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Emerald Quartz Swatch
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Emerald Quartz Swatch

This next glitter is called Sunset Crater, AZ.  This is a dark magenta glitter with blue iridescent glitter flashes in a clear base.  The glitter load is a bit lighter than in Emerald Quartz, so it would need a base color or three coats for better coverage.  I swatched two coats here with a little bit of glitter manipulation for more even coverage (in other words, I smushed it around with the brush a bit).  Just remember, shake shake shake!  The glitters do settle in the bottle.  But isn't she pretty!?!?
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Sunset Crater AZ Swatch
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Sunset Crater AZ Swatch

Finally, Rainbow Falls is an awesome rainbow of metallic glitters in a clear base.  It's like confetti on the nail.  Much like Sunset Crater, AZ, Rainbow Falls has a lighter glitter load that makes it a great topper in one coat or a wear alone in three coats.  I swatched two coats here so you can get a good idea of the coverage.  This one also need major shaking and a little bit of glitter manipulation.  But honestly, it wasn't too difficult to apply and the result is totally worth it!  Just look at all those glitter colors!  Blue, red, pink, aqua, green, yellow...I can't even name them all.
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Rainbow Falls Swatch
Daisy Duo Gel Polish Rainbow Falls Swatch

Do any of these shades scream your name?  If so, you can pick them up for your collection at Esther's Nail Center here.  You can also click the name of the polishes throughout the post above to go straight to the listing for that color.  :)

~Michelle

*The Daisy Duo Gel Polishes featured in this post were provided by Esther's Nail Center for my honest review.  All links within this post are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com.

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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Nail Tech Event of the Smokies 2016

Sponsored Post


Hello Loves!  It's that time of year again that I'm planning out my show attendance schedule.  I'm going to a couple of shows this summer, but only one Nails Only Trade Show as of right now.  Yep, I'll be at the Nail Tech Event of the Smokies again this year! :)  I truly enjoyed this show last year and am really looking forward to it again this summer.  If you're a Beauty Professional who focuses on nails in the South East, this is THE show to attend!  Heck, if you're willing to travel, this is still the show to attend.

So what exactly is the Nail Tech Event of the Smokies?  This is a Nails Only trade show with the Nail Tech in mind.  No loud music.  No hair supplies.  No flea market junk.  Just nail related items and services for professionals!

The show will be in Gatlinburg, TN at the Gatlinburg Convention Center again this year from July 9-11.  The actual one day show is Sunday, July 10th and features 45 of our favorite brands.  I'll share the current vendor list below.  Attendees can browse the floor, see demos, and learn about current and new products.  There are even complimentary classes you can attend during the show!

But there's more!  Saturday and Monday are Workshop days where beauty professionals can brush up their skills or learn some new ones from some of the industry's top educators.  Workshop topics range from basic product courses to advanced techniques to business strategies.  There is truly something for everyone - seasoned nail techs, new techs, students and salon owners!  Visit the workshop pages for a complete list of available classes on Saturday here and on Monday here.  These classes fill up quick, so be sure to register in advance!

Fancy a fun nail competition or two?  Amy Becker is hosting two competitions during the show, including one turn-in competition!  Learn more about those here.

There will also be an Event Gala and Meet and Greet featuring the "City of Lights Reception" sponsored by Light Elegance on Saturday July 9th from 7:00-10:00 pm.  You can learn more about the Event Gala, check out the menu and purchase tickets here.

As promised, here's the current list of vendors:



Advanced Show Tickets are on sale now!  But if you forget to pick up your tickets in advance, don't worry!  You can also purchase tickets at the door on the day of the show.

I look forward to seeing everyone there!

~Michelle

* This post was sponsored by the Nail Tech Event of the Smokies.  Statements within this post may not reflect the opinion of ManicTalons.com.  

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